Blue Apron

I had 2 weeks of Blue Apron meals and based on that experience I would say stay away!

We had 3 meals per week and after following the directions closely 2 of the 3 meals the first week were INEDIBLE! I am not a picky eater. I love all sorts of strange tastes and foods. But these wound up in the trash (wouldn't even feed it to my dogs.)

Based on that first week I attempted to cancel only to find that even though I delayed my next delivery by an additional week to make sure I had time to try it first. I was not able to cancel my next meal delivery 6 full days in advanced (canceled Friday delivery on Saturday morning.)

So here I was stuck with 3 more meals and dreading it. Once again I followed the directions carefully and only 1 of the 3 new meals was inedible.

Summary: Don't do it. If you do make sure you pause AT LEAST the next 2 deliveries so you have time to try the first before they force you onto another. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

I am a kind person and believe in KARMA. Two years after canceling my membership, I discovered four different charges over the period of two years of $59.99 for meals I never ordered / nor received. I was completely shocked. No, it's not that I forgot to cancel and received meals I never ordered, I NEVER RECEIVED these meals I was billed for. $240 later they refuse to refund my card for goods not received because their tracking numbers have expired. $240 for NO meals.

My husband and I decided to try blue apron after adding up our weekly food bill that consisted mostly of eating out and a few hurried meals if I could make it to the grocery store after football, basketball, etc. We are both foodies and love to cook but the time to plan and shop was the problem. Blue apron delivers 3 meals a week that we choose. The portions are really made for 2 to 3 people, but we stretch it to feed 4 by adding another vegetable or grain, etc. The only thing you really need is eggs, salt, pepper and olive oil, everything else is provided. All the meals have been tasty and easy to make. The service is cheaper than Plated and they have just added a monthly wine pairing for an extra $65 a month. I think the service could be improved if they had portions to feed a family of 4 for 5 days I have yet to find any meal service that provides this. In addition, they limit your choices each week. For example, you can choose 3 meals out of about 7, but if you select certain meals it eliminates other selections automatically. I would also suggest a desert selection. Overall, my family is enjoying the service and the home cooked meals. I would recommend highly recommend it.

For 5 weeks straight they delivered my food warm, all ice packs completely defrosted, told me the food was still good as long as it was within 24 hours, well my food as well as ir thermoter said otherwise, the meat was at a nice 71 degrees with the actual boxes heat with my ir heat detector at 75. Every item was warm to the touch. Vegetables were actually HOT. The meat was warm. Threw away all the food as im not risking my health for some subpar delivery service using fedex(the worst carrier) to deliver perishable food. When i complained about this, they decided they would just cancel my account, no refund, because i complained too many times about recieving a hot box of food. Not to mention the many times the gel ice packs were always exploded in the box and all over the vegetables, as well as not properly sealing any of the meats so you would have boxes full of defrosted meat juice leaking on everything and as any normal person would know is a huge health hazard. This company lost a huge marketshare and stocks are down. And now i know why. Thank you for closing my account, i disputed with my bank to get my money back. Scam $#*! company delivering ecoli infested food. Stay away. Hello fresh is much better and so is dinnerly.

I was excited to try Blue Apron until I got my first 2 boxes. The food I got was not the freshest and while there were ice packs in the bottom of the box, it wasn't all that cold, everything had completely defrosted, and I took the boxes from the delivery guy's hands. The chicken that was by the ice packs was defrosted to the point that the juices that are natural with chicken after it thaws, leaked everywhere in the box. The grape tomatoes were soft rather than firm and the peppers were wrinkled and not at all fresh. The tilapia I got was farm-raised rather than wild which I don't care for. The portions are also very small, not that small portions are a bad thing, especially if you're trying to lose weight, but it's something to be aware of. On the website, it shows plates being very full, but the only way the plates could be that full is if they were sandwich (small) rather than dinner plates; that's how small the portions are. When you look at the small portions and then look at the calories for those small portions, which are overwhelmingly high, then there is nothing on Blue Apron that is suitable for those trying to be healthy and lose weight. You pay a premium price, even with coupons, for very small portions and food that's far from premium. I had to supplement my meals with additional vegetables to make the meals more healthy and filling.

As far as taste, it was okay but not great and absolutely not worth the cost or effort since I still had to cook the meal.

My experience using Blue Apron
Overall, using Blue Apron wasn't the best experience, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I enjoy cooking and Blue Apron's fast and easy to cook meals were a little too simple.

Food quality
The food was always fresh when it arrived and could last a few days in the fridge, or, if you need to wait longer to make certain meals, the food was fine being frozen.

Taste
Blue Apron's food never tasted bad, but it didn't taste high quality either. That's likely due to the fact that most of their food simply didn't call for enough spice. Once I added more salt or pepper or chili flake (you get the point), the food was a little better, but still fairly bland.

For the cost of Blue Apron, I don't feel that the food quality is necessarily worth it. You pay upwards of $50 for two meals a week (and that's just dinner), so you'll need to go grocery shopping anyway, and by the time you've bought everything you need, Blue Apron's price doesn't seem very budget friendly.

Recipe cards
For the most part, the recipes led you in the right direction. But, as I said above, for those who have never, or rarely made full meals, the recipe cards can be hard to follow. You're told to do multiple tasks at once—which is hard even for more experienced home cooks, and there's a lot of assumption that you know how to chop vegetables properly, know how to add the right spices, and multi-task.

In my experience with other meal delivery services (Plated, for example), the recipe cards have helpful tips that instruct you how to do every single step, no matter how small.

I decided to give Blue Apron a try when I heard everyone raving about it. I thought it would be an easy way to cook a meal for my family and cook a healthy meal at the same time. I placed my first order, excited to see what I was going to get! Well, the first disappointment came when I received my box. It literally looked like it had been drop kicked from the curb to my door! I took pictures of this to show Blue Apron because I was positive no one would believe a box was delivered in such condition! The items inside were ok, but a can of beans was dented. I threw that out--I had always heard not to use dented cans so I substituted my own can of beans. I started to open the packages that were in good condition and make my meal for the night. I didn't realize the meat came frozen, so I actually had to wait a day for it to thaw. The recipe was bbq chicken "burgers" with coleslaw and potato crisps. The cabbage was half brown, so I didn't use that either. The potato was ok as well as the chicken, etc. I made the recipe but to be honest, the cost was not worth it. They give you tiny individual packets of spices and ingredients, it's less money to buy your own ingredients and make the recipes. My family liked the chicken, but it was very expensive and not worth it in my opinion. I didn't think the food was packed very well in the box, hence the dented can, and it also didn't seem as "fresh" as I would have expected (brown cabbage). Tried it once, would not try it again. I could download recipes and make my own meals.

I saw Blue Apron's ads on TV, and their marketing is absolutely gorgeous. Everything about it made it look so homely and fun, therefore when I received their discounts or gift cards in the mail, I was always tempted to make an order. I once got a $30 gift card that was supposed to cover (from what I remember) one week or one box.

But there was a minimum that requires me to purchase double the amount, therefore I couldn't use the gift card on its own. On top of that, inputting your payment information would require you to subscribe to them which I didn't want. I wouldn't have mind paying any shipping fees, but luring people to subscribe for a monthly box is just ridiculous.

So like I said, I have tried to give Blue Apron a chance being a new customer because I thought the concept was cool, and their marketing effort made this look like a terrific idea. However, the way they lure people into subscriptions is just really bad. You can't even have a one time offer just to see how the service is. On top of that, their gift cards never cover fully for their product, yet they consistently send me gift cards in the mail. Again, I'd pay the shipping and processing, but I would never pay for a subscription just to use a "gift".

I am unsure how this company stays in business. My first order of three meals arrived on time. They package several smaller items inside a sealed plastic bag. The smaller package of roasted (with liquid) was open and had spilled everywhere. Upon inspection, I also noticed the dried pepper package was open. Both packages did not come open during the delivery process. They were put inside already open, one cut by scissors and one peeled back. Blue Apron gave me a $10 credit but were indifferent to the real issue. The choice of meals each weeks is weak with two of the thirteen choices costing upwards of $20 more if you decide to go that route. Yesterday I get a notice my delivery was not going to be on time but one day late. I called Blue Apron who told me the carrier did not put it on the truck. I just called OnTrac, the delivery company where the package was to be recieved. They informed me the package never left Blue Apron! On Trac closed their case because they don't have a package from Blue Apron to be delivered. I am on hold now waited to speak to Blue Apron again to see what BS they are going to throw my way this time. What a shady company.

Great customer service. The food is delicious and the price is pleasant. Definitely worthy of a recommendation.

I have been a customer for over a year now. Every few weeks items in the box would arrive damaged (leaking, produce damage, etc.). Then this last box sits in another city for 36 extra hours in transit. FedEx states local weather delay (I was in that city that day - there was no delay). Blue Apron assures me that it will arrive in the next few days and it was stored in cool conditions. The package arrives and the meats are at 57F per a thermal thermometer (outside of the safe zone). I email them and went back and forth for three email chains before they would even refund my money for their late delivery and spoiled goods.
Second and last straw was I ordered a gift card for Christmas. On the website it stated "Guaranteed to be shipped by 12/9/16" with a 5-7 business day shipping. This would allow me to receive the card prior to leaving town to my families house. It didn't ship until 12/20/2016 but with the 5-7 business day - now projected to arrive late. I contacted them on 12/10 and was told it would ship prior to 12/15, it didn't. I asked to cancel the order, I was told I was not able to. I asked to switch it over to an E-Gift card, couldn't do that either. Not sure what the Guarantee was, or what I get in return for their botched service. Now I don't wish to refer anyone to Blue Apron. I emailed them on 12/15 and have yet to receive a response. Surprise - they don't care about their customers. AVOID BLUE APRON.
I have tried a few other companies, all have had the same quality of food and ease of recipes. I am now moving on to Home Chef.

At first I enjoyed this service and was satisfied with most of the recipes (they are a bit heavy on cole-slaw variations as sides so if you don't enjoy a mayo/vinegar/veggie mix this would be a disappointment).
Then I started receiving orders where the produce was going bad after 1-2 days. Since these deliveries are only once a week with 3 meals included it isn't practical for the meals to go bad before you can cook them.
My most recent order had the package of Cod fish torn when it arrived and all the liquid from the fish leaked on the rest of the ingredients making them unusable. There also weren't ingredients included for all the recipes on the card, it is as if they packed ingredients for totally different recipes than I received.
I have submitted multiple requests to customer service for a refund or credit and haven't received a response.
I am cancelling my subscription due to this. I basically had to throw $60.00 in the garbage can and Blue Apron refuses to communicate with me. It also irks me that paying $60.00 a week for 3 meals doesn't guarantee that ingredients will be usable. I end up having to buy replacement ingredients while grocery shopping due to expired/rotting produce I receive in the deliveries.

Received the blue apron boxes for three or four months. Worked out great for me and my hubs. Saved me from having to grocery shop and plan meals for part of the week and he even started cooking (normally unheard of). Plus we were getting a wider variety of food than what we would eat normally. The thing that made me cancel my subscription is that the boxes started arriving less and less cold. I live in the desert, so its pretty hot in the summer right now, so I asked if they could fix this issue or if I should suspend my orders till cooler months arrive. The did credit an order where we had to through out the meats because it smelled horrible when we opened it. We threw out products like sour cream and creme fraice because they were always spoiled and separated when we opened them. But the tipping point was when we got an order with pizza dough in it. The dough had expanded because it was so hot in the box and had exploded out of the packaging. The response i received was "we make sure we package our food so that it arrives cool and at the proper temperature for you". Obviously not. Since this wasn't my first issue with the ingredients not being cold enough for safe consumption, I was very disappointed that that was their response. I canceled our subscription and will hold off on trying any other box services like this until winter.

I have been using Blue apron for a few months now. The food is good, but the delivery system is a failed system. More than a dozen deliveries were placed out in the hot sun on the hot concrete just to spoil. Despite numerous, and I mean numerous easy to follow instructions laid out by myself to Blue Apron and the delivery service they continued to make the same poor delivery choice time after time resulting in food that was wasted. Many emails and promises were made by Blue Apron, not one of which was kept. I was forced to discard of at least 12 meals all because of their complete incompetency and unwillingness to do what needed to be done to solve the problem. I assume the owners of Blue Apron wouldn't appreciate the endless amount of money thrown down the drain because of their failed delivery systems and poor customer service. If they knew what was going on and that they were loosing money and customers I bet they would not be happy! Blue Apron did however comp my meals that were trashed, (but that didn't solve the problem). In the end I had to quit using them because they couldn't get it right, and I in good faith could not recommend them to a friend. Good luck if you use Blue Apron! I hope and pray you don't have to go through the same headaches I did.

A friend sent me a "Gift for You" from Blue Apron: a week of food and recipes for a family of 4 -- I tried to redeem the coupon and was required to create an account and put in my credit card number. I called a customer rep to ask if I could redeem my gift without giving my credit card info. Sure, she said, but when the rep walked me through the links and "claim free meals" buttons, they all required my credit card. The rep ended up saying no gift without my credit card. This business model irks the hell out of me, standard though it may be. I'm the type who won't remember to cancel after a week (not to mention the fact that I hate using a credit card online), and the fact that Blue Apron knows this (and counts at least in part on billing rich people who forget to cancel the service) galls me. Blue Apron is convenience for the elitist crowd. I'm not a fan. Oh and did I mention they spammed me with at least an e-mail a day for a full two weeks after I unsubscribed from their e-mail list. Grrrrr...