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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Can’t decide between the lentils and the pasta! It all looks so good!
Baked fontina pasta sounds yummy!
They all look awesome! I cook quite a bit, but seafood is something I’m definitely not as confident in. I’d love to try the Tom-Yum style shrimp and noodles!
I want to make the turkey chili!
Eek! So fun! I’d LOVE to make that baked fontina pasta. Drool!!
We LOVE Blue Apron!! I already have my order ready for next week and really looking forward to the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles.
I would love to try the Corned beef-spiced flank steaks! Sounds delish and with St. Patty’s next week! Sign me up!
I love chili, so I’d make the turkey chili!
That Turkey Chili is calling my name! I have always wanted to try this service. L:ooks amazing:)
I would definitely love to try my hand at making the salvadorean pupusas! They’re delicious when ordered at a restaurant and would be interesting (and hopefully tasty) to make at home!
Everything looks delicious but I would love to make the Tom Yum Style Shrimp and Noodles.
The turkey chili looks amazing!
my hubby would love the tom-yum soup!
I would to try the lental recipe. I’ve never made it successfully!
Smoky Beluga Lentils!!! Sounds incredible!
The Smoky Beluga Lentils sound great! Especially with the poached egg on top!
Baked Fontina Pasta with Brussel Sprouts. Sounds amazing!!
I would love to make the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles. I love thai basil and noodles of course!
I want to create more Asian-inspired dishes so I would love to make the Tom-Yum noodles
The smokey beluga lentils and baked fontina pasta look delicious! Especially since both are things I’ve never attempted to cook before!
Baked fontina pasta!
I don’t eat meat, but cheese is my weakness – so the Baked Fontina Pasta is calling my name. I’m curious about the Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas. My family is from El Salvador, so this would be interesting to try. I’ve never attempted to make them before since I was afraid the flavors wouldn’t be the same or live up to my expectations.
The baked fontina pasta….yum!!!
My fiance does all the cooking in our house, but now that his job requires him to be gone several weeks at a time I would LOVE to try blue apron. One person can only have so many omelettes and grilled chicken salads before they wish they knew how to cook!
I’ve wanted to try one of these! The corned beef flank steaks look delicious. I always stick to chicken and ground beef and maybe occasionally a roast. This would be awesome to put some variety in our lives!
The Tom Yum noodle dish looks amazing!
The Corned Beef-Spiced Flank Steaks look amazing! We tend to eat A LOT of fish and chicken. Red meat is a “special” occasion so learning a new way to make it would be awesome!
mmmm the baked fontina pasta looks amazing–like adult Mac and cheese! I just had a baby and am breastfeeding, so I am all about yummy carbs!
Baked fontina pasta!!! Looks so good!!
The baked pasta for sure!
Baked fontina pasta looks delish!
The mushroom and beef stroganoff. It was on the family meal page.
Yessss! They have good vegetarian options! Definitely “need” the Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusaswith Cabbage & Radish Curtido 🙂
The turkey chili looks amazing. Because basically anything with avocado is amazing.
The baked fontina pasta looks so amazing!!! I’m pregnant too (31 weeks!) and anything pasta catches my eye!!!!!
I would try the shrimp and the pasta dish.
The flank steak!
I would love to try the Turkey chili. Looks great!
Definitely the butternut squash and kale lasagna!
The Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles looks delish! I absolutely love soup and need to try to make it at home more often.
What a great giveaway, I am so curious about Blue Apron. In honor of St. Patty’s Day, I’d like to try Corned-Beef Spiced Flank Steaks.
Ohh I’ve been wanting to try Blue Apron for a while now! The turkey chili looks super yummy
The bean and cheese pupusas sound intriguing! This would be such a great way to try new things in the kitchen!
Corned Beef Flank Steaks! I would love to get into the St. Patty’s Day mood. Yum!
I am always looking for new yummy pescetarian meals and I LOVE brussels sprouts!! So the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles and the Baked Fontina Pasta look DE-LISH!! Thanks so much for sharing about Blue Apron. I will definitely order something from them in the future! 🙂
It all looks delicious, but I really want to try the turkey chili!!
The corn beef-spiced flank steak sounds delicious! My husband and I are always looking for a new way to cook steak!
Mmm, the baked fontina pasta look sso good! I could really use these Blue Apron meals since I have an infant and have literally no time to cook. I also don’t even have time to grocery shop!
Does the standard 2 person meal set typically make a decent amount of food? I want try these but I’m afraid my husband will be starving if it only makes 2 small meals.
I just got back from a trip to SE Asia, so I would love to try the Tom Yum-style Shrimp and Noodles!