If we’re being honest, shopping, prepping, and cooking a balanced, delicious meal that your family will love (maybe even ask for seconds?) is daunting enough! But when you add in a busy work week, it’s downright impossible.
No wonder we cave and order unhealthy and expensive takeout or frozen pizza.
Of course, there are tons of meal kit companies out there to help busy individuals – or large families – cook more consciously, even during their most hectic times.
But which is truly worth it? And will a meal kit really save time and hassle?
As Food and Beverage editors, we did some serious research and found that Home Chef, HelloFresh, Dinnerly, and Blue Apron are all meal kit services that offer convenient ‘Oven-Ready’ options.
We compared each brand head-to-head – Here’s what we discovered:
Key Similarities
- All deliver precooked and Oven-Ready meals
- All offer chef-designed recipes
- All offer subscription services
Key Differences
- Home Chef has the most Oven-Ready options of leading meal kits
- Home Chef allows you to customize the protein of select meals with their Customize It tool* | Blue Apron and Dinnerly don’t
- Home Chef has the highest customer satisfaction rate among leading meal kit companies** | Blue Apron and Dinnerly have average ratings
Home Chef
Signing up for Home Chef is a breeze! Simply create an account, list your preferences, and select recipes from their weekly rotating menu. Home Chef’s Oven-Ready meals arrive with fresh, pre-portioned ingredients – so much healthier than those caloric burritos. All you have to do is assemble the ingredients on the oven-safe tray that comes with the order, pop it in the oven, and done.
BONUS: There’s minimal cleanup afterward!
Let’s talk variety. Home Chef features 8 Oven-Ready meals each week – way more than our other meal kit contenders.
Our office favorites have to be Home Chef’s Fried Chicken and Honey Gold BBQ Sauce and their creamy and dreamy French Onion Butternut Squash Risotto. All we can say is yummm!
HelloFresh
HelloFresh recently added Easy Eats to their traditional meal-kit options – low-prep, 10-20 minutes, sheet-pan recipes, and oven-ready.
For a two-person, five-meal plan with their “Quick and Easy” recipes the base price is a total of $89.99 + $9.99 shipping. This doesn’t include add-ons or premium recipes – which can really run up your final bill.
Dinnerly
Looking for a traditional meal kit? Dinnerly has a variety of options. We were excited to see that they also have ‘Ready To Heat’ meals. But we were super disappointed that there are only 2 recipes available: Ready Made Chicken Rigatoni Alfredo and Ready Made Homestyle Egg Noodles with Beef Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce.
Blue Apron
Compared to the other brands, Blue Apron has a number of plans, but quite a limited menu each week. You can choose up to 4 meals a week between 2-person or 4-person recipes, however, Blue Apron does not offer individual options.
Like Dinnerly, their Oven-Ready options are limited. Currently, they only offer 2 recipes a week. For example: a Pork Rib Picnic Box with Homemade Barbecue Sauce for $134.99 and a Summer Crab Picnic for 8 priced at $154.99.
Our Final Thoughts
In the end, Home Chef is the champion. While the other brands have tasty options and with a basic diet, they cater to everyone. So, it’s no surprise that Home Chef is #1 in Customer Satisfaction among meal kit companies!**
Editor’s Note: With meals starting at only $7.99 and 8 Oven-Ready weekly choices, Home Chef is a fantastic way to enjoy flavorful, home-cooked meals night after night.
For more flexibility, more flavor, more convenience, more savings, go with Home Chef’s hassle-free, delicious, Oven-Ready meals!
Our friends at Home Chef are extending a special offer to our readers! Follow this link to get 18 Free Meals & Free Shipping!
*Source: https://www.homechef.com/customize-it
**US Grocery Benchmark Study, April 2020, Market Force Information, Inc.