Your Guide to the Best Dinner Subscription Boxes
I’m so obsessed with all things subscription! It’s just so much fun when that box arrives in the mail. Lately I’ve been trying out all of the meal subscription boxes except for the overly healthy ones. I’ve been working full time – which deserves its own set of blog posts – and by the time I get home I am just too exhausted to go grocery shopping and whip up a tasty meal. I just want to crash in front of the tv and watch the latest episode of The Bachelorette now that I’ve finished binge watching Orange is the New Black. I’m super addicted, here are the boxes that I’ve tried in order from my least favorite and ending with my top pick!
Blue Apron
I really wanted to like Blue Apron, my friends rave about it! Blue Apron is the one meal service in this group that does not allow you to select your meals and I think its a big disservice to the customer. Unless you like to eat everything you can get stuck with some inedible meals. Ive only tried Blue Apron once so I might have just received a few meals that weren’t for me
Matzoh-Crusted Chicken with Orange, Fennel & Golden Beet Salad: I was looking forward to trying the salad but the golden beets were missing from my box! The chicken was kind of dry meh.
Lentil-Crusted Salmon with Spinach-Yogurt Dal & Apricot Chutney CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COMPLETE PHOTO REVIEW
Cost: $9.99 per plate, 4 plates minimum
Hello Fresh
I found the Hello Fresh website harder to use than others, would prefer that it was made much more simple and intuitive.. Their support team is great, very responsive! I absolutely hate that HelloFresh does not give you a chance to skip your week in advance. Din, for example, gives their customers a courtesy notice to remind them that you still have time to skip the upcoming week. I was sent a selection of meals that I did not like because there was no “skip week” reminder and the food just went to waste. I like how the past recipes are all archived and available for everyone on the website.
Pan-Seared Chicken with Tomato-Barley Hash & Charred Broccoli: Ewww to barley, this recipe selection happened because I noticed too late to skip this week’s delivery. Is the barley supposed to be so chewy? Reminds me of breakfast oatmeal.
Coconut Shrimp Satay with Shaved Carrot & Cucumber Salad: WATCH VIDEO This was gross, but I dont like peanut satay sauce. Hated the carrot and cucumber salad. Think the shrimp should be fried in the pan so that it can get brown. It seemed like they were boiled.
Recommended
Smoky Adobo Chicken Tacos with Mango Slaw & Lime Crema: This dish was killer, I’ve never tried mango salsa in a taco before and was skeptical but the mango paired with the crunch of the red onion and the citrus acidity of the lime was a perfect mix. Avocados are always a win and great chipotle peppers. They offered a real deal spiciness and we piled those peppers on!
Cost: $10.75 per plate, 6 plates minimum
Deal: Use my code: 78BNRZ and get $40 off your first box! Click here: https://www.hellofresh.com/food-boxes/
PeachDish
PeachDish would probably be one of my top favorites of all the dinner subscription boxes but its crazy expensive with a $25 shipping fee?! I’m not sure why all the other subscription boxes don’t have exorbitant shipping fees. PeachDish won me over already with the fact that their dishes are Southern inspired. Although their dishes are not unhealthy, they are not overall health conscious to the point where the food suffers like I’ve experienced with some of the other dinner subscriptions. Peachdish meal selections are exciting and indulgent, in the vein of my #1 dinner subscription meal box: Din. Lobster risotto? Double cheeseburgers with plenty of melted cheese? Beef tenderloins with onions rings and okra? Yes yes yes! Peachdish, I implore you to solve the shipping cost issue so that I can become a weekly subscriber!
Spicy Tofu Fajitas with Tomatillo Salsa CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COMPLETE PHOTO REVIEW
Cost: $28.75 per plate ($25 for shipping), 2 plates minimum
Sun Basket
Sun Basket works with the West Coast’s best farms, ranchers, and fishermen. As a certified organic service, they value sustainable farming practices, respect for the environment, and the humane treatment of animals. The dinners were solid but what really stood out for me was that the service included a free UPS shipping label to return the box for recycling purposes. I’ve always wondered about all the waste generated via subscription box meals because of all the necessary packaging and this is a great solution Sun Basket!
Chicken Salmoriglio with Charred Broccolini. CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COMPLETE PHOTO REVIEW
Cost: $11.49 per plate, 6 plates minimum
Plated
The Plated portions are pretty small, I recommend cooking a side of rice, pasta, or salad with the meal. I enjoyed two of my Plated meals, the pork chop on the third meal was too dry, I thought the chop was too thick to be able to be fried in the pan. I loved that there were hard to source ingredients included with the box which I would never try on my own but I ended up enjoying. Plated is definitely fancier than your every day home cooked meal and I like that!
Salmon with Kohlrabi CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COMPLETE PHOTO REVIEW
Skate and Papas Bravas CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COMPLETE PHOTO REVIEW
Cost: $12 per plate, 4 plates minimum
Gobble
Gobble is one of my top faves! Featuring home-style cooking, like an all American mom would make, the focus is on a good hearty meal. Their huge selling point is the promise of a ten minute meal that can be made in a single pan. It comes pretty close, using taking more about 15 minutes but definitely much faster than most of the other dinner subscription boxes
Barbecue Chicken and Ribs: I highly recommend this dish, the portions are huge which is so rare for subscription boxes in general. This meal could have definitely fed three people. The recipe card instructs you to fire up the grill for this meal but that was too much trouble for a weeknight dinner so I just stuck everything in the oven which worked out just great. The flavors are spot on and ribs were super fatty and tender
American Wagyu Skirt Steak Patatas Bravas and Charred Vegetables: CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COMPLETE PHOTO REVIEW
Cost: 13.95 for 4 meals or 11.95 for 6+ meals
Deal: Get a free dinner kit on me! Click Here
Din
Din is hands down the winner, a no brainer! Din takes recipes from some of the top restaurants, sends you the ingredients and allows you to create high end restaurant meals at home. Another opportunity to try ingredients not readily available in your local supermarket. Also by far the most expensive
Crispy Chicken with Turnips, Cashew Cheese and Sesame Inspired by Reynard Restaurant – Brooklyn, NY. This dish was a revelation, tokyo turnips – what?! Its about the cashew cheese and the turnips on this dish for me. So many competing yet complementary flavors. The bitterness of the pan-fried escarole is rounded out by the sweetness of the turnips. The thick richness of the cashew cheese is lightened by the squeeze of lime at the end. Never tasted this combination of flavors before but it worked so well.
Baja Fish Tacos with Salsa Verde and Spiced Black Beans Tacolicious. CLICK HERE TO SEE MY COMPLETE PHOTO REVIEW I was down in Mexico a couple years ago and stopped by a random local, super cheap taco stand and tasted the best, freshest fish taco I have ever had in my life. The flavors of this taco from Din reminded me of that hot summer day. I’ve made fish tacos at home before and they are pretty damn good but I think what takes this taco from Din to the next level is the mystery “crema mexicana” and “salsa verde”. Unfortunately this sauce comes pre-made so you won’t know what the ingredients it is made out of
2 comments
Although some of these meals look delicious, the price of most of them per plate would be way too expensive for anything other than a “once in awhile” meal.
I do like the idea, unfortunately, they are too pricey for our budget.
I agree, they definitely are more of a fun treat!
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