I was excited to try this meal subscription since I received it as a gift from a family member. I had heard so much about it and seen the ads everywhere.
I was excited for my first box: a tofu veggie stir-fry and a red pepper pasta dish with a broccoli ricotta side. I was excited about the concepts in the dishes and the ingredients that were used.
I was so unimpressed with that first box that I used my second box to make my own dishes (I had to use up my gift card money). There were too many tweaks that I had to make to the dishes to make it more to my liking. For example, the roasted broccoli on top of the spread of ricotta needed a hit of acidity (I added a squeeze of lemon). The tofu veggie stir-fry felt flat and needed a boost of umami flavors (like adding mushrooms).
It seemed like it was made by a recipe developer who had the "burden" of the vegetarian box rather than someone who had experience in vegetarian cooking. I don't have any opinion of the meat options on Blue Apron. I hope it's better for the consumers' sakes.
Based off this one box, I would only recommend this box to people who have little experience in the kitchen. They included pictures in their detailed recipes and they use a lot of good techniques with organizing preparation that can be useful to new cooks. If you' re experienced in the kitchen and know what you like, I would not recommend this box.
By the way, the second box was a mushroom quiche with a side salad and a pesto ricotta pasta.
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