If you are a Blue Apron subscriber, the company offers many options to add to your existing plan. From the whole Thanksgiving feast to a few side dishes, it was nice to see that the options were so extensive.
Affordability
I had never cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner before, so I had no idea how much it would cost. For this reason, I decided to dig into my local grocery store. A normal turkey can cost around $9 a pound. So between all the sides plus the turkey, I estimated this dinner to be around $100-150 depending on where you live. At the time, I was based in New York, so these numbers are what I found in my local grocery stores.
With Blue Apron, you get all the ingredients delivered right to your door along with easy-to-follow recipes for just $140. The convenience and ease with which I was able to prepare this holiday dinner was well worth it. I didn’t have to buy full portions of all the ingredients because everything was pre-portioned for each dish. I also liked that I saved a lot of space in my fridge for my regular food since everything was pre-portioned.
Ease of use
The easy-to-follow instructions helped me fix every part of this kit myself in about three hours. The booklet laid out everything I could make ahead of time and what I would need for each meal. I started by preparing everything I would need. I chopped up all the veggies, thawed anything that needed to sit for a while, and got ready to start cooking. The only real downside I saw was that each recipe required a different oven temperature. For this reason, I recommend baking the pie first to cool, followed by the turkey. After the turkey was cooked, it needed to rest for 20 minutes. I took the opportunity to prepare the Brussels sprouts, the cranberry sauce, the mashed potatoes and the sauce.
Nutritional profile
Since the purchase of the meal kit is done online, you can see all the nutritional information for each recipe in advance. This was very convenient as I knew I had to modify these recipes for a gluten allergy. It was so easy to scan each recipe and determine that only the pie contained wheat.
General satisfaction
I was very pleased with the Classic Thanksgiving Meal Kit and would recommend it as a delicious gift for the upcoming holidays. I discovered some delicious recipes that I plan to save for everyday cooking. I had to use ingredients I had never thought of before, like pumpkin seeds in the roasted Brussels sprouts. I’ve always been a canned person’s cranberry at Thanksgiving, but the fresh cranberry sauce was so superb, I’m planning on switching. The biggest hit of the night was the fontina and romano cheese mashed potatoes. Between the meal and the wine, my guests had an amazing night indulging in some great food.
One drawback that I would be remiss not to mention concerns the preparation of the turkey. The kit instructions called for putting a layer of butter and seasoning on the turkey, which made the skin nice and crispy. The butter then started splattering my oven and set off my fire alarm about 10 times until I realized the bottom of my oven was burning. Next time I will know how to put the turkey in a tray instead of on a baking sheet. I also had to go out to buy some stuffing which was a request from my guests. Personally, I consider stuffing a must with turkey but it was completely missing from the list.
Should you buy it?
Ultimately, I would definitely pick up this meal kit for Thanksgiving and other holiday meals. The recipes were delicious and it was so easy to make, even by myself. If you can afford it, Blue Apron’s holiday delivery service offers an easy way to throw a great holiday feast.
