After a long workday, the idea of going to the grocery store can seem daunting. On top of that, you often buy too much, and either have to throw away unused ingredients or make more than you can finish and have lots of leftovers that rot in the refrigerator.
That’s where meal delivery services come in handy. Not only are these packages delivered right to your door, but you’re given the exact amount of ingredients needed for each recipe, so nothing is going to waste.
The biggest name in meal delivery services right now is undoubtedly HelloFresh. With deep brand recognition and an aggressive marketing campaign, HelloFresh has established itself as the go-to choice in the meal delivery industry.
But is HelloFresh actually worth the money you’re spending on it? Is it more bang for your buck, or are you paying a premium for the convenience? And, perhaps most importantly, are the meals high quality?
That’s what we’re going to discuss in this review. We’re going to talk about HelloFresh as a company, discuss its pricing, and go through the pros and cons of this service before letting you know if we believe HelloFresh is worth it or not.
Before we get started discussing the pros and cons of the HelloFresh meal kit, it’s important to dig into the ins and outs of it as a service. This can give you a better understanding of what you’re getting when you purchase a subscription.
HelloFresh is a weekly meal delivery service that sends food from a pre-selected menu right to your door. The food arrives in a large insulated package and contains recipe cards for each meal you’ve chosen.
One of the best features of this service is that HelloFresh measures out all of the ingredients that you need for each recipe. This ensures that:
HelloFresh provides only what you need to create your family’s new favorite meal, cutting down on waste and ensuring that the quality of the delicious meal is exactly as intended.
This service provides a wide variety of meals and can actually help improve your culinary skills as time goes on. With HelloFresh, you can choose from various proteins, like chicken, pork, beef, and fish. You’ll also get various kinds of pasta dishes and other sides.
HelloFresh helps you learn about cooking with various vegetables and fresh ingredients in a way that will transform the way you prepare meals. There’s also a wealth of vegetarian and vegan options for those who don’t eat animal products.
HelloFresh is highly convenient, delivering these items to your doorstep regularly. You can track your packages to make sure they arrive on time, and the insulation found within the box ensures that the quality of your ingredients remains top-notch, even if you’re not home when they arrive.
HelloFresh is known as the biggest and most well-known meal delivery service in the United States, but it has also had great success in other parts of the world, including Canada, the UK, and Australia.
Once you learn about the wealth of options HelloFresh offers, the question then becomes, “how much does it cost?”
Thankfully, HelloFresh has several differently-priced plans that make it affordable to try out and in the long run.
On paper, the price might seem steep, but when you compare the cost of HelloFresh to what you’d normally spend per week at the supermarket, most people find it to be very similar. Plus, you have the added convenience of not having to leave your house.
The pricing plans for HelloFresh are broken down into several different tiers. First, you have to decide if you’re looking for meals for two people or a family of four. If you’re a single person looking to cook for one, the two-person option can still be great for you. You’ll be able to make enough for two meals, so you’re actually getting more bang for your buck.
Once you decide how many people you’re cooking for, you’re going to have to decide on how many meals you’ll cook. There are options for two meals, three meals, four meals, five meals, or six meals.
If HelloFresh is going to be a daily part of your routine, you’ll want to go for six recipes per week. However, if you don’t cook at home often and you’re just looking to fill out the dinner menu a few nights per week, then you’d do fine with two or three meals.
Here’s how the HelloFresh pricing structure breaks down.
All HelloFresh orders add a $9.99 shipping charge.
HelloFresh is popular for a reason. There are a lot of excellent benefits to this meal kit service that many people enjoy on a weekly basis.
HelloFresh has changed the way people all over the world cook, and that goes a long way toward creating a sense of trust in the hearts and minds of subscribers.
Here are some of the main benefits of the HelloFresh meal delivery system.
Signing up for HelloFresh is about as simple a process as you can imagine. It’s entirely straightforward with no complicated sidetracks to confuse and alienate potential buyers. Whether you’re signing up for the first time or selecting your weekly menus, the simplicity of the process can’t be beaten.
Once you’ve started your HelloFresh membership, you can go online using either the service’s website or mobile app. Once you’re in there, it’s time to choose your menus.
You’re given a wealth of choices in your menu selection, with each week having different offerings. While it’s entirely possible to choose one week at a time, it’s also possible and recommended to choose several weeks in advance.
The service will allow you to do meal planning for weeks into the future, and it’s something that you should consider. It’s not fun when you forget to select a menu and then receive a box of food that you didn’t want.
If you’re worried that you won’t know weeks in advance what you and your family will be in the mood for, that’s fine. You can edit your meal plan up to the point when the package is shipped out, so just select fresh meals that you know you like and fine-tune those selections as you get closer.
If you’re going away on vacation or need a break, it’s easy to pause HelloFresh for as long as you want. It’s also easy to cancel the service anytime should you so desire. HelloFresh doesn’t make you jump through hoops.
HelloFresh is dedicated to making sure deliveries arrive on time, precisely when they are supposed to. When planning out your family’s meals for the week, you want to make sure that the food you need arrives on time.
Some delays will occur during holiday weeks, but these are communicated well in advance, so you’ll have ample time to prepare.
Deliveries typically occur during the day, with the HelloFresh insulated box arriving on your porch, where it will be ready for you. You won’t have to worry about the meat or other ingredients inside spoiling, even in the middle of the summer. The box is designed to withstand heat and keep your items as fresh as possible.
HelloFresh provides a huge variety of menu options to choose from. When you sign up for the service, you can let HelloFresh know more about you to customize its offerings.
You can choose from:
These menu options are also highly customizable. For example, you can swap proteins or upgrade your sides.
The portion sizes included with HelloFresh are great, regardless of whether you’re cooking for two people or four.
There’s always enough food for everyone, and the homemade meals are balanced with protein sources, vegetables, and starches like potatoes, rice, or pasta.
If you’re cooking for one, the two-person plan will provide you with enough for two meals. If you’re cooking for three, the four-person option will feed everyone with some leftovers for later.
The packaging for HelloFresh is excellent. Your meals for the week all come in a large box, where everything is kept separated and fresh.
The ingredients for each meal are measured out and packaged in brown paper bags, separated by meal. So, if you’re ordering three meals for the week, you’ll have three labeled paper bags in your HelloFresh box — one for each home-cooked meal.
The meats and other perishable items are kept at the bottom of the box under a large ice pack. This ensures that they stay cold and fresh, even on a hot summer’s day.
The box is also insulated, so you won’t have to worry about the ice melting prematurely.
Of course, nothing in this world is ever truly perfect, and HelloFresh is no different. There are a few cons of this service, which we’ll highlight below.
One common complaint about HelloFresh is the ingredient variety. When you receive these gourmet meals week in and week out, it can sometimes seem like you’re using a lot of the same ingredients repeatedly.
This includes lots of shallots, limes, and potatoes, to name a few. Sour cream is also included in just about everything. However, while these ingredients might seem similar, they’re used in various ways. So while you might see and work with a lot of the same ingredients, there’s still a lot of variety in the flavors of the meals you’re preparing.
One thing to note when you’re crafting your HelloFresh menus is that not everything you see is included in the base price. There is an upcharge for certain menu items, so you’ll have to take careful note of what you’re selecting.
However, these premium recipes and ingredient substitutions are optional, and there’s still a huge variety available for the base HelloFresh price.
HelloFresh doesn’t allow for allergy customization, meaning you can’t enter a list of your allergies and get a customized menu excluding any potentially dangerous ingredients.
This can be challenging when you’re dealing with something like gluten allergies, nut allergies, lactose intolerance, and other dietary restrictions. However, when selecting your HelloFresh meals, you can see what’s included and adjust your choices as needed.
We feel that HelloFresh is well worth the price. You’re getting a quality meal kit delivery service at a reasonable price that will change how you shop for food and cook. There’s a lot to be said about the simplicity of the service, the reliable delivery, the variety of options, impressive portion sizes, and effective packaging.
Even the cons we listed aren’t game-changers. The good outweighs the bad by a substantial amount. As such, we here at CouponFollow 100% recommend HelloFresh to our readers.
To save money on this service, click here for HelloFresh coupons.