Which Meal Kit Service is Best in Texas? Karen V. Davison Explains

Meal kit delivery services have soared in popularity in recent years. Fueled by a desire for convenience mixed with quality, meal kits offer an alternative to simply having pre-made food delivered, which some view as too expensive or unhealthy.

Karen V. Davison is a professional chef and culinary blogger from Plano, Texas. As she enjoys keeping up with all culinary trends, especially those related to home cooking, Davison has tried several meal kit services herself. She outlines the different meal kit services available in Texas and which she feels is the best.

Blue Apron

Blue Apron is hands down one of the most popular meal kit services in the state of Texas. Like all services of this kind, Blue Apron offers easy to prepare meals, the ingredients for which are sent to your home on a set day each week or month, depending on the frequency you choose to order from them. What Karen V. Davison likes about Blue Apron and what she believes sets them apart from the rest is their unique meal offerings. For example, past meals have included everything from shrimp and squid ink spaghetti to sumac-spiced barramundi. As a professional chef, she loves to see these more complex meals being offered; however, she does recognize that they may be more difficult to cook for the average home chef.

Plated

Plated markets itself as being chef-inspired, meaning tried and true recipes and fresh ingredients. They also happen to have one of the most flexible and customizable menus of the meal kit services currently in Texas. Past meal options have included Cuban beef picadillo, salmon and bok choy stir fry, and brown butter orecchiette. Further, what Karen V. Davison admires about Plated is that they have committed to only using hormone-free and antibiotic-free ingredients, as well as sustainably sourced seafood.

Hello Fresh

Hello Fresh is easily one of the most widely known meal kit services in the entire world. The company was founded in Germany, but quickly made its way to North America where it’s now the meal kit delivery service of choice for millions of customers across the country. Hello Fresh also has the simplest meals compared to the other meal kit services, but they also happen to be the easiest to make. This is ideal for someone who is brand new to home cooking or really doesn’t have much time at all to devote to cooking. All Hello Fresh meals are designed to be cooked and ready to eat in no more than 30 minutes. It is also one of the least expensive services out there.

Karen V. Davison on the Winner

According to Karen V. Davison, Texas has plenty of top-notch meal kit services at the moment. However, in her mind Plated has the edge. As a professional chef, Hello Fresh’s meal options are just a little bit too simple. Plus, she is a firm believer that even people brand new to cooking can quickly improve their skills after just a few attempts. Plated, like Blue Apron, offers meals for a more refined palate, but unlike Blue Apron, they are committed to sustainability, which is a must in 2020. Plated is slightly more expensive than its competitors, at roughly $12 USD per meal, but shipping is always free.