Shipping costs $10.99, but it is included in the prices listed above.
EveryPlate offers first-time users a substantial discount on their first box. Discounts are also available for students, medical providers, nurses, hospital employees, teachers, first responders, and military service members and veterans. These groups receive 75 percent off their first box, with no shipping cost, and an ongoing 15 percent discount for one year.
Choosing My Meals
Once you sign up, you select your meals for the week either on the website or in the app.
Each week, there are 25 to 30 meals to choose from, with different proteins and cuisine styles, but there aren’t so many options that it becomes overwhelming. Some weeks have more choices than others, and you can make your selections up to three weeks ahead. When I looked at future weeks, meals were not repeated (unlike other meal delivery services I’ve seen), and there were always two or three family-friendly recipes. Bear in mind that if you forget to make changes within five days before delivery, the meals are chosen for you, so if you think you’ll forget, you might want to select meals a few weeks ahead of time.
I would broadly categorize EveryPlate's style as American comfort food. I prefer to include plant-based protein in my meals, so I was on the hunt for selections that featured vegetables and proteins I was comfortable eating. Unfortunately, the vegetarian meals available were lacking in plant-based proteins. For instance, a spaghetti and zucchini dish, while vegetarian, lacked a nonmeat protein addition like beans, eggs, tofu, or tempeh.
There were 30 meals available the week that I ordered, and of those, only two were vegetarian. This is not typical: On most other weeks, there were six to eight vegetarian options. The meat-based meals featured a small variety of proteins (mainly chicken, turkey, and beef) and grains (mainly rice, bread, and potatoes).
For my first week, I ordered these items:
- Balsamic-Glazed Meatballs With Roasted Green Beans and Garlic Bread
- Roasted Bell Pepper Flatbread With Creamy Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella
- Sweet Chili Turkey Rice Bowls With Peanuts and Sriracha Mayo
- Sweet Sesame Broccoli Mushroom Bowls With Sweet Potato, Garlicky Rice, and Sriracha Mayo
Many of EveryPlate’s dishes are customizable, so you can swap proteins or, for an additional fee, add portions of protein or vegetables. I added an extra serving of broccoli with the broccoli mushroom bowls.
Add-Ons
While you can order no more than five meals a week, you can add on extras even after your box is full. Add-ons range from $0.99 to $7.99, which is very reasonable. Items include the following:
- Raw proteins like chicken breast, pork chops, ranch steak, and salmon
- Sauces and spices like marinara, ponzu sauce, Tex-Mex paste, and stir-fry seasoning
- Rice, pasta, and tortillas
- Vegetables like broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, and zucchini
- Sides like garlic bread, chopped salad bags, au gratin potato bites, mac and cheese, and spring rolls
- Desserts like cheesecake and molten chocolate or peanut butter lava cakes
I chose to add two extra servings of broccoli to only one dish, which cost $1.99 — comparable to a grocery store. The protein add-ons that were two servings (10 ounces) were 2.99 to $7.99, also comparable to a store. The least expensive protein was ground beef ($2.99), and the most expensive was the ranch steak ($7.99).
How Do the Meals Arrive?
EveryPlate keeps perishable ingredients like meat cool with gel ice packs, while a cardboard separator keeps them from mixing with the box's other ingredients. The box and separators are recyclable curbside in most places; to recycle other pieces of the box, like the gel packs or box liner, you must follow special instructions.
However, the ingredients are not organized in the box, which I found disappointing. I had to consult the recipe cards to organize my ingredients by meal while unpacking. If the recipe cards were accidentally thrown away, I could access them on the app.
Cooking the Meals
I have a lot of experience cooking (I cook six nights a week and have taken many cooking classes), so following the recipes I received was easy. However, if you're not experienced, I still think they would be pretty simple to replicate. The menus have clear step-by-step instructions, and there are plenty of quick-prep meal options, which should be the easiest to make.
While each recipe card lets you know what pantry items are needed in addition to the ingredients provided, you might miss this when you order your meals — I certainly did. I had to run out and get some mayo for some of the meals I ordered. However, most items are probably things you have on hand, like salt, pepper, and cooking oil. EveryPlate includes fewer of these ingredients than many other meal delivery kits, which is likely one way it offers such low-priced meals.
Each meal took less than 10 minutes to prepare and less than 30 minutes to cook, which busy adults and families might appreciate. Most of the prep involved chopping vegetables and measuring ingredients, since nothing arrived portioned, peeled, or cut. Every meal resembled the photo on its recipe card once completed.
Of the meals I ordered, the easiest to cook was the Sweet Chili Turkey Rice Bowls. The chopping was minimal, and it only required one pan to cook the turkey and vegetables and a pot for the rice.
The hardest to make was the Balsamic-Glazed Meatballs. I had to touch the ground meat and form meatballs, which I find unpleasant. I also had to stay in the kitchen close to the timer, since all the components (the meatballs, the bread, and the vegetables) required different cooking times.
Tasting the Meals
That said, while I found it time-consuming and complicated to make, my wife and I really enjoyed the meatballs. She said they reminded her of her mom’s meatloaf. I liked the turkey bowl; it was similar to a dish I make often. Overall, the meals were not incredibly satisfying. We both wished there were more vegetables.
EveryPlate labels meals that contain 650 calories or fewer per serving as “calorie smart.” This calorie count is comparable to meals that people on a weight loss plan would likely follow. Compared to some boring and flavorless diet-focused meals, the calorie-smart meals on EveryPlate were interesting and didn’t feel like diet food, which is why I was excited to try the vegetarian Roasted Red Pepper Flatbread, which was labeled calorie smart. Unfortunately, it was not that tasty or filling, and the flatbread itself was slightly burnt.
One advantage of EveryPlate is that if you keep the recipe cards, the meals would be easy to replicate without relying on the delivery service to receive your ingredients. So if you love the taste of a dish you make, you can make it again even if you stop your subscription.
Nutritional Quality of the Meals
There are some things to keep in mind if you subscribe to EveryPlate.
Why Trust Everyday Health
Sydney Greene, MS, RDN
Author
Sydney Greene is a freelance writer and a registered dietitian specializing in behavioral health nutrition. She received her bachelor of science in nutrition and dietetics and her master of science in clinical nutrition from New York University.
Sydney began her career in New York City and worked at one of the top private practices in Manhattan while building the nutrition curriculum for a residential treatment center. She then started her own private practice, Greene Health, in 2019, and has since helped hundreds of clients on their path to recovery from eating disorders, substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, and common chronic illnesses. “Healthy” is far from cookie-cutter and there’s no formula, so Sydney approaches nutrition in a realistic, down-to-earth, grounded, and highly personalized way with her clients.
Sydney currently lives in Boulder, Colrado, with her dog, Charlie, and her wife. When she is not working with clients, you can find her hiking in the backcountry or spending time with friends.