Is it Any Good? My Dinnerly Review

I have been searching for quite some time for a way to eat more variety of meals without wasting ingredients.  I considered and changed my mind about meal kit subscriptions a few times because they are quite expensive.  And then I learned about Dinnerly.  I decided to try them, the least expensive of the meal kit delivery services, to see if having one is worth it.  Dinnerly is about half as much as other meal delivery services at $5/meal.  This is my review of my experience trying Dinnerly.

How Dinnerly Works

Setting up an account was very straightforward and simple.  First, choose the size of your kit.  Mine was 2-person, the smallest, but you can also order the 4-person plan.  Next, decide the number of meals you want per week, between 3 and 6.  I chose 3 meals.  Then you set your taste profile.  Be careful when you do because your meals will be chosen based on how you set it, and it would not let me go back to change anything once I did.  I decided to go with a vegetarian kit and chose right in the middle between mild and spicy. 

The last part of the process was selecting the delivery day.  There were not a lot of options for delivery due to covid-19 and the increase in demand they were experiencing.  Delivery was set for a Thursday and I was given the choice between a morning delivery and an evening delivery, both of which spanned a window of 4 hours.  I opted for the first slot and it was delivered right on time and in front of my door, not left at the package lockers, quite a pleasant surprise!

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Preparing Dinnerly Meals

Unfortunately, I totally forgot that I was expecting my Dinnerly Kit the week that it arrived, and therefore, I received it on a day that I returned home from the grocery store with a week’s worth of groceries.  Needless to say, my refrigerator was overloaded with ingredients that I was worried would spoil before I could use them all.  My advice is to make sure not to make this mistake!  I had to prioritize which meals to make first and decide which could wait until later.  

My second piece of advice is to carefully read the recipe cards for any ingredients that will not be included in your kit and for any equipment that you will need to have on hand.  Two of the recipes called for an oven-proof skillet, which I do not own.  That meant starting with the stir-fry.

Stir-Fried Veggie Udon Noodles

The first issue was the amount of preparation involved: peeling and slicing carrots, snapping green beans, mincing garlic, chopping the onions, was all very time consuming.  The second issue was that it came with two packages of Udon noodles.  I made both because I knew that the noodles did not go with the other two recipes.  Two packages, however, turned out to be way too much for the two servings that the recipe was supposed to make.

I have a much simpler stir-fry recipe that actually does only make two servings, not the four I ended up with.  Not that I’m complaining.  I am thankful to get twice as many meals from a recipe than expected but I would like to know that in advance so that I can plan accordingly.  In spite of the challenges I had with this meal, it did turn out tasty.  

Baked Tortellini Parm 

mozzarella into half-inch pieces. I decided to add Veggie Italian Sausage Style Crumbles to this recipe.  It was very good, but what pasta dish isn’t? 

Loaded Veggie Pot Pie

Pot Pie is one of my favorite meals so I really wanted to try this meal.  But since there was no way to modify it, I haven’t been able to make it yet.  Hopefully I will get to make it soon.

Tips and Advice for Cooking with Dinnerly

I would recommend Dinnerly for a family, or for one person who wants to prep 12 meals a week.  Personally, I would rather buy already peeled garlic from Trader Joe’s and thaw a bag of Asian Medley steam-fresh veggies to use in my stir-fry instead of spending so much time peeling and chopping veggies for just me.  However, I did like that I got to try new ingredients; I have never had udon noodles and did not know if I would like them.  Now I know a new ingredient for my stir-fry recipes.

The Pros of Using Dinnerly

The Cons of Using Dinnerly

• It is a lot of food for one person, so there is a chance you may not be able to make it all before the ingredients spoil (unless you cook it all and freeze it in portions).
• No recipe cards are included; you have to go online to get the recipes.  The recipe cards do not have photographs illustrating the steps.

Overall, I found Dinnerly to be a lot of prep work and planning for one person. However, I think it is worth a try if you are ordering for a family or if you do not mind doing a lot of meal prep. The total for my 2-person plan of three meals was about $40. Those meals made four servings each, so the cost for me was about $3/meal. If you decide to try Dinnerly, please let me know about your experience. I say it is worth a try since it is so affordable, fresh, and tasty.

Until next time,

“She is like the merchant ships [abounding with treasure]; She brings her [household’s] food from far away. She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And assigns tasks to her maids.”

– Proverbs 31:14-15 AMP

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