Don’t want to deal with the grocery store? (Same.) Want a home cooked meal without the stress? (Also same.) Home Chef, an uber popular meal subscription box, might be the answer. But is it worth the cost? We scoured the Home Chef reviews and services to find out.
Home Chef 101
Home Chef is a weekly meal subscription box that provides all the stuff you need to make a wholesome home-cooked meal.
The service has been around since 2013. Since then it’s become one of the most popular meal delivery boxes in the United States. But is it right for you? This Home Chef deep dive is here to help you decide.
Pros:
- big time saver
- lots of variety
- fresh ingredients
- user-friendly platform
- detailed nutritional info
- good for all cooking skill levels
- Signing up only takes a few minutes.
- you can pick how many meals you want each week
- reusable packaging (better for the environment than other meal service plans)
Cons:
- can get expensive
- no heart-healthy, vegan, or kid-friendly options
- food is packaged with standard ice packs (supposed to stay cool for up 48 hours, but not always the case)
- no delivery outside the continental United States (sorry Hawaii and Alaska 😔)
How does Home Chef work?
You can sign up for Home Chef in minutes. All you have to do is go to their website and click “Get Started.”
Each week you can select your top meal choices so there’s no “WTF is this” moment when you open the box (unless you want to be surprised!) The meals are delivered once a week Monday through Friday and you get to pick which day.
Home Chef subscription options
Home Chef is super flex. You can order 2 to 6 meals per week and choose how many servings (2, 4, or 6) you want per meal. You can also let them know if you have any allergies and dietary preferences or restrictions.
The food categories available are:
- omnivore (I’ll eat anything!)
- carnivore (give me the meat)
- vegetarian (plant-based, please)
- pescatarian (fish is fine!)
FYI: If you’re looking for a heart-healthy option, one study found that vegetarian and pescatarian diets could lower your risk of developing heart disease.
Easy peasy recipes
You don’t need to be an Iron Chef to use Home Chef. Their recipes are super easy to follow and they also give you every single ingredient you need for each meal.
You can make most of the meals in a snap (aka 30 minutes or less) which is great for when life feels like a total stress fest. Sometimes you just don’t have the time to make that Pinterest recipe that looks amazing… but complicated.
More good news: Home Chef does the hard work for you. Everything is pre-chopped and pre-portioned. This gives you more time to chill and less time sprinting around the kitchen looking for the carrots you could’ve sworn you bought at the store.
Diversify your plate-folio
Home Chef offers up to 38 weekly meal choices. You can make them your own through their “Customize It” option. This allows you to cater each meal to your unique tastes.
They also take allergies and food restrictions into account. You can choose to leave out:
- soy
- nuts
- milk
- pork
- wheat
- shellfish
- red meat
- mushrooms
Note: All of the Home Chef ingredients are process through facilities that also process eggs, milk, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy. Though ingredients are packaged individually, their facilities are not certified allergen-free.
You also have the option to select calorie-conscious or carb-conscious options and each meal and snack comes with detailed nutrition info. This can help you make sure you’re eating a balance diet every day.
Bonus: Home Chef can also make you a more adventurous eater. You might try foods you never would have before (or at least not at home).
It can get spendy $$$
Home Chef charges for each single serving. Meals start at $6.99 per serving but the average price per meal is about $8.99. Delivery starts at $6.99 per order. FYI: These charges can add up fast.
Unlike some other meal subscriptions, you don’t get a price cut for buying more meals. That means a single dinner for 6 could wind up being $60-ish.
It’s prob a lot cheaper to buy all the ingredients yourself and slay your coupon game. But for the convenience of skipping the store, saving on food waste, and the high quality helps make up for the cost.
Is Home Chef for you?
Still weighing whether Home Chef is the right fit? You may want to give Home Chef a whirl if you want:
- to try new foods
- to level up your cooking game
- to learn how to portion your food better
- flavorful, fresh, and diverse meals are important to you
- to not have to worry about grocery shopping or last-minute meal prep
Sample menu
Life shouldn’t always be like a box of chocolates. Sometimes you want to know what you’re gonna get. Here are some Home Chef meal examples.
Vegetarian
- Black Bean Enchiladas
- Avocado and Tofu Sushi Bowl
- Brussels & Brown Butter Risotto
Carb- and calorie-conscious
- Pecan-Crusted Chicken
- Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- New England-Style Fish Cakes
Without milk
- Shrimp with Tiger Sauce
- Korean Pork Tacos Sesame
- Sweet Potatoes and Avocado
Without wheat
- Mesquite Chicken
- Hot Honey Salmon
- Tex-Mex Turkey Taco Salad
Reminder: Home Chef doesn’t offer vegan, heart-healthy, or kid-friendly options.
How to cancel Home Chef
If you give it a try and it just isn’t working out, Home Chef makes cancellation pretty easy. You can do it all online. Just log into your account and go to the “Account Information” tab. It’ll give you the option to pause or cancel your subscription.
Just be sure to cancel your account before their Friday 12 p.m. (CT) deadline. Otherwise you’ll still be getting a delivery the following week (and getting charged for it.)
If you do need to speak with a customer service advisor you can call 872-225-2433.
tl;dr
Home Chef is a meal subscription box that really delivers 😉. They offer a wide variety of meals for almost every diet (TBH, still salty about the no vegan menu tho). Give them a try if you want to save time on cooking and enjoy fresh, home-cooked meals. You can always cancel if it isn’t for you.
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