I particularly loved the togarashi-spiced duck with crispy rice, a recipe that smartly used rendered duck fat to add unctuousness to the rice, and offset the tender, slightly sweet duck meat with Japanese togarashi spice. The meals I cooked from Blue Apron were some of my favorites from the entire testing process. If you’re not into those flavors, that’s also fine-you can simply pick something else. That variety ensures that longtime subscribers to Blue Apron won’t get bored by the same set of flavors every week, and it also introduces the opportunity to experience cuisines you might not otherwise.

While some meal kits stick to Italian-, Mexican- and American-inspired recipes, in the weeks I was testing, Blue Apron included Japanese, North African, Korean and Chinese influences. I also appreciated the variety of culinary traditions Blue Apron’s recipes used.

And there’s even a wine-pairing program, if you’re so inclined.īlue Apron offers a wide array of menu options to choose from, including vegetarian and. You can include additional proteins in your meal kit box, like shrimp and chicken. Blue Apron also gives you the flexibility to supplement your home cooking with everything from breakfast to fine-dining upgrades. You can see which meals are vegetarian, which meals are on the “wellness” menu (with nutritional information included) and which ones require little prep work. You can also filter by how many servings you want-maxing out at four per meal in this case, which is something to consider if you have a larger household than mine (though you can order multiple kits if needed).

The site presents a photo of the finished meal, and options are sortable by a variety of tags and how long the meal takes to make. Considering these constraints, this kit was the best I tested.īrowsing Blue Apron’s menus is easy through the website or the app.

Blue Apron stood out because of the many options it offers for households like mine, where not every member has the same skill set or dietary restrictions.

Blue apron cookbook