If you’ve been wondering whether HelloFresh is actually worth the money, I completely understand. I asked myself the same thing before signing up…and honestly, I still ask myself every now and then.
I’ve now been using HelloFresh for a little over a year, which I think gives me enough experience to give a real review. This isn’t my opinion after one box or a free trial. This is after more than a year of choosing meals every week, skipping weeks when I’m out of town, cooking the meals, eating the leftovers, and deciding whether it’s something I’ll continue paying for.
Spoiler alert: I’m keeping it for now.
That doesn’t mean I think HelloFresh is perfect, and I definitely don’t think it’s the cheapest way to feed your family. But I do think it’s been worth every penny for this stage of my life.
If you’re looking for an honest review from someone who actually pays for HelloFresh every week, here’s exactly what I’ve learned after a year.
My HelloFresh Plan
Right now I order the three-person plan with two meals each week.
Most of the year, it’s just my youngest daughter and me eating dinner at home. My older daughter is away at college, so I purposely chose the three-person plan because I knew we would appreciate leftovers.
For us, it’s worked out almost perfectly.
Our two HelloFresh meals usually turn into:
- Two dinner nights
- One leftover dinner night
- At least one lunch that either I take to work or my daughter takes to school
I absolutely love leftover nights. There’s something so satisfying about opening the refrigerator and realizing dinner is already figured out. No cooking. No wondering what’s in the pantry. And no deciding whether I have enough energy to make something from scratch after work.
When my older daughter comes home for the summer, though, everything changes.
She loves food, and somehow those leftovers disappear a whole lot faster.
We usually still have enough left for one work lunch the next day, but we definitely lose those leftover dinner nights that I’ve grown to love.
I’ve actually been debating whether I should increase my plan during the summer. I’m not sure if I should add a third meal each week or keep two meals and increase the servings to four people instead.
I’m still undecided.
What It Costs Me
My current plan costs me about $88 per week.
That’s for two meals with three servings each.
My cost per serving is $11.99, plus there’s a $10.99 shipping charge each week, and then tax on top of that.
I’ll be honest…
Shipping charges annoy me no matter what company I’m ordering from. I don’t know why, but seeing that shipping line item always makes me cringe a little.
Still, I continue paying it because of what I’m getting in return.
Is HelloFresh Saving Me Money?
This is probably the biggest question people ask.
For me? No.
I don’t think HelloFresh saves me money.
Could I buy chicken, potatoes, vegetables and spices at Walmart for less? Absolutely.
Someone who enjoys meal planning, carefully shops sales and has plenty of time to compare grocery prices could almost certainly feed their family for less.
That’s just not where I am right now.
For me, HelloFresh isn’t really about saving money. It’s about saving brain power.
Let’s look at what that $88 actually gets us again:
- Two dinner nights
- One leftover dinner night
- At least one lunch the next day
When I look at it that way, it doesn’t feel like I’m paying $44 for dinner twice a week.
I’m paying for several meals, fewer grocery store headaches, and a break from thinking.
As a working mom juggling a whole lot every day, I value that more than I used to.
Why I Signed Up Again
Years ago, I actually tried HelloFresh.
Then I canceled.
The funny thing is…
I honestly don’t remember why.
Maybe life changed. Maybe I got tired of it. Or maybe I convinced myself I could meal plan better on my own.
Whatever the reason, I eventually canceled.
About a year ago, I decided to try it again. This time has been completely different.
I think part of it is just where I am in life.
I’m tired. Not physically exhausted every single day, but mentally tired of constantly deciding what’s for dinner.
I used to spend way too much time searching Pinterest for recipes.
Then I’d build my Walmart grocery pickup order.
Then Walmart would be out of one ingredient. Not the onions. Not the cheese.
It was always that one random ingredient the entire recipe depended on.
Now I’m either making another trip to the grocery store for one item or standing in my kitchen trying to figure out what I can make with everything I already bought.
That happened more often than I’d like to admit.
HelloFresh eliminated almost all of that.
I still have to figure out dinners for the other four nights each week, but having two nights already planned feels like a huge weight off my shoulders.
It’s almost like giving myself permission to not think quite as hard.
I Actually Like That It’s Only Two Meals
When people hear I only order two meals each week, they sometimes seem surprised.
Why not order four or five? Honestly I don’t think I’d want that many. I’d get burnt out.
There are still nights when we order takeout because it’s been a long day.
Sometimes I bring home leftovers from a work lunch.
Sometimes we’re just in the mood for sandwiches.
And sometimes breakfast for dinner sounds better than anything else.
Life doesn’t always stick to a meal plan. Two meals gives us flexibility without making me feel like I have to cook every single night.
Plus some of these meals are exhausting to make.
HelloFresh might estimate twenty minutes, but if it says twenty minutes, I automatically assume it’ll take me thirty.
Maybe I’m slow.
Maybe they’re overly optimistic.
Either way, I don’t think I’d enjoy making HelloFresh four or five nights every week.
For me, two is the sweet spot.
One thing that has made cooking these meals more enjoyable is finally buying a decent set of cookware. I switched to Carote pots and pans this past year, and I honestly didn’t realize how much I was fighting my old cookware until I replaced it. The nonstick surface has been amazing, cleanup is faster, and that’s one less thing slowing me down after work. If you’re already thinking about trying HelloFresh, I’d say good cookware makes just as much difference as having the ingredients delivered.
I wrote a whole review on my Carote pots and pans that you can read here.
Choosing Meals Each Week
One thing I really like is that HelloFresh automatically chooses meals for me every week.
Before you panic…You don’t have to keep them.
You have several days before your delivery to go in and swap them out for meals you’d rather have.
A couple of times I completely forgot to change them. Thankfully, none of the meals were terrible.
They weren’t necessarily what I would have picked, but they all turned out fine.
Now I’ve learned my lesson.
Around the first of every month, I sit down with my calendar and plan meals as far out as HelloFresh will let me, which I think is about five weeks.
That way I can also remember to skip weeks when we’ll be traveling.
The website lets you browse meals by categories like:
- High Protein
- Kid Friendly
- Health Conscious
- Quick and Easy
- New
- Bestsellers
- Double Protein
You can also sort everything by calories, protein, carbohydrates or estimated cook time.
I appreciate having all those options because some weeks I know I need something fast, while other weeks I’m okay spending a little more time in the kitchen.
The Meals Are Better Than My Kids Usually Give Me Credit For
One thing my family has always done is rate dinner.
Every. Single. Dinner.
My girls have this unofficial scoring system that they’ve used for years. At this point, I’m completely immune to it.
If they give something a six, I don’t take it personally.
If they give it a five, life goes on.
But when they hand out an eight…Now I’m paying attention.
Those high scores don’t happen very often. They’re tough critics.
Over the past year, HelloFresh has earned me several nines and I think even one ten.
That’s saying something.
In fact, I honestly think my girls rate HelloFresh meals higher than most of the dinners I make completely on my own. That’s probably one of the biggest compliments I can give the service.
That doesn’t mean every meal is amazing.
Most are good.
Some are just okay.
There have only been a handful where I immediately thought, “I have to remember to order this again.”
And that’s ok – Not every dinner needs to be life changing. Sometimes “really good and easy to make” is exactly what I needed after a long Monday.
The Website Could Use Some Love
For as much as I like HelloFresh, I don’t love their website.
Maybe it’s just me, but it feels…a little janky.
I’ve been using it for over a year now, so I know where everything is, but I still find myself getting frustrated every once in a while.
Sometimes I click on something and nothing happens for a few seconds. Then I click again because I assume I missed it…only to realize it was just thinking.
The way you scroll through future weeks feels a little fidgety too. It works, but I think there’s probably a better way to lay everything out.
I actually catch myself thinking there’s some futuristic version of the HelloFresh website just waiting for someone to create.
Don’t get me wrong. It does everything I need it to do. I just think there’s room for improvement as it appears a little outdated.
My “Free Item for Life” Isn’t Very Exciting
When I signed up, HelloFresh was running one of those promotions where you get a free item for life.
Sounds amazing, right? Eh, it’s fine.
The free item is usually worth around $3.99, and the choices just aren’t all that exciting.
Most weeks we end up picking the garlic bread because it’s the option that sounds the best.
After doing that for over a year…Let’s just say we’ve had enough garlic bread.
If you don’t get one of these promotions when you sign up, I wouldn’t let that stop you from trying HelloFresh.
You really aren’t missing much.
I’d rather they just knock a few dollars off my weekly total than keep tempting me with another loaf of garlic bread.
If you’re trying to purchase HelloFresh and want a deal, check out my HelloFresh referral link here.
Skipping Weeks Is Surprisingly Easy
One feature I genuinely appreciate is how easy it is to skip deliveries.
If we’re going to be out of town, I simply log in and skip that week’s box.
I’ve skipped several weeks over the past year.
I’ve never been charged and I’ve never been penalized.
HelloFresh has also never given me a warning that I’d skipped too many weeks.
Now…They do ask why you’re skipping.
Why HelloFresh wants to know my business, I’m not exactly sure. Usually I check the little box that says we’re traveling or out of town.
There’s an additional box asking for more information even after I click on “vacation”.
I leave it blank every single time. I’ve never had any issues.
That flexibility is one of the reasons I’ve kept my subscription.
I Love One Little Feature
One thing I do appreciate is that HelloFresh tells me when I’ve ordered a meal before.
It’ll say something like, “You’ve ordered this meal two times.”
I think they’re trying to remind me it’s something I liked.
The funny thing is…I usually see that message and think, “No thanks. Let’s try something new.”
Very few meals have been memorable enough that I intentionally wanted them again.
Most of the fun is trying something different each week.
The Delivery Has Been Reliable
I’ve never had any major issues with delivery.
My boxes arrive on Mondays.
The delivery window is incredibly wide. It’s something like 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m., so there’s really no telling when it’ll show up.
Sometimes it’s there before lunch.
Sometimes it doesn’t arrive until much later.
I’ve had boxes sit on my front porch for several hours before I got home from work, and everything has always stayed cold thanks to the ice packs inside.
You can also change your delivery day if another day works better for your schedule.
I’ve never needed to change mine because Mondays have worked out really well.
Actually…
I accidentally picked the perfect day.
Our trash pickup is Tuesday morning.
Let’s Talk About the Box
The box is…large.
Really large.
It’s packed with insulation and several heavy ice packs to keep everything cold.
I have two outdoor trash cans, and I’m honestly thankful for that because this box takes up a surprising amount of room.
I’ve never attempted to flatten it. Instead, I usually throw other trash inside the box before putting everything into the trash can.
It makes me feel like I’m getting the most out of the space.
I know some people recycle all the packaging, and I probably deserve a few points deducted for not doing that. Maybe one day.
For now, I’m just happy trash day is the morning after my delivery.
One Thing I Wouldn’t Order Again
HelloFresh has a Market section where you can add extra groceries and snacks to your order.
I decided to try it once.
I ordered one of their fruit assortments because I knew I wasn’t planning to grocery shop that week. It wasn’t terrible.
It also wasn’t something I’d order again.
The fruit quality just wasn’t what I would have picked myself at the grocery store.
Since then, I’ve stopped browsing the Market section altogether.
Now I log in, pick my meals, grab my slightly boring free item, and check out.
Wash Your Vegetables
Please learn from my mistake.
Wash your vegetables before and after you cut them.
All of them.
Even if they look perfectly clean.
One night I skipped washing the broccoli after I cut it up because, honestly, it looked beautiful.
Then while we were eating dinner…
Crunch. Not broccoli crunch.
More like tiny little sandy specks.
I can still remember chewing it. I honestly can’t believe I’m admitting that on the internet because I’ve tried really hard to block that memory from my mind.
To be fair, I don’t think this is a HelloFresh problem.
I should be extra washing vegetables from the grocery store too.
I think I just got lazy because everything they sent looked so fresh.
Lesson learned.
So…Is HelloFresh Worth It?
For me? Yes.
Without question.
But maybe not for the reason you think.
I don’t think HelloFresh has saved me money.
If your main goal is to spend as little as possible on groceries, you’ll almost certainly do better planning meals yourself, shopping sales, and buying exactly what you need.
HelloFresh has never been about saving money for me.
It’s about saving mental energy.
It’s one less thing I have to think about after a busy workday.
That peace of mind has been worth paying for.
Will I keep HelloFresh forever? Probably not.
I think once my youngest daughter goes off to college next year, I’ll cancel.
But for this season of life, it’s been a great fit.
It gives me a break from making quite so many decisions.
And honestly, I think that’s what I’ve been paying for all along.
Not the food.
The brain power.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many HelloFresh meals do I order each week?
I order two meals each week with three servings per meal. For our family, that gives us two dinner nights, a leftover dinner, and usually at least one lunch for the next day.
Does HelloFresh save money?
Not in my experience. I think I could cook similar meals for less if I planned everything myself. What HelloFresh saves me is time, decision fatigue, and extra trips to the grocery store.
Are the meals difficult to make?
Most recipes aren’t difficult, but I do think the estimated cook times are a little optimistic. If a recipe says 20 minutes, I usually expect it to take me closer to 30.
Is the food good?
Overall, yes. My daughters actually rate HelloFresh meals higher than most of the dinners I make on my own, which is pretty impressive considering how picky they can be.
Can you skip weeks?
Yes. I’ve skipped several weeks over the past year without any penalties. It’s one of my favorite features because it makes the subscription feel flexible instead of restrictive.
Final Thoughts
If you’re hoping HelloFresh will magically slash your grocery bill, I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation.
But if you’re a busy parent who’s tired of deciding what’s for dinner every night, building grocery orders, dealing with substitutions, and trying to come up with something everyone will actually eat, I think it’s worth considering.
After more than a year, I don’t stay because the meals are gourmet.
I stay because every Monday, a box shows up on my porch that removes a little bit of stress from my week.
At this stage of my life, that’s worth a lot.
0 Comments