This is the third article in a series on “Meal Delivery Kits”. Read my first article on Hello Fresh, second article on Green Chef, or scroll on to see my experience with Plated. Please note: Plated advertises on Mrs. Millennial, but that doesn’t affect our review. Post contains affiliate links.
Another week, another meal delivery kit! This time, I’ll bring you a review of Plated. Once again, I’ll review them on a scale of 1 (ugh) to 10 (hooray!) in the categories of price, packaging, a rating for each meal, and an overall score.
Plated, of all the boxes I’ve researched so far, is probably the most in touch with the millennial audience. From their sleek website to more globally-inspired recipes, they stress not only the convenience or variety of a meal delivery kit, but also the “fun” of trying new recipes and techniques and stress how it fits into a busy working lifestyle. For me at least (I am a millennial, after all!) that resonated – I really liked everything I read on their website.
Plated also offered a nice variety of options; for my three meal box, I was able to choose from among 11 recipes. You can also add additional meals for an extra $24 each or up to two dessert recipes per box, for an extra $8 each (for the 2-serving price). If you have small kiddos, they also offer 3-serving boxes that are intended for 2 adults and 2 kids.
Price: 7/10
Plated falls somewhere in the middle of the boxes I’ve looked into in terms of cost. The standard 3-meal box costs $72 a week, or $24/recipe. That’s certainly more than what you’d pay if you bought the ingredients yourself at the supermarket, but we did feel that all the ingredients we received were of a high quality. (Many were even name-brand, for example, Sriracha hot sauce and Chobani greek yogurt.)
Packaging: 8/10
I got my Plated delivery on a Saturday, which was great because it was delivered earlier in the day than I typically get my weekday deliveries. This meant everything was still perfectly cold and chilled on arrival, which had been an issue with Hello Fresh. And they used the same nifty, recycled-material insulator that Green Chef did, so I now have two of those! Each meal’s ingredients were bundled together, making it easy to know what went with what. My only criticism, like Green Chef, is around the overall amount of packaging — these services certainly generate a fair bit of plastic trash.
Meal 1: Beef Bibimbap: 9/10
This recipe was pretty fantastic. Though not necessarily a traditional bibimbap (Plated substituted sautéed spinach for kimchi, for example), I enjoyed the nod to the Korean classic, and the flavor was fantastic. I though the “quick pickle” on the carrots and cucumbers needed to have been a bit longer for my taste, but otherwise, this was a big win taste-wise. I do have issue, however, with the fact that this recipe called for two eggs (a pretty major component of the meal in fact!) and those were NOT included in the box — it was lucky that I had eggs on hand, because none of the email confirmations or anything called this out that I would need to provide them. Had I not had eggs on hand, I could’ve been caught without a way to finish the recipe.
Meal 2: Lamb Kofta: 9/10
This was another win, and actually is VERY similar to a meal that I make pretty regularly anyways. Since I was familiar with the basics of the recipe, I appreciated seeing where they made variations from what I normally do: for example, I usually add feta and a tzatziki sauce instead of a yogurt sauce; Plated added mint and parsley to the spring mix, and recommended charring the naan. Overall, we were very satisfied with this recipe as well and it was nice to get a new take on one of our classics. And it was super filling; we probably could have just split a single serving of this and been satisfied.
Meal 3: Pan-Roasted Chicken: 10/10
This meal was completely DELICIOUS. I would have gladly paid $20 for it at a sit-down restaurant. Even the hubby, who abhors brussel sprouts, happily ate the potato-shallot-brussel hash. It was just that good. And so simple! If there was any drawback at all, it was that they wanted you to cook the hash and the chicken in separate pans; however, I didn’t see any reason for that, and just deglased the pan with a little white wine after the chicken was finished and made the hash in the same one. I will DEFINITELY be making this recipe or a version of it again in the future.
Overall: 9/10
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new favorite!!! Everything about Plated worked really well for us — I loved the fact that I could select from so many recipe options each week, and the more globally-inspired recipe options fit well with our current tastes. The recipes were all delicious and easy to prepare, and even resulted in fewer pans per recipe than previous boxes, for easier cleanup.
The only downside to Plated is the cost — there’s just no getting around that this is still more pricey than handling shopping and meal planning for yourself. However, especially for busy weeks, like the ones where we’re just coming back from or about to depart on a trip? Plated is perfect for that, and we look forward to more meals with them in the future.
Stay tuned! Next up in the series, we’ll have leader in the field, Blue Apron! And in the coming weeks, we’ll have a review for Freshly as well.
