Is HelloFresh Worth It? 10 Things to Consider Before You Subscribe
If you like food and use YouTube, Instagram, or really just the internet, you’ve probably seen a HelloFresh ad. Or, maybe you have a friend that subscribes and they’ve been raving about it.
HelloFresh generally offers super-deep discounts or multiple free boxes to new subscribers, and it’s pretty enticing. But in order to take advantage of their generous newbie offers, you do have to subscribe to their service and provide payment info upfront.
For two people, a modest three HelloFresh meals per week costs around $70. If you’ve made to this point in the subscription process, or have casually considered checking out America’s Number 1 Meal Kit, you’ve likely wondered is HelloFresh worth it?
1. You Don’t Have to Go Grocery Shopping
I enjoy cooking but going to the grocery store isn’t my favorite thing to do. And when I’m trying out a new recipe, sometimes shopping for all the components can be a little overwhelming, especially when the recipe calls for a tiny bit of a more expensive ingredient that I know I’m probably not going to use again anytime soon.
So the fact I don’t have to go grocery shopping is definitely one of my favorite things about getting HelloFresh.
2. HelloFresh is Great for Getting Out of a Dinner Rut
We usually make spaghetti, tacos, and pizza because that’s what we like to eat, but it’s nice to take a break and try something new. If you also have like three go-to dinners that you make every week and want to broaden your horizons, HelloFresh can help get you out of that rut.
Eating more meatless meals is something we’ve become more curious about recently. Since vegetarian cooking isn’t a solid part our dinner wheelhouse, we’ve used HelloFresh to try some meat-free meals.
Plus, it’s fun looking forward to the delivery on the weeks we do get HelloFresh – because who doesn’t like getting packages?
3. The Weekly Selections Can (Eventually) Get Pretty Repetitive
We’ve tried so many new and exciting dinners since we got started with HelloFresh. But after probably our first four boxes or so, we started to feel like the meals on offer were ones we already tried.
It isn’t necessarily that the same recipes re-appear super frequently, but we’ll often notice a remix on a familiar type of dish where just an ingredient has been swapped.
Now, over a year in, we’re still ordering HelloFresh, just not as regularly. Our main reason behind trying a meal kit service was and still is to try new dishes we don’t normally make ourselves. We’ve definitely found some new favorite meals, but we’re more likely to make them with ingredients sourced from the store rather than re-order the same meal through HelloFresh.
4. HelloFresh Recipes are Easy to Replicate & Ingredients are Relatively Easy to Source
One of the things I love about HelloFresh is that it’s really about putting together simple flavors and easy prep to make something new. The most exotic ingredient I’ve had in a meal kit yet was this week’s Veggie Pho Stock Concentrate, but I’ve already found a similar product available at my local grocery store so I know I can easily make the Beef Meatball Pho whenever I like.
5. The Cost of One Meal Kit is Pretty Close to Buying the Same Ingredients at the Grocery Store.
I compared the cost of our last three HelloFresh meals to the cost of buying the same or similar ingredients at the grocery store, and the results were pretty close. Of course when you buy at the grocery store, you’ll likely have leftovers of things like dry ingredients and sauces that can be used for other meals. On the other hand, if those ingredients aren’t what you usually cook with, they may not get used and could result in food waste.
To come up with the cost comparison in the table below, I looked up ingredients at Wal*Mart since almost everyone in America has access to one. My criteria for the ingredients was that each item had to be an exact match or as similar as possible, had to be available for pickup and not special order, and from there I went with the lowest price possible. (HelloFresh ingredients are not usually specified as organic and most packaged ingredients are their own private label.)
| HelloFresh Recipe | Ingredients | HelloFresh Price | Wal*Mart Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-Pot Pho-Style Beef Meatball Soup | zucchini, carrots, scallions, ginger, lime, ground beef, panko breadcrumbs, ponzu sauce, veggie pho stock concentrate, beef stock concentrate, chili flakes, garlic powder, | $19.98 | $27.53 |
| One-Pot Spicy Coconut Curry Stir-Fry | bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, lime, cilantro, peanuts, ramen noodles, coconut milk, veggie pho stock concentrate, Thai chili sauce, curry powder | $19.98 | $21.82 |
| Golden Chicken Schnitzel | yukon gold potatoes, lemon, broccoli, chicken breast cutlets, garlic powder, fry seasoning, panko breadcrumbs, sour cream, honey mustard dressing | $19.98 | $21.47 |
| Total Ingredients Cost: | $59.94 | $70.82 | |
| Shipping Cost: | $9.99 | $0.00 | |
| Total Cost for 3 Meals: | $69.93 | $70.82 |
6. You’ll Learn New Cooking Techniques
I’m guessing if you’re thinking about trying HelloFresh, you’re probably not a seasoned chef by trade or hobby. I’m not either, so over the course of our year-plus HelloFresh subscription I’ve learned a lot, from simple techniques and flavor combinations to more inventive ideas. For example, we recently tried the One-Pot Pho-Style Beef Meatball Soup, and the recipe had me slice carrots and zucchini into ribbons which were then used in place of noodles – something I haven’t tried before and wouldn’t have thought to put in a soup.
HelloFresh has leveled up my stuffed pepper game. Thanks to their Tuscan Pork-Stuffed Peppers recipe, I learned that I need to roast the peppers before I stuff them (obviously not a seasoned chef here). I’ve since used this technique for my own take on stuffed peppers, and I can now confidently serve this dish with a chef’s kiss.
Making a simple pan sauce with milk, butter, and little chicken stock is another technique I picked up from HelloFresh that I’ve used when making an off-the-cuff chicken or pork dinner.
7. There’s Less Food Waste, But Sometimes More Plastic
Asian food is something I don’t cook often enough and when I do I usually end up with extra fish sauce or miso paste that I don’t really know how to use up. The ingredients in a HelloFresh meal kit come perfectly portioned for the exact amount needed to make the corresponding recipe. So I appreciate that I can get my feet wet with cooking some Vietnamese or Korean inspired dishes without purchasing ingredients that will not be fully utilized.
Because the portions are so exact, this also leads to additional plastic packaging that probably wouldn’t accompany these ingredients if purchased at the grocery store. While you might put a bunch of green onions in a produce bag or find a pound of carrots in a plastic bag, with HelloFresh just a few of each are encased in their own plastic bags.
Same thing with sauces, creams, mayonnaise, stocks, and spices: each portion comes packaged in one or more plastic or pastic-foil hybrid pouch.
8. HelloFresh Packaging is Mostly Recyclable
HelloFresh does a great job shipping their meal kits in packaging that is almost entirely recyclable, and they’re always trying to do better. We’ve been subscribers for over a year, and have noticed small, more environmentally friendly shifts in packaging over time. For example, our latest box (February) was lined in a simple paper bag whereas during the warmer months there’s typically a bubble wrap liner to help keep things cool.
But whether or not their shipping materials are recyclable really depends on where you live. In our area, plastic recycling is limited and there are some things like the strange foam liner pictured above that we have no idea what to do with.
9. Fresh Does Not Necessarily Mean Healthy
In our home, HelloFresh is fondly referred to as “HelloFat” and we are genuinely shocked when a recipe doesn’t call for butter, cheese, sour cream, or sometimes all three. That said, the recipes are delicious and the extra butter and dairy items are what really put the flavor over the top.
HelloFresh doesn’t market itself as a low-fat or diet option, and their recipes generally include a good amount of salt and fat. If you’re following a low fat, low sodium, or heart conscious diet this service may not be for you. Likewise, if you’re vegan you may want to look at other meal kits. While a lot of HelloFresh’s recipes are/can be vegetarian, we’ve come across very few that are truly animal product free.
10. The Results are Undeniably Photogenic
This is probably not that important, but I’m one of those dorks that loves taking pictures of my food. I’m especially proud when something that I cook tastes delicious and looks amazing, and I’ve been able to present almost every HelloFresh dish just as beautifully as their professional recipe photo.