When it comes to looking at meal kit and fully prepared meal delivery services, there are so many choices out there that the decision as to which company is best suited to your needs, can be quite overwhelming.
There are new companies entering the arena on a regular basis and existing companies are constantly updating their offerings. To make your choice easier, we provide regular in-depth comparisons of two different companies. Today we are going to be looking at Freshly and Blue Apron. Freshly provides the delivery of fully-prepared non-frozen gluten-free meal options and Blue Apron is one of the original meal-kit delivery companies in the States. There are quite a few differences between the two companies, so we can’t wait to get started.
Freshly Vs Blue Apron Distribution
Currently, deliver to all states within the continental U.S. note that there are some ZIP codes that the Freshly delivery partners aren’t able to reach within their 48-hour delivery period.
Blue Apron delivers nationwide to the contiguous United States.
Freshly Vs Blue Apron- Plans offered
The plans offered by Freshly are all based on the number of meals you would like to receive on a weekly basis. There are four different plans that give the option of 4, 6, 9 or 12 weekly meals. It is good to know that you can also swap plans from week to week, so it is not a matter of being locked into a plan.
In comparison Blue Apron has 2 different plan options for you to choose from:
- The Classic Plan which is for 2 people and provides either 2 or 3 weekly dishes.
- The Family Plan which is for 4 people and provides either 2 or 4 weekly dishes.
Freekeh & Vegetable “Fried Rice” by Blue Apron
This Freekeh and Vegetable ‘Fried Rice’ from Blue Apron was a delicious alternative to your normal fried rice made with white rice. The flavor was enhanced with some unexpected tastes from Asia and Japan. This ‘Fried Rice’ was made from freekeh, which is a type of toasted wheat. It was surprisingly appetizing and had some lovely earthy undertones. As a bonus, the dish was bursting with some amazing fresh vegetables which included broccoli, carrots and snow peas. As with all Blue Apron’s meals their fresh produce is always of the highest quality. This could also quite easily be a tempting vegan dish if you simply omitted the egg. Incredibly fulfilling and super tasty!
Freshly Buffalo Chicken
This was undoubtedly our favorite meal out of this week’s Freshly box. When you use Freshly, the meal prep is as easy as it gets. Your meal arrives fully prepared, and all you need to do is heat it via the microwave.
The loaded mashed cauliflower, mixed with creamy Greek yogurt and topped with bacon, chives and cheddar cheese was amazing. The cauliflower was the accompaniment for beautiful and tender chicken, covered with a tasty spicy buffalo sauce. This is an all-American sauce usually made from melted butter, hot sauce, and cayenne pepper.
This dish, as with all the Freshly meals, is soy-free, gluten-free and low calorie! It contained only 480 calories, so it is a great option for low-calorie diet needs.
Freshly Vs Blue Apron Menu selection
Freshly has a wonderfully diverse menu which changes on a weekly basis. The menu is made up of more than 30 dishes and includes both entrée and breakfast options. As their meals are fully prepared but unfrozen, they generally take no longer than 3 minutes to heat. Choices within their weekly menu include seafood, pasta, classic dishes, omelettes, breakfast frittatas and many dishes with International flavors such as Asian and Mexican.
Blue Apron has a choice of 12 dishes per week. These dishes are divided between the two plans, so there are 8 dishes in the Classic Plan for two people and 4 dishes in the Family Plan for four people. Blue Apron also offers some lovely diversity when it comes to the ingredients they use and the style of dishes they create.
The style and complexity of dishes
One of the most appealing things about the Freshly service is the convenience. As all their meals are fully-prepared, so it is simply a matter of heating them prior to serving. Overall, we were happy with the Freshly meals. However, on the odd occasion we found the meals slightly lacking in taste and the portions a little small.
All the Blue Apron meals we have tried have been very good and satisfying. Their focus is on providing creative and tempting dishes with a tasty twist in each recipe.
Quality of ingredients:
As Freshly is a certified gluten-free company all their ingredients are gluten-free. Freshly prides itself on the quality of their fresh ingredients. Their meals are created using ingredients that are 100% natural with no artificial ingredients or preservatives, refined sugars or hydrogenated oils.
Likewise, Blue Apron is a company that prides itself on using ingredients of the absolute highest quality. Blue Apron uses ingredients that include meat products with no added hormones, vegetables that are farm-fresh and often organic. and seafood that is sustainably sourced.
The delivery
There is a difference between the companies when it comes to delivery. Both companies use boxes that are specifically designed for delivering meals and include enough ice inside with the contents to keep everything at the correct temperature.
The Freshly meals are all clearly labelled and include the name of the dish, an ingredients list, cooking or heating instructions and all relevant nutritional facts. With Freshly it is simply a matter of unpacking the delivery and storing the meals until you are ready to use them.
With Blue Apron, you will need to allocate a little time to sort the contents of your delivery before packing away. The ingredients of each dish are not separated so these will need to be sorted according to each dish, but it takes really no longer than 5 minutes. You will find a small bag of spices and seasoning that has been sorted for you.
The app and website
With both Freshly and Blue Apron, you will find that managing your account is very easy to do via their websites. Blue Apron also has an app. for use on your devices and Freshly’s website is mobile optimized.
With both companies you will be able to register, select your plan and meals, specify any dietary preferences, update payment method, swap plans and skip weeks if necessary. The only difference is that while you can cancel your Freshly account easily online, with Blue Apron you will need to contact the customer service department to confirm account cancellation.
In conclusion- Freshly Vs Blue Apron- who’s our winner?
In general, both Freshly and Blue Apron offer appealing services that are ideal for people who lead busy lives and want a little help with simplifying their meal time. For this comparison, the winner for us is Blue Apron. Even though Freshly offers a convenient service where you only have to heat your meals which means zero preparation, we found the Blue Apron cooking processes very easy, and their meals were fresher, more satisfying and almost always the tastiest.
