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Home Chef vs Blue Apron: Customizability or Practicality?

When trying to figure out which is a better meal kit delivery service between Home Chef and Blue Apron, don’t get confused with tons of features or meaningless jargon. 

The important thing is understanding which meal kit delivery can cater to your needs, preferences and budget.

To facilitate this epiphany, we’ve tested both (yummy!) and created a Home Chef vs Blue Apron comparison that shows you exactly how each service can make your evenings easier… or trickier.

Drumroll!

HOME CHEF

Home Chef reviews
  • Plans: Each two-, four- and six-people plan can cover from two to six nights per week. Customizable as omnivore, carnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, calorie or carb-conscious, and options to avoid specific ingredients
  • Price per serving: $8.99
  • Delivery: $6.99 (or $13.99 for the most basic plan)
  • Recipes per week: Usually more than 20

BLUE APRON

  • Plans: Two people: 2 or 3 nights (also available as a vegetarian option). Four people: 2,3 or 4 nights
  • Price per serving: $7.49-8.99
  • Delivery: $7.99
  • Recipes per week: Around 20 for the main plan, fewer for other options

Quick overview: Home Chef, a very customizable meal delivery kit

home chef reviews

Even though Home Chef doesn’t really focus on a specific USP, it’s easy to see what made it so popular in the super-competitive world of meal delivery kits: their customizability (1).

“Customers really appreciate our wide menu options, variety, price point and how easy our meals are to cook.” Pat Vihtelic, CEO 

Their plans cover more nights and can cater to even larger households than most meal delivery services, as well as allowing you to focus on specific dietary needs or avoid certain ingredients.

That’s why we think they’re a great choice for couples or families with picky eaters, those with different food requirements, and those who just want to channel their inner chef by personalizing some recipes.

Find out more about them in our Home Chef review.

Quick overview: Blue Apron, one of the largest meal delivery kits

blue apron meal kits new

Blue Apron is a beloved household name and, although HelloFresh has recently overtaken it as the largest meal kit delivery in the US (2), still a popular giant in this industry.

With straightforward recipes and a few welcome add-ons, it focuses on providing practical but exciting solutions to modern professionals (3).

“When we decided to do Blue Apron and we told our friends about it, it wasn’t a very difficult sell. They said they’d wished something like this existed in their lives.” Ilia Papas, co-founder 

As you can read in our Blue Apron review, we believe they’re a great option for singles and large families who want to try lots of different recipes without worrying too much about dietary requirements.

Home Chef vs Blue Apron comparison: a tasty overview

Yep, pretty different, right? But let’s see what those features actually mean when it comes to your meal preparation… and your bank account.

Meal Plans & Prices

The giant Blue Apron offers rather standard meal plans that can work wonders for singles, vegetarian couples, and larger households without any dietary requirements.

They offer a two-people meal plan for two or three nights a week and a four-people option for an extra fourth night, too. Unfortunately, the larger plan isn’t available as a veggie alternative.

As you might have noticed, the more people and nights, the lower the price-per-portion. That’s why Blue Apron ranges from $7.49 to $9.99 per serving, with free deliveries for most plans.

Home Chef, on the other hand, can be a real game-changer for some households. They offer plans for two, four or even six people and can cover anything from two to six nights!

But that’s not it. You can even opt for a traditional Home Chef plan or a simpler Fresh & Easy option, omnivore, carnivore, vegetarian or pescatarian plans, and calorie-conscious or carb-conscious alternatives, too. Finally, you can even select a few specific ingredients that you never, ever want to find in your boxes.

While both are considered some of the best meal kit deliveries for singles, Home Chef can take meal preparation to the next level for households of different sizes and, most importantly, those with dietary requirements, too. 

To encourage young people to move away from low-quality microwavable meals, they also offer a student discount on their first box.

The only thing that disappointed us a bit was how, unlike most meal delivery services, their price-per-portion doesn’t go down with larger plans, remaining at $8.99.

Winner: Home Chef. We dare you not to find a suitable plan for you or your family.

Ingredients

Both companies offer high-quality ingredients, but we appreciate Blue Apron’s focus on meats without added hormones and on organic produce whenever possible.

Personally, we thoroughly enjoyed our Home Chef box but we have also heard some other customers complain because they occasionally received some ingredients that didn’t look so fresh.

Winner: Blue Apron. Often organic, always reliable.

Recipes

blue apron Tandoori-Style Roasted Chicken

Most meal kit deliveries focus on dinner, sending you wholesome one-dish options. Of course, Home Chef maintains that, but they do something even better: if you want, you can add delicious food for other meals or times of the day, like breakfast, smoothies and even desserts.

As well as their wide and inclusive range of 30 or 45-minute recipes, the best thing about Home Chef’s delicious offer is how customizable they are. Love the sound of that curry but would prefer fish instead of chicken? Wanna turn that pasta into a veggie option? As their name suggests, you are the chef!

We also love the fact that they sent us a folder to collect all the recipe cards. A lovely surprise and very rare for these companies!

Blue Apron offers fewer options, but what they lack in number they make up for in quality. While they’re mostly easy and straightforward, you can also find some sophisticated recipes for even more gourmet meals, ranging between 20 and 50 minutes.

They usually include many dishes from different cuisines too, so it’s safe to say that you’ll never get bored.

Winner: Home Chef. So many simple but tasty choices for everyone… and sweet options, too!

Customizability

Both websites offer a user-friendly interface that allows you to pause or tweak your subscription.

Blue Apron, however, tops it up with a comprehensive online store full of kitchen tools, pantry ingredients, and even a fancy wine club to complement your meals.

Winner: Blue Apron. You can really upgrade your cooking skills and dining experience with their extras.

Packaging

home chef review

Both companies rely on mostly recyclable packaging except for the ice gel, which is pretty standard for meal kits.

The main difference is that Blue Apron delivers loose ingredients in a fully insulated box, whereas Home Chef divides them per recipe and only insulates those that need it.

The latter is certainly tidier and, personally, we’ve had a positive experience with both. However, we’ve also heard a few customers complain about the conditions of Home Chef’s individually wrapped ingredients, so it looks like it could be a bit hit and miss.

Winner: Blue Apron. Always safe and reliable, especially if you choose many meat or fish-based dishes.

Our final verdict: should you choose Home Chef or Blue Apron?

It was a tough decision, but we think that Blue Apron is more likely to be a better meal kit delivery service for you. This is because it’s incredibly practical, offers more budget-friendly options for larger plans, tries to rely on organic ingredients as much as they can, has an exciting online store and wine club, and delivers everything in reliable packaging.

This makes it a fantastic solution for hardworking singles and larger families that are looking to try different recipes without worrying about dietary requirements.

Blue Apron: Save $84 over your first 4 boxes (for new customers)Click Here to Get Started.

Still, if you value recipe customizability above everything else, have a less obvious number of people or nights in mind, and want to cater to different requirements, Home Chef would definitely be a better meal kit delivery service for you. You can genuinely unlock a surprising amount of cooking possibilities!

Click Here For $30 Off Your First Order with Home Chef

FAQs

1. Is Home Chef worth the money?

Home Chef is worth the money if you’re looking to save time and, most importantly, are after a customizable meal kit delivery that caters to different food requirements. Perhaps you have picky eaters in your household? (Shhh, we won’t tell them.)

2. What are the meals on Home Chef?

The meals on Home Chef change every week and offer dishes from several cuisines. They also include meaty, vegetarian, pescatarian, calorie and carb-conscious alternatives. You can always check their current menus on their website.

3. Are Home Chef meals already prepared?

No, Home Chef meals aren’t already prepared. They come in pre-packaged ingredient boxes and with recipe cards. You just need to follow their simple cooking instructions.

4. Can you choose your meals on Blue Apron?

Yes, you can always choose your meals on Blue Apron and their recipes change every week. 


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