One of our editors gives Green Chef reviews on sustainability and taste. But are the recipes as good as they are green?
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I Tried Green Chef and Discovered My New All-Time Favorite Meal Kit Recipe
Updated on Nov. 13, 2024
Back in 2019, I decided to cut meat out of my diet for environmental reasons. As a longtime charcuterie, burger and steak lover, this was a big deal, but I felt the impact that prioritizing plant-based foods (and reusable kitchen products) could have on the planet was well worth it. I’ve slowly integrated sustainably sourced meat back into my meal rotation, but that desire to eat green has stuck with me. After reading Green Chef reviews, I found the meal kit service and I were on the same mission, so I just had to try it out.
Interested in reducing food waste, specifically? Learn more about Misfits Market.
2024 Update
We tested Green Chef once in 2022, then again in 2024 to see how the service has evolved in that time. All information in this review is updated as of late 2024.
What is Green Chef?
With so many meal kit services on the market, from Gobble to Marley Spoon, it’s difficult to differentiate them all. Green Chef stands out among the rest as a company that focuses on clean, organic ingredients and sustainable practices, such as offsetting delivery emissions.
Like its meal delivery competitors, Green Chef has customers pick a meal plan that dictates the number of recipes and servings they’ll receive each week. From there, users select meals from a menu with nearly 50 options. These tasty, unassembled breakfasts, lunches and/or dinners then arrive on their doorsteps on the chosen delivery date.
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We Tried It
Green Chef
As if Green Chef meals weren't good enough, the brand's eco-friendliness and usage of organic ingredients seal the delicious deal.
Green Chef Features
The Green Chef website is fitted out with some smart features. When selecting your box size (i.e., the number of meals and servings per meal), you can also highlight lifestyle preferences. Options include “Mediterranean,” “Calorie Smart,” “Protein Packed” and “Delicious Discoveries,” the last of which highlights global flavors. They also offer dietary types like paleo-friendly, clean eating, diet meal, low cal and low carb. By selecting preferences, you’ll be shown recipes that fit into those categories first each week.
Menu
After registering and adding your address and payment details, you’ll then select your recipes from a list of mostly dinners but also 10-minute lunches and breakfasts. The menu changes weekly, and there are more than 80 options to choose from each week. Customizations are also available for most recipes, such as adding or swapping out proteins for a slight upcharge.
The company offers meal kits for singles, couples and families, as well as meal kits for lunch, meal prep delivery and organic grocery delivery. Enjoy three or four meals per week ranging from two to six servings each, with the option to add more for as little as $13 per meal.
Furthermore, Green Chef offers add-ons, which are shipped separately from the standard meal boxes. Add-ons include beverages, snacks and proteins like chicken, seafood and grass-fed beef. (See where else to buy meat online.) According to Green Chef reviews, the goal here is to eliminate the need for a weekly grocery run more or less.
Arrival
When your chilled and insulated meal box arrives, you’ll find the ingredients for each meal neatly tucked into their own designated brown paper bag. The only exception is the proteins, which you’ll find packed separately. Additionally, there are recipe cards that include a cook time, calorie count, recipe description, list of ingredients and tools, allergens and step-by-step instructions.
How We Tested It
I received my shipment of Green Chef meals on a Tuesday morning and prepared them on a Thursday. As I was unpacking the box, I instantly noticed the use of plastic—and lots of it. Albeit, the material seems to be a necessary evil in order to ultimately reduce food waste. For example, I received half a green bell pepper and a few romaine leaves, neither of which could be sent loose. According to the website, the plastic bags that hold the items are made from “Number 4 plastic film – low-density polyethylene (LDPE). We chose this plastic because it’s recyclable!”
As mentioned, we tested this service twice—once in 2022, and once in 2024. Secondary tester Sheri Kaz notes that everything was packed nicely, surrounded by an insulated layer. She didn’t see a recycle emblem on the inserts, but searching the FAQ, she found this: “ClimaCell is made of a proprietary plant-based insulator that is certified curbside recyclable, with a thin sheet of kraft paper on either side to hold it together.”
There was still plenty of hard ice in the packs, and the food was very cold, even though it was in a UPS truck all day in 80-degree weather. Green Chef packages each meal in its own paper bag. They separate the meat items, which are packed on the very bottom next to the ice packs. On to cooking!
Birria-Style Black Bean Tacos
First up were the Birria-Style Black Bean Tacos. Green Chef is known for its healthy options, so I had to try one of the vegetarian selections. The ingredients were high quality. Except for a small brown spot on one of the green onions, the produce was ripe, the cheese seemed freshly shaved and free from the common anti-caking agents and the tortillas were restaurant level. (Psst! For more high-quality bread delivered to your door, check out Wildgrain.)
That being said, there were some drawbacks. For instance, I received two tomatoes instead of one, the second of which ended up being tossed. The recipe called for some tools, such as a microplane and a meat thermometer, that I don’t feel are necessarily household staples. And the tacos took me nearly 45 minutes to prepare rather than the quoted 30.
The end result of this easy-to-make stovetop meal was tasty, tender tacos coated in a slew of sauces and dressings, including fresh pico de gallo, scallion crema and birria broth. The snafus certainly weren’t considerable enough to detract from the delicious finished product. I shared them with my vegetarian friend for lunch, and she was totally smitten.
Blackened Chicken Salad with Dijonnaise
Next, I made the Blackened Chicken Salad with Dijoinnaise. This winner took me close to the specified total prep time of 15 minutes, but the quoted cook times weren’t as accurate. The chicken “tenders” included in the box were actually finely chopped pieces of white meat (this threw me for a loop!), so they took less time to cook than estimated.
Aside from that, the preparation process went super smoothly. This salad was chock-full of mix-ins, yet there was hardly any chopping to be done. I was tasked with cutting up the tomato, celery and romaine—that’s it! (Plus, I learned a faster way to cut romaine from the instructions on the recipe card.) All that was left to be done after that was cooking the chicken and tossing the fixings.
The condiments for this dish came pre-made, and there was no shortage of them—just how I like it! The chicken was doused in a Creole-inspired mixture of Dijon and mayo, and the salad, as a whole, received a tangy ranch. This meal was so fresh, texturally interesting and flavorful—I was obsessed! Every bite was like a surprise inside. This was, without a doubt, my favorite meal.
Chicken with Basil Pistou
I’m not a huge fan of chicken breast. I’d never even heard of pistou (a French sauce similar to pesto), and the stir-ins seemed interesting, to say the least. The Chicken with Basil Pistou was a risk for sure, but it paid off! As with the other Green Chef reviews and recipes, the instructions were easy to follow, and the dish was ready within 30 minutes, as was stated on the recipe card.
Those whom I shared it with were skeptical of the ingredients as well. We would’ve never thought to pair artichokes, fennel, chard, red peppers and dates, but alas, it worked! That’s the beauty of these meal kits: getting you and your family outside of your comfort zone without much creativity on your part.
Pros
- Offset carbon emissions
- Fresh, organic ingredients
- Comprehensive recipe cards
- Step-by-step instructions with photos
- Delicious finished recipes
Cons
- Higher price point
- Somewhat inaccurate cook times
- Ingredient mishaps, such as an extra tomato and mislabeled chicken
- Considerable amount of waste, both plastic and food
FAQ
Is Green Chef the same as HelloFresh?
Green Chef is not the same as HelloFresh, though they are both owned by the HelloFresh Group. Green Chef has an added emphasis on organic ingredients and special diets, such as keto and plant-based, whereas HelloFresh is more general use. Because they’re owned by the same company, though, the websites are formatted very similarly, and there is some crossover in offerings.
How much is Green Chef per week?
The cost of Green Chef per week depends on the amount of meals and servings you purchase. And it’s pretty pricey—unless you snag one of these meal kit deals! For instance, six servings (i.e., three meals for two people) cost around $80, plus shipping, per week. And 24 servings (i.e., four meals for six people), which is the maximum, would cost around $288, plus shipping, per week.
Is Green Chef only vegan?
No, Green Chef is not only vegan. Although it can cater to those following a vegan diet, many of the recipes include meat, dairy and/or eggs. Helpful tags, such as “veggie,” “vegan” and “protein-packed,” signify which recipes are friendly for which consumers. If you need exclusively keto, gluten-free or diabetic-friendly meal kits, you might want to consider ordering from elsewhere.
What Other Reviewers Had To Say
When you read Green Chef reviews, you see that thousands of home chefs are going gaga over Green Chef—and for all different reasons.
One customer, Penelope Jane, loves having her decision fatigue surrounding meal planning relieved. “I really appreciate not having to think about what to eat for every meal, what groceries I need, etc.,” she says. “This service saves me a lot of time and mental energy.”
Five-star reviewer Ginny, on the other hand, is hooked on the quality of the recipes. “They are easy, well-balanced and absolutely delicious,” she says. “I love that they have keto meals and so many other options. My husband thinks I’m a gourmet chef.”
And Cat, a faithful fan of Green Chef, has tried out her fair share of meal kit services. This one comes out on top: “The food is excellent and healthy, and the quality control on proper packing is really good. Other meal services, we constantly had to call for missing items, rotten food or incorrect meals.”
Product Comparison
What distinguishes Green Chef from many competitors—even some of its counterparts in the HelloFresh Group—is its emphasis on organic ingredients and accommodations for varying lifestyles and diets. After all, Green Chef is a certified organic company.
But because of this, Green Chef comes at a higher price. For comparison, the cheapest meals from HelloFresh cost $9. Those from Rachael Ray’s Home Chef meal service cost $10. And those from Dinnerly cost $5. All of which are cheaper than Green Chef’s $12 meals.
However, again, you’re paying for quality and even ingenuity. Green Chef reviews don’t lie. The meals are full of fresh, clean produce, as well as novel flavors. They readily stack up to and, in some cases, beat out the other meal kits on the market.
Final Verdict
After my Green Chef reviews and recipes, I can honestly say that cooking the meals was such a treat. The salad was better than many I’ve had from restaurants, the birria tacos were a healthier take on a dish I know and love and the chicken was a deliciously different underdog. Sadly, Green Chef will have to stay a treat for me, as the higher price point doesn’t fit into my budget. Although its business practices are sustainable (which I love!), for me, the cost is not.
If this isn’t a concern for you, I’d certainly recommend this meal kit service for your family, especially if you have dietary restrictions. The finished meals were as delicious as they were nutritious, not to mention easy to make and filling to boot. Also, the website was simple to navigate and use. Plus, the ingenious add-ons allow for a more well-rounded meal kit experience if that’s what you’re after.
Why You Should Trust Us
We back all meal delivery service reviews, including this Green Chef review, by testing from different Taste of Home team members with varying degrees of cooking expertise. Our testers’ needs, wants and budgets reflect those of the average shopper. We aren’t new to testing this product category, either. In addition to over a dozen meal kits, our team has reviewed meat and chicken delivery services like ButcherBox, Snake River Farms and Good Chop. Our testing extends to grocery services, like Misfits Market and Thrive Market, as well.
Product Tester and former editor Annamarie Higley oversees Taste of Home’s product testing team and daily operations in our testing lab. She and her team assess online trends, search traffic and audience engagement to determine which items warrant testing firsthand in our dedicated office space or our homes. This includes everything from kitchen appliances to beauty products to power tools. Knowing we sourced, saw and tested these products ourselves, readers can feel confident in our recommendations and, ultimately, secure in their purchases.
Where To Buy Green Chef
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We Tried It
Green Chef
As if Green Chef meals weren't good enough, the brand's eco-friendliness and usage of organic ingredients seal the delicious deal.
Snag your first Green Chef box directly from the company’s website, with meals starting at $12 per serving. You’ll be a clean, green cooking machine in no time!
