5 Best Blue Apron Alternatives: Find the Best Blue Apron Alternative Meal Kit Delivery Service for You
At first glance, meal kit delivery services can all look quite similar. But if you explore them in detail, you will find vital details that can be deal-breakers for you in practice.
If you’ve already tried Blue Apron, one of the most renowned and popular home cooking kits providers in the country, and realized it doesn’t work for you, you’re probably looking for the best Blue Apron alternatives. That’s exactly what we’re going to discuss in this article.
What is Blue Apron?
Blue Apron is currently considered to be a market leader in the U.S, and it is not without reason. This popular meal delivery service is designed particularly for consumers, who want to recreate their favorite gourmet dishes at home with ease and fun. If you subscribe to their service, you’ll be able to choose from a decent variety of popular and exotic dishes from all over the world. There are also numerous different plans to choose from, so you can easily adjust the service to your budget or lifestyle.
Blue Apron has competitive prices, and it also caters to some special needs (it has vegetarian, gluten-free, and hormones/GMO-free meals on offer). However, customers with these special needs often claim they could find more or better options for them with some other services. Some BA’s customers also experienced various issues with the delivery process – delayed dispatches, mixed-up orders, etc. In the past, the company also faced controversy due to the excessive use of non-recyclable packaging materials, but it’s fair to say that Blue Apron already addressed this issue and made some remarkable improvements.
Whether you have some particular reason for being unhappy with Blue Apron, or you simply want to try something new, here are the best Blue Apron alternatives you should consider. But before you sign-up for any of them, don’t forget to cancel your Blue Apron subscription first! You can find useful information on this topic in our Blue Apron cancellation guide.
1# Green Chef
Green Chef is a great meal kits delivery service for those, who want to improve their lifestyle and eating habits in general. It offers healthy meals prepared exclusively with organic ingredients from sustainable local sources, while also being a No.1 ecological choice, when it comes to packaging and the company’s carbon footprint reduction policy.
Understandably, these above-the-average features come with a price – Green Chef is considered to be one of the more expensive services on the market. The price per one serving ranges from $10.99 to $12.99 depending on the plan and program you select. Fortunately, these meals are really excellent, so you’re probably not going to regret your investment. But if you eventually do, you will surely appreciate Green Chef’s transparent and simple cancellation policy. Check out our Green Chef cancellation guide for more details.
Main differences between Green Chef and Blue Apron
Here are some of the reasons why you might like Green Chef more than Blue Apron:
- Green Chef focuses on healthy meals, whereas Blue Apron centers around the gourmet experience and comes with more calories.
- Green Chef uses exclusively ecological packages, whereas Blue Apron still has some room for improvement in this regard.
- Green Chef offers more special diets (such as keto, paleo, or vegan), whereas Blue Apron has fewer special-needs options on offer.
- Green Chef offers organic ingredients only, whereas Blue Apron provides only some organic ingredients.
2# Home Chef
Home Chef promises to make home cooking simple – and it really does! This service offers affordable and easy-to-follow recipes that will suit both experienced and beginners. It’s more affordable than most of the competition, and it’s also more suitable for people with special dietary needs. If you have any kind of food allergy or health condition that limits your nutrition, it’s easy to filter all available recipes by their content (select only meals “without milk”, “without nuts”, “without soy”, etc.).
If you’re after variety, Home Chef has one of the widest offers of dishes on a weekly menu. On average, there are about 16 to 18 meals to choose from every week (whereas Blue Apron usually has only 8 to 12 options on offer). If you like exotic dishes coming from Asian and Latin cuisines, Home Chef should suit you well too. Home Chef is also great for larger families, since it offers up to 6 servings per one order. The only downside is its relatively high delivery fee ($10), but it can be waived with more valuable orders. If you ever want to cancel this service, check our Home Chef cancellation guide for all the details.
Main differences between Home Chef and Blue Apron
These are some of the features that make Home Chef more attractive than Blue Apron:
- Home Chef offers more flexible plans for 2, 4, or even 6 people, whereas Blue Apron offers fewer possibilities with max. 4 servings per order.
- Home Chef is slightly cheaper with prices starting at $6.99 per serving, whereas Blue Apron starts at about $7.49 per serving with family plans.
- Home Chef offers a greater variety of meals to choose from, whereas Blue Apron usually has fewer options on the weekly menu.
- Home Chef is more adaptable to special dietary needs, whereas Blue Apron has limited choices for people with different conditions.
3# Hello Fresh
Hello Fresh is another popular and trusted home cooking kits delivery brand on the market. It comes with 20 colorful and rewarding recipes every week, and it promises to make their preparation as easy and exciting as possible. If you’re at the very beginning of your cooking journey, Hello Fresh is probably the best place to start. All of the recipes are marked by their difficulty level, so you can start with the most simple meals first. Experienced reviewers often state that this is probably the most user-friendly meal kit service on the market.
Hello Fresh has four adjustable plans to choose from: Meat & Veggies, Veggie, Family Friendly, and the Low-Calorie diet. In comparison with services that offer only 2-3 meals per week, Hello Fresh comes with convenient 6 meals per week alternative too, which is great for those who want a fresh home-cooked meal on their table almost every day. Already tried Hello Fresh and want to quit your subscription? Our Hello Fresh cancellation guide can help you do it fast and smoothly.
Main differences between Hello Fresh and Blue Apron
Here are some of the reasons to skip Blue Apron and try Hello Fresh instead:
- Hello Fresh offers up to 6 meals per weekly order, whereas Blue Apron doesn’t provide more than four meals per week.
- Hello Fresh is perfect for total beginners, whereas Blue Apron recipes can be slightly more demanding.
- Hello Fresh lets you choose from 20 meal options every week, whereas Blue Apron has fewer options on the menu.
- Hello Fresh categorizes recipes in three levels of difficulty, whereas Blue Apron doesn’t provide such classification.
4# Sun Basket
Sun Basket is another meal kits delivery that specializes in fresh, colorful, and healthy meals that you can easily cook in your own kitchen. If you need your dinner to be ready in no time, you’ll be pleased to hear that some of these super-easy recipes can be finalized in just 5 minutes. Sun Basket is a certified organic handler, so it’s a great choice for those who prefer their ingredients to be chemical-free. In addition to that, the company uses 100% recyclable and compostable packaging for everything they deliver to your door.
When it comes to costs, Sun Basket is slightly more expensive (dinners start at $10.99 / serving). But what makes Sun Basket really stand out is the possibility to place a one-off order without any commitments, which is great if you’d like to try it out first. If you eventually subscribed to the service and want to terminate it, read our Sun Basket cancellation guide for some useful tips and information.
Main differences between Sun Basket and Blue Apron
Sun Basket or Blue Apron? These are some of the reasons to prefer the first one:
- Sun Basket is a certified organic handler, whereas Blue Apron uses only some organic ingredients.
- Sun Basket meal kit can be ordered separately and without commitments, whereas Blue Apron comes with a mandatory subscription.
- Sun Basket has recipes that can be finalized in just 5 minutes, whereas Blue Apron recipes usually take about 30 minutes to complete.
- Sun Basket offers more meals to choose from (about 18 per week), whereas Blue Apron has limited variety.
5# Purple Carrot
Looking for an innovative plant-based meal kits delivery service? Purple Carrot should be one of your first choices. This service founded its niche in healthy and simple meals full of fresh vegetables. That means that Purple Carrot is a great choice for vegetarians and vegans, but it also serves well to those who want to cut their intake of calories. But the best thing is, that this service makes healthy nutrition really simple, fun, and tasteful.
Aside from providing you with DIY dinner kits, Purple Carrot also offers various add-ons with breakfast, lunches, and snacks. If you want, you can perceive this meal kit delivery as a weight management plan and cover your complete nutrition with Purple Carrot’s healthy delights. You can order as many as 6 servings per order, so it’s great for large families and groups of friends too. Have you already tried Purple Carrot and weren’t so impressed? Our Purple Carrot cancellation guide will help you out.
Main differences between Purple Carrot and Blue Apron
Here are some of the features that make Purple Carrot more attractive than Blue Apron:
- Purple Carrot offers breakfast, lunch, and snacks too, whereas Blue Apron provides only dinner boxes.
- Purple Carrot specializes in a plant-based diet, whereas Blue Apron has some less healthy options on the menu too.
- Purple Carrot offers 6 servings for larger families, whereas Blue Apron’s Family plan has max. 4 servings.
- Purple Carrot has many options for vegetarians and vegans, whereas Blue Apron has more meat options on the menu.
Frequently Asked Questions Blue Apron alternatives
How difficult is it to cancel my subscription with any of these services?
Unlike some other subscription-based services, meal kit deliveries are usually quite flexible. If you want to cancel or modify your plan, just make sure to do so before your next order is prepared and dispatched. The deadline is usually 5-7 days before the delivery.
How expensive are home cooking kits?
Meal kits prices vary depending on the type of meals, ingredients, and plans. In general, they cost between $6 and $12 per serving. Some brands offer discounts if you order more meals or servings, others can waive shipping fees. There are also various temporary offers and seasonal promotions.
I live in a remote area. Will I be able to use any of these services?
Most of the renowned meal kits services claim to deliver their goods all over the country. Some even deliver to Canada or have their branches overseas. Occasionally, some of the services can exclude some states or areas, but rest assured you will be notified about this before you place your first order.
Our Verdict: Which is the best alternative for Blue Apron?
Blue Apron has many happy customers, and there’s really not much to complain about. But the competition is pretty strong too! If I could recommend just one Blue Apron alternative, I would say to try Home Chef, simply because I believe that it combines most of the features and advantages you might be after. It’s affordable, reliable, very flexible, and you’ll never get bored of its great variety of colorful meals.
Conclusion
Whether you’re just taking your first steps in the kitchen or consider yourself to be a seasoned chef, there are many reasons to love meal kit delivery services. They save you time and energy, make your cooking and shopping more ecological, and help you master your skills while preparing some of the most delicious dishes you can imagine.
In this article, we’ve tried to give you some examples of meal kits services you might prefer, if you want to avoid Blue Apron. But the only way to know, whether they really work for you, is to try them out. Luckily, most of the meal kits deliveries have a relatively flexible cancellation policy. If you stick to some simple rules, you should be able to cancel any of them whenever you want without additional costs.
If you need some assistance, here are several other cancellation guides that could interest you:
