Sun Basket is a meal kit delivery subscription and delivers fresh, seasonal ingredients to your door each week to create three unique and delicious meals. With recipes developed by chef Justine Kelly, the food of Sun Basket focuses on organic ingredients, sustainably farmed protein, and spices from all other the world.
Check out all of our reviews of Meal Delivery Services to see every meal kit subscription box option!
Sun Basket offers two menu options: the Classic Plan (3 "inspired, farm-to-table recipes" for 2 or 4 people per week) for $11.99 per serving, and the Family Plan (2 or 4 "family friendly meals that kids will love" for 4 people per week) at $10.99 per serving. The Family Plan was co-created by Tyler Florence from Food Network!
Within each plan, there are options for vegetarians, paleo eaters, gluten-free diets, and even breakfast-lovers (Classic Plan only). According to the Sun Basket FAQs, these are the options for the Classic Plan, I will be reviewing the Mediterranean option.
Classic Menu Meal Plans:
Chef's Choice: Chef Justine's favorite recipes made with fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Paleo: Quick, low-carb recipes designed for the Paleo diet, featuring fresh seasonal produce and sustainably sourced meats and seafood.
Lean & Clean: Gluten and Dairy-free meals, each about 550 calories per serving
Gluten Free: Inspired gluten-free recipes featuring fresh, seasonal produce, sustainably sourced meats and seafood, plus healthy gluten-free grains. Please note, Sun Basket meals are prepared in a facility that handles wheat, and while the Gluten Free meal plan follows a gluten-free diet, due to risk of cross-contamination, meals are not suitable for people with severe gluten intolerance.
Vegetarian: Delicious, meatless recipes with an emphasis on seasonal produce and nutritious plant-based proteins.
Meditteranean: Seasonal produce, lean meat, and seafood paired with whole grains, healthy fats, and fresh herbs.
Vegan: Meatless recipes with seasonal organic produce, plant-based proteins, and Sun Basket's house-made signature sauces.
Pescatarian: Organic produce combined with sustainably sourced seafood.
Regardless of the plan you choose, you can always log into your Sun Basket account and hand-pick what meals you'd like to receive. If you don't go in and curate things for yourself, Sun Basket will just choose meals for you based on your plan/preferences. Keep in mind that folks with special diets will always have more limited options. For example, there will always be at least 3 or 4 vegetarian options on the menu, but that's it—there's not a lot to go in and choose between.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is for the Sun Basket Classic Menu, Mediterranean box, three meals to serve two people, $71.94 a week.
About Sun Basket
The Subscription Box: Sun Basket
The Cost: $11.99 per meal with free shipping on your first delivery (normally $6.99)
ACTIVE DEAL: Get $90 off and 4 free gifts on first-time order of $65 or more. No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: Farm-to-table-inspired recipes and the pre-portioned, high quality, non-GMO, organic ingredients you need to make them. Some items, such as signature sauces and spice mixes, come pre-prepared for you.
Ships to: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, UT, VA, WV, VT, & parts of AK, AL, MI, MS
Sun Basket Classic Mediterranean Menu, March 2018 Review
Every Sun Basket Menu Book has some great additional information in the recipe book, and this month has a feature on some swaps we might see in our baskets this month. I really love Sun Basket’s commitment to the freshest ingredients, and how transparent they are with customers about their process! It sometimes takes a little bit of adjusting if they’ve swapped a major ingredient out (like in my box’s bok choy salad that turned into a broccoli slaw), but I will take the fresh, thoughtfully-sourced ingredients ever time!
Meal #1: Shrimp Fettuccine with Broccoli and Parsley-Pecan Pesto
Calories per serving: 770
Time to prepare according to Sun Basket: 25-40 minutes
Actual time to prepare: 20 minutes
Fresh pasta is the key to this excellent supper! Fresh pasta cooks so much faster than regular, and Sun Basket directed me to toss the cooked pasta with olive oil to keep it from sticking while I cooked the other ingredients. I sauteed the shrimp first, then wiped out the pan and cooked the broccoli with the included garlic and chili flakes. The recipe called for chopping the garlic, but I smashed both cloves and added them to the pan for a milder garlic flavor. I LOVE garlic, but I wanted to really taste the other ingredients in this dish. I then did the optional glazing of the pan with white wine (someone who doesn’t want to use wine could do it with water or broth), then let it simmer for just a couple of minutes. Then, it was time to add the parsley-pecan pesto. This was a pre-made sauce in the basket; I was actually so happy I didn’t have to make it myself! This pesto was so, so, so good! I’m a huge fan of Sun Basket sauces, most particularly the romesco, but this pesto has now taken its place on the throne of my affections. The pesto is super fresh and almost grassy from the parsley, with a lot of rich depth from the earthier pecans. The best part was that it was seasoned properly - it offered a nice amount of salt to the dish, and, ahem, the raw broccoli florets I couldn’t stop dipping into it.
Once the pasta was tossed with the pesto and included organic basil, I added the shrimp! It created a really generous portion - there were two huge servings that fed my husband and me comfortably. It was a fantastic dish - I actually forgot there wasn’t any dairy in this. Most pesto does include parmesan, but this sure didn’t need it, and I didn’t miss it!
Meal #2: Marrakech Chicken Wings with Sesame–Bok Choy Slaw and Cashews
Calories per serving: 620
Time to prepare according to Sun Basket: 35-50 minutes
Actual time to prepare: 40 minutes
I picked this meal because my husband loves chicken wings, but I actually ended up falling in love with this meal myself! The side salad was really simple - it was supposed to be bok choy, but Sun Basket swapped in broccoli slaw because of seasonality and freshness concerns. I’ve only ever made wings once before, and they were okay, but the instructions for making these really helped. I’ve noticed that all the Sun Basket recipes have you pat down the meat you’re using, and having the wings nice and dry made a huge difference! I’ve never prepped meat this next way before, but I’m definitely going to do it again. The recipe guided me to melt the included coconut oil down and stir the spice mix into it. Once this was combined, the wings were tossed in the spice-coconut oil mixture, and these spices made my house smell amazing. I would’ve never thought to use coconut oil in this way, but it gave the chicken so much flavor, and as the spices roasted, they created a crunchy crust on the outside of the wing that added a really pleasing texture. I made the salad while the wings were in the oven with the included radishes, shredded carrots, cashews, and sesame dressing. I was glad the directions reminded me to season the salad itself - the dressing surprisingly had no salt! The entire plate was a great marriage. I kept the salad in the fridge after it was tossed, and the contrast between the cold, crunchy salad and the flavorful, warm wings was absolute heaven. I always try to pick spice mixes that I’m not familiar with, and the flavor payoff is the BEST.
Meal #3: Stir-Fried Pork with Snap Peas and Soba Noodles
Calories per serving: 740
Time to prepare according to Sun Basket: 25-40 minutes
Actual time to prepare: 35 minutes
There was another swap in this box, this time green beans for the snap peas that were supposed to be included with this soba noodle stir-fry. I’m a big green bean fan, so this swap was just fine with me. I was intrigued by the powdered agar included in this recipe; it’s often used in cooking as a thickener, but I’ve never used it before. The recipe instructed me to combine it with half of the included sauce, then use the mixture as a marinade for the pork. The green beans got blanched, then shocked, and the soba was cooked in the still-boiling water. The noodles cooked really quickly, and they’re very starchy; the recipe instructed me to rinse the noodles off so that the starch wouldn’t interfere with the other flavors in the dish. The pork was cooked in a little bit of olive oil, then I added the shredded carrots right to the stir-fry. The agar successfully thickened the sauce! I cut the scallions on the bias, then piled the noodles, pork, included sesame seeds, and scallions right on top. I added the kimchi chile flakes on the very top, as instructed, and they added not only a nice amount of heat but also added depth from the flavors of the fermentation.
I ended up making this dish when my husband was out of town, and it was good hot, but it was great the next day cold, with an extra sprinkle of sesame seeds. It was another incredibly generous portion, too - I was able to enjoy dinner and two lunches from this recipe.
Verdict: I was really satisfied with the choices this month. I’m glad I picked a wide variety of proteins and types of cuisine. I love that these baskets get me out of my comfort zone and encourage me to try things that I might not have otherwise; I’ve never made wings that delicious before, and I was so excited to try the powdered agar. Lastly, I was really thankful that all these recipes were really quick and easy to prepare this month!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since Sun Basket menus change weekly and you must choose them ahead of time, you won’t be able to order these dishes unless they are offered again in the future.
Coupon – Save $35 off your first box. No coupon required, just follow this link!
Value Breakdown: At $71.94 for this box, you’re paying $11.99 per meal.
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Which of these Sun Basket recipes look the best to you?
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