Life is busy, and for many of us, cooking healthy meals may fall to the wayside when work, school, family, and other activities monopolize our time. Enter the best meal delivery services, which can take the time and guesswork out of planning, prepping, and cooking meals for yourself and your household.
In this EveryPlate review, we’ll deep dive into one of the most affordable home-cooked meal kits available. I’ll share the overall experience with prices, menu options, and ordering, as well as our tester’s personal experience with cooking (and tasting!) each meal.
Medical disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. For health advice, contact a licensed healthcare provider. GGR also recommends choosing a product that has been third-party tested for quality.
Meal Delivery Taste-Testing from Fitness and Nutrition Experts
Garage Gym Reviews experts are certified personal trainers, registered dietitians, strength and conditioning coaches, and even Olympic athletes. Our experts have tested and compared over 40 different meal kit delivery services.
For this review, our tester was Erin Chancer, a former GGR senior editor who used EveryPlate for more than six months. She reviewed EveryPlate’s menu options, prices, shipping, and, of course, taste. We also consulted with GGR panelists and registered dietitians for expert takes on nutritional content. We then applied our comprehensive testing methodology to score EveryPlate on a scale of 1 to 5 in 10 categories, including:
- Portion size
- Price per meal
- Ingredient quality
- Meal options
EveryPlate
EveryPlate
Product Highlights
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Meal kit delivery service with five menu plans to choose from
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Kits included pre-portioned ingredients and recipe cards
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Approximately 26 recipes to choose from each week
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Recipes serve two or four people
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Can opt for three to six recipes per week
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Low price per serving
- Can mix and match from all meal plans
- New menus drop weekly
- Most meals take less than 30 minutes to prepare
Cons
- Doesn’t cater to any specialized diets
- No substitution options
- Not a lot of focus on ingredient quality
Bottom Line
EveryPlate is a low-cost meal kit delivery service that offers new meals weekly. If you don’t have dietary restrictions or need to follow a specialized diet, it could be a good option for you.
A Quick Look at EveryPlate
EveryPlate is a meal-prep delivery service. It was launched in 2018 as an alternative to the more expensive Green Chef, and was then acquired by the company HelloFresh. At a beginning price of $4.99 per serving, EveryPlate is one of the most budget-friendly options while maintaining quality ingredients.
EveryPlate aims to provide fresh, wholesome, and tasty meals while still focusing on affordability. Meals are easy to make; the recipe cards have six steps, and cost about as much as the same ingredients from the grocery store.
Before You Buy
- New subscribers can purchase a week’s worth of meals for a family of four for $1.49 per serving.
- Preferences range from quick and easy to premium meals to subscriber faves.
- You can swap out proteins and sides across dishes.
- There are few options for people with dietary restrictions or food sensitivities.
Is EveryPlate Worth It?
Simply put, EveryPlate is a great low-cost meal kit and is appropriate for nearly every budget. Starting at $4.99 per meal, you’ll get all the ingredients fresh in a box for you to cook a meal without having to go grocery shopping.
From our experience, the ingredients are high-quality (though not organic—check out our Sunbasket review if that’s important to you), and the meals are well-balanced. The menu includes up to 30 family-friendly dishes per week, including vegetarian and high-protein options. However, unlike some competitors, you won’t see options for special diets like paleo, vegan, or gluten-free.
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Great for:
- Budget-conscious folks and families
- People who like to cook
- People with little or no dietary restrictions
Not recommended for:
- People with dietary restrictions or allergies (keto, paleo, Whole30)
- Folks who don’t want to cook
- People who want more organic or local options
EveryPlate Specs
| Price per meal | Starting at $4.99 ($1.49 for new subscribers) |
| Meals per week | 3-6 |
| Meal kit or prepared | Meal kit |
| Diet options | Vegetarian, high-protein, pescatarian |
| Fresh or frozen | Fresh |
| Delivery area | Continental U.S. |
Our Experience Using EveryPlate Meal Delivery Service
Our tester, GGR senior editor Erin Chancer, had an overall great experience with EveryPlate, which she used for upwards of six months. She noted the site was very easy to use, meals were easy to select, and ingredients were easy to find. She noted the weekly EveryPlate menu has good variability—although after a few months, as the meals start to repeat, it can feel a bit old—and you can easily add extra proteins or veggies to each meal.
Erin mentioned the food arrives fresh and ready to be cooked. She said prep took a bit longer than the recipe cards indicated and that the cooking process was sometimes a bit chaotic, but the portions were substantial enough for each meal, and she occasionally had leftovers.
Price Per Meal
EveryPlate meals range from $4.99 to $6.49. Erin ordered four meals per week for two people, for a total cost of $39.92 plus $9.99 shipping. When factoring in shipping, Erin’s meals came out to $9.98 each.
Here are more specifics:
- Prices decrease as you increase the number of meals per week or the number of people you’ll cook for.
- Premium meals add $3.99 per meal.
Because of the affordable price—meal delivery services can run upwards of $15 or more per meal on the high end—Erin rated this category 4 out of 5.
EveryPlate Meal Preparation
Both our tester, Erin, and our dietitian reviewer, Perry Nix, R.D. (who also uses EveryPlate for her family), find EveryPlate meal prep to be a bit time-consuming.
“The recipe card will list estimated prep and cook times (i.e. Prep:10 min, Cook: 30 min), but those estimations weren’t true to my experience,” Erin explains. “I spent much more time prepping everything before starting to cook—I’d say 60+ min.”
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Perry adds, “Although the recipes are only six steps, each step has multiple parts, so I’m still spending more than 30 minutes cooking each meal. However, the taste and quality is worth it.”
Erin mentioned that there’s a fair amount of cleanup from cookware and the food packaging, so leave time and energy to handle that afterward.
Also of note: You’ll need to stock your pantry and fridge with some cooking essentials, like salt, butter, oils, or some condiments, as they’re not included in your box but are required for the recipe.
Taste, Ingredient Quality, and Portion Size
Both GGR senior editor Erin Chancer and our R.D. reviewer Perry Nix like to cook their own meals, so they were eager to try EveryPlate’s recipes. Both found EveryPlate’s meals had (mostly) quality ingredients and were very tasty.
“Most ingredients are delivered fresh in their whole-food form with some pre-made sauces and seasonings,” Perry explains. “I find that the fresh ingredients really improve the aroma and taste of the meals.” The premium meals also offer more choice cuts as well. We rated taste as a 4 out of 5 because of these factors.
Erin noted, though, that she ran into a few issues with the chicken breast over the months she subscribed to EveryPlate, which led us to a rating of 3.5 out of 5 for ingredient quality.
“If we waited until the end of the week to cook a chicken recipe, the packaged chicken would have a sulfur-like smell and be unusable,” she says. “My advice would be to start with the chicken first to avoid this. Also, occasionally, we would receive produce that was past its prime.”
Their packaged dry ingredients and sauces were always good, though. Erin also notes that she got some unique seasonings with her EveryPlate boxes that she couldn’t find at her grocery store, so that was a plus.
In terms of portion sizes, Erin said it was enough for her and her partner, with them occasionally having leftovers—that earned EveryPlate a 4 out of 5 in the portion size category.
Aside from the taste and ingredient quality, both Erin and Perry noted the meals were nutritionally balanced with a protein, a carb, and veggies and could often be described as comfort food—the recipes do use butter and salt frequently. You can find nutritional information for each recipe on the website but not on the recipe card itself.
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Meal Plans and Customization
While EveryPlate’s focus is affordability, they offer tons of great-tasting and easy-to-cook recipes. The full meal plan consists of 26 to 30 total meal kits, all of which rotate through the weekly menu.
The meal plans are simple—choose how many people to feed (2-4), then select your meal frequency (3-6 meals per week). You can skip weeks and cancel at any time.
EveryPlate meals are slightly customizable. The menu has several options, and subscribers can add on extra servings of protein and vegetables, or swap them. However, EveryPlate does not offer specialty meals such as paleo, vegan, organic, or plant-based.
Given its price point, we rated EveryPlate a 4 out of 5 in meal plans and customization.
Ordering, Packaging, and Shipping
Ordering from EveryPlate is simple and straightforward—Erin Chancer, former GGR senior editor, scored it 4.5 out of 5. You select your meal plan, foods, and frequency, and that’s it. Plus, there are no commitments with EveryPlate. You can skip one week and there is no fee for cancellation.
When you’re ready to order, there are five categories of meals to choose from: Meat & Veggie, Veggie, Quick & Easy, Family Faves, and Nutrish & Delish. You have to select your meals each week, or EveryPlate automatically chooses meals for you. You can also choose when your first box ships.
EveryPlate shipping is consistent and timely. Erin said shipments were rarely delayed, but customer support would offer free meals or discounts in any such event. Next-day shipping is typically unavailable unless you need a replacement box rushed to your door.
The food arrives in a plainly marked EveryPlate box with gel ice packs. The cardboard box was sturdy and not overly full.
“I live in a part of the country where it can get very hot during the summer, so there was some melting of the gel-based ice packs, but that didn’t seem to affect the food,” Erin says. “Shipping on your designated day is very timely, and if the shipment is going to be delayed, EveryPlate will let you know.”
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EveryPlate vs HelloFresh
HelloFresh
HelloFresh
Product Highlights
- Meal service that delivers ingredients and recipes
- 6 different plans available, including vegan and pescatarian options
- Can swap out different proteins and sides
- Can purchase between 2 and 6 meals, in portions to feed 2 or 4 people
- 40 weekly recipes to choose from
- Sourced from U.S. farmers
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Saves on meal-prepping
- Can swap out ingredients
- Chef-curated recipes
- Sourced from U.S. farmers
- 6 meal plans to choose from
Cons
- Customer reviews complain about ingredient inconsistencies
- Some reviews claim meal portions are small
Bottom Line
HelloFresh is a subscription meal delivery service that provides ingredients and recipes for weekly meals. They provide six different plans, including plant-based, pescatarian, and quick and easy meals. Additionally, 40 different recipes are available each week, and proteins and sides can be swapped out as needed. The subscription is flexible, as you can skip a week, pause, or cancel your account at any time.
EveryPlate is owned by HelloFresh. While HelloFresh has far more meal options, it’s also more expensive than EveryPlate.
EveryPlate lacks the attention to detail, sustainability efforts, and robust menu offerings at HelloFresh, but this keeps EveryPlate’s prices down. You can read more about HelloFresh in our HelloFresh review if you want additional insight, but here’s a brief comparison.
| EveryPlate | HelloFresh | |
| Price per meal | Starting at $4.99 | Starting at $8.99 |
| Meals per week | 3-6 | 2-6 |
| Meal kit or prepared | Meal kit | Meal kit |
| Diet options | High-protein, vegetarian, pescatarian | High-protein, vegetarian, pescatarian, calorie-conscious |
| Fresh or frozen | Fresh | Fresh |
| Delivery area | Continental U.S. | Contiguous U.S. plus “select ZIP codes in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Anchorage, Alaska” |
Customer Experience
Erin rated EveryPlate a 5 out of 5 on customer service and a 4 out of 5 on sustainability.
She dinged one point on sustainability because while there were instructions about how to recycle the packaging, it was easier said than done.
“The cardboard boxes are easy enough to break down, but the interior had a lining that had to be removed in order to recycle, and the ice packs have to be emptied of the gel substance before being recycled in the orange plastic bag,” Erin explains. “We ended up with stacks of ice packs and cardboard in our garage over time because of this.”
Customer Reviews
EveryPlate has over 20,000 reviews on TrustPilot, with an average rating of 4.1. Most reviews raved about the quality of the food and ease of meal prep. Less favorable reviews mentioned a lack of meal variety or specialty diets.
Final Verdict of Our EveryPlate Review
EveryPlate is one of the most affordable meal kit delivery services. While the menu is not as extensive as competitors, EveryPlate manages to maintain variety. From tacos to mashed potatoes to chickpeas, EveryPlate is sure to have something for all taste buds.
- EveryPlate meals are tasty based on our testers’ experiences, with (mostly) quality ingredients that took both of them out of their cooking comfort zone. The meals do repeat after a while though, so it may become stale after a few months.
- Prep times listed on the recipe cards may be a bit deceiving, as our testers found it would almost always take longer than that to prepare the meals.
- Ordering is easy, canceling is easy, and overall customer service is great.
Full Rating
EveryPlate Meal Kit Delivery
EveryPlate is a low-cost meal kit delivery service that offers new meals weekly. If you don’t have dietary restrictions or need to follow a specialized diet, it could be a good option for you.
Product Brand: EveryPlate
Product Currency: $
Product Price: 4.99
Product In-Stock: InStock
4.1
EveryPlate FAQs
Does EveryPlate actually save you money?
It can, yes. EveryPlate is one of the most affordable meal delivery kits available, being cheaper than HelloFresh or Blue Apron. Meals range from $4.99 to $6.49, but you’ll also have to pay $9.99 in shipping per box. If you take into account the time it would take you to shop, plus any food that might go to waste throughout your week (best intentions, right?!), EveryPlate could definitely be a more economical option.
Is EveryPlate owned by HelloFresh?
Yes, HelloFresh acquired EveryPlate in 2018.
How much does EveryPlate cost per week?
This depends on the meal plan you select, with prices per meal ranging from $4.99 to $6.49. Our tester ordered 4 meals per week for two people and got a price of $39.92, or $4.99 per person, not including shipping ($9.99).
Is HelloFresh cheaper than EveryPlate?
No. HelloFresh meals start at $8.99, and EveryPlate meals start at $4.99.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.
