EveryPlate Meal Kit Review 2023: Easy-to-Make Meals at an Affordable Price

If you’ve recently watched a few episodes of Chopped and now want to dip your toes into cooking your own meals, or you’re looking for a simple way to cut back on Uber Eats and Doordash (raises hand), a meal kit delivery service like EveryPlate can get the job done.

I’ve tested my fair share of meal kit delivery services throughout the years (Green Chef, Blue Apron, Purple Carrot, Factor—to name a few). So when I heard about EveryPlate, I was excited to give it a try. A new meal kit subscription that can help me cut back on ordering out? Sign me up, literally.

Now, allow me to break down my experience using EveryPlate (and, spoiler, it was a lot easier, faster, and cheaper than getting delivery).

How I Tested

To do this review, I consulted SELF’s meal kit buying guide, which was developed with the help of registered dietitians. For the first week, I ordered enough meat and veggie meals to cover seven days of lunches and dinners for two people. I made sure that the meals were exciting but not complicated to whip up. The following two weeks, I cut my delivery plan down to just dinners, after realizing it was overly ambitious to think I could cook full midday meals.

Here’s a sampling of my EveryPlate menu: lemony chickpea and feta bowls with chicken, spicy black bean and beef enchiladas, Banh-Mi style chicken bowls, creamy lemon herb chicken, and tomato and kale sandwiches with chicken.

Customization

EveryPlate allows you to customize your order, which is excellent if you have dietary restrictions or you’re particular about food. For instance, I like to eat dishes that are high in protein and veggies, and I’m not a huge fan of pork or shellfish. I chose some veggie-rich dishes and added chicken breast and beef boxes for a few dollars extra.

If you’re interested in adding any premium recipes to your cart (they were the first to catch my eye), there is an extra charge, sometimes up to $6 or more per serving. EveryPlate also offers add-ons, like Caesar salad kits, cinnamon apple crumble, and garlic bread, which I found to be a nice touch.

One downside? EveryPlate doesn’t carry any premade or frozen meal options. As someone who’s a huge fan of meal kits with this offering (shout out to Factor), I was a bit bummed. Also, you have to do all the chopping yourself—nothing comes precut. Some ingredients, like rice and shredded cheese, come proportioned, whereas others, like garlic, do not.

Through a little trial and error, I quickly realized that I couldn’t take time out in the afternoon to prep an EveryPlate recipe for lunch. Most recipes took around 30 to 40 minutes to put together, but it was too hard to switch gears and take that much time in the middle of the workday. Making an EveryPlate meal for lunch felt like I was racing against the clock, and the times I did it, I found myself wishing I had just picked up Sweetgreen to save myself the time and energy. Because of this, after my first week, I kept my meals to dinner or prepared lunch the night before.

Affordability

The cost of each meal ranges widely based on how many you order, how many servings you get, and whether or not it’s a premium recipe. In general, the cost for each serving starts at about $5. The total for my first box of one week’s food was $47, since EveryPlate typically gives first-time customers a deep discount. I decided to go big and get the largest meal and serving option to make sure my partner and I were covered for the whole time (meal planning for a household may feel tricky since you can only pick either two or four servings and three to six meals per week). If I ordered without the discount, it would have come to $131, which is still pretty budget-friendly for a meal delivery service. Discounts applied to the following two deliveries too, but the savings weren’t as steep as that first order.

As someone who lives in New York City and always seems to be low on time (and energy), this price seemed worth it. I didn’t have to go through the trouble of taking the bus to Trader Joe’s. I also didn’t have to rack my brain trying to think of home-cooked meal recipes using ingredients ordered via Whole Foods delivery. It was a win-win.

Order and Delivery Process

I was relieved with how easy the EveryPlate website was to use. Once you choose your plan settings, you’re brought to a screen that lays out the details for each meal, its ingredients, the nutritional information, and prep time. Each recipe is also listed with a colorful photo to give you a better idea of what you’re ordering. (None of my dishes looked as pretty as these images, but I digress). You can edit your EveryPlate box five days before your delivery date, which is good news if you’re indecisive like me.

Delivery was also pretty seamless—EveryPlate sends you a text to let you know when your package is en route and when it arrives at your door. This is great if you’re trying to plan your day, and want to avoid having your meal kit sit out unrefrigerated for a long period of time.

Each order comes packed in a cardboard box with the produce placed inside atop an ice pack. Anything that needs to be refrigerated, like meat and dairy, is found underneath the ice, which I thought was clever. The package also contains large recipe cards with directions on how to make each meal.

Ease of Use

Meals were pretty easy to make and didn’t deviate too far away from the prep and cooking time listed on each recipe card. But as mentioned, making these in the middle of the day for lunch just didn’t work out for me. Even though they didn’t take too long to put together, they still were pretty involved and required a ton of chopping, mixing, and sautéing. To help me cut back on time, I used my air fryer to prepare all my meals, except when I had to sauté something on the stove.

Thankfully, even if you switch up each recipe to make it a bit easier for yourself (for example, I completely nixed one of the sauces I had to make for a chicken dish because it would require an extra few minutes of prep and I was getting hangry), the dishes still taste pretty good. Pro tip: Buy more servings and meal prep to save time and energy.

Nutrition Profile

Many of the meals I ordered from EveryPlate were high in both protein and fiber, which I loved. For instance, the lemony chickpea and feta bowls had 9 grams of fiber and 22 grams of protein per serving, whereas the creamy lemon herb chicken had an impressive 37 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber per serving. These meals kept me full for longer, and I noticed I wasn’t looking for snacks an hour or two after dinner, which is something I would often do after ordering takeout. Many meals also incorporated an array of vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, kale, broccoli, and more.

I also appreciated that the salt and sugar amounts were easily adjustable. For instance, I kept an eye on how much salt I was sprinkling into each dish, didn’t drizzle on as much sauce if it was very sugary, and tried to use less dairy if the recipe called for it. Again, I was pleasantly surprised that even if I didn’t use all of a sauce packet (because I found the sauce too sweet) or added extra cheese, the dishes were still delicious despite the adjustments.

Overall Taste and Satisfaction

I was pleasantly surprised with EveryPlate—I found it pretty easy to use, the serving size portions were substantial for two people, and I enjoyed most of the meals I ordered (my favorite was the enchiladas). I also found following the EveryPlate recipes relaxing. Some of my (very small) complaints are that I wish they diversified the veggies a bit (one week’s menu had so many carrots). And I would probably skip getting anything with bread in the recipe, as I found it went stale really fast.

Should You Buy It?

My final thought is that EveryPlate is a pretty great option for people looking to cut back on eating out and simplify their at-home cooking process. The meal kit delivery service is ideal for anyone with a busy schedule, as many recipes can be made in around 30 minutes (and they’re easy to alter based on preferences). Overall, I’d probably order this meal kit delivery service on an as-needed basis, rather than totally depend on it each week for all my meals.