I Feel More Confident About Cooking Gourmet Dishes After Trying Our Favorite Meal Delivery Service

For years, I’ve found making home-cooked meals a challenge. While I admire my friends who are able to whip up delicious looking (and tasting) entrees, I've only dreamt of creating something so good. Between the stress of finding each ingredient at the market to the worry of overcooking the main dish, I’ve dread dinner time — until now. I’ve found (and tested) a meal delivery service that removes all of this mealtime pressure: Blue Apron.

To put it simply, Blue Apron does all the work for you. I preselected meals from its online menu of over 70 weekly chef-approved meals that fit my lifestyle. I wanted timesaving meals and scrolled through the online menu for recipes labeled “Fast & Easy,” which take less than an hour from start to finish. I also checked out “Family Friendly” meals for everyone in my house to enjoy but were also major upgrades from a basic pizza and mac n’ cheese. When samples of these gourmet meal kits arrived, I didn’t have to leave my home for a single ingredient run. It was a stress-free process from the comfort of my home versus my usual hunt for ingredients up and down the aisles at the grocery store. No wonder it was ranked our favorite meal delivery service during testing. 

Plus, Blue Apron is having a flash sale right now so you’ll get $110 off across five boxes, and $35 off your first order and free shipping. And the best part is, there's no promo code needed. Just be sure to place your order by March 12 to get this discount.

To buy: Two Meal Kits Per Week, from $13 (originally $58) at blueapron.com

After my order arrived (on time and with insulated packaging to keep the food fresh and chilled), I was relieved to find that the three recipes were organized in separate bags of ingredients that were also pre-measured, ensuring that I had everything I needed, and could start cooking right away. I decided to try the Crispy Salmon and Vegetable Farro recipe first, and placed the other two in my refrigerator to enjoy later in the week.

Before trying Blue Apron, I was intimidated to make gourmet dishes, let alone, cook a seafood dish. But thanks to the detailed instructions from how to cut certain vegetables at an angle to exact cook times to ensure the salmon for that crispy skin, and helpful photos per step, I felt confident during the entire process. Within about 30 minutes, I made my first gourmet salmon dish with asparagus, pickled red onions, and farro tossed in a homemade capers, parsley, and garlic sauce. I was so happy with how my dish turned out that I was actually excited to make dinner the following night. 

To buy: Two Meal Kits Per Week, from $13 (originally $58) at blueapron.com 

Throughout the rest of the week I felt like a professional chef, and cooked a Sweet Pepper and Fig Grilled Cheese, which was such an easy, flavor-filled meal that my family has already requested I make again. I also made a Garlic-Caper Chicken, which was my personal favorite of these three recipes for its savory Italian-seasoned flavor with a refreshing hint of lemon at the finish. Everything from the fish to the vegetables were all top quality ingredients, and I’m already looking forward to my next Blue Apron order.      

Head to Blue Apron and select a batch of  gourmet meals to cook from the comfort of your home, and get $110 off across five orders. You’ll be cooking like a chef in no time.

To buy: Two Meal Kits Per Week, from $13 (originally $58) at blueapron.com