Last Updated on Oct 7, 2024 by TrueBlueChef
Blue Apron Review
Blue Apron has been one of the leading brands in home meal delivery since it was established in 2012. Within that time they’ve created an avid fan base that raves about both the quality and variety of their meals. They are also known for their simple account activation process which takes only a few minutes.
In this overview, we’ll cover a wide variety of information to help you decide if Blue Apron is right for you. We’ll cover:
Blue Apron got its start in a tiny apartment in New York way back in 2012. They named themselves for the blue aprons that beginning chefs wear. Since they got started, they’ve kept the starter chef in mind with easy to follow recipes and a low entry cost.
Blue Apron’s menu gives you high quality ingredients measured in the amount you need to cook delicious meals in minutes. Blue Apron also works directly with farmers to make sure all the ingredients you put into your next meal are produced sustainably. They are a great choice for the novice chef or for more experienced home cooks who are looking for something new to try.
For those that are busy, here are the key takeaways you’ll need to know about Blue Apron: Overall score 18/20
Blue Apron is a great option to get started with home delivery kits.
Our team creates reviews based on first-hand experience. We take time with the meal kits we review and try the meals ourselves. We pull any info we write from our experience with the meal kits or from trustworthy sources, including Blue Apron.
Blue Apron has served over 465 million meal kits to individuals and families all over the U.S., including a few to our team! Which is why we have the experience to give you a unique perspective on Blue Apron and the meal delivery kit landscape.
But first….
Meal delivery services, meal kits, and home meal delivery kits. There are a lot of terms, but they all refer to about the same thing: a kit that’s delivered to your doorstep with all the ingredients you need for a tasty meal.
Meal kits take all the hard work out of cooking. They pre-plan the entire meal so you don’t have to worry about buying the right ingredients or even measuring things out correctly (was that TOO much spice?). With all the work already done, you can get back to the best part about cooking: enjoying a meal!
Ok, time for the details. We’ve broken down a rating system into five parts with all the details you need to make informed decisions. We’ve based our ratings on measurable details wherever we can.
Of course, we’re talking about food. We have some opinions, but whenever we can we’ve given you the details that we can measure objectively.
For example, is the food actually as high quality as they say? Well, we can check that for you. So far, we haven’t had anything arrive rotten, but you bet we’d tell you if it did.
The five parts of our review are Food, Price, Experience, Convenience, and Value overall. We award 4 points for each category for a total score out of 20.
The home delivery meal kit you get is only going to be as good as the food. Blue Apron is a great example of what you can get in a high-quality home delivery kit.
Blue Apron prides itself on the quality of the ingredients they serve. And we have to agree. Everything in our meal kit was fresh, nothing was damaged in shipping, and it even stayed cold on a hot day when one of our team members had a kit delivered.
Blue Apron has been in the business for over a decade. They’ve got variety nailed down. The Blue Apron menu is extensive with plenty of options for you to choose from.
There are a few options on the menu that won’t be to everyone’s taste. Quite a few of the items on the Blue Apron menu have a rice base. If you or someone in your family isn’t a fan, it might not be the option to go with. Blue Apron also doesn’t recommend its meals for folks with food allergies.
One of the things we love about Blue Apron is that they work directly with farmers to grow sustainable and ethical products. Blue Apron is also carbon neutral and is working toward net zero carbon. They are legitimately interested in sustainability and take active steps toward more environmentally friendly eating.
The food you get with a Blue Apron meal is excellent. We could only take one point off for universality. There may be some things that won’t appeal to every taste, but you can’t fault the quality of what you’re getting.
The team gives Blue Apron 3 out of 4 points in this category.
Blue Apron pricing is a little higher than you might pay for a home cooked meal. It’s much closer to the price you would pay for a meal if you went to a restaurant or made a DoorDash order. Fortunately, Blue Apron offers several different pricing plans for different budgets.
The good thing about Blue Apron compared to eating at a restaurant is that their prices go down depending on the number of meals you order.
Here’s how Blue Apron pricing works:
| Plan | Details | Price |
| 1 | Two meals delivered twice a week | $11.99 per meal |
| 2 | Two meals delivered three times a week | $9.99 per meal |
| 3 | Two meals delivered four times a week | $9.49 per meal |
| 4 | Two meals delivered five times a week | $9.49 per meal |
| 5 | Four meals delivered twice a week | $9.49 per meal |
| 6 | Four meals delivered three times a week | $8.49 per meal |
| 7 | Four meals delivered four times a week | $7.99 per meal |
| 8 | Four meals delivered five times a week | $7.99 per meal |
Each plan costs $9.99 in shipping. For a more in-depth read about Blue Apron pricing, click here (link).
For the variety of pricing and plans, we give Blue Apron 4 points for this category.
Here’s what to expect with Blue Apron:
Signing up for Blue Apron is incredibly simple. It took our team about five minutes filling out the contact information and providing payment details and we were all set up. After that, the fun started. The next step is choosing the meals you want and the delivery day that works best for you, and that’s pretty much it. The setup is just that easy.
Blue Apron does come with a lot of packaging. The ingredients come pre-measured so all you have to do is mix everything together, cook, and serve. This is convenient, but it makes disposal a bit of a hassle. It can also be harder to store, so if you don’t plan to cook the meal immediately, this can be a problem.
Blue Apron meals are so easy to make. The recipe fits on a single page and the instructions are clearly written and easy to follow. Even an inexperienced chef (like this post’s author!) can follow along without trouble.
Blue Apron has an extensive FAQ page. Chances are any other questions you have about the experience are already answered there. The overall experience is easy, but if you’re still looking into details, their answers are a huge help.
The packaging is the only real issue we had with the Blue Apron experience. We give them a solid 3 of 4 in this category.
Home delivery meal kits are only going to be helpful for you if they fit into your life in a way that is convenient. One thing that helps here is that the ingredients come right to your door. If you’re the kind of person who hates grocery shopping, you might be sold already, but there are some other things that make Blue Apron convenient.
Blue Apron puts you in control of the deliveries. They can deliver five days a week if you want them to or you can skip days and set your own schedule. With this much flexibility, it’s easy to find something that will work for you.
With an extensive FAQ section on their website, there’s a really good chance that a Blue Apron question you had in your head has already been answered. For everything else, there are instructional articles and ways to reach them if you’re still confused. We’ll go over those in the next section.
Blue Apron has a 24/7 help center that you can call for any support you need in the process. If you don’t need immediate help, they also have a general contact page or specific email addresses depending on your needs. They also have a handy chat box in the corner.
The general contact email, FAQ page, and phone number are easy to find. Just scroll down to the bottom of any page on their website. The contact information is listed there.
The team gives Blue Apron the full 4 points for convenience and customer support.
This is one of the categories where we have to get opinionated. There are some things that our team values that might be personal to us, but we’re still going to try to give you an overall objective picture.
In all the categories we mentioned earlier, Blue Apron has something substantial to offer. Whether that is the quality of the ingredients, the variety of pricing plans, or the easy to reach customer service, we found that Blue Apron has something for everyone.
Blue Apron can be whatever you make it. If you want to take the stress out of weekly meal planning completely, they have you covered. If you want to supplement the cooking you already do, that’s an option too.
We give Blue Apron 4 points in this category because it genuinely adds to our cooking experience.
Overall score 18 of 20 points.
Pro #1 Quality: Blue Apron works hard to get high quality ingredients to your door.
Pro #2 Price: Blue Apron has plenty of pricing plans for every budget.
Pro #3 Support: Blue Apron is there to help if something goes wrong.
Con #1 Allergies: We can’t recommend Blue Apron if you have food allergies.
Con #2 Packaging: Pre-measured ingredients are great, but there is a lot of packaging.
After all our research and testing, we have to say yes, Blue Apron is worth it. They have some of the freshest, highest quality ingredients in the meal delivery kit landscape. They also offer some excellent customisation and pricing plans that will fit your needs.
Of course, your mileage may vary. We hope this has given you some insight into how Blue Apron works and how it might fit into your life, but ultimately, you’re the judge. If you’re convinced (or if you need more convincing), try out the free trial. If your experience matches ours, then you are in for a tasty, stress-free meal.
Blue Apron is a good service. We’ve done extensive testing in the meal delivery kit world, and Blue Apron consistently brings some of the best that the industry has to offer.
Whether you’re new to home cooking or an experienced chef, we think there’s something there for everyone.
We hope you found this review informative and thanks for taking the time to read all the way to the end. If you made it this far, why not try your first meal kit for free? We are an affiliate, so we get a small cut if you use our link. Proceeds go right back into giving you these reviews.
Thanks again, and enjoy your meal!
