I first heard of Blue Apron, a service that delivers all the ingredients you need to make three gourmet-quality meals, back in December 2013.
My friend Merri followed a Blue Apron recipe and made us a delicious dinner of udon noodle soup during one of my visits to New York City. She initially signed up for Blue Apron to teach herself how to cook since she was not really comfortable in the kitchen and absolutely raved about the step-by-step instructions that came with each shipment of the meal delivery service.
I came home from New York and spoke highly of the service to Ryan… so much so that he ended up giving me four weeks of Blue Apron meals for Christmas that year! We had so much fun trying new recipes and using fun, flavorful ingredients. We continue to use the service regularly and I promise you we have yet to make one meal we didn’t love. I now have my mom and dad hooked on regular deliveries, too!
In case Blue Apron hasn’t been on your radar up until now, here’s how it works: Blue Apron is a service that sends you all of the farm-fresh ingredients you need to make three delicious meals a week for $9.99 per person per meal (with free shipping). (A Family Plan is also available and feeds a family of four for $8.74 per person per meal.) All ingredients are delivered to your doorstep in a refrigerated box and come with three chef-designed recipes that are easy to follow thanks to gorgeous photos of each step of the recipe. (The Tom-Yum Style Shrimp and Noodles and the Orange Ginger Salmon are calling to me!)
Ryan and I initially opted for the vegetarian meal plan to help ourselves learn to cook more delicious meatless meals, but you can choose whether or not your want your meals to include red meat, poultry, seafood, etc.
For our most recent Blue Apron delivery, we opted for a pescetarian meal plan and received all the fresh ingredients we needed to make two vegetarian dishes and one meal with fish.
Here’s what our menu looked like:
This dish was truthfully the one we were least excited about, mainly because it looked like it might be a little bland since, at first glance, it seemed like simple white fish, cooked rice and wilted spinach. Well, we were in for a very pleasant surprise because this dish was a big-time hit with both of us!! (It actually ended up being Ryan’s favorite!) It was absolutely delicious thanks to the salty miso yuzu glaze and the fresh ginger. Definitely not your average fish and rice dish!
I couldn’t wait to make this salad. The colors from the bright orange sweet potatoes and deep green kale made it look so vibrant and tasty. I am happy to report that is ended up being every bit as delicious as I hoped it would be! The chewy texture of the farro paired together perfectly with the soft sweet potato and the crunchiness of the hazelnuts. I also loved that I learned how to pickle onions while I made this recipe, as that’s something I never knew how to do before! I told Ryan I think this salad would also taste delicious chilled as a summer side dish to bring to a BBQ with friends.
If you put a fried egg on top of something, Ryan will definitely order it at a restaurant, so this recipe caught his eye the minute we pulled it out of the Blue Apron box. (My egg was cooked all way through – pregnancy precaution.) Ryan ended up cooking the sauce part of this dish (for some reason, during pregnancy canned crushed tomatoes are currently making my stomach turn) but by the time he was done following the recipe, the smell encouraged me to give it a try and I loved it!! While he tackled the peppery sauce, I made the tortilla chips that served as the crunchy bed for the dish and fried up the eggs. Team work at its finest! Also, I loved the way this recipe had us toss fresh avocado in lime juice, salt and pepper before using it as a delicious garnish. That really kicked the flavor up a notch!
Giveaway
Now here is your chance to try Blue Apron for yourself! One PBF reader will win a free week of Blue Apron meals for two!
To enter this giveaway, click here to pop over to Blue Apron and check out what’s on the menu for this week and leave a comment below telling me which recipe you’d be most excited to create!
Please note: This giveaway includes a week of meals for two people. Blue Apron delivers to 80 percent of the United States. In order to win this giveaway, you must live in one of the delivery zones. (A map of the delivery zones may be seen here.) I will randomly select a winner on Friday.
And please don’t worry if you don’t win! The first 100 readers who try Blue Apron will receive two free meals on their first order! To receive this promo, please click here to order.
Good luck!!!
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Disclaimer: While this post is sponsored by Blue Apron, affiliate links are not included and I am not receiving any compensation for orders placed with Blue Apron. Thank you for your support!
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Amazing cooking skills you got there! The food looks so good. For next week’s menu, the baked fontina pasta looks fantastic!
I love the look of the pupusas
Definitely the Tom Yum-style shrimp and noodles!
Oh my gosh, I’m not the best cook so would probably love the step by step instructions, although my fiance hates instructions for cooking! I would love to try Corned Beef-Spiced Flank Steaks with Braised Cabbage & Buttered Red Potatoes – that sounds delicious and perfect for St Pattys!
Tom yum! I really love that soup when we are out eating Thai, but have never made it at home.
My husband and I love Thai and we would love to try making the soup ourselves.
The Baked Fontina Pasta looks sooo good!
The Tom Yum Noodle Soup looks amazing! I love Thai food and have always wanted to try and recreate my favorite dishes at home, but the recipes always call for a ton of ingredients.
Oh my gosh, pupusas! We ate those in Spanish class when I was in high school! Gosh, I haven’t had those in YEARS. I’d for sure be the most excited about those!
mmm the Thai Yum soup looks fantastic!
I love this! I want to try all the vegetarian options:)
The Baked Fontina Pasta looks really good!
The Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas look awesome and not something I would typically make so I’d love to try those!
Smoky Beluga lentils! I’m always looking for more creative ways to cook up lentils, since they’re so easy for a quick, healthy dinner.
The turkey chili sounds delicious!
To say I am OBSESSED with Panera’s turkey chili would be an understatement. I would LOVE to try blue apron’s turkey chili so I could learn to make my own!
The flank steak looks really good but I’m always a sucker for Thai food 🙂
The turkey chili looks delicious!
The Baked Fontina Pasta looks delish, but I’d be most excited to try the Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas because it’s not something I would ever make on my own 🙂
I’d like to try the Turkey Chili!
I’m pretty sure the little sliver of blue in Colorado is Denver 🙂 This would be great as I’m running out of ideas and getting tired of eating the same thing week in and week out. Plus I’m always tired and never motivated to whip something up, so step-by-step instructions is just what I need!
Tom yum style shrimp sounds delicious!! Thanks!
As a vegetarian I would love to try Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas!
My family would enjoy the flank steak so that might be an option as well 🙂
Mmm, smoky beluga lentils for me, please!
I would make the corned-beef (in honor of St. Patty’s!) and the tom yum shrimp and noodles! I love cooking but don’t usually feel comfortable preparing red meat/ethnic foods because they’re outside of my cooking comfort zone. I’d love to give it a try with blue apron and their instructions!
I would like to try the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles. I am never adventurous about cooking seafood at home, but want to learn!
I’d love to try the papusas! I’ve discovered them living in DC and would have fun making my own!
The turkey chili looks incredible! The baked fontina pasta also sounds out of this world delicious. YUM!
The Corned beef recipe looks delicious! I love corned beef but don’t know how to make it!
My husband and I are doing meatless Mondays for Lent, and are always looking for vegetarian options! Would love to try the lentils!
What another FAB giveaway!! I think the flank steak looks good…but that may be because lately I’ve been craving ALL THE MEAT. Everything looks so yummy!!
The Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles looks quite tasty!!!
Tom Yum looks delicious and something I would never try to cook on my own!
I would love to recreate the turkey chili
The Baked Fontana Pasta looks like one I would try!!!
The tom yum shrimp and noodles sound great!
Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles! Look so good, and I’ve never made anything like that.
Oooh! What a yummy giveaway! I hope I win! If I won, I’d like to try the Tom Yum-Style Shrimp & Noodles
with Gai Lan & Thai Basil!
Yum! Baked Fontina Pasta!
I’d love to try the Smoky Beluga Lentils. I love lentils but struggle with how to get the most flavor into the dish.
The smoky beluga lentils look awesome! I eat mostly vegetarian during the week so I am in need of some new recipes to shake things up a bit. The noodles look really goo too, but I am allergic to shrimp.
I would love to try the Corned Beef Spiced Flank Steaks! I have never cooked it before and…tis the season for corned beef!
the Corned Beef-Spiced Flank Steaks look absolutely delicious!! my boyfriend and i want to start cooking more healthy options, and i think this would be a great way to do so!
I want to make the corned beef spiced flank steaks!!
I would love to try the Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas!
The Salvadoran Black Bean & Cheese Pupusas for sure! Yum.
This is awesome! I’ve been taking time off of work to take care of my dad who was just diagnosed with cancer, and I’ve been so exhausted trying to whip up healthy meals for him. This would help so much if all the ingredients just showed up at my doorstep! I’d like to try the turkey chili (my dad’s favorite), and I love avocado on everything.
baked fontina pasta looks amazing!
The turkey chili looks awesome!
The Turkey Chili sounds so good right now!