Say Hello to Easy, Delicious Cooking: HelloFresh Reviews
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Have a kitchen and the basic tools to cook? Love to cook but don’t have the time or desire to come up with recipes each week? Then you’ve got what it takes to be a chef for HelloFresh. They provide simple, easy to prepare meals delivered to your doorstep each week, saving you the hassle of looking for recipe ideas and spending time grocery shopping. How does HelloFresh work exactly? And how does it compare to other meal delivery services? Read on to learn the pros, cons, pricing info and details on how you can say hello to easy, delicious food in no time.
HelloFresh
Pros
- Vegetarian and family-friendly options
- Each meal is separated into its own box unlike other meal subscription services which have you sort the ingredients
- No contracts – as long as you cancel within a week you will not be charged for subsequent boxes
- On the more affordable side for meal subscriptions
- Easy to prepare and clean up with minimal cooking utensils or skills required
Cons
- No vegan, Paleo or pescetarian option
- Vegetarians have limited options (don’t get to pick)
- Not as spicy or as exotic compared to some other services
- More packaging than other services
- Support hours not listed on website
- Some complaints of meals being on the higher calorie side and bland
HelloFresh History
HelloFresh was founded in 2011 by Dominik Richter, Thomas Griesel and Jessica Nixon who moved from the UK to Berlin to start their business idea to bring affordable, nutritional meals to people’s homes. Since then, they’ve expanded globally to the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Canada.
Although they’re an international company, they work directly with local farmers and suppliers to provide ingredients to ensure freshness and quality (and live up to their name Hello “Fresh”). In 2015, they teamed up with Jamie Oliver, a fellow Brit and celebrity chef, to create even more delicious meals. In addition, they now give back a portion of the proceeds to his Food Revolution Foundation that provides healthy food to those in need.
How Does HelloFresh Work?
If you’re not familiar with subscription meal services, you might be wondering how does HelloFresh work? Each week, depending on your plan and preferences, you’ll select three to five meals from the six recipe options you have from the Hello Fresh menu. HelloFresh offers three types of menus:
- Classic Menu: Includes fish, meat and veggie options (3-5 meals per week for 2 or 4 people)
- Veggie Menu: Meat-free vegetarian options (3 meals per week for 2 or 4 people)
- Family Menu: Family-friendly ingredients and portions for both adults and kids alike (2-3 meals for 4 people)
Once you lock in your menu (the week before delivery), the Hello Fresh meals come pre-packed in their own smaller kit (complete with colorful recipe card). The ice-packed lined box with the kits is delivered safely to your doorstep and can stay fresh for the entire day (in case you aren’t home when it arrives). While there is quite a bit of packaging involved, most everything can be reused or recycled.
How do they keep the freshness in HelloFresh? Based on the number of subscribers for that meal, they source just the right quantity of fresh produce needed for each week. Then they divvy out the exact proportion you’ll need for each of the 3-5 meals thus eliminating any unnecessary food waste. And, there is no measuring or searching to find unique types of vinegar or spices you’ll never use again. It allows them to keep the cost down by not only working directly with the vendors but also only giving you the amount you need for each HelloFresh meal. So you can let them worry about the planning, and you just focus on the fun part, cooking and eating!
Now that you know a little more about how HelloFresh works, we bet you’re hungry for more! Let’s get into the most important part, how it tastes!
HelloFresh Reviews
Before slicing and dicing into the Hello Fresh Reviews, I should tell you that I had the chance to try out HelloFresh (at my own cost) so I could give a more accurate review of their service. I should also note that in doing my research, I tested out a few other companies like Hello Fresh in our list of best meal delivery subscriptions so I could compare HelloFresh to its competitors.
On that note, in my HelloFresh experience, I wasn’t overly blown away by their creativity. However, I did appreciate how basic their recipes are. I also found that HelloFresh meals usually required less mess and prep time than other meal services that dirtied up more pots and pans and used more elbow grease. Overall the quality was on par with the other meals. As long as you don’t have an appetite for adventurous foods, you won’t be disappointed with HelloFresh.
Key Features
- 3-5 prepared meals by classically trained executive chefs and nutritionists
- Cancel anytime or skip weeks depending on your schedule
- Switch plans at anytime
- Delivery Monday-Saturday (subject to location)
- Available in all 50 states and some international availability
- Browse previous recipes online to make your favorites again (or try other recipes)
- Phone and email support
- Box and packaging is recyclable
Price
The total HelloFresh price depends on the number of meals you get, and for how many people.
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Coupon
Our link above applies discounts if available
HelloFresh Recipes
Here’s a sample week of HelloFresh recipes to give you an idea of what a HelloFresh menu might entail depending on which plan you pick.
Classic Menu:
Select 3-5 of the following:
- Rapid Maple Balsamic Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli
- Hearty Steak and Potatoes with Balsamic-Cranberry Pan Sauce
- Thai Pork Stir-Fry with Mint and Ginger
- Lemony Shrimp Risotto with Roasted Zucchini
- Braised Chicken Thighs with French Couscous and Green Beans
- Oven-Roasted Cauliflower with Tunisian-Spiced Yogurt over Cumin-Scented Rice
Veggie Menu:
- Oven-Roasted Cauliflower with Tunisian-Spiced Yogurt over Cumin-Scented Rice
- Mushroom Lo Mein with Fresh Udon Noodles
- Tuscan Ribollita with Parmesan Croutons
Family Menu:
Select 2-3 of the following:
- Braised Chicken Thighs with French Couscous and Green Beans
- Juice Apple Pork Burgers with Rosemary Potatoes and Green Salad
- Ginger Beef Stir-Fry with Sugar Snap Peas
HelloFresh App
One additional perk of HelloFresh is their app for smartphones and tablets. The app allows you to manage your subscription on the go, see cooking hacks and step by step guides, browse their database of recipes and more.
What Do Customers Think of HelloFresh?
Read the Hello Fresh reviews below to see what real customers think of their subscription service. We’ve tried to select both positive and negative reviews to give you a balanced perspective.
Positive HelloFresh Reviews
I’ve been using HelloFresh for several weeks, and overall, have been very pleased with the quality of ingredients that I receive. The meats are excellent! The recipes are tasty. The service saves time shopping and the consternation of meal planning. My husband and I are eating better quality and better nutrition now that we’re no just opening a bag of salad or can of soup. Now if the service would also wash the prep dishes, I’d be all set! 😉 -Ellen, Facebook December 2016
It was unbelievably good. My husband and I actually agreed that this is one of the best subscription box dishes we’ve ever made! – My Subscription Addiction, November 2016
Negative HelloFresh Reviews
While the classic box offers customers a choice of meals, the vegetarian subscription doesn’t give customers a choice at this time. Although, HelloFresh hopes to change this in the future. TheKitchn.com, June 2015
No, it was not some fancy new foodie experience, but it was a good staple meal. One critique that I have is when I asked someone on Instagram, who had made this meal, how it was, she said it needed more sauce. So I added more water, beef bouillon and sour cream, from my own kitchen, in order to avoid this sauce-tastrophe. – A Common Connoisseur, March 2015
HelloFresh Bringing Harmony in the Kitchen
In this 30 second video you can get a glimpse into what it’s like to use HelloFresh, including what’s inside the box and how cooking can bring harmony to your family and loved ones in the kitchen.
Will You Say Hello to HelloFresh?
No matter your experience level or affinity for cooking, HelloFresh is a great option for those who want an easy alternative to their average meal or dining out. Through educational instructions printed and provided with each package, you’ll learn new techniques and impress yourself (and others) with your meals!
Have you tried HelloFresh? We’d love to know what you think!