HelloFresh Review

What Is HelloFresh?

Founded in 2011, HelloFresh is a new way of tackling the dinner time struggle. After a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is stop at the grocery store and try and figure out what you are going to make to eat that night. Instead of standing in the aisles wishing you were at home, HelloFresh does all the prep and planning for you.

Meal planning services are meant to make your life easier by preparing each dinner for you. Every box you receive comes packed with all of the ingredients required to make the prepared recipes you have selected for that week. Various plan options allow you to customize how many dinners per week you want, and you can even play around so that you have enough leftovers to take for lunch the next day.

HelloFresh offers exactly what its name suggests, fresh ingredients and quality options. Meals are designed by an in-house chef and are crafted so that you feel like you are eating at a restaurant every night. When it’s time to cook, simply pull out the recipe, find the matching bag, and follow the step by step instructions. Not only does it make mealtime easier, but it’s a great tool for learning how to be a better cook yourself. Save yourself money and enjoy healthier meals by skipping the take out and cooking with HelloFresh, America’s #1 meal kit and market leader.

HelloFresh Pricing & Plans

HelloFresh offers four different plans, each of which can be customized to suit the size of your family as well as how many meals you would like per week. Prices vary depending on your personal selections, as well as which plan you decide to go with. Different plans will give you different menus each week, and you can change between them depending on what is being offered.

With regards to how many meals you can get per week, most plans allow you to select anywhere between 2 to 4. You can also choose whether or not you want to have enough food to feed 2 or 4 adults. When you make your selection on the website, prices are shown as the total cost per serving, meaning if you plan to feed two people, two times a week, you would multiply the amount shown by 4 (two for the people and two for the servings).

The table below shows the main plans, the available options, and the per-serving cost associated with each selection:

Because the prices are listed per serving, you need to remember to do the math before signing up otherwise you will be in for a shock when it comes time to check out. On average, people spend approximately $54 per week, plus the $6.99 shipping for a total of around $61. However, this price will fluctuate depending on the preferences you select.

Recipes & Ingredients

To make sure that you never get bored of your meals, HelloFresh changes their menu weekly with new offerings that you get to select from. Depending on which plan you choose, you will be shown a selection of 3 to 19 recipes that you can pick from. 

All of their ingredients are sourced from around the USA and they work closely with various farmers and suppliers to ensure that you receive high-quality ingredients. Any seafood that they use has been sustainably sourced, and their meat is of the highest standard of quality.

Ingredients are individually packaged to ensure freshness, and also to prevent cross-contamination during storage. This is great news for people with allergies, as you can select recipes that do not contain what you are allergic to and be sure they haven’t come in contact with anything else. While HelloFresh does not have an option to specify individual allergies, they do allow for some customization at sign up where you can select to not be shown recipes that include things like seafood, beef or pork. 

Since 19 is a lot of recipes to choose from, HelloFresh labels some of their stand-out options to make selecting a bit easier. Hall of Fame recipes are crowd favorites that are highly rated among customers, while Calorie Smart options are under 650 calories per serving.

If you are looking to spend a tad more each week, you can also select some of the specialty recipes, such as one’s labelled as Gourmet or Gourmet Plus. These are unique, top of the line offerings that use specialty ingredients that you aren’t likely to find elsewhere.

Below you can see a sample of the recipes offered, as well as the cook time for each, and if it has any special notes about it.

Ordering & Delivery

Ordering with HelloFresh is simple and straightforward, and everything is done right on their website or app. 

When you go to sign up, you will make all of your personalized preferences known by selecting which type of plan you are interested in, how many people you are feeding, and how many dinners per week you would like to be sent. You can also input any dietary preferences, such as not wanting any pork or seafood items suggested to you.

Next, you will need to fill out all of your shipping information, and then finalize by paying with a credit card. It is important to note that when you do sign up, you are actually agreeing to a subscription with HelloFresh and unless you specifically pause or cancel your account, you will be continuously charged each week.

Once you have signed up and paid, you will be prompted to select your items for the upcoming weeks. In general, you will be able to customize four weeks in advance, saving you from having to remember to go in every week to make your picks. Most items are covered in your initial cost, but some specially marked recipes will have an upcharge. If you do select one with an upcharge, you will be alerted and will need to agree before continuing.

All of your meals are shipped at once, and you will receive everything you need for the week in one box. The boxes are insulated and contain ice packs to ensure everything stays nice and cold. You don’t need to be home for the delivery, and it is designed to stay good for the day until you are able to get home and put it in the fridge.

Each of the recipes are contained within separate bags, which are labelled with both the name as well as the best buy date. This helps you know which one you should cook first in order to avoid anything spoiling. All of the bags, along with the other delivery contents are recyclable, meaning you are making a green choice by going with HelloFresh.

Inside the box you will also find easy to follow recipes and all of their associated nutritional information. The ingredients you receive are extremely high-quality, and many are sourced directly from farms to ensure their freshness. Each bag fits nicely into the fridge, and won’t take up too much space. 

As for when your food is delivered, you will select your preferred day of the week, and then all future deliveries will land on that day. If at any point you want to pause your deliveries, change your plan, or cancel altogether, you can do it right from your online account.

Is HelloFresh Worth it?

Whether or not HelloFresh is worth it is going to depend on a few different factors. One of the most important things you will need to look at is how many people you are trying to feed each night, and what you are currently spending to do so. If you have a large family, HelloFresh is probably not the right choice for you, especially since meal plan options only go up to a total of 4 servings per recipe. While you could place two orders each week, cost wise it simply isn’t the most effective way to feed that many individuals.

Also, if you are a budget shopper who is all about getting the best deal and is less concerned about what you at versus how much you spent, then again HelloFresh is not for you. You can easily make dinners for far less, and if your goal is to feed yourself for as little money as possible then spending a premium for a meal delivery service isn’t the right choice.

So then, who will find HelloFresh worth it?

HelloFresh is best suited for anyone who is looking to simplify their dinner time routine and have fresh, healthy meals without much hassle or effort. Busy professionals, young couples, and those who are on a diet will all find HelloFresh to be a timesaver. Yes, you are paying a bit extra for the convenience of it all, but for that price you are getting restaurant quality food at far less than what you would pay for fast food. $8.99 per serving isn’t that bad when you actually break it down, and if you are someone who tends to eat out at restaurants far too often, HelloFresh can actually help save you money each week.

HelloFresh is also perfect for anyone who wants to step up their cooking game and learn some new skills in the kitchen. The step by step recipes are easy to follow can make you feel like a pro in no time. If you are just learning how to cook, or like trying new things, this will be a very refreshing change.

And while it may seem obvious, HelloFresh really is best for anyone who just simply hates meal planning and grocery shopping. Yes, you still need to cook everything yourself, but each week your meals are planned and prepared for you which saves a significant amount of time. No more running to the store after work or searching the cupboards for missing ingredients, everything you need is delivered to your door. Plus, the variety of the ever changing menu means you can stop eating mac & cheese for dinner every night and instead try new flavors and dishes that you may never have had before.

How Does HelloFresh Compare?

HelloFresh may be a household name at this point, but they are not the only meal delivery service that is on the market. Many other companies have popped up and are doing a similar thing, so it may be difficult to figure out which one is best for you. 

The main differences between them are the costs per serving, the recipe variety, and the types of plans that are offered. Below we will compare some of the most popular services to see how they stack up.

As you can see, while some things such as the minimum and maximum orders are fairly standard across the board, other things like meal pricing can vary depending on which brand you go with. Some, such as Sun Basket, are aimed towards a more health conscious and vegetarian crowd which accounts for the higher prices, but others are closer to what HelloFresh charges.

A big difference that can be seen is how many recipes are offered per week that you can select from. This is important, as the fewer the options, the less likely it is that you will find enough variety as well as things that are appealing to you. Since you have no control over what comes out each week, you want to make sure you have a lot to choose from. HelloFresh is perfectly in the middle, with 19 recipes given every single week. This is more than enough variety, and is sure to give you at least a handful of dinners that you are dying to try.

Bottom Line

HelloFresh is a fantastic meal delivery service company that has truly become a household name at this point. Their quality ingredients, delicious recipes, and time saving options make them popular with a wide variety of people. While not everyone is going to be in the market for this type of service, those who are will find that HelloFresh really does deliver on all of their meal time promises.

With a wide variety of options to choose from each week, you and your family will get to try out new and exciting options without ever getting bored of what you eat. What you add to your menu is completely up to you, and you can select from 19 different options every time. 

All of the recipes come with easy to follow instructions and contain pictures so you can visually see if you are following along correctly. Each ingredient is already portioned out for you, and with very little prep you will be able to cook yourself a restaurant worthy meal in no time.

New customers have access to coupons which can save a ton of money, giving you very little reason not to give it a try. With this company, you receive a fun cooking experience delivered right to your door. Instead of spending all of your time wandering the grocery store and wondering what to make, let HelloFresh make your dinner time a breeze.