Can Meal Kits Be Easy, Healthy, and Budget-Friendly? An RD Tried EveryPlate for a Week to Find Out

EveryPlate prides itself on being affordable. It was founded by parent company HelloFresh in 2018, and each meal costs an average of just $6 — only slightly more than a regular home-cooked meal and a steal compared with other meal delivery services that start at around $10 per serving. I decided to give it a try to see if it could truly deliver tasty and healthy meals from easy recipes. In particular, I was interested to see how the low cost of these meal kits affected the overall quality. Would EveryPlate live up to its claim that it can “break the cycle of boring”? Here’s my experience.

The sign-up process for EveryPlate is simple. On the EveryPlate website, I clicked Get Started; picked my plan, portions, and how many meals I wanted for the week; then registered for delivery (you can choose which day you would like your box delivered).

There are five plans:

• Smart & Fit
• Meat and veggie
• Quick and easy
• Family faves
• Veggie

Regardless of your plan, you can still choose from the full list of meal options each week, so the labels seem superfluous.

You can also sign up for EveryPlate on its app. After you download the app, you can choose either Tell Me More to read a very brief overview of the service or Select Your Plan to sign up. You can also log in if you already have an account. You cannot preview meal options on the app like you can on the website.

How Much Does EveryPlate Cost?

EveryPlate is very affordable: Most servings are $6.99 each, and there’s a flat shipping cost of $10.99 per box. That means it becomes less expensive per serving the more meals and portions you order each week.  Including the shipping, here’s how its prices break down: 

In addition, EveryPlate offers first-time users a substantial discount on their first box (this varies depending on your plan). Discounts are also available for students on the site, plus medical providers, nurses, hospital employees, teachers, first responders, and military/veterans on ID.me. These groups receive 65 percent off their first box, no shipping cost on the first box, and an ongoing 15 percent discount for one year.

Choosing My Meals

Once you’re signed up, you get to select your meals for the week either on the website through your account or in the app.

Each week, there are about 35 recipes to choose from. Some weeks have more recipes than others, and you can make your selections up to three weeks ahead. Looking ahead at future weeks, recipes were not repeated (unlike some other meal delivery services I’ve seen), and there were always two or three family-friendly recipes on offer. Bear in mind, though, that if you forget to make edits within the window (five days before delivery), then meals are chosen for you—so if you think you’ll forget, you might want to select meals a few weeks in advance.

A good variety of dishes is typically on offer week to week, with different proteins and cuisine styles, but there aren’t so many options that it becomes overwhelming. I would categorize most of its recipes as American comfort food, but recently the company has added several recipes inspired by other regions of the world, too. That said, I lean more plant-based and prefer to include plant-based protein in my meals, so I was on the hunt for meals that featured vegetables and proteins I was comfortable eating. Unfortunately, I found the vegetarian meals were lacking in plant-based protein options. For instance, a spaghetti and zucchini dish, while vegetarian, lacked a non-meat protein addition such as beans, eggs, or tofu/tempeh.

The week I ordered, there were 30 meal options available, and of those, only two were vegetarian. This is not typical: most other weeks, there were six to eight vegetarian options available. The meat-based meals featured a small variety of proteins (mainly chicken, turkey, and beef) and a small variety of grains (mainly rice, bread, and potatoes).

For my first week, I chose to order:

• Balsamic-glazed meatballs with roasted green beans and garlic bread
• Roasted bell pepper flatbread with creamy tomato sauce and mozzarella
• Sweet chili turkey rice bowls with peanuts and sriracha mayo
• Sweet sesame broccoli mushroom bowls with sweet potato, garlicky rice, and sriracha mayo

Many of the dishes offered on EveryPlate’s menu are customizable, which means you can swap proteins or, for an additional fee, add portions of proteins or vegetables. I added an extra serving of broccoli with the sweet sesame broccoli mushroom bowls.

None of EveryPlate’s ingredients are organic, and it was unclear if any items are non-GMO (genetically modified organisms). GMOs are typically found in products like cornstarch, corn syrup and oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and granulated sugar.

The sourcing of EveryPlate’s ingredients was also not cited. Knowing a meat’s source can help you find out whether it was raised humanely. Certified Humane labels, for instance, can help you identify meat from farms that adhere to responsible animal care guidelines. The USDA notes that “If you can pinpoint where your food was grown and produced, you can make more informed decisions to maximize quality, freshness, and nutritional value.”

Box Add-Ons

While you can only order up to five meals a week, you have the option to add on extras. The add-ons available when I used the service included:

• Raw proteins, such as chicken breast, pork chops, ranch steak, and salmon
• Premade sides like garlic bread, mac and cheese, and pretzel bite rolls
• Desserts like a snickerdoodle skillet cookie

Prices for add-ons range from $0.99 to $6.99, which is very reasonable and comparable to grocery store prices.

EveryPlate keeps perishable ingredients like meat cool with gel ice packs, while a cardboard separator keeps them from mixing with the box's other ingredients. The box and separators are recyclable curbside in most places; to recycle other pieces of the box, like the gel packs or box liner, you must follow special instructions.

However, the ingredients are not organized in the box, which I found disappointing. I had to consult the recipe cards to organize my ingredients by meal while unpacking. If the recipe cards were accidentally thrown away, I could access them on the app.

Cooking the Meals

I have a lot of experience cooking (I cook six nights a week and have taken many cooking classes), so following the recipes I received was easy. However, if you're not experienced, I still think they would be pretty simple to replicate. The menus have clear step-by-step instructions, and there are plenty of quick-prep meal options, which should be the easiest to make.

While each recipe card lets you know what pantry items are needed in addition to the ingredients provided, you might miss this when you order your meals — I certainly did. I had to run out and get some mayo for some of the meals I ordered. However, most items are probably things you have on hand, like salt, pepper, and cooking oil. EveryPlate includes fewer of these ingredients than many other meal delivery kits, which is likely one way it offers such low-priced meals.

Each meal took less than 10 minutes to prepare and less than 30 minutes to cook, which busy adults and families might appreciate. Most of the prep involved chopping vegetables and measuring ingredients, since nothing arrived portioned, peeled, or cut. Every meal resembled the photo on its recipe card once completed.

Of the meals I ordered, the easiest to cook was the Sweet Chili Turkey Rice Bowls. The chopping was minimal, and it only required one pan to cook the turkey and vegetables and a pot for the rice.

The hardest to make was the Balsamic-Glazed Meatballs. I had to touch the ground meat and form meatballs, which I find unpleasant. I also had to stay in the kitchen close to the timer, since all the components (the meatballs, the bread, and the vegetables) required different cooking times.

Tasting the Meals

That said, while I found it time-consuming and complicated to make, my wife and I really enjoyed the meatballs. She said they reminded her of her mom’s meatloaf. I liked the turkey bowl; it was similar to a dish I make often. Overall, the meals were not incredibly satisfying. We both wished there were more vegetables.

EveryPlate labels meals that contain 650 calories or fewer per serving as “calorie smart.” This calorie count is comparable to meals that people on a weight loss plan would likely follow. Compared to some boring and flavorless diet-focused meals, the calorie-smart meals on EveryPlate were interesting and didn’t feel like diet food, which is why I was excited to try the vegetarian Roasted Red Pepper Flatbread, which was labeled calorie smart. Unfortunately, it was not that tasty or filling, and the flatbread itself was slightly burnt.

One advantage of EveryPlate is that if you keep the recipe cards, the meals would be easy to replicate without relying on the delivery service to receive your ingredients. So if you love the taste of a dish you make, you can make it again even if you stop your subscription.

Nutritional Quality of the Meals

There are some things to keep in mind if you subscribe to EveryPlate.

Most EveryPlate meals contain sugar. For example, the turkey rice bowl has 28 grams of sugar, which according to the American Heart Association, is above the recommended maximum daily intake of added sugar for those assigned female at birth and close to the maximum daily intake for those assigned male at birth. Of note, the nutrition facts label does not differentiate between added sugar and naturally occurring sugars. I assume most of the sugar comes from the sauces provided.

EveryPlate’s prices are extremely affordable when compared with other services. The most similar pricing appears to be Dinnerly. Though the portions from EveryPlate felt small, they are comparable to other meal delivery kits, like those from Dinnerly.

However, Dinnerly offers more seafood on its menu than EveryPlate, and its recipes are categorized by tags like “picky eater approved” and “gluten-free friendly,” which is handy if you’re choosing meals for kids or people with specific diets. For example, Dinnerly offers low-carb, low-calorie, and gluten-free plans — and it’s not the only meal delivery service that makes it easier to cater to dietary needs. Blue Apron also offers a wellness plan, with nutritionist-approved meals labeled “carb-conscious,” “wheat-free,” “protein,” “600 calories or less,” “keto-friendly,” or “Mediterranean.” EveryPlate, on the other hand, prioritizes easy preparation and low costs, and low-calorie is the only dietary need covered.

EveryPlate’s add-on grocery options are minimal and mostly include extra portions of meat, sauce, pasta, and vegetables to make your meals go further. If you like the added convenience of adding other grocery items, EveryPlate might not be the best meal delivery service for you. Dinnerly and Purple Carrot have more add-on items in their marketplaces, and Blue Apron focuses its extras on meal additions and prepared or easy-to-make meals and sides. Purple Carrot also has prepared meals available for purchase, while EveryPlate does not.

I think novice cooks interested in making more homemade meals while sticking to a strict budget would benefit from EveryPlate. It makes it easy to offload the chore of planning meals and sourcing fresh ingredients. It might also help you learn how to cook and expand your palate as you experiment with new, easy to prepare recipes

I will not continue to use this particular meal delivery service because I prioritize organic ingredients and more plant-based recipes, which aren’t EveryPlate’s main strength. However, if you find it difficult to know how to cook fresh, healthy meals for your family on a budget, or you live in a food desert with few stores offering fresh produce, this meal service could make things easier for you.

Everyday Health is finding the best meal delivery kits by testing over 50 services. First, we research and vet the company and its business practices. Next, we consult RDs about what to look for in meal delivery kits, what to avoid, and overall nutrition. Finally, we assign professional journalists or RDs to try the service.

As a registered dietitian, I tested this against my own health values and knowledge, and with every meal, I asked myself if I would suggest this service to one of my clients. Hundreds of private clients have trusted me with their health and dietary preferences to steer them toward the most nutritious and delicious options for over five years.