I come from a long line of great cooks, which makes my lack of kitchen skills quite disappointing. My mom and grandma were both pros at making intricate, delicious meals throughout my childhood, yet I never inherited their expertise — even when I have a recipe written out in front of me, the meals usually turn out undercooked, underseasoned or not quite right. In the years spent living away from them I’ve put more effort into making food that will actually taste good.
But like with any skill, practice makes perfect, and what better way to improve than by getting pre-measured ingredients and detailed recipes delivered to my door? I decided to give HelloFresh a try for one week, and it completely changed my outlook on cooking and saved me trips to the grocery store. Below, I outline my experience with HelloFresh, including what to know about pricing, preparation and meal selection.
What is HelloFresh?HelloFresh Meal Kit Delivery Service
HelloFresh is a meal delivery service that sends you fresh, pre-measured ingredients to your doorstep so you can make a (preselected) recipe of choice. Each week, you’ll choose meals from a rotating menu (that changes weekly) and the service will send a box of recipe cards and the exact ingredients to make your selected portion size. Nothing in the box comes frozen or needs to go in the freezer, though I personally like to freeze any meats that I won’t be cooking in the next few days. All of the included ingredients are considered grocery-store fresh.
There are six dietary preferences to choose from: meat and veggies, veggie (there are 14 vegetarian meals, including two vegan meals, on the menu each week), family-friendly, fit and wholesome, pescatarian and under 20 minutes. Though your preferences won’t influence the menu options for the week, they do ensure that those meals show up at the top of the list, which is great if you have specific dietary restrictions.
You can choose your desired meals at least five days before your next scheduled delivery, or you’ll automatically receive pre-selected meals that fall under your specific preferences each week. You can filter meals to show pork-free and vegetarian options on the menu, change or swap proteins and sides, or add a protein to a vegetarian dish.
In addition to cooking your meals, you’ll need to do some light prep work, including chopping, slicing and mixing.
How much does HelloFresh cost?HelloFresh starts at $9.99 per serving and has a $10.99 shipping cost per week. There are 15 total weekly plans to choose from; for each plan, you’ll need to choose the number of people you’re feeding (two, four or six) and the number of meals you want, ranging from two meals to six meals per week.
- Two-person plan: Two meals ($45.96), three meals ($59.96), four meals ($79.92), five meals ($99.90), six meals ($119.88)
- Four-person plan: Two meals ($79.92), three meals ($119.88), four meals ($159.84), five meals ($199.80), six meals ($239.76)
- Six-person plan: Two meals ($119.88), three meals ($179.82), four meals ($239.76), five meals ($299.70), six meals ($359.74)
To try out the service, HelloFresh sent me three meals that I chose from its weekly rotating menu:
I received my meals on a Thursday and tried them over the course of one week. I prepared and cooked the meals myself based on the directions on the recipe card, which denotes which ingredients and how much of them to use (with pictures) along with cooking and prep instructions. This was especially helpful when multiple recipes used the same type of pepper or cheese, for example.
I split the meals with my partner; the portion size for each option was perfect for two people, and I often had enough meals for three dinners. The menu has more than 60 varied meal options to choose from, and since neither one of us has dietary restrictions, choosing meals was easy and straightforward.
From selecting meals to preparing and eating them, my experience with HelloFresh was mostly smooth and easy. Below are some key takeaways after trying the meal kit delivery service for a week.
Choosing mealsThe meal selection process is very straightforward: You’re given a menu of more than 45 meals for a specific week, and you can choose a variety of dinner options like mandarin chili pork chops and chicken Caesar wraps, and even brunch choices like peaches and cream French toast. However, the meals are tame and fairly predictable, so if you’re an adventurous eater or a true foodie, this service likely isn’t for you.
The service has as many as 60 meals on its weekly menu. I’m not a picky eater, nor do I have any restrictions or special eating habits, so I had plenty to choose from due to the sheer number of options that HelloFresh offers. However, keep in mind that HelloFresh does not cater to most dietary restrictions outside of vegetarian and pescatarian diets, including gluten-free, allergen-free, keto and paleo diets.
Seeing the full recipe certainly helped with the selection process. I love that I can click on a meal while browsing the menu and see the exact recipe card, including ingredients, cooking instructions and detailed nutritional information like allergens, calories, cholesterol and sugar. It was helpful for me to see standout ingredients, consider time and cooking difficulty, and survey how the meal could help me meet any specific protein and calorie goals I had for the day.
The service lets you see the menus for the next six weeks, whether you’re a subscriber or not. Not only did this help me see whether HelloFresh was a good fit for my dietary needs and preferences, but it also helped me plan your meal choices ahead.
Packaging and deliveryThe meal kits come in an insulated, lunchbox-like container with an extra-large ice pack that keeps everything cool and fresh. Most of the ingredients for each meal (with the exception of larger packages like meats and pastas) are packaged inside of a labeled paper bag, so I didn’t have to guess which ingredients pair with what meals. I found that the ingredients held up very well during delivery, and the packaging was protective enough to help meat, sauces and other potentially messy foods arrive safely with no spillage.
I was genuinely surprised at how well the ingredients stayed fresh because the delivery itself was not easy. For my area, UPS delivered my HelloFresh meal kits. I live in a walk-up building with no mail room or front desk, so if I’m at work or away from my apartment during the week, packages don’t get delivered. It took three separate tries to get the meal kit delivered to my apartment (though I can’t hold HelloFresh entirely responsible for this. The brand likely does not control the delivery process once it leaves its shipping facilities and it’s something I’ve experienced with other meal delivery services I’ve tried in the past. Plus, many of them don’t hold up as well as HelloFresh. Fortunately, the contents were not impacted by the delivery delay.
My order was shipped just a few days after I chose my meals and my (expected) delivery was later that same week.
IngredientsAdmittedly, the freshness of the ingredients surprised me. I didn’t have very high expectations about the quality of the ingredients since they’re being shipped out rather than bought directly from a store, and delivery was tough. However, they arrived in near perfect condition, as if I had gotten them directly from my local store just minutes before. Plus, as I noted above, ingredients come neatly packaged in a labeled paper bag for each meal, so all ingredients were easy to find for a specific recipe. And unlike other meal kits I’ve tried in the past, all of the ingredients I needed were actually included (and even some extras).
One of my favorite aspects about meal kits in general is that the ingredients are proportioned, so you’ll almost always get the exact amount you need. That means no more wasting food, which is especially helpful considering that I have a habit of buying too much of a certain item, and then feeling guilty about throwing it away when it goes bad.
With that in mind, certain foods like produce and bread will spoil fairly quickly, so I worked quickly to cook meals within the week after delivery (or else I would risk losing a few ingredients).
Cooking and preparationI was initially intimidated by the fact that there’s cooking and prep work involved for all meals (generally, I prefer prepared meal delivery services that save time and energy). However, that concern disappeared when I actually got started.
In general, HelloFresh is not for you if you’re unwilling or unable to follow directions for basic cooking tasks, like handling raw meat, cooking and broiling foods in an oven, using a stove top and searing meat. Fortunately, I found all of those tasks easy to do with the help of the included recipe cards. For my specific meals, they had clear instructions for draining any juices and how to add the included spices to raw meat prior to cooking it.
All of the meals I tried were beginner-friendly (which, as a non-cook, is key for me). Plus, each meal I chose for the week took less than an hour to make, and two of the three were ready in under 30 minutes. Each recipe card also lists a difficulty level — easy, medium or hard — so I knew immediately how much effort I’d need.
Overall, the meals looked great and tasted even better. The directions were easy to follow, so I never found myself struggling to prepare a meal, and no part of the cooking process was too difficult for me to do even as someone who does not cook regularly. It was also a great learning opportunity — I managed to practice skills, like flipping a fully loaded tortilla and caramelizing onions, that can only get better with time.
I’ve tried several meal kits and pre-made meal delivery services over the course of the past three years — most are hit or miss. HelloFresh is one of the better meal kits I’ve tried because the ingredients are fresh, it’s great for beginners and the meal options are varied and delicious.
At $9.99 per serving, HelloFresh is comparable to many popular meal kits, including Blue Apron ($9.49) and Home Chef ($9.99). The $10.99 shipping cost for all deliveries is also comparable to those competitors, which range from $10.99 to $13.99 depending on plan size. The HelloFresh base prices are generally more affordable to other meal kit delivery services with more options for dietary restrictions, including Purple Carrot ($11) and Sunbasket (anywhere from $11.49 to $24.49), however its menu isn’t as extensive or inclusive of different diets.
Who is HelloFresh best for?HelloFresh is great for those with busy schedules who hope to take the guesswork out of scheduling and preparing meals for the week. Depending on where you live, it may even help you save money in the long run since you can skip on overbuying food at the grocery store, according to experts in our guide to meal kit delivery.
HelloFresh also provides a good amount of flexibility and lets you make changes to your delivery as needed: When you log into your account, you can update your food preferences, the number of recipes you want to receive per week or the number of people you’re cooking for. You can also seamlessly adjust the delivery date online or skip a delivery.
The service has a diverse enough mix of dishes in its weekly rotating menu and can support families or groups of up to six people. You also have the flexibility to choose between two and six meals per week so you can order just enough based on your work or travel schedule.
What makes HelloFresh work for most people is that the recipes are easy to follow and very beginner-friendly, so experienced chefs and non-cooks alike can make a great meal. If you are new to the culinary world (like me), it also gives you the opportunity to practice and perfect basic skills in the kitchen.
Why trust NBC Select?I am an updates editor at NBC Select and have been covering and reviewing meal delivery services for the past three years, including prepared meals, gluten-free and vegetarian meal delivery. I tried HelloFresh meal kit delivery for a week and considered the quality of the meals, delivery and packaging, cooking instructions and more.
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