My Freshly Review + Real Photos (2023): Bust or Buy?
This Freshly review is not sponsored but may contain affiliate links. All opinions are 100% my own based on my personal experience with the meal delivery service. My hope is that this review will help you decide whether or not Freshly is right for you.
Summary of This Freshly Review
- I’ve tried a lot of meal delivery services before, and Freshly is one of the better ones.
- Freshly differentiates itself from a lot of its competitors by offering fresh meals that have never been frozen. I found that Freshly’s meals have better consistency when reheated (especially for veggies like zucchini that doesn’t reheat well if it was frozen!)
- I love the variety of healthy meals they offer through their rotating menu.
- Easy to skip or cancel if needed.
- Some of the meals I received were pretty bacon-heavy in terms of flavor. I’m not a huge fan of bacon so this was a downside for me, but my bacon-loving husband gobbled up the meals.
- Freshly starts at $8.99 per meal and goes up to $11.79 per meal.
- To read my thoughts on the individual meals, scroll to the bottom of this Freshly review.
- Currently, Freshly is offering $60 off your orders ($15 off your first 4 boxes)
What is Freshly?
Freshly is a weekly meal subscription that delivers fresh meals to your doorstep. They have a rotating menu every week that caters to various dietary lifestyles, all of which are developed by their team of chefs and nutritionists.
All Freshly meals are fully cooked and ready to eat, so all you need to do is reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
One key feature about Freshly is that their meals are never frozen, even up to the point it arrives at your doorstep. This means that Freshly meals have better consistency compared to previously frozen meals.
All Freshly meals have no artificial ingredients, highly processed sugars, or other chemical preservatives.
We started Freshly because we truly believe eating fresh, nutritious, and delicious dishes should be easy for all. We do the hard work for you – Sourcing the highest quality ingredients all the while making sure each meal is nutrient-dense and packed with the good stuff.
Freshly
How Freshly Works
Similar to many other meal delivery services, subscribing to Freshly is simple.
To get started, you’ll need to create an online account by entering your email address and zip code. Once you’re signed up, here’s what will happen:
- Pick Your Freshly Plan: Choose how many meals per week you want (4 to 12 meals per week). Choose a delivery day. Then, choose the exact meals you want included in your box. Done!
NOTE: you can change the frequency as often as you want and you can skip/cancel week(s) as needed.
- Freshly Delivers Your Meals: Once your order is submitted, Freshly will prepare the meals in one of their three commercial kitchens. They’ll pack your meals in a recyclable box and deliver it to your doorstep on your chosen day of the week!
- Heat and Eat: When you’re ready to eat the meals, just heat them up in the microwave for 3 minutes or in the oven for a bit longer. Grab a fork, and eat!
Is Freshly Right for You?
Meal delivery services are fantastic for busy people and families because there is virtually no prep work, cooking, or dish pileups. They also reduce the number of trips you have to go grocery shopping (if that’s not your thing).
But.. there are also downsides to subscribing to a meal delivery service, the biggest factor being the higher cost and taste preferences.
To help you decide if Freshly is right for you, here’s a quick checklist for you to review. You may want to consider subscribing to Freshly if you:
- Don’t have a lot of time for meals: Freshly’s ready-to-eat meals only need 3 minutes to heat up – it doesn’t get quicker than that.
- Love fresh meals: While Freshly meals are prepared a few days before it gets to your doorstep, the fact that all their meals are never frozen makes Freshly meals taste.. well, more fresh compared to other meal delivery services that freeze their meals before shipping.
- Dread cooking and doing the dishes: Freshly meals are prepared in individual portions for easy clean-up. Once you’re done eating the single-serving meals, just rinse and recycle the packaging.
- Enjoy eating different meals every week: if you don’t love eating the same thing week after week, Freshly’s rotating menu is a great way to change things up.
- Want to expand your palate: Freshly’s wide range of globally-inspired flavors allows you to try new foods in a convenient way.
Review of Freshly’s Meal Options
One thing I love about Freshly is the customization features.
While not as comprehensive as Fresh N’ Lean’s customization offerings, Freshly still provides gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and plant-based options for those with dietary restrictions.
When you’re ready to pick your Freshly meals, you can filter meal options by your chosen dietary preferences.
Not only that, but you can also choose a specific category of menus, such as Freshly Fit, Classic, Fork & Flavor, or Takeout Twists.
As far as flavor options go, the meals are globally inspired. This includes popular dishes like Indian Chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice, TexMex Flat Iron Steak, and various Asian Fusion takeouts.
Here are a few examples of Freshly’s dietary-specific meal options:
- Gluten-free: Steak Peppercorn and Chicken Livorno
- Plant-based: Indian-Spiced Chickpea Curry Bowl and Middle Eastern Falafel Bowl
- Dairy-free: Ginger-Turmeric Chicken Bowl and Beef & Veggie Stuffed Peppers
My Personal Freshly Review: What I Tried & What I Think
In my Freshly box, I tried lots of different meals from their various lines – such as Freshly Fit, Takeout Twists, and Fork & Flavor.
Here’s a quick review of what I thought of each meal I chose from Freshly.
FreshlyFit Lemony Mediterranean Chicken
This was the first meal I had from Freshly and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t out-of-this-world amazing, but it was still delicious!
I heated this meal up in the microwave according to the heating instructions.
And while I know the packaging is microwave-safe, I always get nervous at first about microwaving a plastic container – but I was glad to see that it held up well!
And the chicken was not dried out after microwaving, which I was happy about.
Fork & Flavor Flame-Seared Top Blade Steak
Let me start by saying that the steak itself made this one of the more delicious meals I’ve had in a meal service (and I’ve tried a lot of meal kits and boxes). It was tender, perfectly seasoned, and just a great meal for dinner overall!
I thought the portion sizes of this meal was great – I was full, but not too full. The green pea risotto was incredibly unique and paired well with the steak and seasonings.
I would definitely get this again.
FreshlyFit Chicken Livorno
I took a bite of the Chicken Livorno and I immediately gave the rest to my husband – it was so heavy on the bacon flavor.
Now, before you cross this one off your list, you should know that my husband really liked it. So if you like bacon, you might actually love this one!
So it’s a no for me, but a yes for my husband. So do with that information as you wish.
TakeoutTwists Savory-Sweet Chicken Teriyaki Bowl
Out of all the items in this box, this takeout bowl has to be my favorite!
I may be biased because chicken teriyaki is one of my ultimate comfort foods. But..this bowl has all the delicious flavors of fast food takeout but the best part is that it incorporates whole grains, fresh veggies, and less sugar to make it healthy food!
The Chicken Teriyaki bowl omits the corn syrup that’s typically used in similar takeouts and instead sweetens the bowl naturally with coconut sap. The sauce was incredible!
It’s a great option for people who want to transition to a healthier lifestyle. And I love that Freshly’s single servings are typically large enough for it to be filling – and this one is no exception! I thought this bowl in particular had large portions.
It does, however, have higher carbs, so this bowl may not be for those who are on a low-carb diet.
Fork & Flavor Shrimp & Andouille Paella
Last but not least, the paella! My husband ate most of this one because he was extra hungry after a workout, but I did get a bite of it and thought it had lots of bold flavors – in a good way!
Freshly wasn’t skimpy with the shrimp and sausage (as you can see in the picture) and it provided a high protein content to fuel muscle recovery.
I’m not kidding when I say that my husband gobbled up this meal in 5 minutes.
How Much Does Freshly Cost?
The more meals per week you order from Freshly, the cheaper each meal costs.
Here’s a breakdown of how much Freshly will cost you based on your specific meal plan (the number of meals you choose to get per week):
- 4 meals per week: $11.79/meal + shipping
- 6 meals per week: $9.99/meal + shipping
- 8 meals per week: $9.49/meal + shipping
- 10 meals per week: $9.29/meal + shipping
- 12 meals per week: $8.99/meal + shipping
Freshly Coupon: Get $60 off across your first 4 Freshly boxes with their current promotion.
Freshly Alternatives
If you’ve read through this Freshly review and decide that it’s not for you, here are a few alternatives of other food delivery services that might fit your needs better:
- Fresh N’ Lean: ready-to-eat meal delivery service (read our Fresh N’ Lean review) – use code DWELL10 to get 10% off your order
- HomeChef: Meal kit delivery service (prepped, portioned, and ready to cook) that you can buy at the grocery store or online
- Everyplate: Affordable meal kit delivery service at $2.99/serving (pre-packed and pre-measured ingredients with cooking instructions) – get 20% off!
- GreenChef: Premium meal kit delivery service (pre-packed and pre-measured ingredients with cooking instructions) catering to Keto, Paleo, or Vegan lifestyles – get $100 off!
- Hello Fresh: Meal kit delivery service (pre-packed and pre-measured ingredients with cooking instructions) – get $90 off!
- Chowbus: Asian food meal delivery (read our Chowbus review) – use code DWELL10 for $10 off orders of $20+
- Splendid Spoon: Fully vegan, clean-eating meal delivery service (read our Splendid Spoon review)
- Kencko: Instant smoothies & gumdrops delivery (read our Kencko review)
- SmoothieBox: breakfast and snack smoothie packs delivery
- Good Chop: meat subscription box (read our Good Chop review) – get $100 off!
- Cratejoy: subscription box marketplace, including food subsciption boxes (read our Cratejoy review)
- Crowd Cow: high-quality meat delivery service (read our review here)
Don’t want pre-prepared meals? You might enjoy these resources to help you level up your own cooking game at home!
- BONUS: 11 Best Whole30 Cookbooks in 2021, According to Customer Reviews
- BONUS: (2021) MasterClass Cooking Review: Is The MasterClass Culinary Arts Course Any Good?
Have you tried a Freshly meal subscription before? If so, what did you think? Please leave a comment below – I’d love to hear!!
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