Is HelloFresh Healthy: A Professional’s Review 2024

As a busy writer and fitness and health nut, finding time for meal planning is challenging. I eat a pretty specific diet, so meal delivery services that meet my needs are convenient and stress-relieving. However, convenience doesn’t always equate to eating healthy, and the definition of “healthy” can be different from person to person.

I tested HelloFresh and reviewed its meal contents to determine how healthy the recipes are. HelloFresh is one of the most popular and affordable meal kit delivery services, offering a variety of cuisines. It provides pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes, making it a convenient option for those who want to relieve the stress of meal planning and grocery shopping.

HelloFresh offers options for different diets, but it isn’t allergy-friendly. Dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free, and those following low-carb diets like keto might want to search elsewhere. And while you’ll find fresh veggies in your kits, they’re med-high glycemic index and might not be best for diabetic, low-carb, or low-calorie diets.

Read on to discover whether HelloFresh’s service and meals suit your version of healthy. I’ll review plans, recipe options, customization features, and whether HelloFresh caters to specific allergy concerns and diets like paleo, keto, and vegan.

What’s on HelloFresh’s Menu

Meal Plans

The Meat & Veggies plan is a selection of meals from the whole menu, minus meals with fish. You’ll generally find all the meals with the “veggie” tag on this menu as well as all meals containing meat or poultry. There’s no other dietary qualifier identifying meals that fit this menu, so the macros may vary across recipes. 

The Veggie plan is HelloFresh’s vegetarian plan. There’s also no other dietary qualifier for this plan, but you can find Veggie meals with other labels like Calorie Smart or Carb Smart. However, most meals are 700+ calories and 60+ g net carbs and might be best for vegetarians with a high-intensity workout routine.

Family Friendly meals are mostly standard American recipes and don’t follow a specific diet like low calorie or low carb. The plan includes familiar favorites with simple ingredients that kids are likely to enjoy, like BBQ Meatloaves with Shingled Potatoes. However, these meals are usually high calorie and high carb – better for growing kids than weight-watching adults.

HelloFresh’s Fit and Wholesome plan has recipes that are 650 calories per serving or less. It’s the only defined calorie-conscious meal plan. As with the Veggie plan, you’ll find a mix of tags, including Carb Smart or Mediterranean, but all meals will be 650 calories or less per serving.

Like the Family Friendly plan, the Under 20 Minutes plan isn’t diet-focused – it’s practical. The estimated prep time for meals from this menu is 20 minutes or less. The Under 20 Minutes plan has pretty moderate macros and might fit most macro-oriented plans except low carb.

Pescatarian meals might also feature low-calorie or carb-conscious recipes. On average, these meals include the highest protein count of any meal plan. They also have a higher carb count than most meal plan averages, so these recipes are best for people who do high-intensity workouts 3+ times per week.

Macros & Tags 

The macro counts in the table below are the averages of 3 random meals from each menu plan, so you can see what your average nutrition count might be when you order from that plan. Keep in mind that these counts are all averages, so always read the nutrition labels for each recipe if you have serious medical concerns.

For those whose version of healthy means low sodium, the Meat and Veggies or Fit and Wholesome plan would be best, but for those whose version of healthy means avoiding red meat and eating moderate calories, you might want to try the Veggie plan.

You’ll also see diet-conscious tags on each recipe. These tags include:

• Calorie Smart – meals with 650 calories or less per serving

• Carb Smart – 40 g or less of net carbs per serving

• Protein Smart – meals with more than 30 g of protein per serving

• Spicy – Recipes with a red pepper icon include an extra kick

• Veggie – Meatless meals featuring veggies

• Vegan – Animal product-free meals

• Mediterranean – Dishes inspired by cuisine from Greece, Italy, Turkey, and more

Customization

Customization is important if you’re eating a specific diet to remain healthy. Once you sign up and select your recipes, you can also swap some proteins and sides for options you find healthier. You can make a meat-heavy dish pescatarian by swapping chicken for shrimp, or a vegetarian dish vegan by swapping a side with cream or cheese for a side with no animal products.

Remember that these are meal kits, so you can also exclude any ingredients at home when you’re preparing the meals. This isn’t ideal in terms of convenience, but it’s the next best option to ensure you’re eating according to your definition of healthy.

For example, if eating vegan is your version of healthy, you can leave out the parmesan cheese and butter in the Italian kale, chickpea, and couscous salad and replace them with a dairy free alternatives.

Meal plans operate more like menu filters than fixed plan structures. The entire menu is available no matter what plan you select. If you select the Fit and Wholesome menu to view calorie-conscious recipes, these options will appear first on the menu, but you can still choose recipes from any other menu.

Allergy Accommodations

Unfortunately, HelloFresh doesn’t offer allergy customizations like gluten- or nut-free. You’ll need to read the recipe and ingredient labels carefully. Some HelloFresh ingredients might be name-brand, so you’ll have to read the nutrition labels carefully to ensure you’re eating safely and healthily.

Fortunately, HelloFresh carefully labels common allergens on its online recipe cards, so you can at least determine whether the recipe is manageable for your diet.

If you’re on a restrictive diet like keto, paleo, vegan, or an AIP – HelloFresh isn’t ideal. You can find a few recipes here and there throughout the menu, but you’ll have to be careful with your at-home substitutions to ensure recipes meet your desired meal macros or restricted ingredient contents.

Recipes are best for the standard American diet and sometimes include premade foods that definitely won’t suit an AIP diet. For a meal delivery service that offers more diet-specific plans, you might want to check out Green Chef. You’ll find 8 diet plans, including Keto, Plant Based, Calorie Smart, Mediterranean, Quick & Easy, Gut & Brain Health, Protein Packed, and Gluten Free. Additional meal tags on individual recipes include Calorie-Smart, Dairy Free, Low Added Sugar,and Sodium Smart.

Ingredient Quality and Freshness

HelloFresh insulates and cools each delivery box so that your ingredients arrive fresh and cool to the touch. You’ll find some organic ingredients, but HelloFresh isn’t a service that prioritizes sourcing wild-caught, free-range, sustainable ingredients. For a service that prioritizes animal welfare and ingredient quality, you might want to check out Blue Apron.

Is HelloFresh a Good Way to Lose Weight?

Whether HelloFresh is a good way to lose weight depends on how you want to do so. For those of you wanting to start a calorie-restricted diet and who have no other dietary, allergen, or medical concerns, you can check out the Fit & Wholesome plan. You’ll find a selection of 15 to 20 recipes each week, all of which have a total of 650 calories or less per serving.

If you’re hoping for more low-carb recipes, you won’t find that on HelloFresh’s menu. Eating low-carb means eating a total daily carb count of less than 50 g net carbs. Carb Smart on HelloFresh’s menu typically means recipes have anywhere from 20 g to 30 g net carbs per serving, which if you’re eating 3 meals a day means these net carbs add up quickly. For more low-carb meal delivery inspiration, check out our list of the top low-carb meal delivery services of 2024.

Are HelloFresh Meals Easy to Prepare?

Overall, there are no culinary feats on the HelloFresh menu. Novices and home chefs can prep HelloFresh meals. Online and printed recipe cards also include images of what a recipe should look like at each step.

HelloFresh also makes meal prep as easy as possible according to skill level. First, all recipes arrive with ingredients separated individually and according to recipe.

The recipe cards clearly show you what ingredients you should have and also the prep time, total cook time, and calories per serving. The Vegan French Dip sandwiches I made only involve 10 minutes of prep which really isn’t much at all.

The hardest skill is determining when a protein is done cooking, but HelloFresh provides tips to help you, such as what the internal temperature should be. Recipes labeled as Hard are still pretty easy. They usually just include more steps to complete the recipe, and if there’s a skill required that includes some experience, you’ll see a tip for achieving that skill correctly. All steps have an image alongside to guide you.

For more details about cooking HelloFresh recipes, you can check out our complete review of HelloFresh’s service. You might need a few extra utensils and prep ingredients in addition to the basics, but HelloFresh will also list those for you on the recipe card so you can be as prepared as possible.

HelloFresh sends the required ingredients for each recipe listed on the recipe card. You can easily substitute any of these for healthier ingredients you prefer. If a recipe requires butter but you’re an Extra Virgin Olive Oil kinda chef, you can easily plan for that.

Shortlist of Tested Meals

Pork Katsu

First, I tested the Pork Katsu. It’s a simple, flavorful dish with ginger rice and sesame-roasted carrots. This recipe took me 45 minutes to make, which is slightly longer than the estimated time of 35 minutes given by HelloFresh. Maybe I just prep ingredients a bit slower than average.

This was very easy to make, and there wasn’t much prep besides chopping carrots and scallions. There were elements of this dish that could be left to cook, such as rice and carrots, while I was working on other elements, such as the pork.

The pork really was the star of the show. The cutlets are shallow-fried in a crispy panko coating and are really juicy. Pork can be easy to overcook though, and this could be difficult for someone who isn’t used to cooking meat.

This dish is best for those following a balanced diet, as the calorie count is quite high as are the carb and fat levels. I wouldn't recommend this for anyone following a low sodium diet. The macros for this dish are as follows:

• Calories: 900

• Protein: 40 g

• Carbs: 88 g

• Fats: 43 g

• Sugar: 18 g

• Sodium: 1880 mg

Open-Faced Tuscan-Spiced Chicken Sandos

Next, I tested the Open-Faced Tuscan-Spiced Chicken Sandos, a low-calorie, high-carb, moderate-protein dish that can be ready in just 10 minutes. It’s rated Easy by HelloFresh and would be ideal as a post-workout lunch.

This dish consists of sourdough toast topped with scallion cream cheese, a bruschetta-style tomato topping, and seasoned chicken. The chicken arrives pre-cooked so you just need to slice it, which saves loads of time. Veggies arrive whole, so you will need to chop those up, but it’s not a long task. 

The tomatoes were the standout component for me. The balsamic vinegar combined with the juicy tomatoes and aromatic scallions made for a bold and zesty flavor.

I think this is a great meal if you don’t have much time to cook but want to avoid the unhealthy options of convenience food or fast food.

The macro count is as follows:

• Calories: 530

• Protein: 35 g

• Carbs: 61 g

• Fats: 21 g

• Sugar: 8 g

• Sodium: 1130 mg

This recipe is tagged Calorie Smart (under 650 calories) and Protein Smart (over 30 g of protein per serving). HelloFresh’s recipes tagged Carb Smart typically include 25+ g carbs per serving. If you’re looking for very low carb, you might be better with Green Chef’s keto meals.

Street Cart-Style Chickpea Bowls

HelloFresh now has a reasonable number of vegan recipes on the menu. Of course, you can make easy at-home substitutions to many vegetarian recipes to make these vegan-friendly as well. I tried 2 vegan recipes. The first was Street Cart-Style Chickpea bowls.

The dish consists of flavorful chickpeas, a light cucumber salad, and garlicky pitas over a bed of aromatic Jasmine rice. There are non-vegan versions of this recipe as well, featuring diced chicken or ground turkey.

There was a lot of vegetable chopping, and I had to do a bit of multi-tasking as several components were happening at the same time. If you’re less experienced in the kitchen, then the stated time of 10 minutes for prep and 30 minutes to cook might not be enough. I recommend reading the recipe in full before you start so that you can plan ahead.

This is a “Hall of Fame” recipe, and I can see why. The dish is well-balanced with a fresh cucumber salad to brighten up the salty, savory chickpeas. I poured hot sauce and the hummus-based dressing over the whole bowl and wiped it clean with the last of my pita. 

 This recipe is certainly not the healthiest on the menu, but it was so tasty and felt like a real treat. Here are the macros:

• Calories: 1110

• Protein: 27 g

• Carbs: 175 g

• Fats: 33 g

• Sugar: 16 g

• Sodium: 1920 mg

Mushroom French-Dip Sandwiches

Vegan Mushroom French Dip Sandwiches were my favorite dish of the week. I used HelloCustom again to order the plant-based version of this dish, but a chicken variant is also available. 

I was really impressed with the produce I was given. It was just as high quality as anything else in the HelloFresh box. This took me around 40 minutes from start to finish, which is in line with the HelloFresh estimate.

My favorite part of this dish had to be the jus (dipping sauce) that accompanied the sandwiches. This used mushroom stock rather than beef and was tasty with the baguette soaked into it.

This is a traditional American recipe that you’ll find on the Family Friendly menu. Macros for this dish are:

• Calories: 940

• Protein: 11 g

• Carbs: 107 g

• Fats: 49 g

• Sugar: 10 g

• Sodium: 1320 mg

How HelloFresh Compares to Other Healthy Meal Delivery Services

The Bottom Line: Is HelloFresh Healthy?

HelloFresh is healthy for people who have no allergies and can eat meat and carbs. While most meals include a serving of vegetables, you’ll find more starch or processed foods like white rice and pasta instead of an added helping of veggies, healthy fat, or protein.

If you’re vegetarian or pescatarian and can eat high carbs – you’ll also find great options. There are dedicated Veggie and Pescatarian plans with plenty of weekly, rotating recipes to fill your menu. Vegans will have only a handful of recipes each week, so this isn’t an ideal menu for a complete plant-based vegan diet.

Most recipes include some amount of sugar and moderate to high carbs, both of which aren’t great for people managing diabetes or heart disease. There are some recipes with relatively low sodium, but it’s not a large selection. For diets that address medical concerns like diabetes or heart disease – I recommend looking elsewhere.

Remember – read recipe labels carefully! HelloFresh has a big menu and cuisine variety, and your customization choices may change how healthy a dish is. Each plan and recipe are different from the next, and the menu rotates regularly. Recipes are automatically chosen for you based on the meal plan you choose, so double-check your order before finalizing.

FAQ

What nutrients can I expect to get from HelloFresh meals?

HelloFresh meals are typically moderate to high carbs and protein, with 1 veggie serving. However, it's important to remember that specific nutritional content can vary depending on the meal and any customizations you make. You’ll find nutritional content listed on each recipe card on the website and in the app.

Does HelloFresh cater to specific dietary requirements or preferences?

Yes, HelloFresh does offer some dietary accommodations. You’ll find plenty of vegetarian, pescatarian, calorie-smart, and carb-smart options, among others, though availability may depend on your location. However, you won’t find allergy accommodations like gluten-free or dairy-free.

How much sodium does a typical HelloFresh meal contain?

The sodium content can vary significantly across different HelloFresh meals, but some dishes can be high in sodium. Always check the nutritional information provided for each recipe, especially if you're monitoring your sodium intake for health reasons. You can always leave out or substitute ingredients that are typically high sodium like certain sauces or prep ingredients like butter.

How are the portion sizes in HelloFresh meals?

Portion sizes in HelloFresh meals are generally balanced and satisfying, aimed to provide a fulfilling meal for the designated number of servings the meal is estimated to feed. However, your personal appetite and dietary needs could influence your perception of portion adequacy. You can always try customizing your meal to include a higher protein ingredient if that’s an option for 1 of your selected recipes.

Does HelloFresh use organic ingredients in its meals?

HelloFresh does use some organic ingredients, but not all ingredients are organic. It prioritizes quality and sustainability, sourcing ingredients from suppliers that follow responsible practices.

Is HelloFresh good for weight loss?

HelloFresh’s Fit and Wholesome plan is good for those wanting calorie-conscious meals as part of their weight loss plan. Meals on the Fit and Wholesome plan are 650 calories or less. You’ll even find some under 500 calories that are also Carb Smart.

Does HelloFresh have keto or paleo meals?

No, HelloFresh doesn’t currently provide meals designed to accommodate keto or paleo dieters. You’ll want to check out a different service like Green Chef or Factor, which both have dedicated keto plans.