I cooked all of Blue Apron’s holiday meal kits. Here’s what I liked (and what I didn’t)

Meal kits Great for year-round cooking, saving you hours of shopping, prepping, and cooking in the process. The only time you won’t be able to use these kits is when you want to make specific recipes that aren’t on the company’s weekly menu, like during the holidays. but, Blue apron and Other meal kit companies They fill this gap by offering meal kits designed specifically for the winter season.

Blue apron holiday menu It has overlap with Thanksgiving meal kitswhich I also cooked. These include creamy macaroni and cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts, goat cheese salad and roasted grapes, challah dinner rolls, and apple crumb pie. Two new additions for December are Crispy Roasted Potatoes and Roast Beef.

From now until January 4, these meal kits are available — with the exception of the roast beef, which is currently sold out. This is what happened when I tried to make them all for the holiday feast.

Roast beef: a high-quality cut of meat

your vegetableI handed this recipe over to my partner to make, and he found this 60-minute recipe delicious and easy to make. The instructions were clear, and much of the flavor came from the sherry-Dijon sauce, which was made simply by combining the ingredients.

“The cuts of meat were nice, and I liked that I didn’t have to cut anything,” he said. My partner’s only criticism is that he wishes the meat was more tender.

classification: 8/10
It costs: $110
Meals: 6
Total time: 60 minutes

Crispy baked potatoes: delicious but difficult to prepare

While I thought these roasted potatoes were delicious, I struggled to prepare them and ended up eating soft potatoes instead of crunchy ones. The instructions ask that after boiling the potatoes, drain them and toss them until the edges are rough. This wasn’t working in my colander, so I transferred the potatoes back to the pot, put the lid on them, and shook them. However, I think this made them too rough, because they didn’t brown or crisp after 30 minutes in the oven. I’ve left them on for 10 minutes longer, but still no luck.

The lack of crunch may be user error, and the dish still tastes great with rosemary, parmesan, garlic, and herb butter. However, I wish the instructions were more specific to help users get the desired crunchy texture.

classification: 7/10
It costs: $8
Meals: 4
Total time: 55 minutes

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese: Packed with flavor

I actually made this macaroni and cheese as part of Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving specials, and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. Although again I changed the recipe by combining the cream mixture and different cheeses in the pan to make the cheese sauce, instead of putting the cheese and cream mixture in the dish itself.

I enjoyed the cheese combination: cheddar, fontina, and Monterey Jack, with Parmesan on top. I also loved the flavor that came from the garlic béchamel sauce and truffle spices that I mixed into the bread toppings.

classification: 9/10
It costs: $20
Meals: 6
Total time: 45 minutes

Challah Dinner Rolls: They take no time to prepare

Unlike the last time I made these rolls for Thanksgiving, they were not crushed, which added to my experience, raising my rating by one point to 9/10. They’re topped with a mixture of maple and salted butter right out of the oven, and only require 15 minutes of your time — if that.

classification: 9/10
It costs: $7
Meals: 12
Total time: 15 minutes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts: A Game-Changing Recipe

This has become one of my favorite ways to prepare Brussels sprouts, made with honey, lemon, and toasted pistachios. It only takes 30 minutes, including cooking, and is incredibly delicious. My only criticism is that I wish there were more pistachios.

classification: 10/10
It costs: $10
Meals: 4
Total time: 30 minutes

Roasted Grape and Goat Cheese Salad: The Missing Ingredients

This is another recipe I made for Thanksgiving, but this time, the meal kit arrived without some key ingredients: cabbage, arugula, and red grapes. I ended up using my own kale, but I didn’t have arugula or grapes. The latter is particularly key to the salad, as the grapes are roasted to produce a jammy flavor that complements the salad, so I was sad it wasn’t included.

Similar to the pistachios in the Brussels sprouts above, I wish more nuts had been included to fill out the entire dish. I also ended up burning it a bit, despite following the instructions.

Regardless, the salad was still delicious. I just hope there are no missing ingredients, so I’ll lower my previous rating to 7/10.

classification: 7/10
It costs: 12
Meals: 4
Total time: 35 minutes

Apple pie with almonds

I also made this recipe for Thanksgiving, and it was just as good as last time. It takes a total of 80 minutes, but only 20 minutes of preparation time. I particularly enjoyed adding the quadruple salts (white pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) to the crumb topping, and appreciated that the crust came prepared and ready to use.

classification: 8/10
It costs: $15
Meals: 6-8
Total time: 80 minutes

How much do Blue Apron’s holiday meal kits cost?

Here are the pricing details for Blue Apron’s holiday meal kits:

• Roast beef (6 servings): $110
• Crispy baked potatoes (4 servings): $8
• Creamy Macaroni and Cheese (6 servings): $20
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts (4 servings): $10
• Goat cheese salad (4 servings): $12
• Challah Dinner Rolls (12 Servings): $7
• Apple Pie (6-8 servings): $15

Total cost: $182

Depending on where you shop, you may be able to make these recipes yourself for less (especially with grocery store inflation). However, you save time and effort when you choose the meal kit route, which is especially helpful when you’re cooking in front of a crowd during the holiday season. Blue Apron’s new a la carte model It also allows you to choose the meals you want without having to limit yourself to a subscription.

My final thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed Blue Apron’s holiday meal kits and found everything delicious; However, I think there is room for improvement in terms of missing ingredients and more detailed instructions (especially for the crispy fries). As someone who has also tried the company’s Thanksgiving meal kits, I wish they would switch them up with new meal kits and reduce the overlap between the two holidays.

As a vegetarian, I also loved being able to eat all of these meals, except for the roast beef, which my partner still enjoys. In the future, it would be great to offer a different protein option for vegetarians or vegans Vegetarians.