EveryPlate Review: Easy and Affordable

In the vast meal kit marketplace, EveryPlate differentiates itself as the affordable, filling option, coming in at less than half the cost of other kits. The company's model is no mystery: Keep it simple without frills, and you keep costs low with easy-to-execute recipes. As an offshoot of HelloFresh, we expect that EveryPlate knows what it's doing.

The real question is, even with the backing of one of the most popular kits in the game, can EveryPlate deliver on flavor and quality while maintaining ultra-low pricing? Read on for details about my experience with this budget-friendly meal delivery service.

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Pros and Cons

What Is EveryPlate?

EveryPlate is a meal kit delivery service that touts easy, affordable recipes that average about $4.99 per serving. Most of the meals require only six steps to prepare, and come together in less than 30 minutes. I tried several recipes from this service to see how EveryPlate stacks up in terms of value, flavor, and ease of preparation: here's what I thought.

How Does It Work?

With quick signup protocols and very few plan options, you can have a new account set up and your first order done in minutes. You’ll choose from the option of a two- or four-serving plan, and select either three, four, five, or six nights of meals per week.

There are five plans to choose from: Meat & Veggie, Veggie, Family Faves, Quick & Easy, and Nutrish & Delish. Once a plan is selected, EveryPlate will automatically add meals to your weekly plan but users can choose any of the weekly offerings and add-ons.

Kits are delivered seven days a week and you can select which day of the week you want to receive yours. All delivery windows are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can provide instructions for where you want your box left, change your delivery date, and edit your plan details and weekly menu choices easily online without needing to contact customer service.

Customers can change delivery dates, skip weeks, customize meals, and even cancel their service on the EveryPlate website without ever needing to reach out to customer service. Some of these functions are also available on the app, though not everything can be done there. Changes are immediate and you’ll get a follow-up email for big edits like changes to your plan or if you choose to deactivate.

Pricing

EveryPlate's best pricing comes from increasing the size of your order; most meal plans range from $7.49 to $4.99, depending on how many meals you choose. Keep in mind that you'll also have to pay shipping, which is about $10. You’ll also see a few “premium” menu options that offer a nicer cut of meat, and these, of course, come at an upcharge.

For a meal kit service this simplistic, I feel that add-ons would be a useful way for EveryPlate to offer more variety without really expanding the menus. True to form though, EveryPlate sticks to the basics here too. The only add-on is the protein packs, of either six chicken breasts or two chicken breasts plus 8 ounces of ground beef, which cost $3.99 and $5.99, respectively. While I feel the price is fair, the options could stand to be improved.

Meal Choices

Each dish on the menu, of which you have 25 weekly options, includes some kind of starch, a budget-friendly protein, and a vegetable. Most dishes would likely fall into the comfort food category with a sprinkling of international flavor in the form of a taco or the use of sweet chili sauce.

Simply select your meals and, where available, customize your vegetables for an added cost. Be on the lookout for the “veggie” and “spicy” tags to help guide you, but most dishes seem pretty straightforward.

Allergens are listed for each dish, though they're not broken down by ingredient, and you have to navigate to each recipe page to view them. While you can view the nutrition information for each dish prior to selecting, there is not much to consider if you’re looking for a more health-oriented option.

EveryPlate does not specifically accommodate any specialty diets, however, it does have vegetarian options, and there is allergen information available so you can be on the lookout for options that meet your needs.

Calorie ranges are a bit on the higher side, ranging from 600 to 1,000 or more for most items. Meals overall also tended to be high in protein, fat, and saturated fat, which is understandable given the cuts of meat used and their comfort food template. Carb counts also come in as expected given EveryPlate's tendency to menu potatoes and pasta, but we thought it would have been nice to see a whole grain somewhere.

If you are looking for the healthiest choices at EveryPlate, your best bet is to scope out options that are more focused on vegetables.

What We Tasted

• Pork and poblano tacos, pico de gallo, garlicky sour cream
• Honey chipotle pork chops, roasted potatoes, and broccoli
• Bacony chicken linguini, roasted tomatoes, garlic, and parmesan
• Greek pork meatballs, cucumber tomato salad, and garlic couscous
• ‘Shroom and pepper jack quesadillas, caramelized onion, spicy pico, and lime crema

Packaging

The meal kit comes in a cardboard box, with an insulated insert and a cooling element that can be drained and recycled.

EveryPlate does have a super useful and a little bit adorable cardboard insert that it refers to on social media as “tidy trays.” The tray basically serves as a little caddy for ingredients, making it easy to get them out of the box and into the fridge.

Aside from the cardboard packaging elements, most of the ingredients are packed in plastic or are loose in the tidy tray. These flexible plastic bags ended up in the trash, making this not an ideal option for those who mind their plastic use.

Recipe cards are included with your EveryPlate weekly box—and mine arrived crisp and clean. Included on them is only what you need—ingredients, recipe steps, and a tip to make your meal more customized to your taste buds.

If you happen to misplace or muck up your cards while cooking, you can refer to EveryPlate’s app to guide you. There, you can do things like change your orders, track deliveries, view recipe cards, and view allergen information for each meal, which is not listed on the physical cards.

Overall, I felt the EveryPlate approach to packaging made sense, was a bit useful, and fell in line with the amount and type of packaging I’ve come to expect from these kits.

The Cooking Process

Most meals from EveryPlate take around 20 to 45 minutes, and the company guarantees they will take six or fewer steps. I found this to be true and enjoyed that dinner was ready fairly quickly even though nothing comes prepped for you.

Most kits could be completed by a beginner-level cook who can follow a recipe. However, the true beginner may not have some of the base ingredients needed; while some kits ask you to just have things like oil or butter, salt, and pepper, EveryPlate assumes you have other pantry essentials like flour and sugar.

Taste

Overall, the quality and freshness of ingredients gave me no cause for concern. And, although everything felt fresh with no visible bruising or discoloration, I did feel some of the produce was a bit underripe. While this didn’t keep me from eating it, I wasn't thrilled by it either.

The same could be said for the meat options. EveryPlate uses cuts of meat that tend to be less expensive, and it shows. While everything tasted good, it was simply not the highest quality. 

The seasoning of each dish was a bit of a mix—I felt the dishes had the right amount of salt, but in some cases, the seasoning packets of dried herbs had a bit too much salt and I would watch out for that next time.

The food tasted good overall, the food was filling, and I found the quality was acceptable.

Who Should Use EveryPlate?

Everything about EveryPlate says “budget”—from the actual cost to the limited offerings and the fact that you have to cover the cost of shipping separately. Despite this, my overall experience with the service and the food was positive, and if you’re looking for a low-cost solution to dinner, EveryPlate is worth a look. I think it could be a great fit for students or those looking to control costs. I wouldn't recommend this to the adventurous foodie type—or anyone looking to eat for a particular dietary pattern.

Final Thoughts

EveryPlate serves all the basic purposes of a meal kit and nothing more. You’ll have meals to choose from, ingredients delivered, and a dinner for less than $8 per person. It may not be the most exciting, but the recipes can be quite tasty and it’s very wallet-friendly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EveryPlate actually cheaper than groceries?

Many calculations put EveryPlate at the same price as, or just slightly cheaper than, buying groceries yourself. A lot of EveryPlate's value comes from not having to plan meals yourself and being able to skip the hassle of a grocery store run.

Is EveryPlate owned by HelloFresh?

Yes, EveryPlate is a fully-owned subsidiary of the HelloFresh Group.

Is EveryPlate hard to cancel?

Directions under the "Terms and Conditions" tab on the the Everyplate website give clear instructions about cancelling an order or an account. Orders are locked in five days before delivery, so cancelling a current order outside of that window is not possible. If a cancellation is requested after the five-day period, the cancellation will go into effect with the following cycle.

How long does EveryPlate meat last in the fridge?

EveryPlate recommends that ingredients be cooked and consumed within five days of being delivered, including meats. Seafood should be cooked and consumed within a two-day period of delivery.

Is EveryPlate frozen?

EveryPlate's ingredients are always fresh. On their website, freezing of ingredients is discouraged in order to maintain as much freshness as possible.

Methodology

Our Spruce Eats tester panel includes dietitians, chefs, and longtime food writers. Testers ordered from, cooked, and rated EveryPlate based on the ordering process, meal selection, packaging and support materials, and sustainability. They also evaluated the cooking process; flavor, freshness, and quality of each meal and ingredient; nutritional information; and customer service.