• Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Fitness
  • Nutrition
  • |
  • About
  • Work With Me
June 22, 2020

Blue Apron vs. HelloFresh vs. Sun Basket

63 comments
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Matt and I have tried a bunch of the meal kit recipe delivery companies and basically can’t live without them now – not having to meal plan is the best!

We used Blue Apron every week for years, and then in 2016/7 started alternating between Blue Apron and Sun Basket due to Matt’s need for gluten free meals for a bit (per his doctor due to Lyme disease). Just an FYI, though, that while Sun Basket has a lot of gluten free meal options, they are only appropriate for someone who wants to eat gluten free due to an intolerance or just taste/health preference, NOT for someone who has a gluten allergy (like Celiac disease), as their meals are made on shared processing equipment so trace amounts of gluten may be present. 

Since we started mixing it up, and because we’ve tried other services in the past, I’ve had a lot of questions from you about the differences between the services, so a compare and contrast post seemed like a great idea.

This post was originally published in 2017, and at the time it was sponsored by Blue Apron (who made it clear that they wanted the post to be authentic and truthful, even when that meant including notes about things I didn’t totally love about Blue Apron at the time).

The post has since been updated with more recent facts/thoughts since the services have evolved over the years, so I’ve changed the date on it. Since it has been awhile since we tried HelloFresh, I’m not sure if that information is still 100% accurate. But we continue to use both Blue Apron and Sun Basket consistently so that information is updated/current, and both the Blue Apron and the Sun Basket links will provide you with a discount on your first boxes if you’d like to try them out!

So here are my honest thoughts on Blue Apron vs. HelloFresh vs. Sun Basket, which are the 3 main services we have tried!

blue apron vs. hellofresh vs. sunbasketPictured above: Tandoori-Style Chicken and Rice (<- recipe) – the yogurt sauce was sooo good!

Before I get into the comparison, let’s talk about basics of the three services. All of the meal delivery kits:

  • Deliver fresh ingredients in a refrigerated box right to your doorstep. No food waste (everything comes in the exact amounts you need for the recipes) and no trips to the grocery store.
  • Offer recycling options for their packaging. 
  • Allow you to create delicious, chef-designed recipes at home by following the steps on the recipe cards.
  • Offer different plan options based on your needs – a 2 serving plan and a family plan (4 servings). The meal kits differ in that some allow you to get more than 3 meals per week – Sun Basket in particular will basically let you get as many as you want, plus they offer some pantry items and breakfast options as well that you can add in.
  • Change their recipes each week, constantly adding new dishes, so you don’t get bored with the same old recipes. I will say that in recent years it seems Sun Basket has mostly been recycling recipes, though – I notice a lot of the meals on there are ones we’ve already tried. 

IMG_9911
Pictured above: Spicy Miso-Glazed Baked Chicken Wings with Purple Rice and Zucchini & Cucumber Salad (<- recipe) – this was one of our all-time Blue Apron faves!

There’s also no commitment with the services – you sign up for a weekly plan, but you can cancel or pause/skip weeks at any time if you are out of town or for whatever reason won’t have time to cook.

This comes in really handy with all our travel!

IMG_8621
Pictured above: Seared Chicken and Caramelized Fennel (<- recipe) – another all-time fave!

Main differences between Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and Sun Basket

#1 – Price

One main difference is price.

Blue Apron and HelloFresh are a lot more affordable – each meal is $9.99 per serving on the 2 person plan ($8.99 on the family plan for Blue Apron, $8.74 for HelloFresh), and shipping is free. On the 2 person plan for 3 two serving dinners per week, this ends up coming out to $59.94 per week.

HelloFresh does have some “premium” meals, though (things like steak), which add $5 per person to the order if you select those options. When I originally wrote this post in 2017 Sun Basket and Blue Apron used to have everything at the same price point, but in recent years they have also added some “premium” options that require an up-charge.

For Blue Apron, this is fancier meals (not entirely sure how they decide which are premium or not, because sometimes steak isn’t premium for example), and for Sun Basket, they charge extra if you want organic (vs. non-organic) protein. I do like that with Sun Basket you are able to add animal protein to vegetarian meals, though, which you can’t do with Blue Apron. (Update: Blue Apron just started offering more customization/swaps regarding protein and sometimes starch in their meals, and this is being rolled out to customers over time, so stay tuned!)

Sun Basket is $11.49 per serving for the 2 person plan, and $9.99 per serving for the family plan. There’s also a $5.99 delivery fee each week. On the 2 person plan for 3 two serving dinners per week (or 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts), this comes out to $74.93 per week, so about $15 more per week. Definitely not cheap, and that certainly adds up! And again, if you’re selecting organic options, you will pay more per meal. 

Blue Apron still comes out as the overall winner on price – it starts out the same as HelloFresh, but there’s only a couple meals that are “premium” and it’s easy to stick with the base pricing plan. 

#2 – Specialty Diet Accommodation and Meal Selection

One thing I wish Blue Apron would offer is a gluten free option; while some weeks there do occasionally end up being 3 gluten free recipes for us to select, for the most part most of their meals contain wheat, and they aren’t labeled as gluten free so you have to figure it out yourself, which is one more step. This is why we switched mostly to Sun Basket when Matt needed gluten free meals.

(Again, just a note that Sun Basket‘s meals are made on shared processing equipment so trace amounts of gluten may be present. This means they are appropriate for someone that wants to eat gluten free for health or taste/preference reasons, or for an intolerance, but NOT for someone who has a gluten allergy, like Celiac disease).

With Blue Apron, they offer a regular and vegetarian plan, but you can mix and match between the meal offerings each week. They used to have a weird restriction where you couldn’t pair certain meals together (like a specific veggie dish and a steak dish), but they changed that in 2017. That drove me crazy because we like getting some meat and some veggie meals, but didn’t always want the specific ones they’d let you pair together.

HelloFresh also offers a regular and a vegetarian plan option; they don’t have a special gluten free plan (at least they didn’t when we last tried them), but they note which of their meal options each week are gluten free (and dairy free and nut free), and you can mix and match any of them/pair anything you want together (although as I mentioned above some include an upcharge if they are “premium”).

Regarding gluten free, there were usually 3 gluten free options offered each week from HelloFresh, but no more than that, so that meant if you didn’t like the look of those meals, you were out of luck.

Sun Basket offers paleo, gluten free, and vegetarian plans, and you can mix and match within those categories based on which recipes you like the look of the most.

There were enough options in each category from Sun Basket that you could mix and match nicely and still easily do all gluten free, too, which was awesome.

Sun Basket also offers a breakfast option – you can swap out one of your dinners for the ingredients for a fast two serving breakfast, which is fun, especially if it’s a week where you only want to cook dinner twice.

#3 – Organic vs. Non-Organic

All the services do a great job of offering fresh ingredients that are sourced from quality suppliers and artisans.

That said, if organic food is a priority for you, and you are okay with paying more for it, then Sun Basket is going to be a better option for you. Almost all organic food used to be their standard, but as I mentioned in recent years they now up-charge you quite a bit for organic protein. But again, it’s an option if you want it and are willing to pay. 

#4 — Deliciousness

Obviously this is not an official or scientific measure and is completely subjective, but we found Blue Apron and Sun Basket to have the tastiest meals, with Blue Apron being the overall deliciousness winner.

Between Blue Apron and HelloFresh, I liked the additional variety and flexibility with meal selections that you had with HelloFresh, but we thought their meals were much more basic and boring/bland.

One of the things we love about Blue Apron is that they are really creative and have you using unique ingredients – and their meals are really flavorful and taste like something you’d get at a restaurant vs. just something you’d easily throw together on your own.

That said, Blue Apron can tend to overly portion the carbs and under-portion the veggies in some of their meals – we sometimes find ourselves adding extra of our own veggies. And their vegetarian options often don’t include vegetarian protein (like beans) but rather mostly just carbs. 

Regarding deliciousness with Sun Basket, we love that all their meals pack in tons of veggies, but sometimes they lacked creativity – a lot of their paleo meals were “protein with a side of sauteed greens”, for example, which was kind of meh, and also had us reaching for cereal an hour after dinner because they didn’t include enough carbs. Opposite problem here!

Sun Basket has also gotten really repetitive over the years – they offer a lot more meal options each week than the other services, but a lot of their meals are ones that we see over and over again on their menus. This is nice if you find something you really love, but a bummer if you want to mix it up more frequently. 

IMG_9944

A couple other small differences to consider:

Blue Apron offers a wine pairing program.

I love this (well, I did before I was pregnant, anyway – ha) – especially because the bottles are smaller than normal bottles so it’s just the right amount for a weeknight dinner (that doesn’t leave you hungover). Only $10 per bottle, too!

HelloFresh also recently launched a wine program, but I haven’t tried it so I can’t review that. 🙂

Sun Basket, as I mentioned, also offers a lot of pantry/grocery items now – you can get extra meat, or fresh juice, or morning oats, or random other pantry staples. It’s a nice option to be able to add a lot of extra stuff to the box you’re already getting. We like their egg bites in particular.

IMG_0982

Conclusions

We love both Blue Apron and Sun Basket the most for different reasons, as you can tell, and it’s nice to switch back and forth depending on which menus look more delicious each week.

Bottom line:

If you are looking for an affordable, classic option, I’d go with Blue Apron.

If you have dietary restrictions (beyond vegetarian) or are very passionate about organic food, however, you may want to consider Sun Basket instead.

—

I hope this post answered questions you might have about the three services!

Please let me know if there are any other things you’d like to know. 

Have you ever tried any of the meal delivery kit services? What did you think?

- anne
share this post:
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

you might also like:

A Quick & Easy Lunch

Brrr. More Soup, Please!

Happy 2nd Birthday, fANNEtastic food!

fig grain salad bowl

Road Trip Ready

leave a comment

Cancel reply

63 comments
  • Mer June 22, 2017 · 10:45AM:
    We love Blue Apron too, but you should update this, you can now choose any three BlueApron options, they stopped that weird restriction, and added more meals to choose from. I think they did this 3-4 weeks ago.
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 22, 2017 · 10:56AM:
      Whaaaaat! That's awesome news!!! We got our most recent Blue Apron delivery just over a month ago (they haven't had enough gluten free options since that week) and they still had the weird restriction then. Thank you for letting me know - I'll update the post!
      Reply
  • Linda June 22, 2017 · 12:07PM:
    Thank you for your post! I've been on the fence for years about trying it and decided to go for it. My husband really only likes to eat take out/restaurant food or cereal and I hate cooking just for one. So I told him I was ordering this and if he didn't I like it then I'll have dinners for the entire week.
    Reply
  • Kris S June 22, 2017 · 12:15PM:
    Cool! I will check this out when I move back to the States- foolproof recipes that are interesting with no grocery shopping sounds great to me!
    Reply
  • Abby June 22, 2017 · 12:21PM:
    I always love reading comparison reviews of these services! I haven't tried Sun Basket yet, but I've enjoyed the other two. I totally agree that Blue Apron meals are way more delicious, and just more fun to cook since they have more unique ingredients. If I'm paying that much for my food, I want it to be a step above my regular 'throw together veggies and meat and spices' cooking. For me, one benefit of the Hello Fresh meals is that they are way faster and simpler to prepare (and simpler to recreate on your own later)- so that's the service I usually go for in busy weeks where I don't want to fuss with so many ingredients (and dishes!).
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 22, 2017 · 2:28PM:
      Totally agree with all of this! Hello Fresh was definitely a bit faster/simpler to make, but they just weren't as interesting... felt more like things we could really easily make on our own. And a few of them needed some extra spices/flavoring because they were bland as-is!
      Reply
  • Melissa
    June 22, 2017 · 1:25PM:
    I live in Eastern Canada and so far the only meal delivery options we have here is HelloFresh. I've been using it for 5 weeks now and I'm really pleased. I'm a single person and needed some help with meal planning and avoiding ingredient wastage so this works. HelloFresh is more expensive here at $80/week for a 3 recipe/2 person Pronto plan. Also, we only have 4 meal options to choose from each week so it's more limited for sure, but I'm just happy anyone is willing to ship food for Newfoundland. :P I can't get things like fresh basil here unless the farmer's market is on the go.
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 22, 2017 · 2:30PM:
      That's awesome that they are in Newfoundland! I don't think the others are in Canada at all, but maybe I'm wrong - good to know!
      Reply
  • Emily @ Pizza & Pull-ups
    June 22, 2017 · 1:39PM:
    Thanks for sharing this, I have only tried Blue Apron, and have been really happy with it, but it is nice to see what the other meal kits offer.
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 22, 2017 · 2:31PM:
      Good to know your options! :)
      Reply
  • Melissa June 22, 2017 · 2:23PM:
    Thanks for the comparison! I've always been really, really interested in Blue Apron, but for one person it's a little bit of overkill. I could get three 2-person meals per week, but I don't really want to eat them for 6 (or more, if they're big) meals in a week. I wish they had a single-person plan. I've been looking into 80Fresh, which does have a single-person option, but it's really expensive because of more expensive meals and shipping costs (something like $16 per meal, if you work it all out).
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 22, 2017 · 2:32PM:
      Yeah, I totally agree it would be too much for one person eating solo. That's good feedback for all of the services that they should offer a 1 person plan - clearly hard to find right now but I'm sure LOTS of people would love it! I haven't heard of 80Fresh - interesting!
      Reply
    • Jon October 21, 2017 · 2:55PM:
      I do 2x3 and find it fine for a single person. Some meals are small enough that I end up eating most in one serving. I typically eat left-overs for lunch and reheat in microwave. So it's 3 dinners and 2-3 lunches. One thing that's a pet peeve is they say things like 'heat water in a medium pot". Well, how much water and how big is a med pot? Sometimes just waiting for water to boil can take half the time because I've over-filled my 'medium' pot. How hard would it be to say "boil 2 cups in one quart sized pot"
      Reply
  • Erin June 22, 2017 · 3:06PM:
    Another one to check out is GreenChef. It's more expensive than BlueApron but it's all organic. We had a free box I got from a friend and the 3 meals were amazing. We felt like we were eating out! I only do a meal order once a month, so I don't mind paying a little extra for GreenChef now. They also have gluten free options! I checked my Blue Apron app this AM and I still have the meal restriction/can't choose any combination.
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 22, 2017 · 3:28PM:
      Oh weird! I wonder if the selection option thing with Blue Apron is being rolled out slowly? I've heard about GreenChef but haven't tried it... seemed like the reviews were really hit or miss when I was researching them online back when I was looking for gluten free meal kits. Good to know there's another choice for GF/organic though!
      Reply
  • Alana Elderbrook
    June 22, 2017 · 6:04PM:
    I finally tried Sun Basket back in May (thanks for recommendation). We loved it, every meal was delicious (especially the vegetarian option we tried). I'd like to give Blue Apron a shot too but am waiting until after our move. Which service do you find to be the most complex? Like most steps in the recipe? I learned a couple of cool new cooking techniques from the Sun Basket recipes and am wondering if Blue Apron will be similar?
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 22, 2017 · 6:08PM:
      Hmmm they are pretty similar in terms of complexity and cooking techniques, I think! I feel like Blue Apron has more often had ingredients we'd never heard of, but Sun Basket gets creative as well (I had never tried poaching salmon in coconut milk, for example, and a few of their recipes did that).
      Reply
  • Jessica June 22, 2017 · 11:02PM:
    You will absolutely love this service post baby!!!!! We did the Hello Fresh family plan 3x/week so for the 2 of us I squeezed 6 meals out because the grocery store with a newborn was a nightmare and I didn't have spare energy to meal plan. I loved the flavors and uniqueness of Blue Apron but my garbage disposal husband didn't like the portions ;) haha. Hello Fresh though was also SO MUCH CHOPPING! Loved this post!
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 23, 2017 · 9:55AM:
      Thanks my dear! Yeah, considering I can't handle meal planning without a baby... I'm sure I won't be able to handle it with a baby either, ha! Definitely planning to continue using meal delivery services - they are the BEST.
      Reply
  • DA June 23, 2017 · 2:04PM:
    I've tried Blue apron, Sun Basket, and Home Chef. You honestly should try out Home Chef! The price point is competitive and I find the meals to be really tasty. Thanks for your review and happy cooking.
    Reply
  • Bellamy Pailthorp Bray August 9, 2017 · 11:44PM:
    Thanks for this review! Do you have any notes on packaging? We're mostly using Sun Basket, which seems to try for low impact in that regard, but sometimes their smaller spice containers have popped open en route, which was a real drag. How do others do in terms of functionality and sustainability- in your opinion?
    Reply
    • Anne
      August 10, 2017 · 9:13AM:
      They seem to be similar in terms of packaging/sustainability efforts! Blue Apron sends all the ingredients (except for a little paper bag of "knick knancks" - small items- for each recipe) separately, though, so it is nice that Sun Basket and HelloFresh both package the ingredients together for each recipe so you just grab one bag/box from the fridge vs. sifting through all the ingredients.
      Reply
  • Binaebi September 21, 2017 · 4:27PM:
    This is so interesting, haha. My favorite part of Sun Basket is that they send you all the recipes! I feel like because I'm spending more than HelloFresh (the other service I've tried), it's awesome that I get more recipes, and I can switch out the ingredients I shouldn't eat with ones that I can.
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 22, 2017 · 9:49AM:
      To each their own! :)
      Reply
  • CJ February 8, 2018 · 8:45AM:
    I had done Blue Apron for awhile and just got my first Sun Basket box. I tend to gravitate towards their recipes that have more creative ingredients... I 'm blessed to have two grocery stores within a block's walk of home, so I tend to avoid recipes that I could easily make myself. I was actually delighted when I opened my box and got a recipe booklet instead of individual cards because there are recipes I'll make (I'd actually printed some online and was annoyed at how hard it was to print!), so it's like getting a small cookbook every week. Also, because I'm just cooking for me (and I'm female), I liked the portion sizes better from Sun Basket and I liked the ability to choose the number of meals I was getting from week to week. With Blue Apron, I was finding that the portions were just a little too big and I'd add some veggies to make them three portions instead of two. Which, great, except then I had to figure out how to get everything eaten within a week when I don't cook/eat at home every night. Lastly, I've recently gone pescatarian for health reasons, and their options for seafood/vegetable based recipes is outstanding! I'm hooked!
    Reply
  • Deanna February 18, 2018 · 4:19PM:
    Thank you so much for this excellent comparison. I recently had my fourth baby (!) and menu planning has never been my favorite. :) We have only tried Hello Fresh so far, and I have wanted to check out some other options. I found your blog and this post after searching for vegan meal plan options. We don't currently eat vegan, but I was curious to see what is out there as I would love to eat a more plant-based diet. I have also been GF in the past, so I appreciate the points in your comparison. Have you heard of Purple Carrot?
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 20, 2018 · 10:17AM:
      I have heard of it but haven't tried it!
      Reply
  • Cyndy Dennison March 14, 2018 · 8:59AM:
    Hello Fresh does not have upcharge for any meals. I have used IF for over 2 years, and have never ever paid more for any meal with steak, or salmon, or anything else.
    Reply
    • Vicki April 26, 2018 · 7:07PM:
      They actually do - I paid an additional $5 per serving for lobster ravioli a couple of weeks back - I’d attach a screenshot of the menu a couple weeks out but not sure I can. Not every week has upcharge meals and it’s not all fish or steak but definitely some. And the lobster ravioli was AMAZING!
      Reply
  • Elle March 14, 2018 · 8:06PM:
    We tried Hello Fresh and like you, thought their recipes were super basic and bland, and since we eat out a lot, basic isn't what we get excited about anymore. We moved from Hello Fresh, (Goodbye!) to Blue Apron, but their Gluten Free recipes were almost always paired with the meat options before a GF vegetarian option. My husband is a pescatarian, he eats fish but not meat, so Blue Apron (at the time) allows you to pick One fish and two vegetarian options, 2 out of three vegetarians options are a sandwich, a flat bread, a noodle dish or made with flour tortillas, so you were pretty much stuck with at least one but usually two Gluten heavy meals in a three meal box. Almost every Blue Apron meal relied heavily on carbs: Potatoes, Bread, Noodles, Rice, or Flour Tortillas. Although Blue Apron had the easiest recipes and best flavors, we had to quit because of the gluten/carb issue and when they were transitioning to their new location we received box after box of damaged items or borderline fresh veggies that were not going to last 3 days and meal planning was suddenly based on what was going to rot first. We realized that Blue Apron seems to have about 4 months of recipes, we were repeating identical dinners from previous months. After taking a break from box meal delivery for a year we're trying Sun Basket, the hubs chose the first group of recipes and the first was a gluten free noodle and mushroom pasta, it was also Vegan, so it didn't taste great. Although Vegan CAN taste great, you just have to put some thought into it which Sun Basket apparently did not. The sauce was almond milk that never thickened like it should have and was served with spinach tossed with olive oil and too much lemon juice. It tasted more like a punishment than dinner, and we both agreed that we'd skip their vegan options in the future. If Sun Basket continues down the same road, we'll probably switch back to Blue Apron unless the carb fest continues to reign. Maybe we need to call the Brady Bunch and see if we can hire Alice? What I did like very much about Blue Apron, along with their well thought out and flavorful meals, was the message board, so if you waited a day or so you could go online and get tips from other home chefs on what to add or not add to assure success with your recipe.
    Reply
  • Fred Andersen May 20, 2018 · 5:43PM:
    Based on your comparison/recommendation I've decided to go with Blue Apron, which you indicated in your review had free shipping, along with Hello Fresh. But when I went on the website to order, I'm seeing a $7.99 shipping charge. Has something changed?
    Reply
    • Anne
      May 21, 2018 · 9:30AM:
      Are you trying to order only 2 meals (vs 3)? I believe you pay for shipping if you only get 2 meals...
      Reply
      • Meeee October 20, 2018 · 5:44PM:
        That may have changed because I ordered the 2-3/wk and was charged $5.99 for shipping (for one week)
        Reply
  • Karen June 18, 2018 · 1:19PM:
    A friend recommended Blue Apron or Hello Fresh. I don't eat meat but like practically everything else including seafood. My husband would like to have at least some meat every week. We both like to keep things simple. Suggestions? Thanks!
    Reply
    • Anne
      June 18, 2018 · 1:31PM:
      It sounds like both could be a good fit... Hello Fresh meals are more simple than Blue Apron, but I think Blue Apron meals are tastier and more creative. If I were you I'd do a week with both and see which one you like most!
      Reply
  • Krista July 1, 2018 · 11:08PM:
    Marley Spoon (Martha Stewart) is another really good service.
    Reply
  • Elaine Bertville
    March 6, 2019 · 9:06AM:
    My husband and I signed up for Blue Apron about a month ago. So far we've liked all of the meals, with only minor complaints about two. I chose their Weight Watcher's Freestyle option to keep calories down, though I don't follow Weight Watchers. There are a number of meal options to choose even just within that option. Next week I'll be trying Hello Fresh. Obviously I can't judge the taste of the meals yet, but when reviewing the options, there were many fewer low calorie options to choose between. I also disliked that so many required extra cost. Some options were things like fancy looking pizza and burgers. That's not exactly what I'm looking for, frankly. I'll try them for a few weeks and see how it goes. I may even trial a third outfit afterwards. Blue Apron's app is much more user friendly and helpful than Hello Fresh's, in my opinion. I even sent Hello Fresh that feedback a few days ago and never received an acknowledgement from them. The main difficulty I had with Hello Fresh's app is being able to see the ingredient list in a way to determine the ease in eliminating garlic from meals. My husband is allergic to garlic. With Blue Apron, it's easy to find this info. With Hello Fresh, that's only available when the choices are already being processed. Too late! This is a big deal.
    Reply
  • Urmi March 23, 2019 · 7:45PM:
    I've ordered from Hello Fresh and been charged 8.99 shipping for each order.
    Reply
  • Judy Adams January 25, 2020 · 9:27AM:
    Hello Fresh is the only one we’ve tried and we love it! My husband is a home chef and he is totally impressed by the flavors, the sauces...mmm and the ease.
    Reply
  • Gaius Gracchu February 4, 2020 · 5:44PM:
    You are right about Blue Apron - nice flavors but LOTS of carbs and very stingy on the veggies.
    Reply
  • J February 12, 2020 · 10:50PM:
    Would have liked an ease of preparation review as well. How much time does it take to prepare?
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 13, 2020 · 12:22PM:
      It totally depends on the recipe - some are 15 minutes, some are closer to 45 with all the prep. You can see the recipe and prep time info before you select the meal, so you can always take that into account! And since I wrote this review, Sun Basket now has some "pre-prepped" and also "ready to heat" meal options in the mix that you can choose in addition to the ones you cook yourself. Nice to have options!
      Reply
  • Ray March 3, 2020 · 11:50PM:
    Anne; How about low carbs for diabetic diets? I have all the experience of one, two meal deliveries from Sun Basket that were supportive of my new diet restrictions.
    Reply
    • Anne
      March 4, 2020 · 1:37PM:
      I'm not 100% sure on that as it's not something I focus on, but I remember seeing that option on some of the meals with Blue Apron and Sun Basket recently.
      Reply
  • Rose March 8, 2020 · 1:12PM:
    Your so called “review” is totally biased and paid by Blue Apron. You disclosing this doesn’t make it any more less biased. I’ve tried 2 out of your 3 comparisons and if you think hello fresh is bland then you must have a really salty palate. The gourmet upcharges are optional and they offer plenty of choices so that you don’t feel like you have to upgrade your meal. This is perhaps the most blatant attempt to promote blue apron that I’ve seen so far.
    Reply
    • Anne
      March 8, 2020 · 3:18PM:
      This review is from a few years ago, so maybe Hello Fresh has gotten more delicious since I last tried them! No worries - to each their own!
      Reply
  • Jennifer Duane May 4, 2020 · 5:56PM:
    Uh, I want to steer your readers far away from Sun Basket. Terrible customer service. Sun Basket takes forever to respond to emails and concerns. They advertises that the food is organic, but no, in order to get the organic food in your subscription, they upcharge you from their base rate unlike other food subscription companies that offer far better customer service and only offer organic food and don't upcharge you for it. These folks are not interested in providing good customer service. Don't do it.
    Reply
    • Anne
      May 5, 2020 · 1:38PM:
      Interesting to hear you had a bad experience with the Sun Basket customer service! I've only reached out to their customer service once, because a box arrived late, and they were quick to reply and offer a credit. I do agree it's lame you have to pay extra for organic vs. regular protein, though I like that the rest of their stuff is usually organic without any extra fee. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
      Reply
  • Don Cosper May 17, 2020 · 7:56PM:
    We have used Blue Apron for three years and Hello Fresh for the last year or so. Never tried the Sun Basket as it is not popular here and I have never know anyone to try it. Blue Apron was great but it got to be way way too much Asian dishes. We started calling it Blue Kimono. Right now, Hello Fresh is by far the favorite.
    Reply
  • Alice Kirkpatrick May 26, 2020 · 10:24PM:
    Everything looks so good!!
    Reply
  • Josie Camozzi July 5, 2020 · 2:09PM:
    Very informative ❤️What can you say about EVERY PLATE? I just read about it recently .
    Reply
    • Anne
      July 8, 2020 · 12:56PM:
      I actually haven't heard of Every Plate so can't comment on it!
      Reply
  • Kathy S Atwood July 6, 2020 · 9:59PM:
    Does anybody offer a plan for one (1) person. That's me. No more. Thanks.
    Reply
    • Lindsey October 14, 2020 · 2:16PM:
      I live alone and usually cook for myself {but occasionally for a date - it's a fun way to impress ;) } and I save the 2nd portion for lunch the next day. Certain items like steak won't be so great as leftovers, but I've found a lot of the chicken and salmon dishes are still very delicious the next day! I love to cook, but can also be lazy at times and just want to grab something already prepared.
      Reply
  • Richard Fenner October 21, 2020 · 5:52PM:
    My only experience with a meal kit delivery service was with Home Chef. It was great quality food, great recipes, but the reason I stopped is because it takes too long to prepare and then there is a bigger clean up chore as well. Just for one person, it's a time hog. The juice isn't worth the squeeze. Oh dear God, I just saw the date on this article.
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 22, 2020 · 10:39AM:
      Yes, this post is a few years old! I agree for just one person it's a lot of work... although at least you have an easy leftover lunch the next day then, though, since the meal kits are 2 servings!
      Reply
  • Mary January 23, 2021 · 11:14AM:
    Appreciate the article. You didn’t seem to compare how much prep is involved. I have tried HelloFresh maybe two years ago and thought there way too much prep involved. I am trying sun basket now and it way easier to prepare and sooo healthy. Like that they have 3 levels of prep to choose from each week. Sounds like Blue Apron involves even more prep than HelloFresh from comments, but would love to hear your experience.
    Reply
    • Anne
      January 23, 2021 · 4:06PM:
      Good question! It really varies based on the recipes you choose. Some of the Sun Basket recipes take quite awhile to prepare, but I do like that they have certain options that are marked as "pre-prepped" or even totally ready to go now, which wasn't the case in the past. So you can get meals that are a quick microwave essentially away from being ready, or meals that are already partially prepped and only take 15 to 20 minutes, or meals that require the full prep and will take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes, depending on the meal. It has been some time since I tried HelloFresh so I don't know how long their meals take to prepare nowadays and if they have made changes, but in terms of Blue Apron, it also varies. Some of their meals take 20 minutes, some take 45 - it just depends on the meal, but I like that when you are selecting the meals you can see how long they will take to prepare so you can purposefully choose the quicker ones if you want. They don't have the pre-prepped or totally pre-made options that Sun Basket now offers, though, which I do agree is a nice option!
      Reply
    • Sue February 7, 2021 · 5:58PM:
      I’m so happy to read this! We’re stopping Hello Fresh due to consistent problems with the box, lack of gluten free options and do they know other potatoes besides Yukon exist? Green beans and potatoes got boring really fast. We’re going with Sun Basket next!
      Reply
  • Michael b February 1, 2021 · 10:53AM:
    My wife and I have been using green chef for a few months and have mostly been very happy with it. However, decided to try Sunbasket because we life nearer to their facilities and thought it would be better to get food which isn't shipped long distance. However, my wife has celiac disease and is gluten intolerant. This means that even a trace amount of gluten will make her very ill. Green Chef is certified gluten free by The Gluten Intolerance Group, but Sunbasket is not. We discovered after receiving our first box that although they put "gluten free" on their web site, they are not following any standard and buried on their web site do have a disclaimer, however this is not easy to find. We were very upset to realize that, although it was labeled gluten free, my wife could not actually eat any of the food we had received from Sunbasket. To our minds, for Sunbasket to make the gluten free claim is false advertising. Anyone who is gluten intolerant could become very ill after eating their food.
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 1, 2021 · 1:24PM:
      That's good to know, thank you for sharing! So sounds like Sun Basket will work for someone with gluten intolerance (in that scenario trace amounts are fine), but NOT for someone with a gluten allergy (very different from an intolerance), like Celiac Disease, where even the tiniest trace can be an issue. Their meals must be made in a shared processing facility that also processes gluten.
      Reply
  • James Bailey February 20, 2021 · 9:57AM:
    more of a question vs a comment, which company has better customer service reagardint to any issues and follow up to any possible issues or concerns of the customers?
    Reply
    • Anne
      February 20, 2021 · 11:02AM:
      Good question! I've only used the customer service from Sun Basket, not HelloFresh or Blue Apron, but they were good. A couple times I've had issues with a food being missing or something leaking or whatever, and they've been great about giving me a credit for those items. I don't believe I've ever had any issues with the others that I needed to report, but I haven't used HelloFresh in a long time.
      Reply
- next post
previous post -

about Anne

anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
Learn more

fannetastic reads

Top Posts
01

My Top 9 Most Popular Recipes + Posts

02

Why I Don’t Recommend Whole30

03

What Causes Sugar Cravings (+ How to Stop Them!)

04

How I Make Money As a Blogger

05

Blog Recipes We Make Again and Again

06

What to Eat Before and After a Long Run

07

What to Eat During Long Runs

08

7 Common Nutrition Myths

09

How to Love Veggies

connect with Anne

Email me
anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

follow anne:

join the list

Sign up for my e-newsletter and I'll send you a meal plan packed with a week's worth of healthy meals, snacks and a shopping list. Happy eating!

back to top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Recent Posts
  • Privacy Policy
  • FAQ

© copyright fannetastic food - site by kc - exclusive member of mediavine