Hungryroot Reviews: Is the Delivery Service Worth the Hype?

April 18, 2024

Courtesy of Hungryroot

Grocery shopping and cooking day after day can feel like a chore, and dozens of companies have attempted to solve that problem. Meal kit companies like Blue Apron send pre-portioned and chopped ingredients with recipes, while other services, like Factor, deliver ready-to-eat meals. Hungryroot, which is part meal kit, part online grocery store, aims to offer the best of both. After seeing many glowing Hungryroot reviews online, I had to try it.

With a set of standards for food quality and nutrition and an extensive catalog of fresh and packaged ingredients, Hungryroot claims to be the solution to an empty fridge and the inevitable “what’s for dinner?” quandary, without a trip to the store or even a recipe search online. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering Hungyroot, including who the service works best for, and how well the personalization algorithm performed.

How does Hungryroot work?

First-time Hungryroot customers complete a brief survey to set up their account. Questions include the number and ages of your household members, your goals (such as improving health, losing weight, simplifying cooking, or saving time and money), and any dietary focuses or limitations.

The survey also gets specific about how much time you want to spend prepping and cooking, the tools available in your kitchen, and your preferences for certain cuisines, flavor profiles, and even individual ingredients that can be polarizing, such as eggplant and cilantro.

It’s a fairly in-depth survey designed to equip the Hungryroot algorithm to make highly personalized meal recommendations for you and your family. I found the quiz pretty fun to take, and the reward is a recommended meal plan complete with breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts from the Hungryroot store.

What does Hungryroot cost?

Prices vary widely, based on the number of people you’re feeding and the number of meals and amount of groceries you request. The company says plans start at $69 per week. We entered info for a family of 4, with 3 dinners, plus groceries including two to three servings of breakfast items, two to four servings of snacks, and two to three servings of sweets, and the cost came to $150 per week.

Hungryroot is definitely pricier than grocery shopping yourself and cooking at home; you’re paying for the convenience of not having to find recipes and shop, plus streamlined cooking.

Can you customize your Hungryroot order?

The service automatically fills your box with recipes and groceries it selects for your taste preferences, time, and family, based on your quiz answers. But customers can override everything and simply fill the box with their favorite items. The system works on “credits,” so if you remove your pre-selected meals, you’ll get your credits back to shop the grocery and recipe sections of the site.

I’ve tried a lot of meal delivery services, and Hungryroot may have the widest variety of grocery options. Protein choices include meat, poultry, seafood (both fresh and smoked), tofu and tempeh, and beans and legumes. There’s a great selection of sauces and condiments, dried and par-cooked grains and pastas, bread (including gluten-free options), salty and sweet snacks, and even dairy and eggs. You can easily fill your pantry and fridge with a week’s supply of groceries in a single Hungryroot box.

What’s on a Hungryroot menu?

After taking the quiz, I was impressed and intrigued by the meals Hungryroot recommended for me. The menu sounded like a week of meals I’d plan for myself, including a Pesto Trout and Asparagus Bowl, Seared Tuna with Soy Garlic Noodles, and a Cheesy Meatball Lavash Pizza. I did switch out the All-American Cheeseburger with Red Potatoes for a seared salmon salad.

In the snack department, I replaced most of the recommendations. You can also replace individual ingredients within a recommended recipe for even greater customization. For example, you can swap the Lentil Quinoa Rice Mix in the pesto trout asparagus bowl for par-cooked brown rice. Or even swap trout for salmon, shrimp, or beef.

What a week of Hungryroot looks like

The box arrives on a delivery date you select from three options. The perishables are either frozen or chilled on ice. The recipes come printed on a card with step-by-step instructions, but no images. Most of the vegetables are precut and the salads are bagged mixes.

I first tried a steak and veggie stir-fry with creamy miso dressing. This 15-minute dinner for two had just three ingredients: a veggie stir-fry mix, miso dressing, and grass-fed sirloin steaks. It was easy to make and very flavorful. I served it with white rice I had on hand and it was a satisfying dinner.

For lunch, I tried the Green Goddess salad with seared salmon. This required quickly seasoning and searing salmon filets on the stove, tossing the Taylor Farms Green Goddess chopped salad with the included dressing, and serving everything together. I liked that the lunch took minimal effort and time, making it ideal for a work-from-home weekday, but still tasted fresh and homemade. This meal didn’t include any special seasonings for the salmon, but the recipe encouraged you to add your favorite spice blend.

Hungryroot also has a great selection of snacks and sweets with healthier options than your typical grocery store. My box included two edible doughs: a black bean brownie batter and an almond chickpea cookie dough. I was suspicious of legumes in my cookie dough, but it was actually quite tasty and I could happily (and safely) eat it raw.

Bottom line

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my Hungryroot experience. I found the recipe and grocery options to be diverse and extensive, and the personalization was pretty good at a first pass. And the more information you give the algorithm by liking and disliking certain ingredients, the better it gets at guessing your preferences.

This is a great meal solution for busy families (especially those with picky eaters or specific dietary needs) that want well-balanced, home-cooked meals without regular grocery shopping or meal planning.

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