We’ve come across some gimmicky meal kit companies out there, and we thought Martha & Marley Spoon may be one. But we didn’t want to judge a book by its cover… could Martha Stewart’s recipes really be meal kit worthy? Only a deep Martha & Marley Spoon review could find out.
Note: we bought these meal kit recipes on our own, without being contacted by Martha or her team (but if you’re reading this, Martha, we’d love if you said hello!).
In this honest Martha & Marley Spoon review, we’ll cover…
- If the company is really a great meal kit provider, or just a gimmick-driven brand
- How Martha Stewart’s recipes taste
- Who will fall in love with the meal kit… and who should stay away.
Let’s get started.
How Is Martha & Marley Spoon Different?
Marley Spoon is a Germany-based meal kit company that operates in Europe and Australia. But when they decided to expand to the US, they knew they needed a celebrity chef to help stand out from the other companies… and that’s how Martha Stewart got involved.
The 20 weekly recipe options are all from Martha Stewart’s archives, so if you’re a Martha Stewart fan, this is by far the easiest way to cook in her style.
For 4 servings, you’ll pay $12/serving. As you go up, however, the prices do become a lot more affordable.
Other than that, it’s a pretty standard meal kit company, with overnight shipping, recyclable packaging, mostly organic ingredients, and well-designed recipe cards.
Martha & Marley Spoon vs Sun Basket, HelloFresh, and Blue Apron
Meal Kit | Price / Serving | Smallest Box | Weekly Choices |
|---|---|---|---|
Martha & Marley Spoon | $12 | 4 Servings | 20 |
sun Basket | $11.99 | 6 Servings | 15-20 |
Purple Carrot | $12 | 6 Servings | 6 |
Blue Apron | $9.99 | 4 Servings | 15-20 |
We Tried Two Martha & Marley Spoon Meals... Here's How It Went
Our unboxing experience was pretty standard, with recipes separated by brown paper bags, a few extra-large ingredients loose in baggies, and beautiful recipe cards.
But there was something that was very different—and it almost really messed up our whole experience. The refrigerated items were in a small ice pack bag (the whole box was not insulated), and though we saw the sausage in there, we completely missed the parmesan cheese—and threw it away in the recycling bin.
A few hours later, once I realized we were missing a lot of cheese, I went outside to check. Sure enough, it was still in the ice bag—cold as can be. Disaster averted! Phew.
Meal #1: Orecchiette & Sausage
The first meal we cooked was incredible. The instructions were clear, the ingredients fresh, and the flavors robust. It was really helpful to have the butternut squash pre-cubed (it’s one of the hardest veggies to cut).
The rosemary-infused olive oil tasted incredible both in the pasta and on the arugula salad. And even though we’ve never been big on ricotta cheese, it added a fluffy texture that really complimented the more dense ingredients.
Pro Tip: Anytime you cook pasta, reserve some of the water at the end. Pasta likes to soak up sauce, but when you mix in pasta water with the sauce, the pasta can’t soak it up very much. That way you don’t end up with dry pasta.
Meal #2: White Bean & Swiss Chard Stew
This next recipe is an easy one to repeat—and we’ll definitely be making a lot of it next winter!
The stew itself was pretty straightforward: chop, saute, simmer. The smoked paprika added a deep flavor we loved, the carrots and beans were soft and creamy, and the savory swiss chard was a nice touch of green.
The ciabatta was perfect. The butter garlic parmesan sauce drizzled on top before baking made it some of the best bread we’ve had it ages. More, please!
Our bowls were wiped clean by the end of this meal, thanks to the ciabatta, and our bellies were happy and full.
The Positives Of Martha & Marley Spoon
Let’s hit on some of the high points from our Martha & Marley Spoon experience:
The Negatives Of Martha & Marley Spoon
There are a couple drawbacks though, so let’s call those out:
The Verdict: Is Martha & Marley Spoon Worth It?
Even though it seemed gimmicky that Marley Spoon chose Martha Stewart as its celebrity chef, it doesn’t take away from the food experience at all. In fact, we’re all for it, because Martha Stewart’s recipes are well-beloved and delicious.
Our meals tasted incredible, we liked that there was less insulation in the box, and we had an easy time following along with the instructions.
The $12 servings are unfortunate, but if you order 6+ servings per shipment that comes down considerable (closer to $9/serving).
Overall, we think Martha & Marley Spoon is a worthy contender to other meal kits out there, and especially great if you’re already a Martha Stewart fan.
You can see if Marley Spoon is a good fit for you without paying full price, thanks to their big new-customer discount.
Want to try it yourself? Get $60 OFF from Martha&Marley Spoon on the first 4 boxes - Click Here to Get Started.
Martha & Marley Spoon Alternatives
If the whole Martha Stewart meal kit thing just doesn’t sound right to you, no worries. Here are a few alternatives worth checking out.
Dinnerly
This kid-friendly meal kit serves up classic home favorites that may seem a bit more tame compared to other meal kit recipes. And Dinnerly servings are only $4.99!
Blue Apron
Blue Apron is the go-to meal kit for many people, offering a variety of well-rounded recipes and side dishes and tools from their ‘market’.
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Think Martha & Marley Spoon may be a good fit after all? They’re always offering a pretty great discount for first-timers. You can see the current discount here.
Not all meal kit companies are equal, and Garrett’s on the hunt to see which ones have the freshest ingredients, the best tasting recipes, and the clearest cooking instructions.
Are there Keto recipes available with this subscription.
They do offer a variety of meals that fit specific diets like paleo and keto and vegan.
When you sign up, they have you answer questions to create a “taste profile” and when I signed up, they did ask if you follow a special diet. From the selection of recipes I’ve seen, there are choices that would qualify for a keto diet. I switched from Hello Fresh because Marley Spoon offers a wider range of choices. My menus this week (I don’t follow a special diet) include shrimp and quinoa with feta cheese, pan roasted steak and couscous with roasted red pepper pesto, and spinach ricotta ravioli with asparagus and walnut gremolata (a sauce that includes parsley, lemon zest and garlic). They choose three meals for you, but you can “edit” your choices and pick 3 of whichever meals appeal to you.
So how much did it cost? I don’t think I missed it.
Currently, they’re offering a deal to new customers (this is May 2021) with $40 off the first box and $20 off the next three boxes, for a total of $100 off. But what I’ve learned the hard way is no matter which company you’re trying out, read the fine print. When I tried Hello Fresh, the offer was only good for the 3 meals for 4 people option and that information was in the tiniest print I’ve ever seen, at the bottom of the sign up page. So, because I chose the 2-person box, what I got was $20 off the first box and $10 off the next 3 boxes. Shipping is $5.93 for the Martha & Marley box. After the promo period, the full price is $56.94 plus shipping. That’s pricey compared to buying your own groceries, but as a single person, what I like is I don’t end up with leftover ingredients that go bad in the fridge (because I am not one to plan meals ahead of time). Also, since the box is for 2 people, I end up with 6 dinners/lunches. It’s not uncommon for me to have for lunch what I made for dinner the previous night. One other tip for any of these meal plans (I used to get Hello Fresh) is they say 30 minutes cooking time when in fact it will probably take an hour, and you need to preheat your oven for many of the recipes. I decided to try M&M because they have a wider selection of meals. They’re priced about the same.
I made a mistake in my reply to Bob Rynes – shipping is $8.99 per weekly box.