AMAZON MEAL KIT REVIEW

For this week's Monday Meals, I thought I would tackle something a little bit different. If you follow me on Instagram (@graceandmaura) you saw that I picked up a new Amazon Meal Kit on a whim while grocery shopping. I didn't know what to expect. I had never tried a "meal kit" before. As promised, here is my review, more information about the meal kits and ultimately if I would order again.

This is what Amazon says the meal will look like. I didn't plate quite as beautifully (picture at the end of the review) but it still tasted great.

Admittedly I was unable to find information about the meal kits from Amazon itself. They first came to my attention a few months ago when I stopped into my local Whole Foods. There was a display near the front of the store with the kits and a pamphlet describing each of the meals. I didn't purchase one that day, but I was intrigued.
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Last week we stopped home for a few nights and I didn't feel like grocery shopping since we would be leaving again the next day. I decided to run to Whole Foods to grab enough food to make us one home cooked meal (we'd been eating quite a bit of takeout) when I saw the display again, it seemed like the perfect time to try them.
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From what I could gather, Amazon will be putting out different options each month. The kits can be purchased in Whole Foods but also through their website (meaning you could have the kits delivered). ​
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They range from $15.99-$24.99 (at least the ones available at my store did) and they have different options including meat and vegetarian dishes. The kits serve 2 and take about 30 minutes to make. That means it's roughly $7-$13 per serving which while higher than Blue Apron and some other meal kits, is cheaper than take-out.
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I chose the Roasted Chicken with Creamed Kale and Cranberry Balsamic Glaze. I figured I've roasted a lot of chickens in the past so it would be a good one to start with. ​

I took video instead of photos, but I will say that the products I received looked very much like the picture. Next time I'll take photos!

So..how was it?
 
After I opened the box I was pretty impressed with the quality of the food. The Kale was fresh and the other ingredients were the same quality I would purchase if I was in store.
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There was zero prep. The onion was already chopped, the cream sauce was already made. If you're looking to "cook" this isn't it, but if you're looking to "put together" a delicious meal, then this is the way to go.
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The instructions were easy enough to follow. You can actually ask Alexa to cook with you and she'll give you the instructions. I didn't try this feature as we don't have an Alexa. I did miss one step (reconstituting the cranberries), maybe this would have prevented that but I caught it in time and all was fine.

I did need a few things from my kitchen but it was all basic stuff (salt, pepper, oil) that most people would have. ​​

It took a little longer than 30 minutes (mostly because of my oven) but all in all it turned out fantastic. I was really impressed with the taste of the dish. I wasn't sure how it would all taste, but it definitely had a restaurant quality feel to it. 
 
Would I do another Amazon Meal Kit? Absolutely.

Pros: 
 

• I think an important thing to mention here is that I've been wanting to try meal kits for a while, but didn't want to sign up for a meal kit service. The idea that I could just go pick up a meal kit, or just have one delivered on a whim is really appealing to me. 
•  It was easy to follow along and was truly delicious. The quality of the food was good and I enjoyed working my way through the recipe. It was a flavor combo (ginger and balsamic) that I hadn't tried, but really enjoyed and would seek out again.
• I thought the cost was very reasonable for what you got. I initially was unsure about the portion sizes, but there turned out to be more than enough for the two of us.

Cons
 

• There aren't many but I think it's important to note that you aren't going to learn to cook with this kit. There's no dicing and chopping here. I already cook quite a bit so I was okay with this fact, but I know some people like meal kits to learn to cook, so I thought it was worth mentioning. ​
• There was no ice or cool packs in my kit. I presume that's because you are taking it right home to cook. It is kept cool in the store. I would be curious if you get them delivered how that would work. On Amazon's website it says it will stay fresh for 2 days once delivered, so I suppose you couldn't order a bunch of them at once, but it's Amazon so I guess you wouldn't need to, just order when the mood suited you.

Overall you can see the cons are pretty few and far between. Is this cooking? Not really, but it is a wonderful option if you want a quality meal at home and to try new flavors. 
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I hope to try more of them in the future and update you when I do. I know not all Whole Foods have them yet, but it seems like the plan is to get them out to everyone eventually.


Have you tried Amazon Meal Kits?