I am a huge fan of meal delivery services and had to jump on the chance to try HelloFresh. While the company has been operating in the US for several years now, the company expanded to Canada in 2016. HelloFresh Canada is rapidly growing and delivers to 95% of the Canadian population.
Meal delivery kits from HelloFresh are simple and easy to arrange. All you have to do is select your meals, a delivery date, and your pre-packaged meals are sent to your door. All the ingredients are pre-measured, which is great if you are like me, who likes to explore different recipes but dread having to come up with creative ways to deal with the leftover ingredients. If you’ve been thinking of trying HelloFresh Canada, click here to get $40 off your first meal.
You get to choose from 15 different meals when ordering from the website. Choices range from burgers to pasta to Asian stir fry.
I chose the following three recipes for this order:
- Maple-Glazed Ham Steak Sweet Potato Hash with Brussels Sprouts and Smoky Garlic Mayo
- Turkish-Spiced Beef with Pickled Cabbage and Garlic Toum Sauce
- Chicken Yakitori-Style Bowl with Green Onion Rice and Edamame
Diet concerns with HelloFresh Canada
As I was trying to be gluten-free, dairy-free and wheat-free, I thought it was great that there was a decent selection of great choices that met my dietary needs. That meant I didn’t even have to worry about modifying my recipes as I was able to go straight into selecting meals that fit my dietary requirements. I’m not sure about cross-contamination, so that’s something to be wary of with HelloFresh.
Pricing with HelloFresh Canada
The pricing is a bit more on the high end compared to other food delivery services. There are three price points. You can customize your box by menu type (Family Plan, Pronto Plan, Veggie Plan), the number of people (2-4 people) and the number of meals (3-4 meals). To get an idea of how much each box costs, I made a comparison table below:
Veggie Plan | Pronto Plan | Family Plan | |
Number of people | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Number of meals | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Price per box | 73.99 | 79.99 | 129.99 |
Price per meal | $12.31 | $13.31 | $10.83 |
I chose to have three meals with the Pronto Plan for two people.
The HelloFresh Canada delivery box
I received my box early in the morning on a Thursday, right after I left for work. The packaging and ice packs kept my food fresh and cold before I moved it to the fridge when I arrived home after work. The meals come in an insulated cooler box and contain ice packs to keep the food refrigerated. Meat and fish are in vacuum-sealed bags, while produce and pantry ingredients are in little packages. Yes, the packaging creates quite a bit of waste, but I was happy to be able to recycle most of the stuff.
While I was planning on cooking everything on a Friday, work exhaustion hit, and I didn’t cook my meals until Saturday. It couldn’t come at a better time because I was craving rice and wanted to go out for sushi. But it was raining pretty bad, and I didn’t feel like going outside in the miserable weather. HelloFresh saved the day for me as I was able to make a delicious meal in the comfort of my home.
Thanks to the smart packaging, all the meats and produce were quite fresh. The green onions were starting to wilt a bit, but they were still edible.
Not all the ingredients are pre-cut since some of the vegetables will brown if pre-cut. However, the more durable vegetables like onions and sweet potatoes came pre-cut. The ingredients came pre-portioned, so there was no need to measure sizes.
It has a sticker on each item to tell you when you need to cook things by.
It didn’t take that long to cook each meal, and the prep time was quite accurate. The instructions were clear, concise and easy to follow.
What’s not included in the HelloFresh Canada delivery
Pantry staples like oil, salt and sugar are not included.
What I liked about HelloFresh Canada
- The meat comes from local farms that are antibiotic-free and hormone-free
- You get to explore new recipes without worrying about leftover ingredients
- Pre-chopped ingredients
- Most of the packaging is recyclable
- Clear instructions, making it possible for everyone to be a great chef!
- The meal selection was great and fit into my dietary restrictions
- Most ingredients are already chopped, sliced or shucked, making it very convenient
- Calorie and nutrition labels are on each package, making it easy to count calories
- You don’t have to be home to accept the delivery. The packaging keeps the food cold and fresh
- HelloFresh sources local ingredients whenever possible, and the meat is raised without antibiotics
- Easy to pause or cancel subscriptions
Not so great things about HelloFresh Canada
- It is more expensive compared to other subscription boxes and compared to if you were to do your own grocery shopping
Who would love HelloFresh Canada?
HelloFresh is great if you:
- Enjoy cooking
- Are learning how to cook
- Values convenience but want to stay away from eating out
- Have a busy lifestyle and want someone to take care of the grocery shopping and prepping for you
- Need to impress a date with a great homecooked meal
- Want to explore new recipes
Can you cancel or pause your HelloFresh Canada subscription?
Yes, you can cancel your subscription, and it’s straightforward to do so online in your account. You can also have your plan placed on hold if you need to take a break from HelloFresh.
How long will the food from HelloFresh Canada stay fresh?
HelloFresh states that the food will stay fresh for a week. From my experience, that has been true.
Conclusion: Is HelloFresh Canada worth it?
I liked my experience with HelloFresh and found the meals to be tasty, fun to prepare and very convenient. I love how the ingredients are measured, so there is no need to worry about what I’d do with leftover recipes. It was also a great way to explore different cooking recipes about not having to worry about the remaining ingredients. However, would I pay the full price for a Pronto box? Probably not. For the price of a meal that requires my time to prep and cook, I’d rather wait for when there’s a discount code to use, Rakuten or use a food app (Ritual) to pick up a meal nearby.
I would recommend trying HelloFresh at least once if you like trying different meal delivery services. Use my coupon code to get $40 off your first purchase here.