Looking for the right meal plans while you’re in college? Check out this EveryPlate review to see if it’s worth it for college students!
College comes with some difficult times, or realistically… no time at all!
With no time in your day, it’s nearly impossible to go grocery shopping or keep up with a relatively healthy diet.
EveryPlate, a meal delivery service, wants to change all of that by helping college students cook with affordable ingredients with minimal time.
Stick around until the end of this EveryPlate review to find out if it’s truly worth the cost!
Let’s dive in!
What is EveryPlate?
EveryPlate is an affordable meal kit delivery service that offers quality ingredients and instructions to prepare quick meals at home.
They are owned by Hello Fresh, a more expensive alternative, but also one of the most popular meal services out there!
EveryPlate was founded in 2018 with the ultimate goal to make affordable meals at home. Especially for college students and those on a budget.
With filling serving sizes at a price lower than all other meal services, it’s easy to see why EveryPlate is helping out tons of people in the U.S.!
How Does EveryPlate Work?
EveryPlate works in 3 simple steps:
- Choose your recipes
- EveryPlate delivers your ingredients
- Cook meals in 30 minutes
That’s it! Each step will be discussed further down below.
Choose Your Recipes
You have the option to choose from 14 different recipes every week that will get sent straight to your door.
These 14 recipes will change every week, so there are no dull moments in your food life!
Most meals include some form of protein such as chicken, beef, fish, or pork. There are also usually a few vegetarian options for those who need it.
Vegan options are extremely limited or not available at all. I would recommend sticking to a different meal plan if you’re on a more strict diet like veganism.
You can click into each meal to see the nutrition facts, ingredients, time to cook, and instructions before ever hitting “order”.
Plus, if you lose your recipe card (comes with each meal), you can always go on their website and download the card from there!
EveryPlate Delivers Your Ingredients
EveryPlate takes pride in how they source their ingredients and how they package them for your safety.
You’ll receive a nice big box every week that is covered properly with specially constructed packaging and ice packs to keep things fresh.
Let me tell you… the food feels like it just came out of my fridge (if not colder)!
It also comes with a pretty handy cardboard box that you can shove straight into your fridge with all the ingredients so you never lose your food.
As previously stated, each meal comes with its own recipe card to keep nearby when you’re cooking.
The instructions are pretty straight forward and you can usually adjust most recipes to a more desirable style if you’d like!
Cook Meals in 30 Minutes
You should note that some meals take 35 minutes to cook, but come on… what’s an extra 5 minutes?!
Your recipe card will clearly list out the necessary ingredients for each meal along with the proper amount depending on your servings.
You’ll also need a few basic ingredients of your own at home. It’s usually no more than your basic salt, pepper, oil, butter, sugar, etc.
The great thing about EveryPlate is that nothing goes to waste! You have everything you need and no more. All the ingredients are used up perfectly.
The average person wastes 1 lb of food per day. With EveryPlate, that waste is no longer a concern.
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How Much Does EveryPlate Cost?
EveryPlate costs $4.99 per serving.
Your plan can include either 2 or 4 people and you get to choose how many meals you want per week.
You must select at least 3 meals per week with a maximum of 5 meals.
If you want the service to run on a subscription, you can choose to do that. You’re allowed to freeze a week or cancel at any time with zero commitment.
Meals I Tried
Now, this wouldn’t be a real EveryPlate review if I didn’t share my own personal experience with this meal kit delivery service.
They were kind enough to send me 3 different meals of my choice to test out in order to share my experience.
First off… WOW! These meals really are packed with flavor and fill you up to the max.
These are the 3 meals I tried:
- Party Thyme Steak
- Caramelized Onion Burgers
- Zesty Herb-Rubbed Salmon
Here are my thoughts on each one of them…
Party Thyme Steak
This steak dish is served with garlic ciabatta and roasted brussels sprouts.
The amount of steak per serving is more than enough to fill you up on its own. Plus, there is a ton of protein in this simple dish!
Is the steak an A5 wagyu beef from Japan? No, but it’s actually a thick and tender steak.
I cooked mine to medium rare and experienced no excessive chewing or anything like that.
The brussels sprouts come out super delicious in the oven along with the garlic ciabatta bread.
Seriously, I would’ve cooked this 100 times over. Especially on a date night!
Caramelized Onion Burgers
These burgers are made with a horseradish aioli and potato wedges.
The ground beef that is sent to you yields about two, 1/2 inch-thick patties. Of course, you could turn this into 4 smash burgers if you’d like.
The potatoes come out nice and crispy. I would just recommend cutting them a little smaller than recommended to make sure they’re fully cooked inside.
Horseradish aioli has become my new favorite sauce after making this dish. That’s what EveryPlate is all about… opening you up to new flavors!
The burgers were super easy to cook, even if you’re not very experienced in the kitchen. Slap those ingredients and the caramelized onions inside of a potato bun and you’re in heaven.
Zesty Herb-Rubbed Salmon
I saved the best for last! This salmon dish was absolutely insane (and I’m more of a beef and chicken guy).
It’s served with roasted potatoes, green beans, and a creamy lemon sauce.
Not only was this the most delicious, but it was also the easiest to make! Almost everything gets shoved in the oven and you say “bye bye” for 25 minutes or so until everything’s cooked.
The salmon was extremely tender and had no fishy smell whatsoever (compared to some other packaged salmon).
Italian seasoning and lemon zest is what makes this dish so flavorful. Remember, you can always add your own twist to these meals too.
I highly recommend this meal if you see it on your next weekly menu!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some basic FAQs to help clear a few things up in this EveryPlate Review…
Does EveryPlate Have Vegan and Vegetarian Options?
EveryPlate does have some vegetarian options. However, there are usually no vegan options on the menu.
Expect to see around 3 out of 14 meals per week with vegetarian ingredients only.
Is EveryPlate Hard for an Average Cook?
Some recipes require a bit of cutting skills. However, the recipe cards are very straight forward and don’t require much more skill than basic cutting.
How Long Do Most Meals Take to Cook?
Most meals take around 30 minutes to cook on average. The fastest meal on EveryPlate takes 25 minutes and the longest meal takes 45 minutes.
Is EveryPlate Worth the Money?
At $4.99 per serving, EveryPlate is definitely worth the money as long as you have a spare 30 minutes to cook the food everyday!
You can always freeze a week or cancel at any time.
How Many Meals Are There to Choose From?
There are 14 different meals to choose from every week.
Some options are vegetarian while most meals include some form of protein (meat, fish, poultry, or pork).
There are also protein packages that just send over different types of meats to add more protein to your diet.
Does EveryPlate Have a Student Discount?
Yes, EveryPlate has a student discount in partnership with UNiDAYS that offers college students meals at $3.99 per serving!
Student verification will be required.
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EveryPlate Pros and Cons
Here are some pros and cons to help you determine if EveryPlate is right for you…
Pros
- Super affordable at $4.99 per serving
- Easy-to-read instructions
- High quality ingredients
- Gets sent straight to your door
- 14 different meals to choose from
- The recipes actually taste good
- Excellent for college students and budgeters
Cons
- Meals can take longer than 30 minutes to cook
- Limited to 5 meals per week
- Minimum of 2 servings per meal (although it’s great for leftovers)
- Most meals require a decent amount of clean up
The cons are something to consider. However, I think the pros heavily outweigh the cons in this scenario!
Final Thoughts – Is EveryPlate Worth It for College Students?
In short… Yes! EveryPlate is definitely worth it for college students and those on a budget.
Here’s what you should ask yourself…
Do you have 30 minutes to cook everyday? Are you an average chef? Do you want less food waste?
If you answered no, then you might be better off buying your own groceries and calling it a day.
If you answered yes, then I highly recommend that you try out EveryPlate! Especially if you’re a college student looking for easy and healthy meals.
Hopefully this EveryPlate review has helped you determine whether or not it’s worth the cost for you!
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions leave them down below. Thanks for reading!
