This is not a sponsored post, however, any direct links to Blue Apron are my referral links. You will receive dollars off your first order and I will earn a credit. I only write my honest opinion on products that I have tried. Thanks for your support.
My daughter has been begging me for several months to try Blue Apron subscription meal kit service. I’m the chief grocery shopper for my family, so why would I need a subscription service–it seemed so frivolous to me.
When a Facebook friend offered a promo code for first time members I thought it would get my daughter off my back…was worth trying. I also wanted to see what everyone was raving about–including my daughter–and the promo was enticing.
Dinner at my door step!
What is Blue Apron?
Blue Apron is a subscription meal kit service. You pick the recipes and they pack all of the ingredients into a box and ship it to your door, effectively eliminating grocery shopping.
There are 2 portion sizes to choose from: 2 Person Plan or Family Plan (serves 4). You also choose how many meals you want for the week–between 2-4 meals.
I ordered 2 (Family of 4 sized) meals and my daughter chose the recipes: Chicken Lo Mein and Creamy Tomato Shrimp & Orzo. There were 5 recipes to choose from and we were able choose from a variety of protein options. I don’t want lamb recipes, but will accept chicken, fish, beef, and/or pork.
More details:
Blue Apron is a weekly subscription service, so it will automatically bill and ship the default recipes to you each week. However, you can easily manage your service, skip a week or more, or even delete your account entirely–see the red circle in the top right corner in the image below. Weekly recipes are posted weeks in advance giving you time to react. Recipes with the blue check mark in the image below are the default recipes, but click the blue “Change Recipes” box to make any recipe changes.
You are also able to control the day of the week your food is delivered. I have my delivery set for Fridays.
What’s inside the box:
- A very detailed 2-sided recipe card with step-by-step instructions.
- All of the ingredients perfectly portioned out for the recipe. Things like salt, pepper, cooking oil are not included.
- Everything is packed in an insulated box with an ice pack. The ice pack is reusable and I put mine the freezer. We’ll use it for camping. 😉
How much does Blue Apron cost? Is it worth it?
Depending on the size plan and the number of meals per week, meals cost between $7.49 – $9.99 PER SERVING. This is close to what you spend per person at a fast food restaurant. However, these are not fast food meals! The quality is much higher and the ingredients are very fresh. Browse through the recipe offerings, but some other examples are Sheet Pan Pesto Salmon, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Seared Steaks & Loaded Mashed Potatoes, and Pasta & Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce.
Of course with Blue Apron, you’re doing the cooking, but my family definitely felt the two recipes we ordered were high quality meals, and the cost was definitely less than what we would spend per person at a nicer restaurant.
Two Ways to Save on your First Blue Apron Order:
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- First time subscriber discount: USE MY REFERRAL LINK TO RECEIVE $40 OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER.
- PLUS, I was able to earn $20 cash back through Ebates at the time I placed my first order. (You can SAVE $40 on Black Friday! WOOHOO!!) If you are not already a member, join Ebates through my referral link before you place your first Blue Apron order. —>>>Be sure to have the Cash Back Button activated on your computer–The button will alert you of the rebate. Read my review of Ebates cash back rebate site.
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Recipes so easy a 12 year old can make it!
My daughter is very eager to learn to cook. So far, she’s great with easy basic stuff like scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches, so these meals were a big step for her. However, she nailed it! The recipe cards have step-by-step instructions and the only time I helped her was to drain the lo main noodles.
Creamy Tomato Shrimp & Orzo Ingredients
She made the Creamy Tomato Shrimp & Orzo on the first night. All four of us enjoyed it and felt like it was something we would order at a nice restaurant. There was plenty of food for our dinner, plus enough for one person’s lunch the next day.
That person was my daughter!
Chicken Lo Mein Ingredients
Prepping dinner.
Cooking dinner.
Creamy Tomato Shrimp & Orzo–Perfection!!
My daughter cooked the Chicken Lo Mein a few nights later and I failed to take pictures, but we enjoyed it as well.
Will we order again?
Yes, I will definitely order from Blue Apron again. I won’t order on a regular weekly basis, but maybe every 4-6 weeks.
My family rarely sits down to eat together on Monday thru Thursday nights for dinner, so I make a big deal out of family dinners on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We could go out to dinner and sometimes we do, but Blue Apron is a way to have a high quality dinner at home.
When we unboxed the ingredients with our first box, we noticed that the package containing the roasted red peppers for the Chicken Lo Mein had leaked. I contacted customer service and uploaded a photo. They offered an $8 credit and I thought they handled the incident appropriately. We still made the recipe and it was delicious even without the peppers. My kids aren’t that fond of peppers anyway.
The true cost per person (without the first timer discounts) is definitely more than what I typically spend on groceries. The two meals we initially ordered were definitely a higher quality recipe than what I typically cook and I consider myself a great cook. I’m in a busy season of life and our weeks are hectic with our careers, my kids’ school work, and activities, so I keep my meal plan very simple.
The Blue Apron menu selection changes weekly and it’s nice to choose from a variety of high quality recipes, even if we have to cook them. Thankfully my daughter (who has turned 13 since we initially ordered) wants to be the one to make the recipes.
If you frequently dine out at nicer restaurants, you could possibly save money by ordering Blue Apron. You must prepare the food, but the recipes have the step by step instructions that are easy to follow. I definitely think Blue Apron is worth trying to see if it fits into your lifestyle and budget, especially with the first timer discounts.
They offer a discount for first time subscribers:
USE MY REFERRAL LINK TO RECEIVE $40 OFF YOUR FIRST ORDER.
Who could use Blue Apron?
Anyone who wants a high quality dinner at home could benefit from this service. It would be great for couples with young children where a really nice restaurant might be a bit stressful and a date night out often includes a pricey babysitter. They could use Blue Apron to eat a high quality meal at home instead–put the kids to bed and then prepare the nice dinner together.
A weekly meal service would be helpful for the stay-at-home parent of young children who would like to avoid going to the grocery store with said young children and still have a high quality dinner.
I also think Blue Apron would be nice to prepare and deliver to a family in need of a good meal, whether they just welcomed a new born, are grieving the loss of a loved one, or just need a little TLC from friends.
Have you tried Blue Apron or another meal delivery service? What are your thoughts? Share in the comments.
We get about three to six meals a month from Blue Apron. Our kids are grown and gone and what I like about it is that my wife and I get to do it together with a glass of wine and it is really a date night kind of thing. We talk and work side by side and the food is very good. We’ve discovered some veggies we did not know about that we incorporate in our own meals now too. Plus a Blue Apron meal for two at about $10 each generally feeds us both twice taking the priced down to below fast food levels and that is for healthy food instead of junk. We are fans and will be cooking a Blue Apron meal together tonight!
Thank you Steve for your comments about your experience. Hopefully, it will help someone on the fence about trying BA.