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HelloFresh

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7.7

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: November 21st, 2024

HelloFresh is a new way to eat delicious, organic, homemade without all the prep work. Unlike other meal plan services that send you pre-made/pre-cooked food each week, HelloFresh sends you ingredients. Every week, you go to HelloFresh's website and select three meals (from five presented) that you want to prepare and eat.

HelloFresh delivers everywhere in the United States, Wednesday–Friday and Monday–Tuesday in select areas. The company drops off one box each week with all the ingredients you need to make three meals for two to four people. Food comes in an ice box and also includes step-by-step cooking instructions. HelloFresh is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.

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The Good

  • Convenient for Busy Lifestyles
  • Affordable
  • Acquire Cooking Skills
  • Chef-Curated Meals
  • Flexible Subscription Options
  • Mobile App

Convenient for Busy Lifestyles

HelloFresh is excellent for those with a busy lifestyle, as it offers flexible meal plans that are nutritious, easy to cook, and affordable. 

Many people agree that planning, preparing, and cooking meals can be frustrating and overwhelming (especially for those who are short on time). That's where HelloFresh comes in. The meal delivery service ships pre-measured ingredients directly to your door — eliminating trips to the store, prep time, and food waste. 

There are a variety of recipes that accommodate every appetite, household size, and schedule. Plus, you can choose from three recipe levels, which vary depending on your confidence in the kitchen. Level 1 recipes are straightforward and only require one or two pots/pans and are great for non-experienced cooks. Level 2 recipes are a bit harder and require some multitasking but still have a level of simplicity to them. Level 3 recipes require the most concentration and multitasking skills and are best for those who are confident in their cooking abilities and know their way around the kitchen. 

All of HelloFresh’s recipes are designed to be cooked in just 20 to 30 minutes. 

Affordable

HelloFresh boasts that its services are incredibly affordable, as its meal plans start at just $7.49. 

The company even did a 10-week price comparison study and found that HelloFresh is 75 percent cheaper than grocery shopping (the study compared HelloFresh's costs versus the cost of nationwide grocers).

Acquire Cooking Skills

We love that HelloFresh encourages people to learn how to cook. While many other meal delivery companies simply send premade meals, HelloFresh sends you high-quality ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. Whether you follow the recipes exactly or add your own spin, it is entirely up to you. 

Chef-Curated Meals

HelloFresh has over 20 unique and delicious recipe options per week. If you’re having trouble picking from the extensive list, HelloFresh includes a categorizing banner to some of its meals. As you browse through the recipes, you might notice a banner that says “Hall of Fame” this indicates that this recipe is one of the most popular amongst customers. You might also come across a “Calorie Smart” banner, which means the recipe is around 650 calories per serving. HelloFresh has several other banners, including the following:
Chef’s Choice — Most popular recipes ever; offered multiple weeks in a row
Gourmet  — Top-of-the-line recipes with higher quality ingredients 
Gourmet Plus  — Top-of-the-line recipes with the highest quality ingredients 
Taste Tours  — Top-of-the-line international dishes greater in flavor and portion size
Craft Burger  — Top-of-the-line burger dishes great in flavor and portion size

Keep in mind that if you select a meal with a Gourmet, Gourmet Plus, Taste Tours, or Craft Burger banner, there will be a surcharge. 

Flexible Subscription Options

With HelloFresh, you can skip or cancel your weekly delivery at any time. However, the company warns that you'll need to do this before 11:59 p.m. (PST) five days before your delivery. 

Mobile App

HelloFresh's mobile app allows you to easily manage your account, update your meal selections, and track deliveries. The app comes with an interactive cooking mode, a built-in timer, and one of the largest curated recipe databases. Plus, if you're counting calories, HelloFresh's app will display your meals nutritional information. 

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The Bad

  • Meal Restrictions
  • Not the Quickest Option

Meal Restrictions

Although HelloFresh offers a variety of meal options, customers will need to be careful if they have any specific dietary restrictions. 

The Classic Meal plan can be customized to be beef-free, pork-free, seafood-free, Veggie, Family-Friendly, Calorie Smart, quick, or variety.

However, HelloFresh doesn't allow customers to tailor their meal plans for specific allergies. That being said, the company's dieticians review all meals for the eight major allergens: wheat, soy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, and shellfish. Once the ingredients have been identified, HelloFresh clearly discloses this information in the recipe.

It is also important to know that HelloFresh does not offer Keto, Paleo, gluten, dairy, or nut-free meals.  

HelloFresh leaves it to its customers to review the ingredients and determine which recipes best meet their dietary needs.

Not the Quickest Option

Although HelloFresh makes cooking dinner a lot simpler, it does require some time and effort. The meal delivery service drops off ingredients to your house, not premade meals. So if you're in a real crunch for time, takeout will be faster.

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The Bottom Line

HelloFresh is a great option for those who want to learn to cook or simplify the cooking process. There are several meal plans to choose from and you can select a cooking level that you're comfortable with. The delivery service is competitively priced and may even cost less than buying groceries. Plus, the company occasionally will offer free shipping or other enticing coupons to help you save. 

While HelloFresh has a variety of meals, the company doesn't alter the recipes for specific allergies, so you'll need to be vigilant about checking the ingredients if you have any dietary restrictions. Also, keep in mind that there are no Keto, Paleo, gluten, dairy, or nut-free recipes.

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Star Rating

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4.0

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404 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

46%

4 grade

31%

3 grade

8%

2 grade

3%

1 grade

11%

Sentiment Criteria

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Michael Arroyo Easton, PA

HelloFresh has been absolutely fantastic for us! The meals are delicious. The complaints about diet friendly are ridiculous. Why complain about something that never claims to be what it isn’t. Instead the food actually tastes good. The recepies are great and easy to recreate with grocery store shopping. This sets you up very well for the future. We now have “family recepies” that have come directly from HelloFresh. It does seem the market is getting very crowded and we’d like to see HelloFresh offer discounts to loyal customers, but at the end of the day it’s still worth every penny.

7 years ago

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Vanessa Call Lehi, UT

This is my favorite meal delivery service by far. I love the packaging and the meal options - always something to look forward to, and new things to try that were within our comfort zone. The packaging was incredibly intuitive. Instead of all of the ingredients for the week in a box, everything was separated by paper bags, in addition to being perfectly portioned. It was so much easier to prepare a meal when you just grab the appropriate paper bag, and your on your way! For me, the reason I cancelled is that it is not very cost effective at this time. I can see in the future doing it once more, but for a family of two, it is the same cost as going out to eat three times a week, as it is to order the meal delivery kit - without the work of actually making dinner. Overall, I was very pleased and happy with the product, though. When I do want to start up a meal delivery service once more, I will definitely be using HelloFresh.

8 years ago

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Kailey Bakersfield, CA

First impression of hello fresh it does take awhile to get your meals. But once you open the box I was extremely impressed with how well everything was organized. Each meal has a separate bag with its ingredients and detailed step by step instructions. And the meat are at the bottom between two ice packs. My family and I have made two meals so far and we have loved both. The food is fresh and the meals are delicious. The portion size is perfect. No leftover because they give you exact amount of food so it’s all portion controlled and no wasted food which I love. Preparing the food and cooking is super fun and easy because of the detailed instructions, so if you aren’t a good cook or just don’t know how to cook healthy meals this is perfect for you because it explain how to do everything. I love to cook but healthy meals aren’t always so easy to balance it made my life so much easier. It cut down grocery store trips and the stress of what to eat for dinner. So 3 days a week my dinner meals are already planned out for me. So far Iv had a wonderful experience with hello fresh and can’t wait to continue experiencing all the different meals they have to offer. Which is fun at the same time because they put together meals that sometimes you would never think to try. I made Turkey Chili Rellenos yesterday for dinner and I’m hooked they were amazing and I can’t wait to make them again on my own.

8 years ago

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Gillian Felix Albuquerque, NM

I signed up for their introductory box price, and a few days later my box arrived. The packaging on the outside looked great. The items inside were neatly packed in individual boxes sorted by each recipe and everything looked good. The ingredients were fresh, the pork, chicken, and shrimp were still cold. Everything was labeled properly. The only thing was that a piece of ginger got away and was sailing in the water residue from the meats. All-in-all everything was fresh and usable. Sunday morning came around and I started bright and early. The aromas that came from my kitchen would make my mom blush. The taste, the portion size, and ease to make suited me perfectly. I'd found my mate! If I were to do this every week I still couldn't justify the cost, HOWEVER, Hello Fresh has flexible delivery schedules. I decided I can do it once a month. So for one week every month, I get to try 3 new dishes and have fun doing it.

8 years ago

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Reb R

I’ve used several different meal kit services in the past, but Hello Fresh is the only one I have gone back to. The ingredients are good quality. The few times I had something arrive spoiled or broken they have given me a credit on my account. There is a great variety of meals. I love some of the add ons in the market (the mini cheesecakes are so good!). The negatives: I feel like they up charge for a lot of meals that should not cost extra. The delivery fee is steep (over $10). The app is not the easiest to navigate.

2 years ago

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Emma Morrill

HelloFresh is convenient. That’s what you are paying for - convenience. It would be much cheaper to buy ingredients separately and cook them at home. However this is nice to have one or two times a week, especially if you are busy. I enjoyed when Kroger carried the single serve versions of HelloFresh. If I don’t know what to make I could always pick up a kit at the store.

2 years ago

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Nyla C. Edison, NJ

HelloFresh was a meal service that I used in the beginning of my collegiate career given that meal-prepping and cooking was difficult for me. The price is what made me stop ordering from HelloFresh, because I found it much cheaper to grocery shop and cook on my own. But I would definitely suggest this to people starting out with cooking, or to those that can definitely afford it (remember I am in college).

4 years ago

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Heather South Plainfield, NJ

I’ve had a satisfactory experience with hello fresh the past 2 months. When I initially signed up I had issues with the free box I got, I accidentally ordered the premium meal and they charged my account t. When I called an complained, they reversed the charge and gave me 4 credits for the next 4 weeks. Only one time has an item been missing from a bag, it was Dijon mustard and I got a $14 credit. We’ve decided to continue as long as possible with hello fresh, it’s helped us eat more of a variety and healthier.

5 years ago

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Tom Orlando, FL

I liked the meals andthe choices I was given however they need to get a better delivery company. Lasership delivered my first meals without any problems however the second couldn't be delivered due to not having access, acording to them. I left a comment on the BBB's website where Lasership had a one star rating. I did not want to wonder if future deliveries would make it through so I changed to one who uses FedEx.

7 years ago

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Kelly Dayton, OH

My experience with HelloFresh has been overall positive: great tasting and high-quality food, superb customer service, and very convenient. There was a time, however, when a cut of meat went bad and had to contact HF to credit my account. They did and were very helpful in doing so. They truly care about their customers. I would highly recommend to anyone looking to better plan meals each week.

7 years ago

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Jacob Rexburg, ID

What I like about HelloFresh is that I get to learn how to cook food. Also, it freshens up my taste palette. In other words, I get to try new foods without having to figure what ingredients I need to buy. The food I have received have always been quality. One downside is that the pricing is a little high, and I really mean is instead of $10 a meal I would feel more comfortable in spending $8 a meal for what I get because I can go to the store and purchase meals even less expensive. However, there's a value, for me, it is the new foods, quality ingredients and learning how to cook.

7 years ago

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Sarah Pallardy Saint Charles, MO

Overall, I had an enjoyable experience. My only complaints would be; that of the various meal delivery services I’ve tried, the recipe choices from HelloFresh are my least favorite. Also, as with most meal delivery services, I wish the serving sizes were just a little more. Overall, I had a great experience with them. Timely delivery & billing. Also, when I was having issues with their website & my account, they were quick to help me out when I reached out via Twitter and on their chat available on their website.

7 years ago

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Melissa Houston, TX

The packaging is great, I love that the meals come in individual recyclable paper bags so you don’t accidentally use the ingredients of another meal. Our first nights meal did have a pepper that was moldy on the inside, but i called customer service and they refunded me for that meal, which I was satisfied with. They were very polite and understanding and I felt like they stand by their fresh standards. Meal 2 was easy to cook and was delicious. And now we are excited for meal 3 tonight.

8 years ago

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Bryant Poston Tallahassee, FL

So far my experience has been quite amazing. HelloFresh can make a timid chef feel like a champion in the kitchen. Billing is simple and if I ever need to, I can skip a week with the push of a button Delivery is via UPS and so far I've not had a single hiccup in product quality or delivery time. My only real gripe is sometimes the frozen gel packs rupture during shipping and that can getessy. Other hand that, pretty amazing service.

8 years ago

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Kathy Moore

they have excellent meals, the food has always been very tasty, the meats are organic and better than what I can buy in the grocery store. Price is about the same for the 2 of us than if we bought in grocery store for like items. Customer service is good, as once we had a bug in produce and potatoes were bad, they credited within 2 hours of getting email. Really good tasty recipes, I feel like a chef!

8 years ago

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Liz Fleming

Of all the home delivery services Hello Fresh has been my favorite. (we have tried Blue Apron, Green Chef, Home Chef, Terra's Kitchen, and Sun Basket) This is the first time they have sent us something that didn't match up to the recipe cards and was not intuitive how to put it together. (chicken breasts, green beans, zucchini, baby potatoes, parmesan cheese, milk and a lemon) On a positive note - the food was in great condition and I was able to roast all veggies - bake the chicken - sprinkle the cheese over it all and call it dinner.

8 years ago

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Mike Brice Marysville, OH

We have used HelloFresh for the past two weeks and found the food to be of high quality, the packaging excellent and the instructions simple and easy to follow. I like how the steps are sequenced to ensure a start to finish time of about 30 minutes for a fresh, fulfilling and nutritious meal. I also like how they have several options to select from each week or the ability to skip a week.

8 years ago

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Eric K New York, NY

I have used HelloFresh on and off for about two years. Sometimes I have problems with the packages arriving without any damage but this is mainly due to FedEx or UPS. Overall the value is pretty good and I like to follow the recipes but after a while they get very repetitive.

2 years ago

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Lisa Burrup Riverton, UT

I have used Hello Fresh on and off for the past 2 years. I really like most of the meals and usually get the same things. Anytime I have a missing or damaged item, they are good at making it right and issuing a credit for the trouble. The app is easy to use and they have a lot of choices each week.

5 years ago

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Chris Queen Creek, AZ

Like the meals & convenience. The only complaint is a sent my sister a gift card, 3 meals. They want a credit card but say it will not be charged unless she signs up for their service. But they charged her anyway. Very upset this happened. Now she has to call & mess with getting it refunded. Not very good business.

6 years ago

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Isabelle Hong Pleasant Grove, UT

HelloFresh meals are very delicious and pretty easy to make. They give you very clear instructions and pre-measure all the ingredients for you. It is very convenient that they deliver the meals right to your door. However it is very expensive.

7 years ago

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Richard Booth Barberton, OH

Hello Fresh seems like a great service. They provide an opportunity to try new meals. Recipes are easy to follow and the meals we made turned out great! There should be options for an a la carte option and for those with larger families. Maybe ideas for future expansion?

7 years ago

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Christian Bolden Katy, TX

I’ve tried Hello Fresh with my husband twice now. The first time came out exactly as it should have. The second time was a little rough, but it was fish and I’m not used to cooking it. It was super tasty both nights. It’s the perfect amount for us. My husband is super picky and he likes it a lot so far. Can’t wait to see what’s next!!!

7 years ago

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Jennifer P Fairfax, VA

With 4 kids and two working parents, it’s a struggle to plan and shop for healthy meals each week. The Hello Fresh box on my doorstep each Monday takes that struggle away. They do the planning and the shopping for us. Everyone is happy!

7 years ago

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Jen Hughes Alexandria, VA

Hello Fresh is a great way to learn new recipes. You should have a basic knowledge of cooking before trying their recipes. My favorite part is not having to pick out what I'm eating for dinner that night - all the ingredients are provided and thought about and delivered to my door. The meat is also fantastic quality!

7 years ago

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Lauryn Chicago, IL

I think the meals are very easy to cook and delicious. I would recommend they incorporate some more whole wheat into some of the starch/bread/pasta recipes. They do repeat recipes once every 3 months or so but it’s not too bad.

8 years ago

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Anne Roark

Although we have only tried our first meal, my whole family is really impressed! The food was fresh, high quality, and delicious. Portion sizes are more than generous. The fact that I don't have to plan the meal and hunt for ingredients is SUCH a convenience.

8 years ago

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Christopher Ballenger Lithonia, GA

The service is great. The food tasted good, and it comes with all the needed ingredients. I think the company could do a better job in explaining how to cook the food though and how to parallel cooking ingredients for maximum efficiency.

8 years ago

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Alice William West Warwick, RI

First of all, love that there is a vegetarian box. I want to make more vegetarian meals, but running out of options. The recipes are creative and interesting. The ingredients are of good quality. The app is top of the line with all the options you can and cannot imagine.

8 years ago

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Lindsay Ploeger Salt Lake City, UT

My husband and I have ordered it a couple different 2-3 month periods of time in order to improve our diets and explore new foods. We have enjoyed getting new recipes to try on our own and, though the ease of having them send us all our food required for each meal, once we started not having new options of recipes, we quit our subscription. It was nice to have all the groceries sent to us but wasn’t worth the money in our opinion to have them keep sending food for recipes we’d already received. We also had a few orders with bad produce. Though, not many. Thank goodness!

5 years ago

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Jennifer Alonso Asbury Park, NJ

Compared to other meal delivery companies they have a very limited selection and if you want better options like steak they charge extra unlike plated that charges you a little more overall but all of the options are higher level. The meals they do offer though are very enjoyable and easy to make, and sometimes they get adventurous with the options so you can learn to make something out of the norm such as duck. The limited options they do have are pretty good and overall the pricing is pretty fair. Not my first pick for a meal delivery service but itll do.

5 years ago

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take7 Sandy, UT

It was tasty and convenient. But it was a bit more costly for me than just menu planning and cooking my own meals and shopping for my larger family. The kids also waste too much food and were still hungry because they didn't like it. I enjoyed it with my husband but just didn't suit my family now. Single and only a couple would've been great! Maybe later i'll try it again.

5 years ago

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Adrianne murray Brigham City, UT

Oh the food is good but you will pay. My biggest problem and the reason why I finally cancel the service was that I have a large family and They didn’t make a big enough meal plan for everybody. So my husband and I would be eating fancy meals while the kids were not. But the food is good and the recipes are easy. I did suggest it for my son who is single but I did have to cancel it for my large family

5 years ago

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Shannon B Salt Lake City, UT

I was gifted a week of meals from Hello Fresh from a friend. I loved that everything you needed to make basically a gourmet meal was sent directly to your doorstep and in the right quantities and measurements. Was fun to make, although it took a little longer to prepare than I would have liked. Great option if you like to cook or are learning how to cook but don't like wasting time at the grocery store like me.

6 years ago

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Kaydence Bonino Riverton, UT

I was fun to try Hello Fresh for a few weeks! It was so simple and easy. My kids could even make the meals. My husband thought the portions were too small for him but he eats a lot more than I do. It is definitely more money than just picking up ingredients from the store but if money isn't a factor an time is than Hello Fresh is a perfection option for you!

6 years ago

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Seth Derby, KS

Excellent recipes and I would certainly recommend as a great gift or starting point for someone who either, isn’t confident cooking or who is maybe looking to learn and expand their “go to” recipe selection. It can get a little expensive rather quickly if you go to it every week. I preferred doing about one or two weeks a month and eventually transitioned to buy the ingredients and cooking it myself for about half the cost.

6 years ago

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JAKE American Fork, UT

Hello Fresh is a great company. I tried them for our family dinners and it was really nice to have all the ingredients ready to use. It made things a lot less stressful when dinner time came. Its really nice not having to take the time to go to the grocery store to gather all the different ingredients. It is a little expensive though so we only used it a few times.

6 years ago

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janalee sanders Valley Center, CA

I used Hello Fresh once and thought it was pretty good. it was kind of fun to receive the box of cooking supplies in the mail! the items for the recipes that we choose all tasted good and even better when we put it all together. I feel like this service is best suited for very small groups or singles or couples. this is due to the fact that I feel its a little expensive and the recipes make fairly small portions

6 years ago

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Heather Vernal, UT

I love Hello Fresh. Unfortunately, we can’t afford to order consistently because of the high price, but the food is high quality and it’s so easy to follow the recipes. The meals I’ve had are healthy and delicious and a real time saver for me. The food is always fresh when delievered. I had an incident where there was an ingredient missing from my box, but customer service was excellent and gave me a credit on my account to make up for it.

7 years ago

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Hank Ricardo

I started using hello fresh last year. My deliveries are always on time. The odd time my veggies are a little bad, but they always make up for it. Easy to make meals as well. It's great for ppl always on the go etc.

1 year ago

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TimR North Brunswick, NJ

Most delicious and healthy food I've ever tasted.. like literary. The idea behind this business is great, it's really not just for money and stuff, it's for people. Thank you!

5 years ago

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Dwayne Reid Daytona Beach, FL

This is my first time purchasing the meal plan, and I would like to thank the team st Hello Fresh for properly preparing the ingredients so that I could easily prepare the meal.

7 years ago

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James DeRuvo Santa Clarita, CA

Excellent ingredients. Tasty recipes. I like the app and how you can change recipes or skips weeks. Gives me control! And the ingredients were fresh, well packed and COLD!

7 years ago

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Sabra Burrell Herriman, UT

I really enjoyed getting my box each week from HelloFresh. The food and ingredients were always fresh. I loved having a meal plan for the week. Sometimes I found the prep work to be a little long, but the food always tasted good. It's a fun way to try different recipes.

3 years ago

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Michelle Calton Herriman, UT

The food was definitely fresh and the recipes were yummy. We did have some problems using a gift card because of a discount offer. The gift card wouldn’t apply until after the discount was gone. It was frustrating that I couldn’t use the gift card whenever I wanted.

3 years ago

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Jaelynn Florence Tallahassee, FL

HelloFresh is an excellent food service. They provide its customers with whole healthy meals to choose from that can be cooked in minutes. It is extremely convenient and a great way to be innovative with meals. The prices are also well established and I have been a customer for about a year now with no complaints.

4 years ago

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Mary Alice M. Orem, UT

I loved the quality of my HelloFresh meals. They came really well packaged and the ingredients were always fresh. Just remember to cancel your subscription when you are done, because that is always a bummer when you accidentally pay for something you don't want.

4 years ago

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Steve Ashby Portland, OR

We have used HelloFresh for periods in the past and enjoyed it. Their food is great and the recipes are always delicious. We usually would get extra servings from each meal. It is pretty expensive when compared to grocery shopping. We would stop for a vacation or just a break, and then not start again...

4 years ago

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Jordyn Kerner Fayetteville, AR

My family has done this for a long time now. It makes dinner easy and convenient but still enjoyable with unique recipes. They have multiple options for dietary preferences and healthier meals, and the amount of food is plentiful. Anyone can easily cook with the easy to understand directions, too.

5 years ago

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Ryan Harpenau Fayetteville, AR

I have enjoyed every recipe I have gotten from HelloFresh and the company makes it very easy to cook. The only complaint I have is the price since I am a college student it would be nice for there to be a discount for students. I will say that they are very welcoming of new costumers and always have good deals for them

5 years ago