Blue Apron Is OK, but I’ve Had Better

For many years, Blue Apron has been one of my favorite meal kits out of the dozens I’ve tested. It was No. 1 in our buying guide, and my colleague Adrienne So even gave the service its own love letter. I recently retested the service to ensure that our coverage was up to date, and I’m dismayed to announce that, while it’s still a good meal kit subscription service, Blue Apron is no longer my top pick.

I still think it has its merits, and in no way would I call it “bad.” It’s undeniably convenient to have ingredients shipped to your door, because who actually likes going grocery shopping? And the dishes I’ve tried have been mostly good. But I had some issues with this round of testing that have led me to believe that other services might be a better use of your time—and money.

A Fly in My Soup

After speaking with the lovely PR folks at Blue Apron to start a round of retesting, they confirmed my recipes: Sour Cherry-Dijon Chicken, Chimichurri Shrimp, Fall Harvest Grain Bowls, Southwestern-Style Egg Bites, and Double Chocolate Cake. Only three of the five were actually cookable upon arrival.

It started with the eggs that were packed inside my shipping box, which had broken and coated everything inside. I rinsed everything off and packed it into my fridge. No use in crying over broken eggs, or whatever that old adage is. That night, I cooked the chicken dish, which was mostly tasty, except my chicken had a defect known as “spaghetti meat”—a muscle abnormality that causes chicken breast to appear soft and stringy, like spaghetti. It’s usually not obvious on the outside of the meat (it wasn’t in my case), but these internal strings turn tough upon being cooked and alter the texture of the finished dish, making it more fibrous. I only discovered the abnormality after I cut into the cooked chicken breast. I would have realized it earlier if the instructions called for cutting into the protein earlier—for example, if the breasts were to be butterflied—but since I was cooking it whole, I didn’t catch the issue until dinner was served.

I know it’s silly to expect that a meal kit service delivers the highest-quality butcher-grade cuts of meat, and despite it being unappetizing, I still ate it. My chicken was tougher and stringier than it would have been without the defect, but “spaghetti meat” is still safe to eat. It’s just less delicious. And despite that issue, the rest of the meal was pretty good. I reached out to the PR folks and mentioned it, since I would have done the same with customer service if I’d been a paying customer. They said they’d send two replacement meals—Pork Schnitzel & Pancetta-Potato Salad, as well as Beef Over Curry-Spiced Rice. (For customers, if an issue is encountered, Blue Apron typically offers a credit toward your next box or order.)