Home Chef is one of the most adaptable meal delivery services out there, offering everything from quick-prep meal kits to heat-and-eat dinners. The brand has family-style meals, along with the ability to swap protein and ingredients as needed.
For busy professionals, whether you need to feed just yourself or you’re cooking for the whole family, Home Chef can be a strategic time-saver to keep a tightly packed schedule on track.
We tested and reviewed how Home Chef performs when it comes to customization, taste, convenience, and more to see if it’s truly a top solution for those craving easier mealtimes. Read on for our tester’s full review and recommendations, and see if it fits into your busy lifestyle.
About Our Expert
This article was medically reviewed by Jillian Robillard, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD. Jillian is a licensed and registered dietitian at Whole Balanced Nutrition.
Home Chef
Meal Type
Diet Options Available
Portion Options
We love how customizable the meals are (double protein, swap out protein and other ingredients)
People who want to cook some meals but also have prepared meals on hand
- Meals are customizable
- You can order a mix of both meal kits and prepared meals
- The ordering experience is easy and user-friendly
- Limited vegan options
- Portions may be a little small for two people
- Minimum weekly order spend starts at $50
Home Chef Specs
Our Experience with Home Chef
Home Chef is a meal delivery service that offers the ability to order multiple types of meal formats each week. There are classic meal kits, express meal kits (meant to be ready in under 30 minutes), oven-ready, and prepared heat-and-eat meals. Home Chef also has a family plan, which comes with four servings in each meal. Their culinary collection has premium ingredients, which may be just the thing for a date night with your partner—complete with elevated proteins (like lamb) and more advanced cooking techniques.
Kayla tested Home Chef and provided her feedback on the general ordering experience, delivery, sustainability, ease of preparing the meals, menu variety, price, and more. Overall, she found the website “super easy to use.” Home Chef offers plenty of customization options and properly packages all ingredients for optimal temperature. Plus, she loved the ingredient quality and the flavor of the dishes she tried.
What We Liked
Here’s what Kayla rated highly after trying Home Chef:
- Price (4 out of 5): Our tester found the starting price of $9.99 per meal to be suitable for her budget and more affordable than some competitors.
- Ordering experience (5 out of 5): The website UX was incredibly easy to navigate. “It’s very easy to skip deliveries via the website,” Kayla said. “The UX is great.”
- Taste (5 out of 5): Kayla loved the truffle cream tortellini, sauce, and overall flavor. “This was so good,” she said. “It really tastes like restaurant quality. I was super, super impressed.”
- Menu variety (5 out of 5): Kayla was pleased with Home Chef’s wide menu variety. “You have so many different options to pick from week to week,” she noted. “They also have menus weeks in advance so you can look down the line of what you are going to order.”
- Customization (4 out of 5): Our team loved that she could switch out protein in the meals and even individual ingredients (great for allergies or dietary preferences).
- Ingredient list and nutrition facts accessibility (5 out of 5): Nutrition and ingredient info are available online, in the app, and on each of the meals’ packaging.
What We Would Change
Here’s what Kayla would improve about Home Chef:
- Portion size (4 out of 5): Kayla felt the portion size was a little on the smaller side. “It could be bigger for two people,” she explained. “I think it’s perfect for one person to have some leftovers, but i don’t think two people would be satisfied and full even though it is meant for two people.”
- Packaging quality (4 out of 5): While the produce was fresh enough (think Aldi quality vs. backyard garden quality), the packaging made it look less fresh, per Kayla.
Who It’s For & Who It’s Not For
Home Chef may not be for everyone. Here’s a side-by-side list of who it may work best for, and who it may not be ideal for.
Comparing Home Chef to Other Meal Delivery Services
Frequently asked questions
Is Home Chef cheaper than groceries?
Home Chef is not cheaper than shopping for groceries, though it offers great value by helping you save time shopping, prepping, cooking, and cleaning up after a meal.
Is Home Chef better than HelloFresh?
Home Chef may be better for you than HelloFresh if you are looking for meals that can be customized based on ingredients and allow you to swap proteins. HelloFresh may be better for you if you’d like access to a menu with greater variety and if you’re cooking for a larger group of people or for vegetarians.
How much does a Home Chef subscription cost?
Home Chef has a weekly minimum spend of around $50 as of this writing, which is about two meals that are two servings. Shipping may be a $10.99 fee, depending on promotions or discounts that are running at the time of order. You can skip weeks or reschedule as needed, so you don’t have to pay every week.
