EveryPlate Review: A Cheap Meal Kit Service that’s Well Worth the Money

From a quick look at the menu, it’s clear that EveryPlate focuses on comfort food with a healthy twist and it comes at an even more comforting price. EveryPlate is the cheapest meal kit service with plans that cost between $6 and $8 per serving. I did the math and EveryPlate is about the same cost as buying the same groceries but without the laborious grocery shopping. It’s even cheaper if you’re trying it for the first time since new customers can score a meal kit deal with recipes as cheap as $1.50 a serving. Whoa.

But is it any good? All this wallet-friendly talk doesn’t mean much if the food is bad, right?

With prices that seemed too good to be true, I figured I’d find out for myself. It turns out that EveryPlate meal kits aren’t just budget-friendly, but also tasty, fresh, easy to make and ultimately very satisfying. It’s the best budget meal kit service I’ve yet to try and the one I’d recommend for anyone seeking a cheap meal kit service to help trim your weekly to-do list. 

Here’s a full breakdown of how my week of EveryPlate meal kits went and what you can expect if you sign up.

Here’s how EveryPlate works

EveryPlate is the budget-friendly offshoot of Green Chef, which was acquired by HelloFresh in 2018. While Green Chef offers a more gourmet approach to meal kits, EveryPlate aims to be the most affordable meal kit service. 

Singing up for EveryPlate is simple: First, you’ll plunk in an address and contact information and then select a plan (number of meals) and payment option. For plans, you can choose either three, four or five meals per week with either two or four servings per meal. The more meals you pick, the cheaper the per-serving price gets.

Then comes the fun part: You pick meal kits from a menu of roughly 13-16 recipes. The meals change weekly with favorites popping back into the rotation often. There is loads of information available about each one including calories, nutrition and the time it takes to make. You can also substitute proteins and side dishes on most EveryPlate meal kits just in case you absolutely loathe green beans or have had way too much chicken lately. You can even view the next two weekly menus in advance.

Shipping and delivery

EveryPlate delivers to most of the continental US with boxes arriving on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays (your choice). Meal kit deliveries come sealed with large ice packs and are meant to stay cold for up to 48 hours, just in case you’re not home to receive them on a particular day.

What are EveryPlate meals like?

EveryPlate is big on comfort food. On any given weekly menu you’ll find options for meatloaf, pork chops, chicken pot pie, tacos and pasta recipes. Sides are equally hearty, including lots of mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, white rice and noodles. There are a few — but not many — plant-based options per week, and you won’t find many trendy ingredients or superfoods in EveryPlate meal kits. The recipes were all mostly familiar to me, although the culinary team will mix things up with a hoisin (Japanese barbecue sauce) glaze on an otherwise traditional meatloaf or a sweet apricot and Dijon sauce to liven up a chicken dish.

EveryPlate has only a few seafood or steak options (one or two per week) and most of the ones available are considered “premium” and cost an extra $3 per serving. There are really only lunch and dinner meal kits and no breakfast or snack options, although you can select a protein pack of chicken breasts and ground beef for meal planning.

How easy are EveryPlate meal kits?

Of the meal kit services I’ve tried, EveryPlate meals are some of the easiest to prepare. The most complicated recipe I made was meatloaf and even that took just 30 minutes. There are very few, if any, overly complicated recipes that require advanced skills or fancy kitchen equipment, making EveryPlate a good option for new or amateur cooks. 

Each meal kit comes with a comprehensive recipe card fit with glossy images and directions to help you through. Each card also lists what you’ll need that isn’t provided — cooking oil, butter, ketchup — so you’re not caught flat-footed. 

If you’ve chosen to swap a side or protein, there are little addendums up in the corner to address any slight changes to the recipe. For example, “Did you choose chicken instead of pork? Follow the recipe as written but in step 4, simply cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side.”

What makes EveryPlate different from other meal kit services?

Besides being the cheapest meal kit service, which is EveryPlate’s biggest differentiator, it is also one of the simplest and most straightforward with simple recipes that take under 30 minutes to make. There are also only 15 or so menu selections every week which, for me, is enough to find new and interesting recipes without feeling overwhelmed the way I did with other services I’ve tried. 

Who is EveryPlate good for?

EveryPlate is perfect for anyone looking for a boost to their cooking routine, learn to cook or inject some new recipes into their rotation without breaking the bank. Busy people, too, since it’s also a time-saver, eliminating trips to the store as well as time spent ruminating over what to make. If you like comfort foods and don’t mind a few carbs, EveryPlate has them in spades but there are some healthier options, too. 

Who EveryPlate meal kits are not so good for

EveryPlate recipes are on the simple side so I wouldn’t recommend it for very experienced chefs looking to further hone their skills. There are also fewer “healthy” options and even fewer plant-based meals on EveryPlate, so I also wouldn’t recommend this meal kit service for vegans and vegetarians. As a way to keep prices low, EveryPlate doesn’t cater to diet plans either such as keto, paleo or low-sugar.

EveryPlate pricing

EveryPlate is $5 a serving if you choose meal kits for four and closer to $6 a serving if you only order recipes for two. By my count, it is the cheapest meal kit company available and it’s even cheaper when you bag a special promotion like the one running now (just $2 per serving). Keep in mind, “Premium” meals like salmon and steak do incur an upcharge of $3 per serving and each box costs $9 to ship.

What I cooked and how it went

Hoisin pork meatloaves with wasabi mashed potatoes: This was my favorite of the meals I cooked. It was simple to make but interesting and also very satisfying. Putting wasabi in mashed potatoes is definitely my new default. 

Sweet potato and pepper quesadilla with fresh salsa and chipotle sour cream: This was a perfect hearty lunch, especially when you feel like you’ve been eating too much meat. The fresh salsa made it for me and I’ll put sour cream on anything.

Spicy umami pork chops with ginger rice and roasted carrots: Another very simple-yet-flavorful dinner. The hoisin and ponzu made good on the promise of umami and the fresh ginger made the rice really pop.

Final verdict on EveryPlate

As someone who reviews meal kits for a living, I often feel like I’m splitting hairs trying to find the nuance but with this one the distinction was very clear: EveryPlate is the most affordable meal kit service but still delivered very enjoyable recipes that were both interesting and satisfying. 

While EveryPlate turns down the gourmet dial just slightly, the meals I tried were all very solid and didn’t look or taste “budget.” At just five bucks a serving, I also felt like I was getting a genuinely great deal, and that’s probably because I was. If you’ve never tried a meal kit before and want to see if it’s a good fit, I would absolutely recommend EveryPlate. (In fact, I just recommended it to my sister and her family over Thanksgiving). EveryPlate is low-cost, low-risk and fully delicious.