I scheduled my first box to arrive on a Wednesday… but it wasn’t delivered as planned. New York City was experiencing a heat wave, and I was experiencing some mild disappointment. There was no way my chicken and steak would be safe to eat after spending extra time in transit during such sweltering conditions, I thought. But when the box arrived the next day, the ice packs were still 90% frozen and the raw protein was cold to the touch. The packaging was fully intact, and I felt comfortable using all the ingredients. (Phew!)
At a glance, the amount of food seemed like it should be enough for the three meals I had selected, and with the exception of one mushy tomato, the fresh produce was top quality. Even the bagged scallions looked as good as what I’d have picked up at my local grocery. The abundance of tiny packages of specialty ingredients like seasoned rice wine vinegar and mushroom stock concentrate reminded me why I like meal kits—you can experiment with new flavors without stocking your pantry with full-size versions of ingredients you might not use all of.
What I like about EveryPlate
All recipes have six steps, which were clearly laid out on recipe cards that include a handy picture. The well-designed recipe cards made the prep steps easy to understand; I appreciated that the cards walked you through the ways the cooking process changes if you’re preparing your meal for two or four people. And if you had chosen to swap or add an ingredient when you ordered your box, the instructions for those ingredients are in orange.
The recipes themselves were involved—some steps include multiple mini steps, which aren’t always immediately apparent—but not very difficult to follow. As long as you feel comfortable with basic kitchen skills, like chopping and sautéing, you should be able to prepare these meals.
The first two out of the three recipes I cooked went off without a hitch, so I was riding high when I encountered my first problem. While making Sweet and Saucy Soy Garlic Chicken with Savory Honey Glaze, I couldn’t get my glaze to glaze. Even after leaving the glaze ingredients in the pan for five minutes (the recipe calls for two to three), it wasn’t thickening. Eventually I gave up, instead scooping the sauce onto the chicken after plating. All’s well that ends well—the chicken was delicious.
Overall, the meals were filling and, according to the recipe cards, ranged from around 650 calories (Tex-Mex steak and zucchini pasta) to 910 calories (chicken with carrots). Plus, true to its marketing, the meals were more affordable than other meal services I’ve tried, like HelloFresh and HomeChef. Three meals for two people came out to be around $36. (Note: Bon Appétit was gifted a week of meals for this review.)
What I didn’t like about EveryPlate
Looking at the recipe cards, I immediately noticed that unlike other meal kits I’ve tried in the past, EveryPlate expects my kitchen to be stocked with more than just the basics. Between my three meals, I needed butter, white sugar and brown sugar, and flour. I don’t bake, and I never cook with sugar. And while I do have butter, I did wonder about the full range of ingredients needed to cook EveryPlate meals every week. This could be something to consider for people who don’t have fully stocked pantries and would like the meal kit to provide everything necessary to cook a meal.