As a busy but budget-conscious student, the Hello Fresh meal kit has always intrigued me. The ads are super enticing… Especially lately with the rising cost of food. But is Hello Fresh worth it? As long as you can take advantage of one of their many discounts and are okay with the packaging waste, I think so.
Keep reading to see my honest Hello Fresh reviews. Read to the end to get my personal referral code!
*Disclaimer: If you use my referral link, I may receive a discount on any future boxes I order. Other than that, I am not receiving any compensation for this post.
Overall review
Just like with my recipes, I’m all about getting right to the point. So here’s what I think: The Hello Fresh meal kit service is totally worth it, if you get a discount and you are a small family. Otherwise, it’s too pricey and creates too much garbage. I also wouldn’t use it long term, but it’s great every once in a while to switch things up, for when you’re really busy, or for when you want to bring new recipes into your repertoire.
Read more on why I think this below!
Reasons for trying HelloFresh
You may be wondering why someone who runs a cooking, foraging and traveling blog is even considering using a meal-delivery service like Hello Fresh (fair enough!). To sum it up, while I’m finishing my MA program I’m living in Toronto with my partner, meaning limited access to foraged goods. Our schedules are also jam-packed right now and the cost of food is rapidly increasing.
Additionally, we’re living in a suite with very limited kitchen appliances. I’m talking a convection hot plate, an electric pan, a microwave, and a finicky toaster oven. Not exactly ideal for gourmet cooking…
Here are my main reasons for choosing Hello Fresh:
- Convenience
- I love cooking and baking (especially from scratch). But, I’m also an MA student with 7 classes and a part time job. Time is not something I have a surplus of these days, making it difficult to carve time for grocery shopping, meal prep, and cooking.
- While we’re centrally located in Toronto, the nearby grocery stores are pretty pricey and we don’t drive. This makes it tough to find deals and access cheap markets (or buy in bulk).
- We move around quite a bit. HelloFresh lets you cancel or pause your membership at any time, making it super convenient for people like us.
- You get to choose the day of delivery, can save favourite meals, and get recipe cards to add to your cookbook.
- It sort of irritates me that there isn’t an option to follow the recipes virtually. We’re not going to keep the large bulky cards, so it just contributes to unnecessary packaging waste.
- Fresh Ingredients and Variety
- There’s only two of us in the house and we are only living in this house for three months. We also have a teeny tiny freezer, so it’s tough to freeze extra food. This means that we won’t be buying in bulk (otherwise it will be wasted when we leave) and that it’s tricky to cost effectively buy fresh ingredients. You either buy small portions (which is expensive) or get super creative with meal prep.
- Since it’s just two of us and we don’t have much freezer space, we’ve noticed more food waste than normal (which I disdain…). We hoped that with a meal delivery service we would get exactly the groceries we need.
- With no oven and just one hot plate, our options are pretty limited (rice and pasta loose their novelty quick!). Hello Fresh lets you choose your meals each week, so you can have as much or little variety as you’d like without having to have a surplus of spices and ingredients on hand.
- You get to choose the type of meals you enjoy (Flexitarian, mostly meat, weight loss, etc.) and can switch them up any time.
- Cost
- Hello Fresh often runs deals and discounts that make it an affordable option for weeknight dinners. You can also get free boxes gifted from friends. While the regular plan is pretty pricey, the deals make it affordable (our first box was just over $5 per meal per person). I break down the prices later in this post, BTW.
- Groceries are super expensive right now. Even though we shop at markets, discount grocery stores, and look for sales, we were finding our grocery bill to be hefty. This is an easy way to get a healthy meal that fits our dietary restrictions without it costing a ton.
What comes in a meal kit?
Meal kits come with fresh ingredients and a recipe card for each recipe. It is almost everything you need to create a delicious meal, except for basics like salt, pepper, and milk (depending on the meal). They give you the pre-portioned ingredients required for each meal.
When you pick which meal options you want for your food subscription box, it will tell you exactly which preportioned ingredients comes in each HelloFresh box. It will also tell you what is missing, so you can grab anything you don’t already have on hand.
How does the meal kit delivery service work?
Once you sign up, you get to look at the HelloFresh menu and choose your meal options. Based on your meal preferences (which you choose when you pick your meal subscription), you will get 3 automatically added to your box. You can switch these out for others!
Then, you choose which day your HelloFresh meal kit should be delivered.
For ours, I wanted a new recipe for every meal.
Here’s what we ordered in our first 3 weeks of meal kit service:
Week 1
- Smart shrimp curry with buttered couscous
- Salisbury steak and mash with mushroom gravy and apple salad
- Sticky ginger beef and rice bowls with marinated veggies and snap peas
Week 2
- Cal smart Turkish spiced salmon with tabbouleh and herby yogurt dressing
- Portobello mozza burgers with crispy shallots and spinach salad
- Parmesan porkchops with roasted veggies and sweet potato mash
Week 3
- Indonesian stir-fried noodles with fried eggs and crispy shallots
- Spicy kung-pao style chicken with peanuts and ginger rice
- French onion pork chops with smashed potatoes and a balsamic side salad
Cost of HelloFresh
So, like I mentioned, there are lots of deals and discounts from this company. But let’s break down the regular cost too.
Regular price of HelloFresh
| Number of People | Cost Per Serving for 3 Recipes Per Week | Cost Per Serving for 4 Recipes Per Week | Cost Per Serving for 5 Recipes per Week | Cost of Shipping | Total Cost |
| 2 | $12.17 Box price comes to $73 | $11.88 Box price comes to $95 | $11.50 Box price comes to $115 | $9.99 | $82.99-124.99 per week |
| 4 | $10.83 Box price comes to $130 | $10.31 Box price comes to $165 | $9.25 Box price comes to $185 | $9.99 | $139.99-194.99 |
This information was taken directly from their website and reflects prices in November 2022.
You will also need to be aware that some meals cost extra. Be sure to think about this when you’re choosing your meals for the week as it will raise the cost.
Deals and discounts
In an effort to attract new customers and retain regulars, Hello Fresh offers a lot of discounts. It is quite common for them to offer free shipping or a “Get up to $ off” type deal where they offer a large discount on the first box and then a smaller discount each time.
We were given a discount since it was our first time offered.
Here is what I paid for the first three weeks for two people with three meals a week:
| Box Cost (3 meals x 2 people = 6 servings) | Discount applied | Shipping | Total Cost | |
| Week 1 | $73.00 | -$40.01 | Free | $32.99 |
| Week 2 | $73.00 | -$20.00 | $9.99 | $62.99 |
| Week 3 | $73.00 | -$20.00 | $9.99 | $62.99 |
This means that for 3 meals a week for 3 weeks, we paid $158.97.
Since our grocery bill has been wildly high due to where we live, our limited time, and our desire for variety, for us it was worth it. But, since the box would cost $12.17 per meal without a discount, which is much higher than what we would pay in groceries, we will be canceling our subscription once the 3 weeks are up.
Plus, at the regular cost, we would be able to find meals for cheaper than the regular cost.
What if I need extra meals?
If you know that you’ll be cooking for extra people that week, you can also add meals or sides. There is a cost for each extra meal (depending on the coupons you have activated and the type of meal you choose it will change).
You can also add lunches, breakfasts, desserts or extra groceries (like chocolate, nitro coffee, etc.), though I find them to be quite costly compared to what you could make or buy elsewhere.
Types of meals
Here are the kinds of meal preferences you can choose from (though you can switch out any recipes you don’t want anyways):
- Meat & Veggies
- Quick & Easy
- Veggie
- Family
- Smart Meal
- Pescatarian
- No Beef Meals
- No Shellfish Meals
- No Seafood Meals
- No Fish Meals
- No Pork Meals
- Flexitarian
- High Protein
You can also order a Holiday box (regular or gourmet) if you need help with Holiday meals!
What are the negatives to Hello Fresh?
At the regular cost, the price is quite high. Especially if you are feeding a family! The shipping is also pretty pricey at $9.99.
There is also a lot of garbage. Everything is pre-packaged. While a lot of it is recyclable and the company is clearly trying to improve where they can, honestly, the amount of waste still made me very uncomfortable.
We try to be conscious of our grocery impact when shopping in stores. For example, when I grocery shop I don’t use plastic bags (I use reusable mesh bags for produce or no bag at all since things get washed at home). We also buy bulk when we can and choose recyclable packing where possible. Since even the sauces are individually portioned, there are multiple small bags to toss every meal.
And, only some boxes send real ice (others have a gel pack you have to throw in the trash if not reusing them). On this note, though, HelloFresh does have a sustainability page that outlines how they reduce environmental impact in other ways. Just be sure to read past the Greenwashing.
Finally, if you are on a strict diet (keto, paleo, etc.), then you won’t be able to get the meals you need.
What if I need to cancel or pause my membership?
You can pause or cancel at any time. Simply click your name in the top right-hand corner, go to account settings, go to “Status” at the bottom of the page, and change your settings as necessary.
This has been awesome for us because we left for a month and were able to pause deliveries. Love the flexibility!
Use my referral code for a discount on your order!
Want to try Hello Fresh for yourself? Order using this link for $90 off of your first order! I will get $25 off at no additional cost to you.
Conclusion: Is HelloFresh worth it?
For two people with busy schedules and limited income, yes, Hello Fresh has been worth it as long as we have a discount code. That being said, we don’t intend to rely on this service every week (especially when we can’t take advantage of discount codes). And, because of the amount of plastic waste that comes from this box, we will only be using it when we don’t have access to more environmentally-conscious food options.
I found it tricky to find Hello Fresh reviews that aren’t sponsored posts. So, I hope this information is helpful!
If you have also tried this service, I would love to hear your thoughts too! Chat with me on IG by clicking the post below.
Thank you for reading. ♡
FAQs
What are the negatives to HelloFresh?
If you don’t have a discount code, the cost can be pretty high. And, since everything is individually packaged, there is a lot of waste. Finally, if you are on a strict meal plan (keto, paleo, etc.) then you may not find what you need.
Is canceling HelloFresh easy?
Yes! You can cancel your membership at any time or postpone your delivery if you will be away under the “Account Settings” tab in your profile.
Is HelloFresh reputable?
According to their reviews on Google (4.1/5 stars), most people are satisfied with the service. My experience so far has been positive.
Is HelloFresh good for weight loss?
This meal prep plan isn’t specifically designed for losing weight. But, you are provided with nutritional data for each meal, you have the option to choose your meals, and each meal is pre-portioned, making it easier to track and control what you eat.
