Blue Apron Review: 3 CNET Editors Test the Popular Meal Kit Service

5 days ago 2

Pros

Good balance of comfort food and healthy recipes
Standard plan includes steak and seafood recipes
Good valu if you order a large plan
Eco-friendly packaging

Cons

Doesn't allow for much customization
Expensive if you only order two meals per week
Extra $10 for shipping
No vegan options

Blue Apron Review: 3 CNET Editors Test the Popular Meal Kit Service
How Blue Apron works
How much does Blue Apron cost?
Blue Apron pricing
What Blue Apron meals are like
What we cooked and how it went
Prepared and ready meals
Who should try Blue Apron?
Packaging and environmental friendliness
The final verdict

Meal kits aren't a one-size-fits-all service, and there are dozens of meal delivery options to pick from. That's why we enlisted a trio of CNET editors -- one meal kit expert, one wellness editor and one editor who is new to cooking -- to test and review Blue Apron and all the leading meal kits from three unique perspectives.

Blue Apron was our former top pick for best meal kit in 2025, but we've put three critical eyes to the popular meal-by-mail operation to see how it stands up to a health-focused, plant-based eater, a cooking newbie looking to hone her skills and an experienced meal kit tester with over 100 recipes under his belt.

As in previous rounds of testing, ABlue Apron ticks a lot of boxes. It offers good value with steak and seafood recipes alongside other tempting meal kits, including vegetarian options, each week for the same price or lower than other midrange meal kits. While all three of us enjoyed our test (or retest) of the service, it might not be a home run for evert type of home cook.

Read on for our three-headed review of the popular meal delivery service. If you're going to try Blue Apron, the service has rotating discounts and deals for new subscribers, such as up to 50% off your first four weeks of meals. Check out our list of thebest meal delivery deals happening now for more.

How Blue Apron works

If you've used any meal kit service, Blue Apron operates quite similarly to most others in the category -- a category it kicked off, I might add. You'll start by plugging in your email and selecting a plan. Blue Apron meal plans are simple and straightforward. You can choose meals for two or four people and either two, three or four recipes per week. Meals get cheaper the more you order.

blue apron plan selection screen on website

Meal kits include everything you need to make dinner (besides salt, pepper and cooking oil) and are then delivered on a day of your choosing, other than Sunday. Remember, this is a subscription, so if you don't pause or cancel, meals will come every week and you'll be charged for them. If you don't select the recipes manually through the website or app, Blue Apron will choose meals for you based on your initial plan.

Ordering meals and changing orders through the app is easy

You can do just about anything you need through the Blue Apron app, including changing and canceling orders, tracking your shipments and logging points if you're using the integrated Weight Watchers program. Between the website interface and mobile app, Blue Apron makes it easy to skip weeks, change out recipes or pause your subscription. Any changes must be made six days before the next delivery date.

Choosing meals with Blue Apron

As of 2025, there are 20 meal kits -- including one of two ready to cook options -- to choose from per week if you select the Signature Meal Plan, which encompasses all recipes. Of those 20, one or two are premium meals and feature a higher-end cut of steak, premium seafood or duck breast, and will incur an added cost. Between three and five the meals are plant-based or have the option to be turned into plant based meals, so if you choose the Vegetarian Plan, those will be your only options. Four or five of the meals fall under the Wellness category.

How much does Blue Apron cost?

If you're a couple looking for two, three or four recipes per week, Blue Apron meals break down to $9 or $12 a serving. Choose recipes for four people -- good for families and those looking for leftovers to eat throughout the week -- and the price per serving starts at $8 a serving for four meal kits. Order three or two meal kit recipes for four people and it'll be more like $9 a serving. Shipping is another $10 per box, no matter which plan you choose.

Blue Apron pricing

Recipes per weekMeals for 2*Meals for 4*2 3 4 5 *price per serving

$12	$10
$11	$9.49
$10	$9
$9.49	$8

Beyond offering high-end recipes for a good price, Blue Apron is the most environmentally friendly meal kit service with a lower overall carbon footprint than grocery shopping. Speaking of groceries, we did the math, and using Blue Apron is also about as cheap -- sometimes cheaper -- than buying all those groceries yourself.

What Blue Apron meals are like

Most Blue Apron meals are healthy, with lean proteins, fresh vegetables and healthy grains. On the side of the shipping box, there is now a Produce Origin List showing where all of the fruits and veggies comes from. If you want to splurge a little, there's always a pasta dish or two, along with comfort foods such as meatloaf with mashed potatoes or French bread pizza.

The Produce Origin Label on the side of a Blue Apron shipping box.

Blue Apron's standard weekly menu includes recipes that other meal kit services would classify as premium. There is often a steak recipe or some fish like trout, salmon or tilapia. Of all the services I've tested, Blue Apron also had the most interesting steak and seafood recipes available in the standard plan. I cooked an excellent bavette steak and a memorable garlic shrimp dish, both of which cost less through Blue Apron than they would have if I bought the ingredients myself.

Blue Apron incorporates interesting spice mixes, sauces and side dishes that you might not find with other meal kit services. Photogenic Romanesco broccoli is paired with tofu Banh Mi sandwiches, for instance, or a pan-seared steak dish is served with crispy gnocchi instead of been-there-done-that mashed potatoes.

How easy are Blue Apron meals to prepare?

Blue Apron meals are mostly easy to prepare and don't require any fancy cooking training or prolonged kitchen experience. Some more involved recipes like the mushroom risotto take up to 45 minutes, but most are between 25 and 35 minutes from start to finish.

One thing our wellness editor Anna Gragert liked most about the Blue Apron meal kits is that all of the sauce packets have cut lines that are easy to open, which can save time and be helpful for someone with a dexterity disability. The packaging is also labeled with the weight of the ingredients, making them easy to identify.

Blue Apron ingredients lined up on a white quartz countertop.

Our flex editor Corin Cesaric who is new to cooking appreciated that the meals were fairly simple to cook, but didn't seem overly simple. Meaning they still boasted unique flavors and looked impressive when they were plated up.

With less experience under her belt, our new to cooking editor loved that Blue Apron did have her cooking up ancho chile-marinated steak fajita bowls and seafood for the very first time. Her favorite meal of the week, though, was the sesame-hoisin chicken and rice bowl with bok choy, which had the perfect crunch thanks to a bit of cornstarch sprinkled on the chicken and crushed up peanuts.

Although the recipes did say they range between 30 and 40 minutes to cook, they did take her closer to an hour with preparation included, but she was still satisfied with the time frame. After all, she is still perfecting her chopping skills.

Oven-ready meals require less than 10 minutes of work

The oven-ready meals are the fastest to prepare and usually require only combining ingredients into a baking tray and sticking the whole thing in the oven to cook. My Thai coconut curry chicken meal with rice and green beans took no more than five minutes of actual labor, and then another 45 to cook.

In a previous round of testing, I tried Blue Apron's Super Bowl meal kit recipes, which were meant for a group, so some of those took a bit longer, such as the chicken bacon ranch flatbread pizza. Others from the Super Bowl spread, including the spinach and artichoke dip and steak lettuce wraps, took less than 25 minutes to whip up.

Is Blue Apron good for vegetarians?

After having tested four vegetarian meals from Blue Apron, our wellness editor, a vegetarian of 20 years, found that the meal kit service is good for vegetarians. She was impressed with the variety and veggie-friendly flexibility these recipes provided, along with how fresh the produce tasted. The sauces Blue Apron created for each vegetarian dish were incredible, and she appreciated that spice could be adjusted based on your preference. While Blue Apron's recipes do have you season every layer of the dish, she was mindful about how much salt she added to reduce her sodium intake.

Nutrition info for Blue Apron Veggie Curry Noodles, White Bean and Veggie Grain Bowls and Loaded Veggie Burritos.

Is Blue Apron healthy?

According to our wellness editor, Blue Apron offers nutritionist-approved, Weight Watchers-recommended and vegetarian-friendly recipes, so there is a good variety of dietary options for those concerned about their health. The recipes also include fresh produce, healthy grains (like farro), different protein options and a nice variety of ingredients. However, she recommends checking your recipe's nutrition label online to make sure you're not adding too much salt to the dish and that it works for your specific diet. She found the recipes to be easily adjustable, especially for vegetarians and those trying to reduce their sodium intake.

What we cooked and how it went

We tried 12 Blue Apron recipes in total. Three were from the current Signature Meal and three were from a previous test of standard recipes in 2022. Our wellness editor notes that her box was delivered to a next-door neighbor, so she recommends paying close attention to your tracking info so your box doesn't end up sitting outside for too long. Our flex editor also tried three recipes, plus two prepared and ready meals, and had no issues with packaging or delivery.

In all of our deliveries, Blue Apron boxes arrived undamaged with everything neatly packaged. Produce, fish, meat and other ingredients all seemed fresh, except for one red pepper that had some signs that it was past its prime -- but it was still very much usable.

Nothing was missing, although Blue Apron had made one replacement, swapping flank steaks for bistro steaks to ensure a timely delivery. The customer service team even notified me of the change beforehand via email. Spoiler alert: The flank steaks were superb.

Signature recipes

Bavette steak with caper aioli, potatoes and kale: This dish turned out wonderfully and felt like such a bargain for the per-serving price. The steak, which I must modestly admit I cooked perfectly, was restaurant quality: tender, flavorful and not the least bit tough or stringy.

Chicken thighs in Thai peanut curry with rice and green beans (oven-ready meal): This meal required about five minutes of prep -- mostly putting all the ingredients in the aluminum tray -- and then baking for 45 minutes. I feared the green beans would be mushy, but they weren't. The rice was a tad softer than I like it, so I would probably pull back the cooking time on this one to about 40 minutes.

blue apron chicken thigh in thai curry dish

Garlic shrimp over Spanish-style potatoes: This was the fastest meal to make, and also one of my favorites. It wasn't overly heavy but plenty filling. It was full of fresh garlic and toasty spices.

Gochujang steak lettuce cups: This one was also tasty and easy as heck. The steak was tender and the gochujang (a sweet and spicy Korean barbecue sauce) was a total smash. It took less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

Shawarma cauliflower grain bowls: I liked this recipe. Any time a recipe can make me forget I'm eating something healthy, I call it a big success, and that's what happened here. It did take a solid 35 minutes to prepare, but well worth it and the portions were plentiful.

Pan-seared scallops with capers, pickled peppers and orange salsa (premium meal): If this recipe sounds like a chaotic mess of competing flavors all jousting for dominance, that's because it is. It's a clear-cut example of one of Blue Apron's big swings but it was a swing and a miss for me. On the bright side, the scallops were fresh. On the flip side, I ruined fresh scallops.

Steak fajita bowls with cilantro sour cream: This meal was delicious and fairly simple to make. It took the longest to cook, but was well worth it in the end. The ancho chile paste marinated the steaks nicely while I prepared the additional ingredients.

a bowl with steak and rice sitting on a countertop

Sesame-hoisin chicken: This was a hit in my house and was quite simple to prepare. Once the veggies are prepped up, the cooking process was impressively easy and the recipe helps get the timing right.

A green bowl with rice, chicken, bok choy and peanuts sitting on a brown table.

Seared salmon & cumin Sichuan glaze: The quality of the salmon was great, and it was a generous amount. This editor appreciated that the simple recipe also included the internal temperature needed for salmon, since she had never cooked it before.

Vegetarian Blue Apron recipes

White bean and veggie grain bowls: This meal was quick (15-20 minutes), easy to prepare (especially since the farro was already cooked) and delicious. Our wellness editor loved the red pepper pesto. As someone who can't handle a lot of spice, she appreciated that she could control the amount of Calabrian chile paste added.

She was also careful about how much salt she added, since the nutrition info states that the dish is 62% of your daily value. On the plus side, it has 82% of your daily fiber and 50% of your daily value of iron, along with 25g of protein. If you remove the goat cheese, this would be a great vegan meal.

Two plates of Blue Apron's White Bean and Veggie Grain Bowls on a quartz countertop.

Roasted cauliflower and farro salad: This meal took longer, about 40 minutes, because the farro had to cook and the Romaneso cauliflower required roasting in the oven. However, it was worth it in the end because this was our wellness editor's favorite recipe. The tahini yogurt sauce, which only required mixing the sauce packets together, was incredibly flavorful and really elevated the dish.

She loved adding the lemon slices as a thoughtful garnish. Some interesting nutrition facts: 27 grams of protein, 57% daily value of dietary fiber, 72% daily value of vitamin A and 120% daily value of vitamin C (111mg). The latter shouldn't be an issue, unless you consume over 2,000 mg/day.

Blue Apron's Roasted Cauliflower and Farro Salad with feta and tahini yogurt on a light pink oval placement with a tie-dye napkin.

Loaded veggie burritos: This was a great, filling vegetarian burrito that took about 40 minutes. It came with tomatillo sauce, sour cream and a cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend. Interestingly, the recipe also included brown sugar, which our wellness editor didn't mind, but her partner thought made it too sweet.

Our wellness editor's notes that her partner cooked this meal and had two difficulties: getting the long-grain white rice to cook properly and not burning the burritos when browning them in a pan while attempting to melt and crisp the cheese at the same time. This likely comes down to variability in gas stoves. He was also careful about the amount of salt added, since the recipe's nutrition label states that one serving is 75% of your daily value. On the other hand, you get 50% of your daily value of dietary fiber and 30g of protein.

Blue Apron's Loaded Veggie Burrito on a speckled beige plate on a warm wood surface.

Thai-style curry noodles: This recipe can be made with chicken, but Blue Apron provided eggs and red bell pepper for the vegetarian version. It took around 35 minutes to make and was delicious and filling. Both our wellness editor and her partner had leftovers for lunch the next day. She thought the fried egg was a nice vegetarian touch. The recipe is 97% of your daily value of cholesterol, but most of that likely comes from the egg. It also contains 73% of your daily value of sodium, so she did not add any extra salt. You do get 28g of protein, 90% of your daily value of vitamin A and 80% of your daily value of vitamin C.

Blue Apron's Thai-Style Curry Noddles topped with a fried egg and peanuts on speckled beige plate.

Special menu recipes

Chicken, bacon and ranch pizza: This recipe took a little longer to prepare since you had to cook the chicken and bacon first, assemble the pizza and cook it again, but it was worth it. The result was like something you'd get at a gastropub or upscale sports bar. Perfect game-day food.

Spinach and artichoke dip with pita bread: I'm a sucker for "spin dip" and this version delivered, plus it was simple to make, creamy and tangy with a nice balance of ingredients. I liked that I could add salt to taste because sometimes premade or restaurant dips are too salty for me.

Chorizo quesadillas: Another crowd favorite, but certainly not WW-approved. I liked this game-day dish, although it was a tad greasy and heavy in the end.

Prepared and ready meals

Red Curry Noodle Bowl: This meal was pretty delicious with a slight kick and our flex editor was impressed with how tender the beef was despite it being cooked in the microwave. Although it does have a decent amount of saturated fat (80% of your recommended daily value,) it still falls under carb conscious, 600 calories or less and reduced sodium section.

a green bowl on a wooden table with noodles and beef in it

Creamy mushroom chicken with orzo and peas: This meal was pretty great too and quite healthy. It had a nice cheese and mushroom balance and the orzo wasn't mushy. It is good to note, however, that these premade meals are not freezer friendly.

Four-Cheese Enchiladas with Rice: Our wellness editor said this was a very filling meal. She enjoyed the vegetables, rice and chile sauce but wished the dish contained less cheese. It is 570 calories and contains 980mg of sodium (43% of your daily value), 27g of protein, 690mg of calcium and 610mg of potassium.

The Four-Cheese Enchiladas with Rice prepared meal from Blue Apron on a white quartz countertop.

Sweet and spicy tofu udon noodles: Our wellness editor noticed that these prepared meals felt more filling than the meal kits. For this dish, she loved how the tofu was cooked, the tenderness of the udon noodles and the variety of veggies. It also wasn't too spicy. It contains 510 calories, 1060mg of sodium (46% of the daily value), 11g of protein, 30g of total sugar (38% of the daily value), 80mg of calcium and 530mg of potassium.

The Blue Apron Sweet and Spicy Tofu Udon Noodles prepared meal on a white quartz countertop.

Who should try Blue Apron?

Blue Apron meal kits are great for families since the price per serving drops to $8 a portion if you choose four recipes for four. With a Weight Watchers integration built into the menus and app, it's a good choice for someone following that plan (but not for most other diets). It's also generally a good meal kit service for anyone looking to cut corners at dinner or improve their cooking skills. The recipes are elevated, yet easy to prepare and offer good value, making them also a great option for new cooks or picky eaters who are hoping to expand their palate.

There are probably better meal kits available for someone who eats vegetarian or vegan. Purple Carrot is one obvious option since it offers 100% plant-based (and delicious) meal kits. Even non-vegan kit services such as Sunbasket and Green Chef have more and better options for meat-free dishes on their weekly menus.

Blue Apron Market

Blue Apron also has a gourmet market where you can purchase cooking supplies, including spice mixes, cookware, gadgets, wine bundles and gear. Prices from the market are fairly reasonable.

Packaging and environmental friendliness

In my initial review of Blue Apron, I thought there was room for improvement when it came to single-use plastic and overall waste. In this latest test, I found a marked improvement with not nearly as much wasteful plastic wrapping.

Our wellness editor, however, does think Blue Apron can do better when it comes to its packaging. Inside the shipping box, there was a QR code for finding a recycling drop-off site near you, but the code only led her to the recycling info -- no drop-off location. That was on a separate page. In particular, she wishes she could send the ice packs back for reuse, or perhaps they could set up some sort of donation partnership with food banks, community fridges or meal programs.

Blue Apron's cardboard box insert with a QR code for recycling drop-off information.

As for the plastic packaging that wraps the produce and ingredients, she wishes they would replace it with a compostable or biodegradable alternative. After all, the ingredients are already sealed in their packets and you have to wash the produce anyway. She was so impressed with Blue Apron's entire process that she's confident the company could come up with a different, more eco-friendly packaging setup.

What she does like is that she definitely wasted less food with these meal kits. She also appreciated that Blue Apron partners with Feeding America Network, allowing them to send 32% of food that would be wasted to local food banks.

The final verdict

The 2025 version of Blue Apron is the best so far. Not only is the weekly menu full of easy and interesting recipes, but it has the most options for steak and fresh seafood without having to pay a premium. I liked nearly all of the nine recipes I made, although some were better than others, and only one felt like a dud.

Blue Apron offers some of the most sophisticated recipes you can get at a budget-friendly price. Outside of premium meals, the most you'll pay is $10 or $12 a serving and if you order enough servings for a family of four, it's more like $8 per serving. There are cheaper meal kit services, like Dinnerly and EveryPlate, but neither has recipes as interesting or refined as Blue Apron.

The ordering process was simple and the ingredients arrived on time and in good condition. If you're a Blue Apron subscriber, it's also comforting to know that you're using the most environmentally friendly of the major meal kit services. If you're looking to try meal kits to switch from your current service, Blue Apron makes it easy and cheap, with a deal good for $110 total off your first few deliveries.

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