HelloFresh is a meal kit delivery service that offers weekly shipments of recipes and groceries that allow you to make easy and appealing meals at home.
The service is a great way to reduce the burden of meal planning and grocery shopping. It is a good option if you enjoy cooking and do not want your meals premade but do not have much time for meal prep.
It is reasonably priced and may be a good fit for many households. However, it may not be the best fit for those with special dietary needs.
This article reviews how HelloFresh works and how it stacks up against other meal kit delivery services.
Each week, HelloFresh ships you a box of ingredients along with recipes that help you cook your own meals.
These boxes contain all the preportioned ingredients you will need to cook your meal, including sauces, seasonings, and garnishes.
You can choose a meal plan and allow HelloFresh to choose which meals you receive, or you can choose every meal yourself. HelloFresh offers a 20-meal menu to choose from each week.
You can also skip a week at any time.
HelloFresh offers six different meal plan options:
- Meat & Veggies: a variety of meals that include meat and vegetables
- Veggie: plant-based meals that are vegetarian but not necessarily vegan
- Family Friendly: quick, easy-to-prepare, kid-approved options
- Calorie Smart: meals that are around 650 calories or less per serving
- Quick and Easy: meals that can be cooked in 30 minutes or less
- Pescatarian: meals featuring seafood, but no other animal proteins
Within each of these categories, there is a little bit more room for customization. You can specify if you need to avoid beef, pork, or seafood.
Additionally, you can choose exactly which meals you would like to receive from the 20 meals available each week.
For example, if you are on the Calorie Smart meal plan but see a Family Friendly dish that you would like to try, you can easily swap out a meal to include that dish in your shipment.
HelloFresh also discloses allergens, including gluten, but does not currently offer dedicated gluten-free or allergen-free menus.
According to its website, HelloFresh focuses on sourcing high quality ingredients. The company includes fresh produce with most recipes, and some of it is organic.
It also sources hormone-free chicken and pork and sustainable, “ocean-friendly” seafood, according to its website.
What’s more, HelloFresh has a goal of promoting positive experiences in the kitchen. Any adult of any skill level can cook the recipes it provides using relatively simple methods and common kitchen items.
HelloFresh features appealing and interesting flavors across a variety of regional cuisines. Some examples of the recipes on its weekly menu include:
- Pork Sausage Rigatoni in a Creamy Sauce
- Zucchini and Mushroom Bibimbap Bowls
- Salsa Verde Enchiladas
- Pork Schnitzel
- Buffalo-Spiced Chickpea Bowls
- Caramelized Apple Cheddar Melts
With the exception of vegetarian, pescatarian, and reduced calorie diets, HelloFresh does not cater to specialized diets.
It offers a variety of meals that may align with your personal dietary needs, but it leaves it up to you to decide whether each meal is a fit.
However, HelloFresh may not be ideal if you are strictly following a vegan, paleo, or keto diet. That is because many of its available options will not meet the requirements of these diets.
Additionally, if you are gluten-free or following an allergen-free diet, you may prefer a meal kit delivery service that caters specifically to these dietary needs.
While weight loss is no guarantee when using HelloFresh, one of the meal plans it offers is the Calorie Smart option.
Each of these meals clocks in around 650 calories per serving, and according to the HelloFresh website, they are dietitian-approved.
If you are eating at a calorie deficit, then you are likely to lose weight.
The calorie-controlled meals on HelloFresh’s Calorie Smart plan may help you achieve this goal. However, weight loss is not a guarantee, even if you are receiving Calorie Smart meals (
HelloFresh costs about $8–11 per person, per meal. You can get the lowest price per serving by ordering the largest plan size: five recipes per week for four people.
Shipping is a standard $7.99 per box.
However, HelloFresh regularly offers new users free shipping and a discount on their first shipment or several shipments.
HelloFresh’s most popular plan size is three recipes per week for two people. This works out to $8.99 per serving or about $55 per week, plus the cost of shipping.
This table compares and contrasts HelloFresh with some other popular meal kit delivery services.
Note that this table only includes meal kit delivery services, not services that deliver preprepared meals.
Several potential competitors will ship completely cooked and assembled meals to your door, including BistroMD, Fresh n’ Lean, and Freshly.
HelloFresh is a moderately priced meal kit that offers appealing meals with a focus on fresh ingredients, simple cooking methods, and bold flavors.
It is a solid option if you value the convenience of a meal kit and enjoy cooking but are still on a budget.
HelloFresh is more affordable than its competitors Sun Basket and Green Chef, but offers a more limited selection of meal plans that may not work for those with stricter dietary needs or preferences.
However, HelloFresh could be ideal for your household if you are not following a specialized diet and want more easy and flavorful meal options.
