I truly love cooking — but up until now, I didn’t do much of it, and for one main reason: I hate going grocery shopping. I hate the lists, I hate the crowds, and I hate the fact that you’re forced to buy bigger ingredient portions than you need, which ultimately leads to wasted food and wasted money. Since signing up for EveryPlate, however, I’ve barely stepped foot in a grocery store. After about a year of receiving weekly deliveries from one of the most affordable meal delivery services out there, I figured it was time I finally wrote up an EveryPlate review.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about EveryPlate: What it costs, how it works, why it’s great, and where it falls short, so you can decide if it’s the right meal service kit for you. As for me, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to shopping and cooking the old-fashioned way. By shipping me the exact portions I need to make three meals a week (two servings each), EveryPlate has freed up tons of my time and minimized food waste in my kitchen. Everything I’ve made so far has been delicious, and my weekly delivery costs less than what I’d spend on a single DoorDash order. Needless to say, I’m sold.
In a rush? Get the fast facts:
- One of the most affordable meal delivery services
- Delicious, chef-curated meals for a great price
- Pre-portioned ingredients delivered to your door every week
- Choose between three, four, five, or six meals a week, two or four servings each
- Plans start at $4.99 a serving
- Flexible weekly menu you can adjust online or on the app
- Affordable add-ons, including sides and desserts
- 4.1-star rating on TrustPilot
What Is EveryPlate?
In short, EveryPlate is a meal delivery service that sends you (almost) all of the pre-portioned ingredients you’ll need to cook delicious, filling meals at home. While all meal delivery services have their angle, EveryPlate’s claim to fame is its affordability. Since weekly boxes cost less than a single night out at a restaurant, but contain everything you’ll need to make multiple servings of multiple meals, it’s one of the best options for single people or families on a budget.
How Does EveryPlate Work?
First, you sign up for a plan and choose your menu preferences. (Options include Meat & Veggie, Veggie, Family Faves, Quick & Easy, and Nutrish & Delish.) Then you select the number of people in your household (two or four) and how many meals you’d like to receive each week (three, four, five, or six).
After that, you’ll register for an EveryPlate account, input your address and payment details, and choose your meals for the first week. From then on, you’ll receive weekly deliveries on your chosen day that contain pretty much all of the ingredients you’ll need to make your pre-chosen meals. You’ll also get easy-to-follow recipe sheets that walk you through every step, all delivered in recyclable, insulated packaging.
My EveryPlate Review: Is This Affordable Meal Delivery Service Worth It?
Pros
Let’s start with the good stuff. First of all, I have a gluten sensitivity, so I wasn’t sure EveryPlate would have enough options for me. It does. With 25 recipes to choose from each week, I can find more than enough options — and if a recipe does call for gluten, since I’m cooking it myself, I can always just switch out the breadcrumbs/buns/flour for my own gluten-free versions.
Given the especially low price tag, I wasn’t sure if the food would even taste good. While I’m not particularly picky, I can honestly say that everything I’ve tried so far has been great. I also absolutely love the add-ons (more on those below), which are an affordable way to stock my fridge with extra vegetables, sides, and desserts I might need throughout the week.
Once again, I love that my shipments contain all of the ingredients I’ll need in precise amounts. The spices come pre-measured in tiny packets, the cream cheese comes in a single-serving pouch, and the meat comes pre-cut in the serving size you choose. (The only thing that’s not premeasured is the garlic; you get a full head for every recipe, even if it only calls for a few cloves, so I’ve got a pretty massive garlic collection right now.) This not only saves me a trip to the grocery store and minimizes food waste, but it makes meals much faster and easier to prep.
I was also pretty surprised by the serving sizes. I’m 100% satisfied after eating a single serving, and sometimes, I can’t even finish it. In that case, I’ll put it in the fridge and heat it up the next day.
Finally, recipes are super easy to follow and most of them take under 40 minutes to prepare. After staring at a computer screen all day, I find I actually look forward to the grounding experience of cooking — and EveryPlate has even taught me a few cooking techniques I didn’t know beforehand. (Who knew adding sour cream to your mashed potatoes could make them so amazing?)
Cons
A few times, there have been some quality control issues. While the meat and dairy items have always been fine, two or three times over the past year, I’ve received vegetables that have been too wilted to use. I reached out to the customer service team about it, and they were more than happy to credit my account for the ingredients.
While the meals are delicious and probably much healthier than eating out every night, they’re probably not the best option for someone who’s picky or counting calories. Finally, there will be some ingredients EveryPlate doesn’t send, so you’ll be expected to have them on-hand — like eggs, milk, hot sauce, mayo, and (in my case), gluten-free flour.
How Much Does EveryPlate Cost?
The cost of EveryPlate depends on the plan you choose. I get three meals a week, two servings in each meal, and it costs me about $50 a week. That’s about $8 a dish. (I’m in New York, so $50 would barely cover a single restaurant bill or a DoorDash/UberEats delivery.)
That said, if you opt for more meals and more servings, the price per serving goes down. For four people and six meals a week, serving sizes start at $4.99 each.
Keep in mind that some meals cost more than others. If you opt for premium meals, for example (which usually contain higher-priced ingredients like fish or steak), they may be a few dollars extra per serving. Finally, add-ons cost extra, but in my opinion, they’re totally worth it, since they’re still significantly cheaper than they’d be if you bought them in bulk at a grocery store.
Are EveryPlate Meals Actually Good?
In my opinion, yes — but again, I’m not picky. Most of the meals I choose contain some kind of sauce-topped meat (chicken, beef, fish, or pork) with a side of vegetables and a side of starch (potatoes or rice). In some cases, you can switch out the meat or sides for something you like better. EveryPlate also has pasta dishes, salads, burgers, soups, sandwiches, bowls, and tacos. Supposedly, these meals are chef-curated, and I’m shocked at how easy they are to prepare even though the finished result is pretty impressive.
The menu changes every week, and you can choose your specific meals a few weeks ahead of time. If you don’t hop onto the website or the app to manually choose your meals, EveryPlate will select them for you. Check out this week’s meal selection here.
How Do EveryPlate Add-Ons Work?
Add-ons are one of my absolute favorite features of EveryPlate. After selecting your meals for the week, you can choose to add some extra items to your box. They’re totally optional, but in my opinion, they’re a great way to keep your fridge, freezer, and pantry stocked in between trips to the grocery store — especially since they usually cost just a few dollars per add-on.
Your options will switch from week to week, but popular add-ons include sausage and cheese egg bites, sides of soup and mac and cheese, additional servings of vegetables, extra pieces of meat, and even snack boxes like Kind bars. My usual go-tos are brussels sprouts, ground beef to make meal toppers for my dog, and the sweet kale salad kit (hands down one of the best-tasting and easiest salad kits I’ve ever tried).
Who Owns EveryPlate?
EveryPlate is owned by HelloFresh (which explains why some of the ingredients will have HelloFresh’s logo on them). While EveryPlate is definitely less expensive than HelloFresh, you can rest easy knowing that the parent company prioritizes high-quality ingredients and careful recipe curation.
Why Is EveryPlate So Cheap?
According to the brand’s FAQ page, EveryPlate manages to cut costs without compromising on quality. How? Everything is pre-portioned, so you’re only purchasing the amount you’ll need — as opposed to shopping in-store, where you’re forced to buy a whole bag of something and risk the leftovers going bad. EveryPlate also curates its recipes using affordable ingredients, so you can build delicious meals using budget-friendly basics.
Is EveryPlate Healthy?
I’m not a nutritionist, but I’d assume that EveryPlate is healthier than eating out every night. Since you’re cooking your meals at home, you decide how much oil or salt goes into them — and EveryPlate has certain meal options that are healthier than others, like chicken, fish, and salad dishes. When picking your meals for the week, you can see the Nutritional Values of each one, which includes calories, fat, sugar, dietary fiber, protein, and sodium, not to mention allergens.
That said, EveryPlate’s primary draw is its affordability, so it’s definitely not the healthiest meal service plan out there. Its produce isn’t organic, and since almost every meal comes with some type of starch, it’s certainly not low-carb. (In the future, I’d love to see the option to swap out the potatoes and rice for more vegetables, even if there’s an upcharge.)
How Does EveryPlate's Shipping Work?
Your EveryPlate box is shipped to you once a week on the day that you choose. (Depending on your area, EveryPlate makes deliveries seven days a week.) I get mine on Saturdays, but if I know I’m not going to be home, it’s easy enough to switch your delivery window for that week so long as you do it a few days in advance.
The boxes contain insulating liners and ice packs, so your ingredients can stay fresh for up to 48 hours without needing refrigeration. The boxes and separators are entirely curbside recyclable, and you can cut the ice packs open and empty the gel contents into the trash before recycling the wrappers, too.
Shipping costs $9.99 a box, and EveryPlate currently delivers to the majority of the continental United States.
Who Shouldn't Use EveryPlate?
As previously discussed, I have a gluten sensitivity, but since I don’t have an issue with cross-contamination, I can still use EveryPlate. That said, this meal service likely isn’t a good fit for anyone with a serious allergy. It’s also probably not the best option for those looking to follow certain lifestyle diets, like paleo, low-carb, keto, or organic. While EveryPlate does have some vegetarian options, your meal choices will definitely be limited. Finally, most recipes call for a lot of herbs, spices, and sauces, so if you’re picky or prefer plain foods, you probably won’t love your options.
How Do I Cancel EveryPlate?
You can cancel your EveryPlate plan online (which is a feature I really appreciate; I hate when you have to e-mail the brand to change your subscription). To do so, log in, click your account in the upper right-hand corner, select Settings, and scroll down to Deactivate My Plan.
However, EveryPlate also allows you to skip up to four weeks at a time, so you can take a break from deliveries without deactivating your entire account. You can also change your delivery window, your servings, and your meals per week at any time.
What Do Other Reviewers Have To Say?
I’m not the only one who feels that their weekly EveryPlate delivery honestly makes their life easier. Currently, EveryPlate has a 4.1-star rating from over 19,000 reviewers on Trustpilot — which is pretty darn good by Trustpilot’s standards.
On the EveryPlate site, the brand claims that the service is recommended by over 9,000 families, and the customer comments are stellar: “We’ve saved money on groceries and eating out, plus have found so many great recipes we love!” one reviewer wrote. Another raved, “I’ve tried a lot of different meal kits. EveryPlate is by far the best value.” Finally, others comment that the variety, the quality, and the convenience all make this meal service kit worth every penny, and I wholeheartedly agree.
Interested? Shop EveryPlate Here.
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