Residence Chef: Our Sincere Assessment

Rating Breakdown

Style/outcomes 7/10Worth 9/10Ease of recipes 8/10Recipe selection 9/10Healthiness 7/10

Execs

• Recipes are customizable
• Oven-ready meals require nearly no prep
• You’ll be able to simply skip every week for free of charge or penalty
• Most recipes are simple to execute
• Web site and ordering is simple

Cons

• Not an amazing worth
• Some recipes are clunky and lack creativity
• High quality of elements might be higher
• An excessive amount of plastic utilized in packaging
• $11 for delivery on each field

Residence Chef is among the many hottest meal equipment companies in 2025, becoming a member of the likes of Blue Apron, Sunbasket, EveryPlate and HelloFresh. With dozens of meal kits and ready meal subscription companies vying on your dinnertime {dollars}, Residence Chef appears to be like to tell apart itself with probably the most customizable recipes of any of them, permitting you to swap out one protein for an additional or substitute meat with a plant-based various. Residence Chef meal kits are additionally a few of the best to execute, with sure dishes consuming up not more than 20 minutes of your treasured time. 

Meal kits could make life simpler and save time, however they can be costly and are not supreme for each eater. To see if Residence Chef is value it (and who it is best for), a meal equipment skilled, an editor new to cooking and a wellness editor who can be vegetarian put a number of meal kits to the take a look at. I’ve examined Residence Chef already, making two weeks’ value of meals. However I wished to match notes and opinions with others. I requested two of my fellow editors to make two to a few further meals every to see how Residence Chef was standing within the present ranks in 2025.

This is our firsthand evaluations of Residence Chef meal equipment supply. 

What’s Residence Chef and the way does it work?

In a sea of rivals, Residence Chef has emerged as a number one meal equipment supply service with an emphasis on versatile and customizable meal plans, and recipes that may be tailor-made to your style. The service launched in 2013, only a yr after Blue Apron, and was acquired by grocery large Kroger in 2018. Because the buyout, particular person Residence Chef meal kits can now be bought in most Kroger shops along with a mail-order subscription.

Residence Chef is a subscription service for weekly meal kits, so there isn’t any on-line possibility to purchase one or two meal kits. New prospects join through the web site or app and a brief quiz helps decide which meal plan is greatest for you, in addition to which recipes and elements must be averted. 

Then you definitely’ll select the variety of recipes per week — as few as two or as many as six — in addition to what number of servings you want per recipe: two, 4 or six. Subscribers can decide to pick out their very own meals every week or let the Residence Chef crew decide them. You are free to skip every week anytime you want and may add meals or servings (at price) to your supply as you go.

I discovered the meal plan choice and ordering course of easy, clear and intuitive. When choosing meal kits, a serious differentiator between Residence Chef and others is which you can swap the protein in nearly any recipe. Different elements embody a number of steak cuts, hen, shrimp, scallops, mahi mahi and Unimaginable meat. Sure premium swaps will incur an upcharge of some bucks, whereas others will not.

Meals are delivered as soon as every week in neatly packaged cooler containers, with every ingredient pre-portioned in separate plastic luggage and able to be cooked. In our first supply, we additionally acquired a small Residence Chef binder that’s made to maintain your recipe pages for future use while you need to recreate meals, which was a pleasant contact. Meals must be made inside a couple of days of arrival, as many elements aren’t appropriate for freezing. 

What are Residence Chef meals like?

Residence Chef meals are largely simple to organize and do not require a ton of technical talent. The corporate goals to please a variety of eaters, and which means lots of consolation meals and dishes which can be acquainted to American diets. You will not see a ton of unfamiliar flavors both, with a number of basic dinner recipes, together with burgers with potatoes, baked hen or pork tenderloin with greens and a savory sauce, pasta dishes, teriyaki steak and peppers over rice or hen tacos. That is to not say you will not discover some extra artistic menu objects, equivalent to prosciutto and butternut chowder or bruschetta and shrimp risotto. 

Residence Chef presents premium meals it refers to because the “culinary assortment,” however they’re priced in a different way (extra on that beneath). A very good a lot of Residence Chef’s seafood choices, equivalent to crusted ahi tuna and pan-seared mahi-mahi, fall into the premium meal class, as do higher-end cuts of beef. In sticking with the theme of flexibility, you may pop one among these premium meals into your weekly order anytime (at a price) in the event you’re feeling fancy. Beneath is an summary of Residence Chef’s meal classes. 

• Culinary Assortment: Premium meal kits with higher-quality elements.
• Specific: Prepared in quarter-hour or much less.
• Quick & Contemporary: Oven-ready meals that require nearly no prep.
• Oven-Prepared: Meals that arrive in an oven-ready tray.
• Household: Dishes which can be solely accessible in 4 or extra servings.
• Plus: Embody premium elements and recipes.

Learn extra: Purple Carrot Assessment: Wholesome Plant-Primarily based Cooking Made Easy

How simple are Residence Chef meal kits to organize?

The meals we tried have been simple to organize, which is among the calling playing cards for the meal equipment service. Residence Chef has quick-fire meals utilizing contemporary, pre-portioned elements that take simply quarter-hour or so to make. There are additionally some extra sophisticated dinner initiatives that may take so long as 45 minutes. It is fully as much as you which kind of meals you’d prefer to have despatched, however beware: Should you let Residence Chef select your meals, you may get a few of the 45-minute meals in your field.

Our Flex Editor acquired two easy meals to check out, together with a baked hen dish and burgers with carrots and fries. They have been each extraordinarily simple to organize and attractive and he or she had no qualms in regards to the high quality of the meat or produce. In truth, it was even her first time making burgers, and he or she thought-about it successful. 

As a result of the straightforward hen dish was a one-pan meal, it allowed for loads of time to wash up any small messes that have been made throughout the preparation whereas the dish was baking within the oven. She appreciated how seamless the recipes have been. For instance, she made the tomato topping for the hen whereas the veggies have been baking, so there was no wasted time in between steps.

If you would like one thing even less complicated although, there may be additionally a class of oven-ready meals that solely require assembling the contemporary elements in an aluminum baking tray (supplied) and popping it into the oven with nearly no chopping or prep. These are about as fast and simple as meal kits get, however your bragging rights for a home-cooked meal keep firmly intact. Some meals labeled specific plus take solely 20 or half-hour to organize and people labeled household meals will be assembled merely in a single pot and are designed to feed as much as six individuals.

Help supplies

Every meal equipment comes with a complete description, dietary info, prep time and a recipe card with elements and instructions. It was particularly good to have a bit on the recipe card that detailed what elements can be used greater than as soon as so you might be away beforehand of what you may must protect. 

The recipe card encompasses a good, massive, shiny picture so you may visualize the dish and know what to intention for, plus photographs for every step of the method. There’s additionally a Residence Chef cellular app that is useful and simple to make use of. All Residence Chef recipes will be discovered on-line in a pinch. The directions for every dish I made have been simple sufficient to observe however, at instances, a bit wordy. Residence Chef tends to present much more data than the common house chef will want, maybe with true newbies in thoughts.

Our wellness editor does want that Residence Chef supplied extra data on the place the produce and different elements come from, or at the least what they’re product of. As an example, when making the elotes quesadillas, to be able to see what’s within the chipotle crema, she had to have a look at the vitamin info on-line.

Residence Chef lets you swap simply proteins 

Residence Chef’s massive declare to fame is that its meal kits and plans are extremely customizable to swimsuit you or your loved ones’s rhythm. You’ll be able to swap or improve the protein in many of the weekly meals. If a meal features a “customise it” button, which means you may soar in and swap the hen for pork, as an example. Some proteins, like salmon, steak and plant-based proteins, set off an up-charge of $3 or $4 per portion. 

Who’s Residence Chef good for?

We might counsel Residence Chef for anybody who’s making an attempt to be taught to cook dinner from scratch or lighten their meal-planning or grocery-shopping load. As a result of a lot of Residence Chef’s meals are quick and simple to organize and may feed as much as six individuals, this is among the greatest meal equipment companies for households or people who find themselves new to cooking. It is also good for people who find themselves pretty particular about what they prefer to cook dinner and eat since you can also make so many modifications and swaps. As a result of Residence Chef makes it really easy to skip weeks — and will not cost you for skipping — it is nice for individuals who journey or have unpredictable schedules.

Is Residence Chef good for vegetarians and vegans?

Our wellness editor, a vegetarian of 20 years who typically eats plant-based, tried three vegetarian meals from Residence Chef. Whereas they have been tasty, the meals have been all on the extra indulgent facet with loads of cream and cheese. Because of this, this may not be match for vegans, as Residence Chef doesn’t provide vegan recipes. She additionally does not assume that Residence Chef can be a sensible choice for vegetarians on the lookout for more healthy, non-comfort meals choices.

Is Residence Chef wholesome?

Although Residence Chef does provide calorie-conscious, carb-conscious and vegetarian meals, primarily based on the three vegetarian meals that she tried, our wellness editor would not say that Residence Chef is wholesome. She needs that her recipes had much less cream, cheese and pasta with extra of a give attention to wholesome grains and produce. Nonetheless, this all relies on what recipes you get and your individual dietary preferences. Because of this, she recommends checking the vitamin info for every recipe on-line.

How a lot does Residence Chef price?

Residence Chef’s meal kits are bought per equipment and you’ll order as many as six per week. The per-serving worth is $10 for almost each plan apart from the smallest — two meal kits with two servings every — which clocks in at $12 per serving. This places Residence Chef proper within the center when put next with different companies. Residence Chef is a couple of bucks dearer per meal than Blue Apron and EveryPlate, however cheaper than premium companies like Sunbasket and Inexperienced Chef. 

Nonetheless, in the event you join in the present day, you obtain 30% off your first order, which brings the worth right down to $7 per serving, plus free delivery (which is initially $11 per supply, one of many dearer surcharges of any meal equipment service) and the service presents frequent reductions and promotions that might deliver the worth of your field down.

What I cooked and the way it went

The three of us cooked 11 Residence Chef recipes in whole. Elements arrived contemporary and intact with no spills or spoilage. Many of the meals I made have been ample and a few have been higher than that. However a couple of proved to be a bit clunky or overly easy and never value the associated fee, particularly contemplating you should buy the identical elements for about 50% much less (I did the mathematics). 

This is a full breakdown. 

One-pot pork chili con carne with bacon bits: This pork chili appeared overly easy at first however turned out to be probably the greatest of the bunch. Let’s simply say I can be including bacon to my chili from right here on out. 

Candy potato bowl with poblano pepper and cilantro-lime rice: This recipe was very clunky and undoubtedly not well worth the per-serving worth. The poblano was far too massive. I solely added three-quarters of it after dicing and the completed dish was nonetheless method too scorching, even for a spice lover like me.

Moo shu pork tacos: This recipe was a super-fun, fast and simple meal equipment to execute. It took lower than 20 minutes and the flavors have been balanced and attention-grabbing, due to the toasted sesame oil and spicy sriracha. 

Keto-friendly pork stuffed peppers: I preferred these low-carb Italian-style peppers simply effective however, once more, with such easy elements, it is onerous to abdomen paying $10 to $12 per serving.

Honey sriracha hen with crispy wontons was an oven-ready meal, which means all I actually needed to do was assemble the hen breast, precut greens and edamame in a baking tray (supplied) and cook dinner for 20 minutes. The temperature and timing have been on level and the hen got here out tender, whereas the greens stored their snap. 

Bruschetta shrimp risotto: This recipe was probably the most sophisticated Residence Chef meal equipment I cooked. Risotto famously requires a bit extra consideration than most dishes, nevertheless it was nonetheless pretty simple to make and a scrumptious meal in the long run. I may need wished a bit extra detailed instruction on tending to the risotto, particularly if I have been a newbie studying the ropes of the rice dish.

Minecraft mushroom fields beef burger with truffle potato and carrot “torch” fries: This recipe was our Flex Editor’s introduction into burger making and he or she was completely happy with how they turned out. After all, you may’t go incorrect with pairing a burger with fries, however the carrots have been a pleasant addition. The equipment supplied sufficient beef for 4 burgers and the produce and elements have been all contemporary. Though it was a reasonably easy meal, the straightforward mushroom sauce helped fancy it up and added a tasty taste. 

Sheet pan tomato salsa hen with roasted butternut squashlotes: This meal was much more easy than the burgers because it was a one-pan meal that required minimal prep and dishes, making it a perfect weeknight dinner for a busy family. The hen had a tasty taste, however the cutlets have been fairly skinny compared to the picture of the meal supplied by Residence Chef, so it wasn’t probably the most filling dinner. 

Vegetarian Residence Chef recipes

Mexican-style elotes quesadillas: Whereas our wellness editor discovered this recipe easy to make in about 35 minutes and scrumptious, it was on the extra indulgent facet. Although every serving was 610 energy, it did comprise 71% of the each day worth of salt and 80% of the each day worth of saturated fats. Because of this, our wellness editor went mild on the salt, cheese and crema. She additionally added pinto beans for extra selection and fiber.

Cozy gnocchi soup: Once more, whereas tasty, this recipe was on the heavier facet with a cream sauce base, Parmesan cheese and gnocchi. Our wellness editor had hassle ending the dish as a result of it was so filling. It additionally contained 80% of the each day worth of sodium, so she was cautious to not add further salt throughout the cooking course of.

Tacky basked spinach rigatoni: Like the opposite two vegetarian meals, this was on the heavier facet with the cream sauce base, butter, Swiss cheese and a French roll. It was tasty, however after two different indulgent meals, our wellness editor wished one thing a bit lighter and extra produce-forward.

Residence Chef packaging and environmental friendliness

In a earlier examine, Residence Chef acquired the worst inexperienced rating of 4 main meal equipment companies that have been examined for plastic waste in packaging. Every recipe is housed in its personal plastic bag, and there are quite a few small plastic luggage and containers inside them. Apart from the extreme plastic related to every meal, many of the remainder of the packaging is recyclable, together with the containers, insulation sheets and ice packs. 

Our wellness editor thought that Residence Chef might do a greater job packaging its elements, since a few of the similar elements have been repackaged two or thrice for one recipe. Personally, she additionally discovered the binder to be a waste as a result of it isn’t one thing she wants in her kitchen and would have most well-liked the recipe playing cards on their very own. (Nonetheless, in the event you plan to stay with Residence Chef for a very long time, she acknowledges that the binder might be good to have readily available.) Just like different meal kits she’s examined, she needs there was extra biodegradable or compostable packing, or a way of sending the ice packs again for reuse.

The ultimate verdict on Residence Chef

This user-friendly service struck a good stability with persistently good meal kits that have been unpretentious and simple to organize. I respect the power to alter proteins in almost any recipe and I am certain households with choosy eaters will, too. In the long run, most of the meal kits I ready simply felt unrefined and a few of the recipes have been a bit clunky. I might let that slide if Residence Chef meal kits price lower than they do, however at $10 to $12 a serving, most of the meals I made simply did not appear well worth the worth. 

Nonetheless, in our most up-to-date checks, Flex Editor Corin Cesaric, who’s a self-proclaimed newbie cook dinner, discovered the easiness and quickness of her two meals refreshing. As for Anna Gragert, our wellness editor and a vegetarian of 20 years, she discovered that Residence Chef is not the most effective meal equipment service for vegetarians or vegans.

Examine that with Blue Apron, one other meal equipment service I’ve examined, which presents high-end recipes equivalent to bistro steaks and roasted trout, for a less expensive worth per serving than Residence Chef while you consider delivery. Blue Apron and different meal equipment companies do not permit for as a lot customization as Residence Chef. If that is essential for you and the crew you are feeding, Residence Chef might be the suitable match to make your dinner routine a snap.