Hello Fresh Review: My Honest Experience

Hello Fresh is a meal kit delivery company that delivers wholesome delicious meals directly to your doorstep. As stated on their website, they pride themselves as being the #1 meal kit in America. I’ve been a Hello Fresh subscriber for over 3 years, have made over 50 boxes of recipes, and this is my updated Hello Fresh review. You can see my original review here.

**This post contains affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you decide to subscribe to Hello Fresh. However, this is my completely honest review and you’re by no means obligated to use my links. If you do, thanks so much for supporting my site.

I first tried Hello Fresh about 3 years. I got a coupon in the mail and thought “hmmm this looks interesting” I went to their website, plugged in my information, and the next week I got a box of recipes and ingredients. I was blown away, in a good way. I was instantly hooked on meal kit delivery companies.

Since then I’ve prepared over 50 boxes of Hello Fresh recipes. I’ve also tried many other meal kit companies so I’m very familiar with the workings of these companies.

I started reviewing meal kits a few years ago. Not so much to say “OMG I love this so go subscribe now” or “Yuck this is awful” but to show you all the ins and outs so you can make an informed decision. I do share my own personal experience and give my honest thoughts but overall I want to help you decide whether or not this is a good fit for you. Of course, meal kits (including HelloFresh) isn’t for everyone but they do work for a lot of people. I hope you find this Hello Fresh review helpful.

Here are some of my other reviews:

Original Sun Basket Review – My Updated Sun Basket Review

Home Chef Review

Blue Apron Review

Green Chef Review

Purple Carrot Review

I’d be happy to answer any questions about HelloFresh, or any of the meal kit companies I’ve tried, just leave your questions in the comment section.

If you’re ready to try Hello Fresh, and don’t want to read my entire Hello Fresh review, you can use my link to get $80 off ($20 off your first 4 orders) <— That’s a great deal!

I wrote my original Hello Fresh review back in 2016. It still offers a lot of good information but I decided to do an updated review because they’ve made a lot of changes since then.

In this review, I’ll go over the changes along with my honest opinion about them. Then I’ll take you through the latest Hello Fresh Box I ordered and give my thoughts on the recipes. Last, I’ll talk about who I think Hello Fresh would work for and who I think shouldn’t bother ordering from them.

Before I jump into everything I want to cover some basics about Hello Fresh. Between Facebook ads, TV commercials, and mailers it’s very likely you’ve heard of Hello Fresh – they are no stranger to advertising. However, you might not really know what starting a Hello Fresh subscription, and ordering a box, entails. So, I’m going to take you through that.

Hello Fresh Review

Overview

When you go to the Hello Fresh website, and start the ordering process, you’ll first need to choose a meal plan. Keep in mind, regardless of the plan you choose, you’ll still have access to all of the recipes that are featured every week. The meal plan you choose simply highlights the recipes that get curated for you each week should you let Hello Fresh pick the recipes for you. If you don’t want those recipes you can choose others – I’ll show you how to do that in a minute.

My recommendation is to start with the Classic Plan. This plan gives you the most options. It’s the one I started with and still use.

Keep in mind, you’ll need to add your email, home address, and checkout information before you can view the meal plan and choose recipes. I know this is annoying, but all meal kit companies are like this.

Hello Fresh prices are comparable to other meal kit companies. Some might seem more expensive but they offer free shipping. Also, some meal kit companies focus on organic ingredients so those will be more expensive. There are a lot of options to meet the different needs out there. You just need to know what you’re looking for in a meal kit company, compare, and then choose the one that best meets your needs and budget.

Once you’re subscribed you can go to your profile and make changes to your delivery date. Hello Fresh gives 4 delivery day options which I like. I like to get my box on Saturdays so I can prep the recipes on Sunday. However, sometimes I get my box on Wednesdays because I like to have meals ready for the weekend. Hello Fresh makes it super easy to change up your delivery date.

In your profile, under plan settings, you can also switch up the menu type, number of people, and the number of meals you want. Again, this is just what will be automatically curated in your box every week. So if you don’t make changes this is what Hello Fresh looks at to put your box together.

I think it’s important to look at the meal preferences area. If there’s anything you don’t want included in a box then this is where you’ll add that.

Trust me, there will be times you forget to choose your meals so, if that’s the case, you don’t want to get a box of recipes that nobody will eat. I choose pork free not because we don’t like pork but I prefer to get other meats in my box.

If you’re ready to try Hello Fresh, and don’t want to read my entire Hello Fresh review, you can use my link to get $80 off ($20 off your first 4 orders) <— That’s a great deal!

How to Cancel Hello Fresh?

One of the biggest complains customers (of all meal companies) shared is the inability to easily cancel their subscription. Back in the day, Hello Fresh made you call or email to start the cancellation process. This was super annoying, to say the least. And I agree, if I want to cancel my account I should be able to easily do that.

Hello Fresh listened to their customers and now you can easily cancel your subscription in the plan section of your profile.

If you don’t want to cancel, but want to pause a bunch of weeks over the next couple months, you can click on the “deliveries calendar” link under where you would cancel. You’ll be brought to the calendar.

 

You’ll be able to skip deliveries in the menu section (see below) but this is more for canceling way into the future. My only issue is I wish this feature was more pronounced on the website. I think it should be a link right in the menu section of the website instead of within the profile.  Maybe they’ll change that in the future.

If you’re ready to try Hello Fresh, and don’t want to read my entire Hello Fresh review, you can use my link to get $80 off ($20 off your first 4 orders) <— That’s a great deal!

How to select Hello Fresh Meals?

Each week has their own menu with 17 recipes to choose from. The top 3 recipes are what will automatically go into your box. If you want to make changes then you need to click select meals.

SLOW YOUR SCROLL –>> this is something you need to pay attention to.

See that little date underneath the menu date? It says “make changes by __”. This is a very important date. If you want to make changes to your menu, or skip that week, you absolutely need to make all changes by NOON on this date. They will send an email to remind you. But if you don’t make the changes then you will get the meals they picked and you will be charged. This is where a lot of people lose their minds. Which, I guess, is understandable because nobody wants to be charged for something they don’t want. However, it is what it is so if you want to make any changes, or skip that week, then make sure to do it by noon on the date listed.

You can select your recipes up to 5 weeks in advance. I always “bulk select” my recipes because I’ve been known to forget and then get a box of recipes I didn’t pick. Not that it’s a bad thing but I prefer to choose my own recipes.

You can also select meals, view current menu and cooking instructions, and make any changes to your account using their app. I find their app very user-friendly.

One of the things I really like about Hello Fresh is they have a great variety of recipes and most are family-friendly. Out of all the meal kit services this is the one my kids enjoy the most. In fact, this is the reason I continue to order it because I know my kids will eat the recipes. Seriously, I make “creamy parmesan chicken” and my girls give me a hard time, it comes in a Hello Fresh box and they’re all about it. Whatever works.

But there’s a catch to having this much variety to choose from. One of the changes Hello Fresh made is they now charge for “gourmet” or “higher end” recipes. In the example below, the Sirloin Steak Provencal is an extra $5.99 a person. This means you’ll pay an extra $24 if you have a 4-person box. Each menu has 2 recipes that cost extra.

I’m going to be honest here. I was surprised (and not in a good way) when I saw the extra cost for gourmet recipes, craft burgers, and some other “higher end” recipes.

When HelloFresh first introduced the gourmet options the meals were part of your subscription. In fact, the Prosciutto-wrapped chicken (seen below) I selected many times (for free) and it became one of my favorites. I was really disappointed to see that it’s now an extra +5.99 a person ($24 for a 4-person box).

The reason I’m disappointed isn’t so much because they’re charging extra for “gourmet”. It’s getting to be the standard with meal kit companies to have “extras” or “upsells” for boxes. My disappointment is that I don’t really know what “extra” I’m paying for. The ingredients seem to be very similar to many of the other dishes and the quality of the meat and seafood is the same. I didn’t see any big differences between the “extra” priced recipes and the ones included in the description.

I can understand if the extra money means organic vegetables and meats, but that’s not the case. So, I’m really not sure the reasons these meals are costing so much extra.

My recommendation for HelloFresh is if they are going to charge extra for meals then there needs to be a difference in the quality of ingredients. Because, quite honestly, I’d pay extra for organic vegetables and meats. Sun Basket offers ingredient quality upgrades like organic and grass-fed beef and I gladly pay for that.

I really feel HelloFresh missed the mark with their recipe “upgrades”.

With that said, you still have 15 other recipes to choose from that are included in your subscription. In my opinion, and compared to other meal kit companies, that’s a great variety. And, these recipes are just as good as the “extra” cost recipes.

Another new feature that Hello Fresh offers is the option to add sides to your box. Personally, I thought this was a great touch. Most people order meal kit boxes do so because they want to limit their time at the grocery store. Therefore, adding a few sides and treats to their box could come in handy. You can select the number of sides you want for each of your box. If you don’t want any then simply skip it.

Prices are about $1 more each than what you’d pay in the grocery store for garlic bread and Annie’s cookies. If you’re looking for convienence then this extra price might be worth it.

The fruit comes to about $1 per piece. For conventional (non-organic) fruit this is a little more than what you’d pay in the store. I prefer organic fruit so I wish Hello Fresh offer that option. I mean they offer organic cookies but not organic fruit? I’m pretty sure they are testing the waters with all of this so hopefully they’ll offer more organic option in the future.

I tested all the extras so keep reading to see my opinion on taste and quality.

If you’re ready to try Hello Fresh, and don’t want to read my entire Hello Fresh review, you can use my link to get $80 off ($20 off your first 4 orders) <— That’s a great deal!

My Hello Fresh Box

Alright, now I want to take you through my latest Hello Fresh box.

Just like with every other meal kit company, all of your recipes ship to your door in a sturdy cardboard box.

All your recipes and sides are packed nicely surrounded by insulation. Dry ice is on the bottom of the box covering the meats and seafood to keep everything cold in shipment.

In the last 3 years I’ve ordered over 50 boxes from Hello Fresh and not once did my meat get delivered warm. Everything has always been cold, even in Summer. I know this has been a compliant with some people, but I haven’t had that experience.

Another complaint I’ve heard from readers is their meat leaked. Again, I haven’t had that happened. My suggestion to Hello Fresh is to put the meats in a seperate plastic bag to prevent any leakage. Sun Basket and Home Chef does this and I think it’s a very smart move.

Here’s everything that I got in my box.

Blackened Chicken Penne

Sausage and Spring Risotto

Fruit bag

1 package Annie’s chocolate chip cookies

2 loaves of garlic bread

Here are all the recipe cards that came in with the ingredients. A picture of the meal is on one side and the step by step instructions are on the other.

If you’re ready to try Hello Fresh, and don’t want to read my entire Hello Fresh review, you can use my link to get $80 off ($20 off your first 4 orders) <— That’s a great deal!

I’ll go over a couple of the recipes I made and give my thoughts.

Let’s start with the Blackened Chicken Penne.

Here are all the ingredients. One of the things I loved about this recipe is the chicken came prepped into strips. This, along with the pre-portioned ingredients, made preparing this recipe a cinch.

This Blacked Chicken Pasta recipe was AAAMAZING. The flavors were outstanding and it totally hit the comfort craving spot.

I actually portioned this recipe into 4 meal prep containers for dinners during the week. It heated up perfectly and tasted great.

My only issue with this recipe is it was high in calories so I had to improvise. I used less of the cream cheese and left out the butter. Also, I wish they had a whole grain or gluten free pasta option. Regardless, I still enjoyed my portion-controlled pasta dinner 🙂

With only a few tweaks, I think Hello Fresh could definitely makes this healthier while still being a great recipe.

The next recipe I made was the Sausage and Sweet Pea Risotto.

This recipe was easy to make but it took a lot longer than the Blackened Chicken Pasta. I’ve made risotto numerous times so I knew this when I selected it. If you’re short on time during the week then either make this on the weekend or select another recipe because it took almost an hour to cook.

I don’t know about you but my kids are like savages for food after school and could never wait an hour for dinner.

I love peas, and wanted to mix them in, but I knew this could throw my kids off from trying it so I decided to leave the summer peas on the side.

This recipe had great flavor and was so creamy and comforting.

My only complaint, and I knew this when I ordered it, is it’s higher in calories. Again, I wish Hello Fresh would offer lighter options with some of these classic recipes. For example, chicken or turkey sausage would work great in this recipe and cut the fat by half.

Just like with the other recipe, I portioned this out into glass meal prep containers and stored in the refrigerator for during the week. It reheated great.

The last recipe I made was the Roasted Veggie Caprese Bowl. I didn’t get pictures of that recipe because I made it during the week and forgot/ran out of time.

I like that Hello Fresh offers vegetarian options. All the ones I’ve tried were big on flavor and this one was no exception. Everything was easy to make and the vegetables turned out delicious. My daughter is a huge fresh mozzarella and balsamic anything fan so this was one of her favorites.

My only issue with this recipe it takes a little extra effort and uses more than one pot. I wouldn’t say it’s a difficult recipe to prepare it just has some extra steps with roasting vegetables, cooking the farro, and then bringing everything together. I prefer one-pot meals like the previous 2 recipes but it was still very tasty. I guess if you’re looking to make this recipe easy you could make the veggies ahead of time and then finish it the night you’ll eat it.

Next up we have the garlic bread.  My kids LOVE garlic bread so I was actually really excited to order it for them. I thought this was a nice touch with the pasta and risotto dishes.

At first glance, I thought the loaves were a little small but they turned out to be perfect size.

Each loaf took 12 minutes to cook. Just as expected the garlic bread was delicious and went perfectly with our meals.

Of course, you could probably get garlic bread cheaper in the store but if you’re looking for convenience then adding a couple loaves to your box will work out great.

If you’re ready to try Hello Fresh, and don’t want to read my entire Hello Fresh review, you can use my link to get $80 off ($20 off your first 4 orders) <— That’s a great deal!

Here’s the fruit that came in my fruit bag. Again, you can probably get fruit cheaper in the store but if you’re short on time and want fruit for snacks then throwing a bag or 2 into your HelloFresh box could be super helpful.

Last but not least we have the Annie’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. What can I say about these? My kiddos were VERY happy with this little treat. I actually forgot I bought the cookies and then saw the package in the refrigerator. I was able to quickly whip up a few and have cookies ready for after diner. I have to say, originally I bought the cookies just to “test out” but then enjoyed having a package ready to bake. Can’t say my kids would’ve got cookies that night if I didn’t have these Annie’s cookies in the fridge.

Even though, it’s a little pricier than purchasing in the store it nice to have that option if you’re looking for a sweet treat to go with your Hello Fresh meals.

If you’re ready to try Hello Fresh, and don’t want to read my entire Hello Fresh review, you can use my link to get $80 off ($20 off your first 4 orders) <— That’s a great deal!

My Overall Thoughts

• Hello Fresh meals are family-friendly and the portions are big. I’d describe the recipes as classic “American-style” food. There’s not a lot of eclectic ingredients – if any. Most recipes are ones you’ve heard of. If you’re looking for a meal kit delivery service to feed the whole family then this would be a good one to test out. My kids enjoy cooking and eating Hello Fresh meals.
• On the flip side some of the Hello Fresh recipes are really high in calories. So, even though I think Hello Fresh meals are healthier than ordering fast food, I think you need to be careful when selecting meals. They do offer a nice selection of calorie smart meals so Hello Fresh took notice of this issue. If you do order meals that aren’t calorie smart then reduce calories and fat where you can. For example, eat the burger open faced or bun-less, skip the butter, use have the cream, or eat a smaller portion.
• I’d really like to see Hello Fresh offer healthier options like whole grain pasta, chicken sausage, or turkey burgers. I think this would make a huge difference with some of their “not so healthy” meals. This can be an upgrade or, better yet, part of the included selections.
• Hello Fresh meals are easy to cook. Some of the recipes take a little more effort but, overall, most come together rather quickly. The recipe cards give step by step instructions and you can also see the cooking instruction on the app.
• The quality of the meats and vegetables is good.  It’s not organic but their website does state they source ingredients from farm. However, if you’re looking for organic or higher quality meat (grass-fed or organic) options then Hello Fresh wouldn’t meet your needs.
• With that said, I think if Hello Fresh is going to charge extra for any meal then it should include an option to upgrade meats and vegetables to organic. The meal itself should include higher quality ingredients not just sound fancier.
• I really like how they send meat and seafood already prepped and recipe ready. They didn’t do this in the past and this is a really nice touch. It definitely helps to get the recipes cooked faster.
• Hello Fresh does a great job delivering ingredients to your door. Everything is organized into bags which makes it easier to keep the ingredients organized in the refrigerator and when you’re ready to cook.

Who do I think Hello Fresh would work for?

• Someone looking for a meal kit to feed the whole family.
• Someone who wants to learn to cook and/or start cooking more at home.
• Someone who’s busy AND sees the value in a meal kit company.
• Someone who wants fresh home-cooked meals but isn’t concerned about organic vegetables or grass-fed meat.
• Someone who wants to eat healthier but is still enjoying carbs.

Who shouldn’t even bother with Hello Fresh?

• Someone who doesn’t see the value in a meal kit company. It’s very likely you can get everything in your Hello Fresh box cheaper in the grocery store. However, with any meal kit company you’re paying for convienence not just the food. You’re paying for someone to put a menu together and send an organized box of ingredients to your door to be cooked. If this isn’t something you think is worth paying the extra money for then Hello Fresh won’t work for you.
• If you’re eating low-carb, Paleo, or Keto then Hello Fresh will not work. You might want to try Sun Basket instead.
• If organic ingredients are important to you then Hello Fresh won’t work. I have my fingers crossed  this will be an option in the future.

If you’re on the fence with whether or not to give Hello Fresh a try I hope you found my Hello Fresh review helpful. I really try to give as much information as I can so you can make a confident informed decision.

Don’t forget, right now Hello Fresh is offering $80 off ($20 off your first 4 boxes). This is a great way to try Hello Fresh for 4 weeks without having to pay full price. You can get the discount here.

Have you tried Hello Fresh? What are your thoughts and experiences?