Foodies, rejoice: These are the subscription boxes you'll love
Overview
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Food rocks. Whether we're eating it, Instagramming it, or just drooling over a recipe video, if it's yummy, we're into it.
There are plenty of food-themed subscription boxes out there. Some are useful for planning out your meals, while others are great for trying new foods and snacks.
These are the food-themed subscription boxes we're loving right now:
Hello Fresh
Best For Feeding A Busy Family
The Good & The Bad
- Good for feeding a family
- Many plans to choose from
- Not much!
Why We Like It
With HelloFresh, tailor your deliveries and meals based on how many people you're cooking for and the amount of recipes you want to receive in a given week. You can choose between the Meat & Veggies, Veggie, Family Friendly, Fit & Wholesome, Quick and Easy, and Pescatarian plans to feed up to four people. Pricing is broken down per meal, so if you're buying two meals each week for two people, that works out to be $57.95 per week. (Although they often run introductory rates where you can knock 50% off your first box.)
You'll be able to choose from 15 new recipes each week, and the pre-measured ingredients always take less than an hour to prepare — often just 30 mins. Choose recipes that fit into your diet, or opt for new flavors you've never tried.
Details
Home Chef
Best For Beginning Chefs
The Good & The Bad
- Choose your order from a weekly menu
- Good for beginners
- Doesn't have the celeb chef element of a Blue Apron, if you care
Why We Like It
With Home Chef, you can schedule weekly deliveries of different dishes. Your package will include pre-measured ingredients and recipe cards, so all you have to do is get cooking when the package arrives.
The website's menu updates with new recipes every week, and the weekly price depends on what you decide to order. Each meal typically costs $9.95 unless the recipe states otherwise.
Each recipe page features the approximate cook time, its level of difficulty, and even how long the ingredients are good for so you can plan out your meals. If you're trying to become a personal chef, or just looking to sharpen your skills, then Home Chef is an excellent start.
Details
Freshly
Best For Breakfast Lovers
The Good & The Bad
- Offers breakfast
- Menu updated weekly
- Not the absolute cheapest, but not pricey either
Why We Like It
For more options on self-prep meals, look to Freshly to expand your menu.
With Freshly you can receive 4 meals for $57.15 a week, 6 for $69.93 a week, 9 for $95.40 a week, or a whopping 12 meals for $119.87 a week. That's a lot of chicken.
What makes Freshly special is that they also include options for breakfast, which other meal subscription services leave out. The menu is updated weekly and includes specs on things like gluten or soy so you can safely avoid allergens.
Recent dinner menus have included Southwest Chicken Bowls, Peach Balsamic Pork Chops, and Garlic and Herb Shrimp, while breakfast choices range from Berry Porridge to omelettes and frittatas.
Details
Winc
Best If Your Favorite Food Is Wine
The Good & The Bad
- Choose wines yourself or create a palate profile
- Pricey
Why We Like It
With all those tasty meals you're getting, you'll probably want some wine. Winc (formerly known as Club W), is a wine delivery service that helps you choose a vintage that suits your tastes. You can choose from their vast selection each month or let Winc choose for you based on your "Palate Profile."
Prices vary depending on which wines you choose, and bottles start as low as $13. New members can get 4 bottles for $29.95 with free shipping.
Details
Blue Apron
Best For International Cuisine
The Good & The Bad
- Tips and recipes from pro and celeb chefs
- International cuisine
- Not much!
Why We Like It
Each Blue Apron recipe features the full list of ingredients and directions, suggestions for cooking utensils, and even tips and tricks from pro chefs on how to prepare your food like a master. Your weekly menu of choices might even feature a guest recipe from a celebrity chef. Whether you're cooking for a two-person plan (starting at $9.99 per serving) or a family of four (starting at $8.99 per serving), these meals will make dinner into a true feast.
Blue Apron tends to have world-inspired recipes than other food prep boxes out there. Case in point: recent menu items have included things like Chicken Tinga Tostadas and Korean Rice Cakes.
Details
Candy Club
Best For Sugar Addicts
The Good & The Bad
- 50% cheaper than premium candy shops
- Try new candy you've never heard of
- $15 off and free shipping on your first box
- Not the best idea if you're trying to cut out sugar
Why We Like It
If you'd rather not cut the candy and sweets from your life, then CandyClub is here for you.
According to the product page, a subscription to CandyClub equates to a 50% savings on candy compared to premium candy shops. The Fun Box includes six 6-oz candy jars and costs $29.99 per month, while the Party Box has six 13-oz jars for $39.99 per month, depending on how much you want to feed your sugar obsession. Shop through different candy suggestions, or channel your inner Willy Wonka and curate your own box.
Customers have loved getting to try new things that they can't normally find in the market, while some claim that eating some of the more common treats taste better through CandyClub. Quite the claim, must test for further evidence.
Details
Bokksu
Most Creative Snack Box
The Good & The Bad
- Features snacks from different regions of Japan
- Each box comes with a tea pairing and tasting guide
- Can be pricey if it's in addition to your current snacks
Why We Like It
If you're looking to expand your options outside of American snacks, why not try some snacks from Japan?
Each monthly Bokksu box features snacks from different regions of the island nation. A monthly subscription costs $49.95, but a year-long subscription makes it $39.95 per box. Each delivery also comes with a tea pairing based on a different cultural theme (past ones include Kanto New Year and Sakura Spring) and a tasting guide to give you some extra insight into your snacks' histories. Use code FIRST5 at checkout to get $5 off your first box.
Details
Spice Madam
Best If You Already Love To Cook
The Good & The Bad
- 5% is donated to charity
- Try out spices from all over the world
- Pricey
Why We Like It
For people who love to cook, experimenting with new spices is no small thrill. Luckily, the Spice Madam is here to grant all of your seasoning-related wishes.
This globally themed box is curated with 10-15 items that can include spices, seeds, recipe cards, and even a cultural music playlist. It's a great way to add a real kick to your cooking experiments, and the contents are even vegetarian-friendly and gluten free. 5% of each subscription is donated to different charities that support children.
Subscribers love this box for their easy and fun recipes, while others have enjoyed learning about the cultural background of their items and gaining a deeper appreciation for differing culinary tastes.
Details
SnackSack
Best For Healthy Snacking
The Good & The Bad
- Choose from Classic, Vegan, and Gluten Free plans
- Particularly good for vegans, who have few snacking options
- A little pricey if you don't already spend on snacks
Why We Like It
The worst thing about starting a new diet is that you're probably cutting out all of the snacks that you used to love. This subscription box, however, could help you replace Cheetos and chocolate with far healthier alternatives.
The SnackSack box includes 11 different healthy snacks every month, each with different themes and flavors. You can sign up for $27.95 per month, and choose from the Classic, Vegan, Gluten-Free, & Vegan+Gluten-Free options.
Reviewers have called SnackSack a great starting point for new vegans to snack guilt-free.
Details
Topics Kitchen
Carlos is a New York-based ecommerce content writer ready to tell you what to buy. He has previously written for Adventure Publishing Group with toy and movie reviews as well as Anime News Network on anime interest articles because liking anime is the least nerdy thing about him. When not reviewing products, he's probably doing sociological analyses on pop culture that no one asked for. He has been told on several occasions that he does a really good Mickey Mouse impression.