Blue Apron

Is planning for dinner the worst part of your evenings? For those looking for a way to put homemade food on the table without grocery shopping or meal planning, getting a box with pre-portioned ingredients can be a big stress reliever.

Blue Apron is a subscription meal kit service that sends the ingredients for creating original recipes to customers across the United States.

The company is named after the apron color of choice of beginning chefs, and it signifies their commitment to helping those who might feel intimidated by the kitchen be able to make home-cooked meals.

In this way, Blue Apron’s menu often focuses on ingredients and cooking styles you might not be familiar with to broaden your culinary horizons and make it easier to put dinner on the table.

Does Blue Apron have the advantage over other meal subscription companies? Our analysis should help you decide whether it makes sense to sign up.

Menu Options

Blue Apron offers different menu options each week. Below is the full menu list of meals available for one week.

Signature Meals (fan-favorites):

• Miso-Ginger Chicken with Sesame Rice & Roasted Broccoli
• Shrimp & Sweet Potato Curry with Lemongrass & Coconut Milk
• Creamy Spinach Beef Burgers with Roasted Potato Wedges
• Pesto Chicken Pasta with Brussels Sprouts & Lemon Ricotta
• Deviled Salmon with Zucchini & Tomato-Shallot Pan Sauce
• Za’atar Beef & Freekeh Lettuce Cups with Lemon-Tahini Sauce & Mint
• Mojo-Style Chicken Thighs with Cilantro Slaw & Garlic-Lime Pepitas
• Mexican-Spiced Port Chops with Guajillo Barley & Cotija Cheese

Contents of the Blue Apron box

Vegetarian (meat-free dishes):

• Udon Noodles and Spicy Peanut Stir-Fry with Mushrooms, Carrots and Bok Choy
• Lentils & Lemon-Shallot Dressing with Roasted Vegetables & Fried Eggs
• Creamy Risotto with Peppers, Tomatoes, & Romano Cheese

Signature for Four (designed to be family-friendly):

• Cajun-Style Chicken & Cheesy Broccoli with Dinner Rolls & Spiced Honey Butter
• Hoisin & Honey-Glazed Chicken Thighs with Garlic Rice & Spicy Cabbage Slaw
• Harissa Pork Chops with Pistachio, Lemon & Feta-Dressed Sweet Potatoes
• Mushroom & Bok Choy Ramen with Black Bean Sauce & Soft-Boiled Eggs
• Zesty Beef & Gnocchi with Zucchini & Romano Cheese
• Shrimp & Sweet Potato Curry with Lemongrass & Coconut Milk

Allergy and Nutrition Information

All Blue Apron ingredients are packaged in facilities where there is a risk of contamination with milk, eggs, wheat, soy, nuts, and other possible allergens. For this reason, the company suggests that those with severe food allergies avoid signing up, even if their allergen isn’t listed in the ingredients list.

You can look at the full nutrition facts for all Blue Apron meals both online before you order them and on the recipe cards included in your delivery. The company strives to offer at least one recipe with fewer than 48g net carbohydrates per serving each week (other recipes average about 64g net carbs per serving). You can identify these recipes by their “Carb Conscious” badge.

Jalapeno Burgers with Goat Cheese and Smoky Roasted Carrots from Blue Apron

Pricing and Plans

What you’ll pay for Blue Apron meals depends on the number of meals and servings you want per week. You can choose between three main options:

2-Serving Signature:

• Two Meals: $9.99/serving plus $7.99 shipping, $47.95 total
• Three Meals: $9.99/serving, free shipping, $59.94 total

4-Serving Signature:

• Two Meals: $8.99/serving, free shipping, $71.92 total
• Three Meals: $7.99/serving, free shipping, $95.88 total
• Four meals: $7.49/serving, free shipping, $119.84 total

2-Serving Vegetarian:

• Two Meals: $9.99/serving plus $7.99 shipping, $47.95 total
• Three Meals: $9.99/serving, free shipping, $59.94 total

Every week, you can sign in to your Blue Apron account and choose your preferred meals for the week. If you don’t make a selection in the allotted timeframe, Blue Apron will make it for you.

Note that you can’t change your menu options once the week is listed as “order processed.”

How to Cancel Your Subscription

Once you sign up for Blue Apron, there is no obligation to continue your subscription for any timeframe, and you can skip up to five weeks of deliveries in a row through your account settings.

You can cancel your subscription at any time by messaging the Customer Experience team at cancellations@blueapron.com. They will email you instructions for canceling soon after.

If you have other questions about your account of Blue Apron in general, direct them to contact@blueapron.com or (646) 891-4349.

Blue Apron’s recipe cards

Blue Apron’s Wine Service

Beyond meals, Blue Apron also offers a wine subscription service. You will receive six 500ml bottles (about 2/3 the size of a standard-sized wine) for $65.99 per order. Though you can’t choose exactly what wines you receive, it’s possible to choose all reds, all whites, or a mix of each.

Due to differing state laws, the Blue Apron wine program isn’t currently available in every state. You will need to have an adult 21 or older available to sign for the delivery when it arrives. If that’s an issue, you can send the deliveries to your place of work.

Blue Apron wine includes a wine pairing key that’s designed to help you match styles of wine to your recipes. The pairing key options include:

• Floral & Aromatic: suitable for spicy, fragrant dishes
• Light & Fresh: ideal for light flavors like salads, pasta, and pesto
• Zesty & Tropical: often paired with cheeses, fish, and spring vegetables
• Crisp & minerally: suitable for smoked fish, strong cheese
• Lush & Fruity: opulent, buttery wines best with roasted chicken, pasta
• Light & Bright: pairs with red meat, Mexican food
• Fruity & Savory: suitable for herbal, smokey flavors like stewed lentils and roasted beets
• Plush & Fruity: best with meat, fish, or meaty mushrooms
• Bold & Spicy: spiced flavors suit braised meat, especially lamb
• Rich & Decadent: pairs well with burgers, BBQ, and braised short ribs
• Crisp & Minerally: best with seafood, light flavors
• Lush & Fruity: suitable for poultry, salads, and grilled vegetables

Each Blue Apron recipe card includes at least one of these wine keys to give you guidance for what to serve with the dish. If you have further questions about the wine program or need to change your delivery date, get in touch with customer support at contact@blueapron.com.

Tomatillo Chicken and Rice Bowls with Roasted Vegetables and Orange Salsa from Blue Apron

Analysis of Customer Reviews

More than 20 HighYa readers have reviewed Blue Apron, for an average score of 2.6 stars. We looked through these comments, as well as ones left on Consumer Affairs (2.5 stars average), to see what customers are saying.

Common Compliments:

• Delicious meals, fresh ingredients
• The company replaces or refunds damaged ingredients
• Exciting recipes with unique condiments and spice blends
• Generous portion sizes
• Makes it possible to experiment with new cooking strategies
• Finished meals are restaurant quality

Common Complaints:

• Expensive meals made with cheap ingredients
• Charges continued after canceling accounts
• Figuring out how to cancel an account involves lots of Google searches, calls and emails
• Meals were too high in carbs for many people
• Lots of single-use plastic
• Poor customer service experiences

Blue Apron vs. HelloFresh and Home Chef

Three of the most prominent players in the subscription meal kit industry are Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and Home Chef. Though similar, each offers something different for subscribers.

This chart shows that each meal kit’s serving sizes are approximately the same price. What you pay for Blue Apron meals depends entirely on what plan you sign up for, but HelloFresh and Home Chef both offer add-on options like gourmet meals, lunches, salads, and desserts that can make your pricing change week to week.

All three plans also offer an ever-changing roster of meals, including vegetarian and family-friendly meals each week. Both Home Chef and HelloFresh also lets you select low calorie or low carb plans to ensure you meet your dietary goals.

Deciding which plan to sign up for might depend on whether you’re looking only for dinner options or would appreciate some of the extras offered by Home Chef and HelloFresh.

You will likely pay slightly more per serving with these plans, but the convenience of getting more types of food at once might be worth it if it stops you from going grocery shopping as often—and potentially spending more on impulse buys.

Home Chef is also the only plan currently available in stores. That’s appealing for those who don’t want to be locked into a subscription service or who wish to change how many meals they purchase in a given week. However, you lose the convenience of home delivery this way.

The Bottom Line

Blue Apron is considered by many to be the standard for a meal subscription service. The company has been around since 2012, and many customers have been subscribers for close to a decade.

It’s an excellent option for anyone who doesn’t enjoy meal planning or grocery shopping, or who wants to cook more and go out to eat less often. The meals feature simple instructions, though many include ingredients and cooking styles that aren’t necessarily familiar to the target audience.

If you’re looking for a way to get home-cooked food on the table faster, Blue Apron will help you succeed. Keep in mind that there are dozens of other meal subscription services available, and many are designed to appeal to niche interests rather than a broad customer base like Blue Apron.

Our ranking of the best subscription meal services of 2020 should help your research process.