Review
HelloFresh
28 Staff ReviewsHelloFresh
28 Staff Reviews
HelloFresh (plans start at $39.96 + shipping) is a popular meal kit delivery service and subscription that takes the guesswork out of planning and prepping home-cooked meals. Feed your family or just yourself with quality pre-portioned and fresh ingredients, and easy-to-follow recipes that you can choose week by week. No grocery store trips, no fancy cooking skills, and no hassle required. It’s no wonder that HelloFresh is consistently one of readers’ favourite meal kits.
The Basics
- $53.94 per week
- Ships to US
- Founded in 2011
$90 off
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HelloFresh
Featured Review: HelloFresh Meal Kit Vegetarian Review + Coupon - September 2020
by Becca Peterson on October 6, 2020
Check out our latest review of HelloFresh to see what Becca's cooking and to learn how you can save $80 off your first 5 boxes! Read more...
More Staff Reviews of HelloFresh
The Basics
- $53.94 per week
- Ships to US
- Founded in 2011
What We Love
- No time? No cooking skills? No problem! Even our most novice cooks have been wowed by the unique, fun-to-eat, delicious meals they’ve been able to make with HelloFresh.
- There’s tons of flexibility—set preferences, pick the meals you want most, create a schedule that works for you, & even skip orders if you’ve made other plans.
- Everything is packaged so conveniently, & most recipes only require a few common kitchen tools. (In other words, clean-up is a breeze.)
What You Should Know
- HelloFresh isn’t necessarily cheaper than shopping at your local grocery store. BUT the time-savings and guesswork-free, wholesome meals can make it totally worth it.
- If you have specific food sensitivities, this meal kit might not be right for you. However, they do offer a vegetarian plan!
- As with all meal kits, there is a lot of packaging involved.
We Recommend HelloFresh If
- You want to cook more food at home, but are busy or just not that comfortable in the kitchen yet.
- You want to break out of your recipe rut, but aren’t looking for anything too adventurous.
- You’re not a picky eater, and are comfortable eating a wide variety of foods.
- You don’t have sensitivities/allergies to consider.
How Do Subscribers Rate HelloFresh?
WRITE A REVIEWUser Reviews
Feb 6, 2021
I got HelloFresh for my parents, who live in a rural area, for Christmas and they love it so much, they get it every week now! It allows them to try new and different dishes and also keeps them safe by limiting how many trips they make to the grocery store. They raved about it so much, I decided to try it for myself and I love it too! It keeps me out of the grocery store where I always tend to overbuy and the box for 2 is enough for dinners for me for the whole week! I really enjoy all the options, no-waste ingredients and it's so easy to skip weeks. My mother had to contact customer service for something and they were very helpful!
Oct 6, 2019
Every week has been another negative experience resulting in further distaste for meal delivery service. My first week I experienced order inaccuracies in which 2 of my 3 meals were not what I ordered. My second week resulted in a food safety issue in which a package of meat appeared to be sliced open and the juices had contaminated the entire contents of my box. After numerous issues with customer service, who seems quick to just let me go as a customer, Joe Oakley made an attempt at retaining my business. Week 3 I experienced more issues, credits that I was offered were not showing on my account, the agent I was discussing the matter with was argumentative rather than effective at resolving my issue, resulting in me having to reach out to Joe to get matters resolved. Finally thinking we had things figured out and everything resolved I was going to give HelloFresh until week 5 while using up my credits to see if things could turn around....Unfortunately come the cutoff for my week 4 delivery, I get a notice that my payment failed; This week was supposed to be taken out of my credit, as I was to be taken off the promo offer and the remainder applied as a credit to my account. The credits were to apply to week 4 and week 5 as well as having 1 more week of the premium upgrade courtesy of Joe. Rather than using my credits as I was informed, I received notice while I was at work that my payment had failed....Because I was not able to resolve this until after work (past the cutoff time) I have been informed that I would not be receiving my box. After having an issue related to my order 4 weeks in a row I have decided to discontinue use of HelloFresh and share my experience with friends, family, and social networks. The experience I have had has left an awful taste in my mouth and your customer service team is quick to hand out a refund and lose customers rather than addressing the problem and creating a positive experience. This was my first, and as a result likely my last meal delivery experience.
Mar 31, 2019
We recently tried HelloFresh after receiving a coupon. First meal we cooked was fabulous. Unfortunately the ingredients for the chicken dish were off, veges were rotten and the chicken was still in date but spoiled.
The third dish was ok; however, when we went to cancel the following weeks box, we were told that we’d missed the cut off date for cancellation and if we didn’t pay (they have our card details) they’d refer to a debt collector!!! Really! For what, $65?
No apology, no refund for the un-usable meal, no replacement, only threats!!!
Hello fresh really need to look into their customer service skills. Won’t be recommending.
Mar 5, 2019
I love hello fresh and recommend it to everyone thinking of subscribing to a meal kit service. I do the vegetarian box. The meals are always delicious and creative, and the ingredients are fresh. It really helps me to try new things. Sometimes I get a meal that I'm not super excited about-but then it ends up being my favorite one! I frequently repeat recipes on my own by buying the ingredients myself. It is super easy to skip boxes. I also like that they give you tons of coupons, so you can give free boxes to your friends. It seems like others aren't as satisfied with the meat in their boxes, and I can't speak to that. But the vegetarian boxes get five stars from me!
Feb 28, 2019
Amendment to my review, the company refused to offer any refund of any kind for the spoiled food I received. I was offered money off of future orders, which I will not be using. Why would I keep buying spoiled food?
Feb 28, 2019
I just received a meal with spoiled chicken again. I've only ever gotten 2 boxes from this company. The chicken was bad both times. Used live chat option to get a partial refund both times. Veggies did not seem particularly fresh either but at least were not spoiled. Maybe not call this company Hello Fresh. Just saying.
Apr 16, 2017
No. Just no.
I've been trying this food subscription for 3 months now and am so disappointed.
The meat isn't the greatest quality, example being that the cod I got in one meal and the steak from one of their "premium, add $10" meals just had a terrible texture. No, I didn't cook it incorrectly. I've worked in the restaurant business for over a decade before becoming a stay at home mother, I know how to cook fish and steak with out ruining it. But for as much as you're paying per meal, the meat cuts dang well be better than these.
The next problem is hard to describe. It's like they were trying too hard to create something new rather than sticking with something that is known to work. This often times left sauces and seasoning in combinations that were not palatable. Most of the time the "sauce" was just a poor excuse for a broth or gravy.
I found myself skipping more weeks than I wasn't. I would find interest in 1 meal choice, but Hello Freah requires you purchase 3 meals for the week resulting in me skipping the week. After skipping my 5th week in a row, I canceled.
Canceling was NOT as easy as you're lead to believe either. I tried to just use the mobile app, like the cancelation policy says I can do, but it wouldn't let me continue with the cancellation. I eventually had to check the part saying something along the lines of, "having troubles with delivery have customer service call me." That's how I finally got someone to cancel the box. Super frustrating.
Don't waste your money. Checkout Home Chef instead. Higher quality of food, recipes are better, and I can pick just one meal, all the meals, or skip for the week. I'll admit that I was running both boxes at the same time hoping for a good variety, I still ended up ordering 6 meals with Home Chef per week and skipping the week with Hello Freah.
Dec 16, 2016
Hello fellow foodies,
I've been using HelloFresh for a while now, and I am continuously amazed at how simple their meals are to prepare and how *fresh and delicious* all of their ingredients are! Their packaging is a dream and their delivery is reliable. This is such a time save I don't know what I'd do w/o their amazing service! I used code 86F7PB to sign up and even got $40 off my first box! This code never expires, so you can take advantage of the savings as well! =]
Cheers!
Sep 28, 2016
I've Tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh. I prefer Hello Fresh because the meals are boxed together, with the protein separate. I can go to the refrigerator and pull out the meal. BA had all the items in a box, clear bag and I had to go through and figure out what ingredient was for which recipe. Also, BA is eclectic. If you want to try new and different ingredients, go with BA. Hello Fresh is more typical meals, meals that I recreate. It also teaches me how to cook, learning certain techniques such as roasting, cutting vegetables a certain way and handling meat. You can choose 3 or 5 meals a week and you can choose 2 people or a family of 4. I've done the family meals and now I do the meals for 2 people 3x a week.
Apr 18, 2016
We have now received and prepared three weeks' worth of food from Hello Fresh's Classic box. The ingredients are absolute prime quality. You'd be hard pressed to find better quality meats and produce at your local market. They send absolutely everything you'll need to prepare your meals, except for basics which any kitchen should have - salt, pepper, olive oil and water. And I have found them to be extremely generous with leafy greens, to the point that I've had enough leftovers from one meal to prepare a side salad for another meal.
My husband and I are participating in a weight loss challenge, so this seemed like the perfect way to get our portion sizes under control. Most of the meals come in at around 450 - 600 calories. We've had one notable exception, the Juicy Lucy Burger which topped out at nearly 800 calories, but was so delicious it was worth it. Initially, I was concerned that the portions would be too small for people whose eating was out of control, but they're really quite generous. A couple of times, I haven't been able to finish my portion, and one day there were enough accumulated leftovers from everyone that I was able to pack a lunch sized portion to take to work the next day.
The only complaint I have is with the estimated preparation times listed on their recipes. You'd have to be an experienced cook to be able to pull off some of those times. Depending on the complexity of the recipe, I'd allow anywhere from 10 - 30 minutes more than the time allotted on the recipe cards.
FAQ
What is Hello Fresh & how does it work?
Hello Fresh is a popular meal kit subscription box that sends you the quality, pre-portioned ingredients and recipe instructions to make fast, delicious home-cooked meals for you or your family. Start by picking a meal plan that fits your preferences. (How many meals would you like each week? Are you feeding two people or four? Any vegetarians or meat-eaters?) Set up a meal delivery service schedule that fits your needs, and pick the recipes that look tastiest to you (or let Hello Fresh pick for you). Each chilled Hello Fresh box comes packed with pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipe instructions. The ingredients come bundled by recipe and are usually good to go for about a week—just stash them in the fridge until you’re ready to cook! Most Hello Fresh recipes we’ve tried take around 30 minutes to prepare and are easy enough that even a newbie chef can complete them with confidence. But that doesn’t mean they’re basic! These dishes are tasty twists on classic flavors featuring fun, unexpected ingredients.
What kinds of recipes are on the Hello Fresh menu?
Hello Fresh recipes put a fun spin on classic, familiar flavors. If you’re someone who tends to get stuck in a recipe rut, these dishes are a great way to wake up your routine. But don’t worry, picky eaters—the flavors and foods aren’t too adventurous. We like to say that Hello Fresh’s delicious recipes remind us of dishes you’d see at a family-friendly neighborhood bistro. Maybe you’ll encounter an ingredient you’ve never tried before, but in a yummy, approachable way!
Some of Hello Fresh’s most popular meal options and recipes include: - Harissa Sweet Potato Pita Pockets - Apricot Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin - Chicken Sausage Pizza - Korean Beef Bibimbap - Gorgeous Greens Farro Bowl
Did you notice all of the healthy veggies in each of these recipes? We love how Hello Fresh makes sure we’re eating our vegetables (in the most delicious ways)!
Does Hello Fresh have vegetarian or vegan options?
Yes! Vegetarians and fans of plant-based eating can choose the Hello Fresh Veggie Plan to get meat-free recipes that are still delicious, filling, and fun to eat. Hello Fresh doesn’t offer vegan plans, currently, though some Veggie Plan recipes can be made vegan by skipping the dairy or swapping it with a non-dairy replacement from your own kitchen. (We’ve found that some Veggie Plan vegetarian meals do use cheese or cream as a primary component.)
Does Hello Fresh offer plans for families?
Yes! Hello Fresh has a Family Plan for families of four (starting at $62.92 per week + free shipping). It’s a great way to introduce your family to fun new dishes, flavors, and ingredients.
Is Hello Fresh gluten-free?
If you’re looking to limit gluten in your diet, there are some Hello Fresh meal plan options that are low on gluten. However, it’s important to note that Hello Fresh isn’t certified gluten-free—if you have serious allergies, dietary restrictions, or sensitivities, check out some of these other meal kits!
Does Hello Fresh offer meals for low-carb, Whole30, keto, or other special diets?
While some of the recipes you’ll get with Hello Fresh are low-carb, gluten-free, nut-free, or dairy-free, the meal selection and recipe options for special diets are limited. If you’re looking for meal kits made specifically with special dietary restrictions in mind, check out these meal plan options!
What is Hello Fresh wine?
Hello Fresh used to offer a wine subscription ($89 per month) to complement it's meal kits, but this service is no longer available.
How much does Hello Fresh cost?
Here is the pricing breakdown for all the different Hello Fresh plans:
Classic Plans (meat & vegetarian recipes):
- 2 meals per week, 2 servings each, for $39.96 + $7.99 shipping
- 3 meals per week, 2 servings each, for $59.94 + FREE shipping
- 4 meals per week, 2 servings each, for $79.92 + FREE shipping
- 3 meals per week, 4 servings each, for $119.88 + FREE shipping
Veggie Plans (vegetarian recipes only):
- 3 meals per week, 2 servings each, for $59.94 + FREE shipping
- 3 meals per week, 4 servings each, for $119.98 + FREE shipping
4 Person Family Plans:
- 2 meals per week, 4 servings each, for $62.92 + FREE shipping
- 3 meals per week, 4 servings each, for $104.88 + FREE shipping
Is Hello Fresh worth it?
While we can’t say it’s less expensive than shopping at your local grocery store, there are some things that make Hello Fresh worth a try:
- The time savings! Meal planning and prep can take time and brain-space that not everyone can afford. A meal kit service like Hello Fresh helps reduce time spent grocery shopping and takes the guesswork out of making home cooking happen.
- Less wasted food! With Hello Fresh, you only get as much of an ingredient as you need for the recipe. That means you can try new, exciting recipes without worrying about how to use up extra, unfamiliar ingredients you now have lingering around your kitchen/fridge. Just make sure you leave room for your Hello Fresh meals in your schedule. (The worst feeling is forgetting you scheduled Hello Fresh for a week when you won’t be home to cook, or have other dinner plans.) The recipes usually take around 30 minutes to make, so finding time to cook should be easy!
- They make great leftovers! There have been plenty of times when a new recipe from HelloFresh has yielded enough leftovers for us to enjoy the next day. In fact, if you’re only cooking for yourself, the two-person, two-recipe-per-week plan could easily see you through almost a week’s worth of dinners!
- You’re getting cooking lessons, too! A few of our reviewers, who would describe themselves as less-experienced in the kitchen, were wowed by the cooking confidence they gained via meal kits. These boxes help newbie cooks learn techniques and simple recipes in a hands-on way. (We love meal kits for new grads, tweens and teens interested in food, and anyone looking to become a more comfortable and independent chef in the kitchen!)
- The food is AWESOME! We consistently enjoy the meals we make with Hello Fresh. Everything is super flavorful, nicely balanced, and legitimately fun to eat! If you’re used to eating out or grabbing takeout night after night, your taste buds won’t be disappointed by a healthy meal from Hello Fresh. These dishes offer local-bistro-style flavor minus the high restaurant prices.
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