• Home
  • About
    • Disclosure Policy
  • Contact
  • Excess Lipase Book
  • Recommended Resources

Simply Rebekah

Frugal, Green & Life in Between

  • Frugal Tips
    • Frugal Living
    • Gift Ideas
    • Birthday Parties
  • Green Living
    • Non-Toxic Home
    • Eco-Friendly
    • Upcycling
  • Life In Between
    • Our Real Life
    • Cleaning “Fun”
    • Holiday Inspiration
    • My Love Story
    • Sorta Awesome Podcast
    • Faith
  • Parenting
    • Motherhood
    • Pregnancy
    • Breastfeeding
    • Kid Fun
  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Freezer Cooking
    • Preserving
    • Meal Planning

Is Home Chef Affordable? (an honest review)

February 11, 2020 by Rebekah Hoffer 7 Comments

Pin
Share
Tweet
Is Home Chef Affordable? An honest review from a frugal mom!

Is Home Chef affordable? Does the luxury of a home meal delivery service fit my budget conscious life style? Does it work for a family with kids?? I tried it, and this is my honest review from a frugal mom’s perspective.

I have always wanted to try a home meal delivery service. The idea of ingredients for fun meals showing up at my door seemed like such a fun luxury, but I could never get over the price. At least until now!

This post contains affiliate links.

Is Home Chef affordable?

Home Chef is offering new customers $35 off their first order, which makes Home Chef affordable to try for at least one week.

You can try Home Chef for just $14.80 shipped! That price includes 2 meals with 2 portions per meal.

When I heard about the $35 off promotion, I jumped on the opportunity to try Home Chef. Keep reading for my experience, to see if I would consider Home Chef affordable without the promotion, and who I recommend (and don’t recommend!) using Home Chef.

Home Chef Affordable Promotion - $35 off first order to get 2 meals for just $14.80 shipped!

How does Home Chef & the special discount work?

Of course I tried Home Chef to be able to tell you exactly how it works and to describe the process of signing up. This was my experience the first time.

Step 1: Click this link and the $35 off promotion is automatically applied. Make sure the green bar at the top of your screen says, “Voucher code successfully applied for $35 off your first order.”

**UPDATE: People are saying the discount is not shown in their order summary. If that happens to you, don’t be alarmed. People are saying the message, “Any outstanding credits or discounts will apply at the time of purchase.” The $35 off will be applied, and you can check your order history for confirmation.

Step 2: Enter email address. They will send you order updates, menu updates, and future promotions. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Step 3: Pick the number of portions (2,4, or 6) & number of meals per week (2-6). If you pick 4 or more portions, shipping is free. If you pick 2 portions, shipping is free with 3 or more meals per week. Otherwise, shipping is $10.

Home Chef Menu Preferences

Step 4: Indicate food preferences. You can select if you are interested in vegetarian, low-calorie, or low-carb. You can also list foods to avoid. Each week’s menu features 18+ different meal options, but your choices will be more limited if you indicate different food preferences in this section.

Step 5: Enter shipping information, and pick your first delivery date. You will be charged for this delivery upon checkout. Your preferred weekly delivery day can be changed anytime. You don’t need to be home when your meals are delivered.

Step 6: Enter payment information. With the $35 off promotion, the cheapest option is 2 meal per week with 2 portions per meal for just $14.80 shipped. I selected 4 portions 2 times a week for $44.60.

At this point in the process, you will be charged for your first delivery. Yes, this happens before you can pick your meals, which I didn’t like. Check the comments for a list of the meal options for the next few weeks.

For all future deliveries, you will be charged the Friday before your order arrives. You can choose to skip a future delivery by the Friday before the delivery date at noon CST.

Home Chef Meal Order

Step 7: Pick your meals. Most meal options are $9.95 per serving, but they also have salad entrees options for just $6.99 per serving. The amount your credit card is charged will be adjusted depending on the price of the meals you select.

Click here for $35 off your first order.

Home Chef Honest Review - Is it affordable?

My Home Chef Experience

I opted to order 2 meals with 4 portions per meal because I didn’t want to make a second meal for my 3 kids on top of the Home Chef meal. Especially because I knew that the cooking process would take me longer since I would be documenting it all for this review.

Also, I wanted to see if my kids liked the Home Chef meals I selected. Spoiler Alert: They loved them!

I ordered crispy orange chicken and Italian sausage & pepper risotto. We enjoyed both meals, but the orange chicken was our favorite. Grace requested that I make it for her birthday meal in September.

The 4 portions per meal made plenty of food for my family of 5. My children are young (10, 7, and 2) and eat pretty light. I was pleased to have leftovers for lunch.

What I learned

Home Chef sends one bag of ingredients for every 2 portions you order. (The meat is packaged separately.) This made it very convenient to gather all the ingredients I needed when it was time to cook.

However, the recipe card is written as if only 2 portions are being prepared. With the first meal I prepare, crispy orange chicken, I realized I needed to double the amount of water for the rice that the recipe card was calling for.

When I made the risotto meal, I completely forgot! The texture of my risotto was not quite right, and it wasn’t until the next day I realized that was because I didn’t add enough water.

I wish the recipe cards had a reminder to increase ingredients if making more than 2 portions.

Is Home Chef affordable for meal planning?

I wish I would have paid more attention to how long the website said the meals would take to prepare and the experience level for each recipe.

Both recipes took me over an hour to make. Part of that was because I was taking breaks to document the process for this review and Instagram. Part of it is because I was making 4 portions instead of 2 (the more portions you make the longer it will take). Another reason is because my recipes were considered “expert” and “intermediate” level meals.

Probably the biggest reason why the meals took me so long to prepare (besides me documenting the process), is because I was trying new recipes and cooking methods that I was not used to. I did that on purpose when I ordered. I liked the idea of trying something new, but it did slow me down.

If I order from Home Chef again, I will be careful about selecting “expert” level meals, and will make sure I don’t forget to increase the ingredients.

Overall, I enjoyed my Home Chef experience. The food was excellent. The process was fun. The packaging was convenient – did I mention the chicken breast came pre-chopped!?

Home Chef Crispy Orange Chicken

I recommend Home Chef to:

  • Everyone if you are using the promotion to get 2 meals with 2 portions for just $14.80 shipped! This is a great deal, and very affordable. But who do I think should try Home Chef at the full price? Keep reading!
  • couples or singles – the price for 2 portions is fairly reasonable, especially if there ends up being leftovers
  • people currently eating out often – if you spend more than $10 per person in takeout multiple times a week, this would save you money
  • couples who enjoy at-home date nights – If you don’t mind throwing a frozen pizza in the oven for your kids, Home Chef would be perfect for a nice romantic meal at home (and cheaper than a restaurant!).
  • those wanting to learn how to cook – if you are in a cooking rut or have limited cooking experience, this is a good way to try new recipes
  • anyone wanting to experiment with a diet – Home Chef would be a great way to dip your toe into different diets like low-carb, low-calorie, vegetarian, or gluten free
  • people in a busy season in life – Home Chef offers “oven ready” meals, salads ready in 5-10 minutes, quick meals ready in 10-15 minutes

I do NOT recommend Home Chef to:

  • those with a strict budget – If saving money on food (or in general) is a high priority, there are cheaper food options than Home Chef. At $10 per portion, Home Chef is not the most frugal way to cook. (The exception to this would be if you are normally spending more than $10 per person, but I would still argue that there are easy ways you could cut your budget even lower than $10 per person.)
  • families – The price per meal goes up with each additional serving you add to your Home Chef plan. Spending $20 for a nice meal in for 2 isn’t bad, but $40 for a family of 4 or $60 for a family of 6 seems really high to me even if it is cheaper than a resturant.
  • very picky eaters – Home Chef does a great job offering a variety of 18+ different meal options each week (and we loved what we ordered!), but if you are very picky, you might prefer to have complete control over the recipes you prepare.
My experience with Home Chef - an honest review from a frugal mom

In conclusion . . .

With the $35 off promotion, I think everyone should give Home Chef a try. Spending $14.80 for 2 meals with 2 portions each is very affordable, and it would be a fun experience to try.

At full price, there are a lot of people that I think could benefit from Home Chef. However, if you are accustomed to budget conscious meal planning and you normally cook all/most of your meals, Home Chef will probably cost more than you are willing to spend on a regular basis.

Click here for $35 off your Home Chef order.

Is Home Chef affordable in your opinion? Let me know your thoughts on home delivery meal services.

Check out these other honest reviews:

  • Stitch Fix: A Frugal Girl’s Honest Review
  • Stitch Fix Kids: A Frugal Mom’s Honest Review

Disclosure: Offer limited to one per household. New customers only. May not be combined with other offers. May not be used for gift cards. Not redeemable for cash. Not eligible in all states. Percent discount does not apply to any delivery charge. Free delivery with order of $49 or more. Click here for additional details. Void where prohibited. This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from your purchase at no additional cost to you.

Pin
Share
Tweet

Related posts:

12 Ways to Use the Heel from a Loaf of Bread12 Ways to Use the Heel from a Loaf of Bread 7 Meal Ideas for "Leftover" Grilled ChickenSave Money & Stay Cool with 7 Meal Ideas for “Leftover” Grilled Chicken 5 Cheap Meal Ideas - Plus 6 Tips for Stretching Your Grocery Budget5 Cheap Meal Ideas for a Tight Grocery Budget Default ThumbnailFill Your Freezer with Ham

Filed Under: Food, Frugal Living, Frugal Tips, Meal Planning

Comments

  1. Rebekah Hoffer says

    February 11, 2020 at 9:33 PM

    Home Chef Menu for Week of Feb. 18th:

    BBQ Chicken Meatballs with Bacon Potatoes
    Cheddar Chicken with Parmesan Zucchini & Corn
    Chicken Ricotta Flatbreads with Spinach & Mushrooms
    Creole Fishcakes with Chipotle Crema
    Scallops & Creamy Tuscan Farrotto
    Chicken Pot Pie
    Chicken Breast & Walnut-Goat Cheese Butter
    Garlic Peppercorn Salmon Scampi
    Chipotle Mini Pork Meatloaves
    Ginger-Crusted Chicken with Tonkatsu Sauce
    Japanese Steak Tacos with Sriracha Slaw
    Beef Empanada Rice Bowl
    Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Pears
    Chicken Breast with Red Wine Bordelaise
    Cashew Tofu
    Three Cheese Mexican Sweet Corn Gnocchi
    Apple & Brussels Sprout Salad with Avocado Ranch Dressing
    Carrot & Pea Salad with Mango Vinaigrette and Sliced Almonds

    Reply
  2. Rebekah Hoffer says

    February 11, 2020 at 9:56 PM

    Home Chef Menu for Week of Feb. 25:

    Crispy Panko Crusted Chicken & Honey Butter
    BBQ Beef Enchiladas
    Garlic-Thyme Roasted Chicken
    Cali Turkey Burger
    Thai-Chili Chicken with Edamame Fried Rice
    Mahi Mahi & Caper Aioli
    Steak Strip Gnocchi Carbonara
    Goat Cheese & Walnut-Crusted Steak with Shallot Demi Sauce
    Shrimp de Jonghe Pene
    Sausage & Mushroom Stuffed Peppers
    Pineapple Pepper Jelly Pork Chops
    Fajita Chicken with Mexican Rice
    Mushroom Smothered Pork Chops with Roasted Green Beans
    Spicy Plantain & Black Bean Tacos
    Mushroom Campanella with Goat Cheese Cream Sauce
    Italian Beef Meatball Wedding Soup
    Golden BBQ Ranch Salad
    Fig & Arugula Salad

    Reply
  3. Rebekah Hoffer says

    February 11, 2020 at 10:06 PM

    Home Chef Menu Week of March 3rd:

    Crispy Orange Chicken
    Steak Pad Thai
    Sirloin & Mushroom Demi-Glaze
    Chicken & Thyme Gravy
    Salmon with Lemon Piccata Butter
    Chesapeake Shrimp & Grits
    Tortilla Chicken
    Pork Chop with Apple Bacon Shallot Jam
    Mushroom-Smothered Turkey Meatballs
    Golden BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos with Ranch Slaw
    Honey Balsamic Chicken Breasts
    Sun-Dried Tomato Mozzarella Chicken
    Italian Sausage Stuffed Pepper Risotto
    Fontina & Caramelized Onion Flatbread
    Roasted Red Pepper Cream Rigatoni
    Loaded Chicken & Potato Chowder
    Cheddar & Corn Spinach Salad with Ranch Dressing
    Apple, Walnut & Goat Cheese Salad

    Reply
  4. Rebekah Hoffer says

    February 11, 2020 at 10:14 PM

    Home Chef Menu Week of March 10th:

    White Cheddar & Bacon Stuffed Chicken
    Steak with Garlic Chive Butter
    Crispy Boom Boom Shrimp Rice Bowl
    Chicken Scampi Spaghetti
    Salmon & Lemon Herb Beurre Blanc
    Korean Pork Noodle Bowl
    Argentinean Steak & Potato Tacos
    Chicken Chimichangas
    Hearty Chicken Stew
    Pretzel-Crusted Pork Chop
    Chicken Breast with Garlic-Demi Glaze
    Cheddar Bacon Crusted Chicken with Ranch Potatoes
    Pot Roast Meatballs
    Triple Mushroom Risotto
    Baked French Onion Penne
    Cheddar Pork Chop Meatballs & Chipotle Cream
    Chipotle Guacamole Salad
    Cranberry & Goat Cheese Spinach Salad

    Reply
  5. Rebekah Hoffer says

    February 11, 2020 at 10:23 PM

    Home Chef Menu Week of March 17th:

    Steak & Mushroom Herb Demi
    Cheesy Chipotle Steak Enchiladas
    Mahi Mahi & Tuscan Herb Sauce
    Honey Mustard Pork Meatloaf
    Salmon with Dill Crema
    Farmhouse Fried Chicken Tenders
    Spicy Korean Beef & Broccoli Rice Bowl
    Chicken with Porcini Cream Sauce
    Pot Roast Bone-In Pork Chop & Onion Demi
    Southwest Chicken Caesar Lettuce Wraps
    Pulled Pork Pot Sticker Bowl
    Lemon Chicken with Penne Alfredo
    Pork Tacos with Chili Lime Rice & Corn
    Umami Miso-Mushroom Cream Gemelli Pasta
    Butternut Squash Chowder
    Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Penne
    Crispy Buffalo Chickpea Salad
    Southwestern Avocado Mozzarella Salad

    Reply
  6. Margaux Krause says

    February 28, 2020 at 12:22 PM

    Thanks for the analysis and recommendations! I might try this since there are gluten free options.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Olive and June Review (from a nail polish newbie) - Simply Rebekah says:
    August 10, 2022 at 1:51 PM

    […] Is Home Chef Affordable? (an honest review) […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

My Book

Popular Posts

Washing Disposable Swim Diapers
How to Make a Sprinkler Out of a Pop Bottle
14 Things You Need for Your Postpartum Body

Follow on Facebook!

Follow on Pinterest!

Archives

Popular Posts

  • 14 Things You Need for Your Postpartum Body: A Pre-Baby Shopping List for Mommy!
  • 9 Things I Learned From Cleaning Every Day For A Month
  • How to Cook an Amazingly Moist Turkey
  • Free Cleaning Checklist You Can Customize – 1 Year on 1 Page
  • Excess Lipase: Scalding Breast Milk
  • What to Buy at Dollar Tree: Vacation Edition
  • I’m Scared to Have 2 Kids: an update 2 years later
  • I stopped scrapbooking. This is what I do instead.

Copyright © 2023 Simply Rebekah · Custom Design by Simply Designs

Copyright © 2023 · Simply Rebekah on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in · Privacy Policy