Blue Apron is a subscription meal delivery service. Every week, they send seasonal recipes created by their culinary team and the pre-measured ingredients you need to make them at home.
This is a review of the 2-person, 2-meal subscription plan ($9.99 per serving, or $47.95 per week).
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Blue Apron
The Subscription Box: Blue Apron
The Cost: You can choose from a 2 person plan or a family plan:
- For the 2 person plan, it’s $47.95 ($9.99 per serving + $7.99 shipping) for 2 meals per week or $59.94 ($9.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for the 3 meals per week.
- Family plans start at $71.92 ($8.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for the 2 meals per week, $95.88 ($7.99 per serving + FREE shipping) for 3 meals per week, or $119.84 ($7.49 per serving + FREE shipping) for 4 meals per week.
The Products: Fresh ingredients and recipes to make healthy meals at home.
Ships to: U.S. only
May 2019 Blue Apron Review
Blue Apron ingredients come packaged in a big silver cooler bag that’s a lot like bubble wrap. Along with the plastic-wrapped ice packs in the box, the bubble wrap bag keeps the ingredients cool while they travel.
The produce was packed atop a cardboard divider, beneath which was a nest of ice packs.
A lot of the ingredients from Blue Apron come in bags, labeled, but you have to check out the recipe cards to know which meal they go to. Smaller items like butter or sauces come in a “knick knack” bag so they don’t get lost in the shuffle, and those are labeled with the meal’s name as well. The plastic bags are the same as the ones larger ingredients come in and are also recyclable.
There were no advertisements or info cards in this month’s box.
Anyway, let’s get these dishes started!
Meal #1: San Francisco-Inspired Smothered Chicken Quesadillas
Calories per serving (as prepared): 610
Total cook time according to Blue Apron: 35 minutes on the site, 30-40 minutes on the recipe card
Actual time: 51 minutes
After unboxing all of the ingredients, I separated each meal into its own plastic grocery bag for storage in the fridge, so nothing got lost or accidentally incorporated into another dish.
Both recipes I chose this month are a part of Blue Apron’s recipe exploration around America. It wasn’t intentional, but I do love a theme, despite some personal gripes with the west coast. Anyway, on to the quesadillas.
Like the beginning of any meal, I washed and dried the produce, which was only two carrots and poblano pepper. The prep work was pretty easy—I grated the Monterey jack cheese and carrots, whisked the tomatillo-poblano sauce with the sour cream, and quickly chopped half of the pickled jalapenos provided. The carrots were mixed in a bowl with the jalapenos, a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper, then left to marinate for the duration of the dish. I removed the stem, core, and seeds of the poblano then sliced it into long, thin strips.
I patted both sides of the pre-chopped chicken with a paper towel to remove as much of the moisture as possible. When Blue Apron provides chicken that’s already in pieces, it warms my heart.
In a bowl, I dumped out all of the Mexican spice blend and threw in some salt and pepper. The recipe said I might have some spice blend left over, but I’m a believer in using up everything. Why have extra if you don’t need to, you know? Anyway, I tossed the chicken in the spices until coated.
Off to the side, I had a large skillet warming to medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil while the prep work was taking place. In went the chicken to cook, undisturbed in a single layer, for 4 minutes.
Then went in the poblano slices to cook with the chicken for another 4 minutes. The chicken had browned a little bit, and the peppers were just starting to soften by the end of their cook time.
I laid out both tortillas, covered one half of each side with Monterey jack cheese, then placed the warm chicken and poblano slices over top. Don’t worry—I thoroughly sanitized the cutting board post-chicken and pre-tortilla. The pan in which I cooked the chicken was rinsed and wiped clean in preparation to brown the quesadillas.
Here are my little quesadillas, getting some warm and toasty love in the skillet for 4 minutes on each side.
And here’s the end result. I wasn’t sure if my plate was just large, or if the serving size was on the small side. Turns out, it was a little bit of both. However, this dish was delicious, and pretty easy to put together! I never thought something as simple as shredded carrots, jalapenos, olive oil, salt, and pepper could act as a side dish, but it worked really well here. The quesadillas themselves had a wonderful heat, and the sauce on top was a creamy, tangy complement to the robust spices on the chicken and peppers. Because the quesadillas were on the small side, I had quite a bit of sauce leftover, despite being rather generous when doling it out. Overall, it was delicious, but I wish the portions were a little larger.
Meal #2: California-Style Pesto Rice Bowl
Calories per serving (as prepared): 670
Total cook time according to Blue Apron: 30 minutes on the site, 25-35 minutes on the recipe card
Actual time: 42 minutes
Given my undying love of green foods, I couldn’t pass this dish up. Plus, it looked pretty darn easy.
Of course, I used my rice cooker to get things started! In went the rice with 1 cup of water.
Here is my produce, washed and dried.
I soft boiled 2 eggs for 6.5 minutes while prepping the produce.
And here are the prepped veggies! This took the most time out of any step. I separated the kale leaves from their stems, sliced the radishes to marinate in rice vinegar, salt, and pepper for 10 minutes, chopped about 4 cloves of garlic (compared to the suggested 2 cloves), and mixed together the crumbled feta with the preserved lemon puree, plus more salt and pepper. I snuck a taste of the lemon puree and it was so, so powerfully sour. I do not recommend trying it by itself.
In a skillet warmed over medium-high heat, I sauteed the chopped garlic for a minute or two, stirring quickly to prevent it from burning. Then I added the kale to cook for 3-4 minutes, followed by 1/4 cup of water to get everything nice, soft, and cooked down.
When my eggs finished boiling, I ran them under cold water to stop their cooking. Then, as the kale was doing its thing in the pan, I peeled the eggs. The egg on the right was the first one I did. It’s a little rough looking, but it tasted fine, I swear!
I stirred the pesto into the rice—a simple act with so much flavor payoff. Why have I never thought to do this before?
And here’s the finished dish. At a glance, it may not seem like much, but it was really delicious. The marinated radish slices gave a nice crunch and were a tangy contrast to the savory pesto and richness of the soft-boiled egg. The kale was fine, but the dish as a whole was fantastic. I’m definitely going to make this again in the future, now that I know how.
Verdict: My experience with Blue Apron this month was great. The only disappointment was how small the portions were for the chicken quesadillas. As for the pros, both dishes were ultimately a win, as they were easy to assemble with huge flavor payoff. I’m happy to add these recipes into my meal rotation, and I’m leaving this experience feeling largely satisfied and inspired.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Recipes change every week, so these are gone for now, but popular ones always come back in the future. Sign up today to choose from a whole new crop of meals.
Value Breakdown: At $47.95 ($9.99 per serving + $7.99 shipping), you’re paying $11.99 per serving.
Check out all of our Blue Apron reviews and find the best meal delivery kits of 2019!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What do you think of the Blue Apron recipes?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.