Last Updated on Oct 7, 2024 by TrueBlueChef
Home Chef started in Chicago in 2013.
One of the later meal delivery kit companies to get started, they focus on ease of use for - you guessed it - the home chef. Or really anyone who’s looking for a quick way to cook a good meal.
By 2018, Home Chef was purchased by Kroger. As a result, Home Chef meals are also available in several Kroger brand grocery stores.
This makes them more accessible than most of the meal kits that are only available via delivery.
This overview is meant to help you understand key components of Home Chef's home delivery. Here's what you need to know.
In this review, we’ll cover -
Home Chef is owned by Kroger, so they are available across the U.S. in many grocery stores.
If you live near Ralph’s, Dillon’s, or Fred Meyer, those are all Kroger brands. There’s a good chance that there’s a Kroger store near you.
If you’re interested in Home Chef, their meals are really easy to get.
But wait a minute, aren’t we talking about home-delivery meal kits here? Well, Home Chef delivers too!
Their delivery service will be the focus of this review.
But, it’s worth knowing that if you want to test the waters a little bit, Home Chef is one of the easier meal kits to get into.
You may have guessed - Home Chef is ideal for people who like cooking.
Ease of use, family-friendly meals, and convenience is their bread-and-butter. Some of their meals even cut out the prep time completely.
So - if you’re looking for something very easy to use, Home Chef might be for you.
Too busy for the full review?
Here are the key takeaways for Home Chef: Overall score 14/20
Home Chef does well at accessibility but lacks some of the better qualities of other kits.
We've ordered & cooked dozens of different meals and have first-hand, meal-kit experience, but we can't tell you which meal kit is best for you.
So, we've broken down ratings across 5 key categories, so you can decide what's best for you. When there are issues - or when a meal kit exceeds expectations - we will let you know.
Home Chef delivers 3 million meals each month. Maybe after this review, a few will be delivered to you too.
Our review system has five parts.
Wherever possible we’ve given you the objective facts about the meal kit and the meal so that you can make your own informed decisions.
The five parts are Food, Price, Experience, Convenience, and Overall Value. There are 4 points for each category for a total score out of 20.
When you are getting a meal delivery kit, a lot could go wrong. You want to make sure that the meats and veggies you get as part of the meal are going to be high quality, but you might also want to know about the brand’s ethics. Quality can come in many different forms.
Home Chef delivers high-quality ingredients. All our meals came with fresh veggies and means, and nothing tasted bad or like it had been sitting out for too long.
Variety is challenging for Home Chef, since they don’t have the range competitors offer.
They do offer more customization options than other meal services.
But, if you aren’t taking the time to customize your options, your choices are more limited. (-1)
People with dietary restrictions or food allergies might want to avoid Home Chef meal kits.
They are careful about listing the ingredients with each meal.
But, the kits are created in places that process common allergens like nuts and shellfish.
Home Chef has some good vegetarian options, but not great options for everyone.
As a Kroger brand, Home Chef is part of the Zero Hunger Zero Waste initiative that works to reduce food waste and hunger. Although Home Chef does not have its own stance on sustainability, this Kroger program helps distribute food to where it’s needed the most.
Home Chef lost a couple of points in these categories. There aren't as many meal options available from Home Chef as there are from other kits. We give Home Chef 2 out of 4 points in this category.
Home Chef pricing is about the same as some of the other meal kits that you can get.
Home Chef meal prices can change, but they generally cost around $9.99 per meal. They have an additional $10.99 charge for shipping.
Here’s a breakdown of Home Chef’s pricing:
| Plan | Details | Price |
| 1 | 2 meals for 2 people per week | $10.99 per meal |
| 2 | 2 meals for 2 people per week | $9.99 per meal |
| 3 | 4 meals for 2 people per week | $9.99 per meal |
| 4 | 5 meals for 2 people per week | $9.99 per meal |
| 5 | 6 meals for 2 people per week | $9.99 per meal |
There are also options for up to six people, but unlike some of the other meal kit options, Home Chef does not get much less expensive than $9.99.
But here’s where things get sticky. Home Chef’s website says the meals start at $7.99. That may be true, but it might be a little misleading. Most of their meal kits are more expensive.
We give Home Chef a 2 out of 4 here because of the lack of pricing plans and the slightly misleading website.
Here’s the process to set up Home Chef:
The setup for Home Chef was not as smooth as some of the other meal kits we’ve seen. The setup starts with a survey with several options, but it isn’t clear if your choices change what you can get. After clicking through some informational slides, there’s another survey immediately after. We’d like to see a setup with a lot less clicking.
Home Chef is one of the few kits that has some options for you if you want to cut down on the amount of waste. They have a few meals that come already prepared in a single recyclable container.
Of course, part of the fun of a meal kit is the preparation.
So, depending on what you value this may or may not be a selling point.
Meal prep is where Home Chef shines.
Home Chef makes home cooking as easy as possible for people who are new to cooking.
Or who just want something simple to prepare.
During set-up, you can also filter the menu by less than 30-minute meals. You can also make sure that all your deliveries are easy for you to cook.
Home Chef makes finding answers easy with their FAQ page.
They have a lot of common questions answered already, so you’ll probably be able to find the info you need there.
Home Chef gets a 3 out of 4 in this category. The setup was a little hard, but the rest of the experience was very easy.
Home Chef has a lot of options to help make your experience more convenient. Their deliveries are easy to schedule and they have good customer support.
Home Chef does well in this category.
Home Chef can deliver your meals six times a week if you want a full meal plan. They also have their meals available in several major grocery stores.
You could eat Home Chef all the time if you wanted to!
The meals we ordered arrived on time and there wasn’t any hassle with the deliveries.
Home Chef has a very helpful FAQ page should you have questions.
It lists contact information, FAQs, and is a great first place to start if you need customer support.
What features are available? 1
Home Chef has all the support features that you need.
While they don’t have provide chat, they do list their email address and a 24/7 support line so you get always get in touch.
We found the contact information on the FAQ page with a little digging. It wasn’t too hard for our team to find the information we would need if we needed support.
The team gives Home Chef 4 points for overall convenience.
There’s a funny thing about companies that get into a field a little later than their competitors. They might be innovators that make huge changes and really have an impact in their field.
Or they might just be hopping on a trend.
Unfortunately, Home Chef is a little more of the latter (IOHO). They aren’t really offering much that’s new in the home meal delivery kit landscape.
They may even offer a little less than brands with more meal options and an easier setup process.
Still, Home Chef does well in key categories in terms of value.
For instance - they really nailed the easy recipes. Even an inexperienced cook would be able to make these meals without too much difficulty.
And having the option to buy a pre-made meal in any grocery store adds an extra layer of convenience.
We can’t give Home Chef the full points for this category.
But, if you are looking for the simplest way to get into meal kits, this might be the option for you.
All things considered, it’s a solid 3 out of 4 points in this category.
That's an overall score 14 of 20 points.
Pro #1 Ease of use: Home Chef has some very easy meals to prepare
Pro #2 Ease of access: Home Chef is available in many major grocery stores.
Home Chef is a little hit-and-miss:
The ingredients are great and the meals are easy to cook.
But they cost about the same as some of their competitors without offering a lot that makes them stand out.
If you are looking to get started with meal kits, it might be worth it to pick up some of their pre-prepared meals at the grocery store just to get an idea of what they are like.
They just might not be at the top of our recommendations list for home delivery kits.
Home Chef has some things to offer, but if you are comparing them to other home delivery meal kits, some of the competition has a little more to offer.
To see how they stack up, you might check out our Blue Apron and Hello Fresh reviews so you can compare and make your own decisions.
We hope you found this review informative and helpful as you think about the meal delivery options that are available. Thanks for taking the time to read all the way through!
