Plated Meal Kit Review

In September of last year, Safeway’s parent company, Albertsons purchased the meal kit service, Plated.  Today we are sharing our experience in a Plated Review. Plated provides meal kits that you can select online and have delivered to your home each week.  You can choose from 2 servings 2 nights a week up to 4 servings 4 nights a week and the pricing and meal options vary depending on what you choose.  This is a great convenience if you don’t want to plan out your meals, find recipes and buy all the ingredients at the store.

According to the company press release, Plated operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertsons.   The company also said that it will begin to offer Plated meal kits at many of its stores and across its digital channels in addition to offering meals directly through Plated’s website.

Plated is a slightly more upscale alternative to other meal kit services including Blue Apron, as its recipes are created by Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef Elana Karp. Perfect for foodies, Plated’s boxes appeal to customers who want to expand their culinary skills beyond the basics. Plated offers meals that are inspired by different ethnic cuisines, including Malaysian, Swedish, and Moroccan food.

I recently tried the meal kit service and you can see how it works, pricing, and meal options below.  We tried the 4 servings, 3 meals plan and even though we have a family of 5, there was plenty of food for everyone and even leftovers for the following day from two of the meals.  Overall, we were thrilled with the meals we ate and with the overall experience of ordering through Plated. I am excited to see the evolution of Plated’s offerings inside Safeway stores this year.

My Plated Review 

How Does Plated Work?

Visit Plated.com and set up an account where you can customize your meal preferences, indicate number of servings and select your meals and delivery date.  Overall it took about 20 minutes to set up an account, choose my meals and pay.  From here, you can see the options available each week.  The service assumes that you want meals each week, but if you want to skip a week, you can do that on the Thursday prior to your delivery date. The menu options are easy to choose and you have 20 options each week and you can also add a dessert if you have an insatiable sweet tooth.

Plated Review: Delivery

I received an email on the day my order was expected to arrive, reminding me that I will have a meal kit delivered that day.  The meal kit came in a box with two large ice packs at the bottom and sturdy insulation surrounding the interior of the box.  I did think the packaging was a little excessive, but I was glad to have the food kept cold, especially since I had ordered fresh chicken breasts, ground chicken and tilapia as well as plenty of fresh veggies for the meals.

The instruction cards are incredibly easy to follow.  Whether you are a novice or an expert in the kitchen, the step by step instructions with pictures highlight exactly what you need to do to prepare the meals.  Each took about 35-40 minutes to prepare and everything I needed (except oil, salt and pepper) came in the box.

How Much Does Plated Cost?

The price varies depending on promotions running at the time, but it starts at $11.95 per serving.   The online service calculates the price for the week based on servings per night and nights per week.  I was able to try it with a 50% discount and right now they are running a 25% off promotion, so the cost per serving is just $9.95 each meal. For the purposes of a Plated review I do feel this is a bit on the expensive side as I don’t normally pay that much per serving for the meals I make, it is in line with the other meal kit offerings available.  I do think it’s worth a try because it’s a nice change from the weekly meal planning routine and as long as you take advantage of one of the promotions, it can help you enhance your cooking skills.

Who would love this? 

This service is really best for those who don’t have the time or the energy to think about what’s for dinner for the week.   It’s also for anyone who wants to try new ethnic cuisines without making a huge investment in all the spices and ingredients to do so.  While the actual meal preparation didn’t necessarily save time, I felt that it was more about the time saved meal planning, going to the grocery store, and getting everything you need for the week. That’s really where the convenience lies. Not to mention, it was a nice change not running through the grocery store with everyone else over the weekend.  I also love trying new dishes and introducing my kiddos to new ethnic cuisines all while having them help prepare the meals.  My six year old absolutely loved the Malaysian Fish Curry with yellow rice. She loved trying the fresh ingredients before and after they cooked, and even though the final dish was a little spicy for her she took pride in telling us how she made it and ultimately ate her entire serving!

Have you tried Plated?  Let us know your Plated Review in the comments below.

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