EveryPlate Review: Our Opinion on the Cheapest Meal Kit

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After a few half-baked attempts at learning to cook, I ultimately got discouraged by the hassle. When the advent of meal kit services re-piqued my interest, the cost proved to be the decisive factor that dissuaded me yet again. That all changed last month when I tried EveryPlate.

EveryPlate is a unicorn among meal kit delivery services. High quality, well-organized, easy and remarkably cost-effective. Seriously—if the cost of meal kits has ever left you with a bad taste in your mouth, this review is for you. I’ll cover what else to consider about the service (including the drawbacks) in this EveryPlate review: the ins and outs of the meal delivery service; how it compares to competitors; and my personal experience of cooking the meals over a month.

This content is meant to be informative, but should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention or treatment of health problems. Always speak with your doctor before starting any new supplement or exercise regimen.

EveryPlate At a Glance

• EveryPlate is easily considered one of the most budget-friendly—if not the most budget-friendly—meal kit service, making it a boon for cost-conscious consumers.
• The kits come sustainably packed with recipe cards and pre-portioned sauces, vegetables, spices and types of proteins based on your preferences to provide a low-maintenance method to make your own home-cooked meals.
• The menus are based on your designated dietary needs when you sign up, although you can go in and modify your menus at any time.
• EveryPlate uses a monthly subscription model; you can choose the number of meals and servings per week. You can also skip weeks as needed.

Pros

• EveryPlate is one of the cheapest meal kit delivery services, with an average of $5 per meal. And that’s not factoring in the introductory discount you’ll typically get with your first order and subsequent boxes.
• Prices are comparable to that of grocery shopping, if not cheaper.
• Generous serving services that are still calorie-conscious for those who want a meal delivery service with healthy eating options.
• Easy-to-follow, illustrated recipe cards come in each box.

Cons

• You’ll have to pay extra for premium meals with higher-end meats.
• There is less variety on the weekly menu compared to more expensive meal kit services.
• EveryPlate packages all the ingredients together to save costs, rather than divide them by meal.
• EveryPlate does not accommodate certain dietary restrictions, like vegan or gluten-free.

EveryPlate Meal Plans

EveryPlate meal variety

EveryPlate’s range of meal plans is smaller in scope than some of its competitors, so there is a fair amount of crossover of meals within these categories. You’ll also have access to each recipe at the selection step, regardless of your choice when signing up. Despite the more limited scope, I'd say there’s just enough variety to accommodate most tastes and diets. Dishes range from classic comfort food to international cuisine, and you can also modify the meals in your EveryPlate box by adding proteins or substituting veggies—more on that below.

• Meat and veggie: Recommended for the classic unfussy omnivore who eats seafood, vegetarian meals and fish.
• Veggie plan: Vegetarian-oriented meals.
• Family faves: Family faves is code for the meals being more “kid-friendly,” so think crowd-pleasing dishes that little ones won’t turn their noses up at.
• Quick and easy: These are the meals requiring the least amount of prep time and cleanup.
• Nutrish and delish: Meals that are less calorie-dense.

Options for different diets

EveryPlate doesn’t accommodate different diets and tastes as comprehensively as other meal kit services, although meal options leave enough wiggle room for vegetarians. The same can’t be said for other diets, making EveryPlate not the best meal delivery service for vegan diets or gluten-free diets, however.

Meal add-ons and customization

Picky eaters who eschew certain vegetables have the option of ingredient substitutions, and those on a paleo diet or athletes looking to build muscle can add extra protein to their meal kit. Adding chicken, beef and pork chops to my meal kit as add-ons was an especially welcome feature: I ordered several vegetarian meals to accommodate my partner and prepared my proteins on the side.

Related Post: The 8 Best Keto Meal Delivery Services

My Experience With EveryPlate

Unboxing and packaging

So, what’s in the box? When it came time for the big reveal, I was impressed by how efficiently EveryPlate packaged the box. The ingredients for eight meals (four meals for two people) fit neatly in a shoe-sized cardboard box. Having forayed into meal kits before, I was surprised that EveryPlate hadn’t separated the ingredients by meal. However, this aspect was no bother, and it helped with my general cooking know-how to see which ingredients had a lot of crossover: staples like potatoes, scallions and sour cream are often in multiple recipes, for instance.

The proteins were packed outside the smaller box, closer to the ice packs, and felt ice cold to the touch when I got around to unboxing several hours after the box arrived. I even saved a few ice packs to throw in the freezer to use in a cooler on an upcoming road trip. If you have no use for ice packs—and even if you do, you surely won’t eventually—fret not: They’re easily recyclable, as is the EveryPlate box itself.

Cooking EveryPlate meals

EveryPlate provides easy-to-interpret recipe cards, complete with pictures for each step, reminiscent of my childhood cookbooks. But far from feeling infantilized, I very much appreciated the thorough instructions. A part of me, however, wished that there was nutritional information on the cards, but that might have been information overload. Another thing EveryPlate doesn’t delve into on the recipe cards is cooking techniques. If you don’t know the difference between “dice,” “chop” and “slice” then YouTube is your friend. Lacking the patience to follow through on my own advice though, I screwed up the techniques a lot, but I embraced the wisdom given by my upholstery class teacher (“It’s only a mistake if you can see it from a galloping horse.”).

You can get by with a fairly pared-down kitchen—a fork whips up mashed potatoes if they’ve been cooked long enough just as easily as any fancy tool—however, two small hand tools I recommend investing in are a microplaner and a peeler. The effort saved will be worthwhile. And zesting was the kind of step I didn’t want to skip, even if it was seemingly less important to the dish’s taste, since it made me feel like a real gourmand.

Our favorite utensils for cooking EveryPlate meals:

These are all the kitchen tools I recommend to save time and effort cooking EveryPlate meals, excluding the most common and obvious kitchen staples (pots, pans, knives and bowls):

• Microplaner: I like the long microplaners for an easy grip, and this tool can double as a cheese grater.
• Veggie and fruit peeler: As a former bartender, I favor this “Y-style” of peeler that you frequently see in bars over the straight-line ones.
• Mini tongs: Opting for mini tongs with different colored plastic sheathings is both a great way to protect non-stick pans, and keep track of which have touched raw meats.
• Garlic peeler and chopper: Peeling and chopping garlic can be a pain. Given the frequency of needing chopped garlic, this tool is invaluable.
• Meat thermometer: A meat thermometer reassuringly takes the guesswork out of cooking times.

EveryPlate meals taste

I can’t say there was a single meal I disliked, (with the exception of my own unforced errors by overcooking a steak or undercooking couscous), but these are my 1-10 taste rating on the meals I cooked most successfully:

• Roasted zucchini, bell pepper and tomato penne: 9/10

This was one among a nice selection of veggie-forward options, which I ordered with the intention to share with my vegetarian partner. I added proteins at check-out, and EveryPlate included custom instructions to incorporate the chicken breasts on the recipe card. I honestly would have given this a 10 out of 10 if I didn’t have to leave room for the meals that I enjoyed marginally more. The instructions left the pasta perfectly al dente, and using techniques like saving the pasta water helped me make the best pasta I’ve ever cooked. I usually took a little longer than what the meal prep time estimate called for, but that was to be expected given my lack of experience.

• Hearty chicken sausage and kale soup: 10/10

I did not think this would be one of my favorite meals going in (I have never been a kale enjoyer), and yet I shamelessly ate both portions of this meal for dinner because it was deliciously impossible to resist. The soup had a real comfort food quality, and I can see why one Redditor advised always selecting the recipes with the chicken sausage. This recipe is going in my drawer for keeps, and I hope to replicate the magic again.

• Cuban-style black bean and yellow rice bowls: 8/10

A simple dish that could have used a smidge more flavor, which may have been my fault, in all fairness: I never realized until EveryPlate just how many times in the cooking process you should season your ingredients. My main qualm with this dish is it felt a little basic, and creating a salsa was a lot of effort with less payoff since it’s one of those healthy foods that’s so easily store-bought. Even so, the bowl was delicious and satisfying.

• French onion chicken: 9.5/10

This was another huge hit for me. I did notice the calories per serving were a little higher than a typical recipe (740 calories), so I left plenty of room. And I’m glad I did. The caramelized onions were uber-tasty, and with the help of a meat thermometer, I nailed the temperature of the chicken. If you’re missing the mark on the meats, I recommend investing in that tool.

My final thoughts on EveryPlate

An underrated aspect of EveryPlate is that it teaches you how to cook. After several recipes, you gain an intuitive understanding of recipes, techniques and which tools and vessels are key to having a streamlined but well-rounded kitchen arsenal. In this aspect, EveryPlate’s budget model, where many ingredients overlap, is a positive. For an experienced cook though who is more confident with recipes and ingredients that could be a small drawback.

I’ve paused my subscription for now, but have my recipe cards on hand since I’d like to try making the recipes with grocery-bought ingredients. I do think when I restart my subscription I’ll opt for fewer meals per week, but for four people rather than two. In my tiny efficiency kitchen, the mess created when cooking can be a bit overwhelming, so I’d like to get more bang for my buck next time by doubling the portions, despite my small household. And frankly, I also love the idea of a reheated EveryPlate meal for lunch the next day: I felt comfortably full after the designated portion sizes, but I definitely wanted more because the meals came out tasting wonderful.

Managing Your Account

Account management tasks, including pausing and canceling your orders, are incredibly easy. In fact, canceling EveryPlate can be done on your own accord through your account settings. That’s unlike some of the other food and beverage subscription services (looking at you, Winc wine), which require a phone call, email or live chat with online support. You can manage your EveryPlate account through its website or the app.

Delivery and Shipping

EveryPlate delivers to most of the continental U.S., and similar to Amazon Prime, you can choose your delivery date, Tuesday through Friday. The packages come in recycled cardboard, and the ice packs can also be drained and recycled (for the most part). The packaging gives you plenty of leeway to get around to opening your box before the food starts to spoil.

What Customers Are Saying About EveryPlate

EveryPlate has its own subreddit with lots of useful tips for newbies to the service and beginner cooks. The feedback is largely positive in threads soliciting opinions on the service from Redditors. “I think it’s the cheapest mail service there is. We have it and love it. We get it three times a week and it definitely saves money from just buying random stuff at the grocery store,” wrote one user. Another user wrote, “I really feel like EP has helped me learn to cook better!” and that was one of the most echoed sentiments, including from me in this very EveryPlate review. A 5-star review on the EveryPlate app in the Apple App Store (where the app averages a 4.7 out of 5) said EveryPlate was an excellent meal delivery service for weight loss: “[Since] everything is so healthy we have all lost about five to eight pounds each and it’s been a little over three weeks of eating clean! Give it a try, you will not be disappointed!!” the user wrote, adding that they also saved money on groceries.

The most shared complaint about EveryPlate was that meals had lengthy prep and cooking times, especially among those less well-versed in the culinary arts. A few one-star reviews cited customer service-related qualms, namely, missing deliveries.

About EveryPlate Meal Kits

EveryPlate was launched in 2018 under the umbrella of HelloFresh as a low-cost alternative to the more high-end meal kit delivery service. Here’s how it compares to its HelloFresh owner, and a few other competitor brands:

• EveryPlate vs. HelloFresh: You’ll quickly notice a common theme in these comparisons: budget. Compared to HelloFresh, EveryPlate is more affordable. The tradeoff is also similar to other comparable brands: Less options and less organized packaging of ingredients.
• EveryPlate vs. Blue Apron: Compared to EveryPlate’s streamlined menus and lower price point, Blue Apron curates a more elevated cooking experience, since the service boasts a wider selection of ingredients and flavors to choose from.
• EveryPlate vs. Home Chef: The same ol’ song—Home Chef is pricier but fancier. Fellow SI Showcase writer and nutritionist Cory Kessler tested Home Chef himself, if you’re curious for a deeper dive into the service.

Related Post: Green Chef Review: Is This Organic Meal Delivery Service Right for You?

EveryPlate FAQs

Is EveryPlate cheaper than buying groceries

I calculated roughly whether EveryPlate is cheaper than buying groceries, and researched the experience of others. The cost shook out to the equivalent of buying groceries at a mid-range to affordable grocery store, such as Harris Teeter or Trader Joe’s.

Is it hard to cancel EveryPlate?

EveryPlate is easy to cancel. You can cancel with a few clicks when you log into your account settings online.

How long does EveryPlate food stay fresh?

As far as how long your EveryPlate food will stay fresh, that depends on the ingredients. According to the USDA, you should cook or freeze fresh, whole red meat within three to five days. Poultry, ground meats and fish have a shorter lifespan—freeze within one or two days. If you have cooked leftovers, eat within four days. When in doubt, use your common sense. If a food looks or smells off, your safest bet is to discard.

Why does EveryPlate cost less than other meal delivery services?

EveryPlate costs less than other meal delivery services because there is a narrower range of meals to choose from, and the boxes are packed more efficiently, with all ingredients combined rather than allocated to each recipe. In my experience comparing EveryPlate to other meal kit delivery services, the quality of the produce was on par with others.

Are EveryPlate meals healthy?

EveryPlate meals are generally healthy, especially if you consider them within the context of eating home-cooked, whole foods versus highly processed food. Some EveryPlate meals will be denser in calories than others, although I found it was easy to modify as needed if I wanted to cut calories by using less than the recipe called for of what Noom would label an “orange food,” i.e., heavy creams, oils, sauces, etc.

Related Post: Noom Review: My Experience After Using Noom for 30 Days

Takeaway: Is EveryPlate Worth It?

If you have a lot on your plate, finding time to make nourishing meals for yourself from scratch can be a headache. You have to find a recipe within your skill set; scrounge the grocery store gathering ingredients that you may or may not find; and deal with spoiled leftovers when all is said and done. So if you’ve been wondering when it comes to meal kits if the juice is worth the squeeze, then EveryPlate might be for you: This affordable meal delivery service truly exceeded my expectations in more ways than one. The serving sizes are spot on, and the vegetarian options with the option to add meats make a great meal delivery service for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. I think I'll pause my subscription for now, mostly in the interest of trying other types of meal delivery services—like meat delivery service Butcher Box—without overcrowding my tiny fridge. But I plan to come back to EveryPlate. From my very first box, EveryPlate delighted my taste buds all while helping me brave the world of home cooking with confidence, and I look forward to improving over time.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.

Prices are accurate and items in stock as of publish time.