I first heard of Blue Apron, a service that delivers all the ingredients you need to make three gourmet-quality meals, back in December 2013.
My friend Merri followed a Blue Apron recipe and made us a delicious dinner of udon noodle soup during one of my visits to New York City. She initially signed up for Blue Apron to teach herself how to cook since she was not really comfortable in the kitchen and absolutely raved about the step-by-step instructions that came with each shipment of the meal delivery service.
I came home from New York and spoke highly of the service to Ryan… so much so that he ended up giving me four weeks of Blue Apron meals for Christmas that year! We had so much fun trying new recipes and using fun, flavorful ingredients. We continue to use the service regularly and I promise you we have yet to make one meal we didn’t love. I now have my mom and dad hooked on regular deliveries, too!
In case Blue Apron hasn’t been on your radar up until now, here’s how it works: Blue Apron is a service that sends you all of the farm-fresh ingredients you need to make three delicious meals a week for $9.99 per person per meal (with free shipping). (A Family Plan is also available and feeds a family of four for $8.74 per person per meal.) All ingredients are delivered to your doorstep in a refrigerated box and come with three chef-designed recipes that are easy to follow thanks to gorgeous photos of each step of the recipe. (The Tom-Yum Style Shrimp and Noodles and the Orange Ginger Salmon are calling to me!)
Ryan and I initially opted for the vegetarian meal plan to help ourselves learn to cook more delicious meatless meals, but you can choose whether or not your want your meals to include red meat, poultry, seafood, etc.
For our most recent Blue Apron delivery, we opted for a pescetarian meal plan and received all the fresh ingredients we needed to make two vegetarian dishes and one meal with fish.
Here’s what our menu looked like:
This dish was truthfully the one we were least excited about, mainly because it looked like it might be a little bland since, at first glance, it seemed like simple white fish, cooked rice and wilted spinach. Well, we were in for a very pleasant surprise because this dish was a big-time hit with both of us!! (It actually ended up being Ryan’s favorite!) It was absolutely delicious thanks to the salty miso yuzu glaze and the fresh ginger. Definitely not your average fish and rice dish!
I couldn’t wait to make this salad. The colors from the bright orange sweet potatoes and deep green kale made it look so vibrant and tasty. I am happy to report that is ended up being every bit as delicious as I hoped it would be! The chewy texture of the farro paired together perfectly with the soft sweet potato and the crunchiness of the hazelnuts. I also loved that I learned how to pickle onions while I made this recipe, as that’s something I never knew how to do before! I told Ryan I think this salad would also taste delicious chilled as a summer side dish to bring to a BBQ with friends.
If you put a fried egg on top of something, Ryan will definitely order it at a restaurant, so this recipe caught his eye the minute we pulled it out of the Blue Apron box. (My egg was cooked all way through – pregnancy precaution.) Ryan ended up cooking the sauce part of this dish (for some reason, during pregnancy canned crushed tomatoes are currently making my stomach turn) but by the time he was done following the recipe, the smell encouraged me to give it a try and I loved it!! While he tackled the peppery sauce, I made the tortilla chips that served as the crunchy bed for the dish and fried up the eggs. Team work at its finest! Also, I loved the way this recipe had us toss fresh avocado in lime juice, salt and pepper before using it as a delicious garnish. That really kicked the flavor up a notch!
Giveaway
Now here is your chance to try Blue Apron for yourself! One PBF reader will win a free week of Blue Apron meals for two!
To enter this giveaway, click here to pop over to Blue Apron and check out what’s on the menu for this week and leave a comment below telling me which recipe you’d be most excited to create!
Please note: This giveaway includes a week of meals for two people. Blue Apron delivers to 80 percent of the United States. In order to win this giveaway, you must live in one of the delivery zones. (A map of the delivery zones may be seen here.) I will randomly select a winner on Friday.
And please don’t worry if you don’t win! The first 100 readers who try Blue Apron will receive two free meals on their first order! To receive this promo, please click here to order.
Good luck!!!
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Disclaimer: While this post is sponsored by Blue Apron, affiliate links are not included and I am not receiving any compensation for orders placed with Blue Apron. Thank you for your support!
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The Turkey Chili & the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp and Noodles look so amazing, I would try them!
All the recipes look great! I’d be interested in the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles… I LOVE asian food, but I never cook it because I’m intimidated by all the ingredients. I need to remedy that!!!
everything looks so delish! the tom yum shrimp noodles and the lamb gyros!
The turkey chili looks awesome!
The Turkey Chili looks phenomenal! As a first year resident spending 80+ hours a week in a hospital this looks like a phenomenal way to eat real food, so glad you blogged about it!
This is a tough one, but I think I’d be most excited to make the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles! I love Thai food and would love a chance to make it at home instead of take-out.
The turkey chili looks really good!
Baked Fontina Pasta! YUM!
I’d love to try the pupusas for sure!
I would try the turkey chili or Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles!
Would love to try the Corned Beef! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Everything looks great!!! Especially the Turkey Chili!
Would love to try making Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles!!!
Baked fontina pasta — I love Brussels sprouts!
The Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas look delicious!
I’d love to try the Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas
Blue Apron would be so perfect for us right now since my desire to cook is truly lacking lately. The Baked Fontina Pasta looks especially tasty on this week’s menu!
The turkey chili looks sooo good!
Turkey Chili looks amazing!
The corned beef spiced flank steaks look yummy! Does Blue Apron offer a paleo menu too? I would be very intrigued to try it!!
Pupusas and corned beef! Pupusas are one of my favorite foods, but I’ve never made them before. And I was just thinking I should try my hand at making corned beef since St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner!
I think the Turkey Chilli with Avocado and Cheddar Cheese looks all sorts of amazing!
tom yum shrimp! YUM!
definitely the tom yum-style shrimp and noodles!
I’m super excited to try the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles!
I would love to try the shrimp and noodles- something I wouldn’t try making on my own, but would feel more manageable with the ingredients delivered to my door. 😉
I love noodle bowls and they have been a staple in my household for a little over a year now. I’d love to try the Tom-Yum Style Shrimp & Noodles! 🙂
That Turkey Chili just looks too delicious! I may have to find a way to make it tonight!
everything looks so yummy, but i’d love to branch out and try making the flank steak!
Baked Fontina Pasta is NUMBER ONE on my radar, because, well…pasta!! 🙂
I’m so thankful you posted this today, because I could not remember the name of this company but I know you’ve referenced it before. My family has recently requested birthday ideas for my upcoming birthday and I have always wanted to give this a try! Thank you so much!
smoky beluga lentils! I’ve never tried them before! Also, I was sold at smoky spice blend and soft boiled eggs.
The Tom-Yum Style Shrimp and Noodles looks awesome. Not quite sure what it is, but looks delicious!
That shrimp and noodles. Mmmmm
I would go for the Baked Fontina Pasta!
The Baked Fontina Pasta looks so yummy!
I would love to try to Tom Yum Shrimp Noodles. I love Asian food but have always been intimidated to try and make it at home.
I would love to try the Baked Fontina Pasta!!! I love Brussels Sprouts so much (:
I love Asian foods, especially soup so the tom yum noodles with shrimp stand out, but everything looks delicious! I’ve heard great things about Blue Apron!
I’d love to try the Turkey Chili!
The tom-yum shrimp and noodles look great!
After hearing your raves about the Tom Yum Shrimp and Noodles, I really want to try it!
I’d love to try the Corned Beef-Spiced Flank Steaks. Anything corned beef is my favorite!
Tom Yum Soup! Looks so good!
Everything looks so good! I’d have to go with Baked Fontina pasta…mmmmm….love me some brussels sprouts
The Tom Yum Shrimp & Noodles sound so good!
I feel like that TOM YUM shrimp and noodles is where its at!
I would love to try the lentil recipe! They always seem so boring to me… Maybe I just need a way to kick them up a notch!
The Tom Yum! My boyfriend is thai so I would love to surprise him with one of our favorite dishes!
Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles for sure!
The Salvadoran Black Bean and Cheese Pupusas and the Corned Beef-Spiced Flank Steaks look amazing to this pregnant girl! Would love to win this giveaway, as we are sort of in a cooking rut and could use some inspiration at our house. Thanks!