Dinnerly Meal Delivery Review

Dinnerly Menu & Ingredients 

Unlike other meal delivery services that hang their hat on exotic ingredients and innovative cooking techniques, Dinnerly sticks to the staples—think of them as the “meat and potatoes” of meal kits. They’ve made it their mission to deliver “unfussy” and inexpensive meals featuring familiar flavors the whole family can enjoy. 

Dinnerly Menu & Ingredients 

Unlike other meal delivery services that hang their hat on exotic ingredients and innovative cooking techniques, Dinnerly sticks to the staples—think of them as the “meat and potatoes” of meal kits. They’ve made it their mission to deliver “unfussy” and inexpensive meals featuring familiar flavors the whole family can enjoy. 

Dinnerly Recipes

Every week, Dinnerly offers 45+ recipes that customers can choose from to build their menu. The recipes are pretty simple to make—most are ready in 20 to 30 minutes, include six ingredients or less, and the directions rarely exceed five steps. The dishes feature classic flavors similar to those you’d find in your favorite casual family restaurant.

Here’s a taste of what’s on the menu:

• Crispy Parm Chicken Fingers with Roasted Broccoli & BBQ Ranch Dip
• Homestyle Chicken & Biscuits with Peas & Carrots
• Macaroni with Beef Bolognese Sauce
• Low-Cal Veggie Drunken Noodles with Broccoli, Peppers & Cilantro
• Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli
• Loaded Deep Dish Pizza with Sausage & Peppers
• Teriyaki Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry with Rice Noodles

While Dinnerly doesn’t have a formal vegetarian meal plan, there are always four vegetarian dishes offered each week. Here is a sampling of their meat-free options:

• Vegetarian Mashed Potato & Gravy Bowl with Garlic-Parmesan Broccoli & Carrots
• Low-Carb Mediterranean Veggie Bowl with Cauliflower Rice & Feta
• Low-Cal Cheesy Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers with Mushrooms & Scallion Rice
• Pan-Fried Tofu with Black Bean Sauce & Steamed Rice
• Black Bean Burrito Bowl with Garlic Crema & Cilantro

In your shipments you’ll find pretty much everything you need to create the meals you selected for the week. You will need to supplement the ingredients in your box with a few pantry staples like oil, condiments and spices, and some customers have complained that they had to supply their own eggs for certain recipes, too. Another point of contention for some customers is that none of the ingredients arrive peeled or pre-cut, so expect to do some prepping and chopping. Cutting these corners is just one of the ways that Dinnerly manages to keep costs down. Another cost saving measure? Unlike other meal kit delivery services, Dinnerly does not provide printed recipe cards—one of the ways they keep prices so low is by offering digital recipe cards instead. 

Ingredients

Dinnerly sources ingredients from a wide variety of suppliers, depending on the region and quality. They get their pasta from a small family-run pasta producer in Italy, and almost all of their meat comes from the U.S., with the exception of some high-quality, grass-fed beef that they source from abroad. Here’s a little bit more about the ingredients:

• Some ingredients are organic, but not the majority.
• The chicken they provide is NAE (No Antibiotics Ever) tier ABF, which is a fancy way of saying the animal never received antibiotics at any stage of its life. 
• Their other meats do not contain any antibiotics at the time of harvest—although the animals may have received antibiotics at some point during their life. 
• Some of their beef is grass-fed, and they often use heritage pork.
• They never add any MSGs to ingredients, but don’t guarantee that it’s not contained in some of the condiments or sauces provided. 
• All of their dairy products are pasteurized. 

Allergens & Special Diets

Every Dinnerly recipe card includes a full list of ingredients and possible allergens so customers can make informed decisions as they customize their weekly menu.

While they don’t give customers the option to exclude specific ingredients or generate full menus for special diets, Dinnerly does offer some recipes that are allergen-free and suited to certain diets. It should be noted, though, that all ingredients go through the same facility and production process, which means there is a risk of cross contamination. Also, since ingredient availability can change depending on the season as well as supply and demand, Dinnerly will sometimes need to replace ingredients at the last minute. If you’re allergic to a specific ingredient, they can’t guarantee you won’t receive it during the replacement process.

Extras

Dinnerly occasionally offers brunch and dessert recipes, but this is typically during holidays like Easter and Thanksgiving. They also offer customers the option to add grocery items, protein packs containing packs of chicken breasts and fish, plus seasonal desserts, snacks and more through their “Market by Dinnerly.”

Dinnerly Serving Sizes

Dinnerly offers customers two plans, a couples plan or a family plan. The couples plan includes two servings per meal, and the family plan includes four. With both plans, customers can choose to receive three, four, five or six meals per week. 

Dinnerly Nutrition Facts

Every Dinnerly recipe includes nutritional information like calories, carbs, fat and protein. The company also provides descriptive labels that provide insight into the nutrition. Some of the labels include:

• Low calorie: Fewer than 650 calories
• Low carb: Fewer than 40 grams of carbohydrates
• Keto-friendly: Fewer than 20 grams of carbohydrates
• Nutritious: High nutritive value and minimally processed ingredients

Dinnerly Cost

Like other meal kit delivery services, Dinnerly delivers delicious recipes and fresh, high quality ingredients directly to your door. Unlike other meal kit delivery services, Dinnerly won’t charge you an arm and a leg to do it. Theirs is one of the most affordable meal kit delivery services on the market today. Here’s what you can expect to pay:

Dinnerly Meals

Of all the meal kit subscription services, Dinnerly is one of the least expensive. At the time of this review, the kits cost between $4.19 and $5.79 per portion, which is nearly half what other meal kit delivery services are charging.

But don’t mistake their affordable pricing as a reflection of the product quality—Dinnerly doesn’t compromise the quality or flavor of the ingredients, they cut costs by using fewer ingredients in their dishes, utilizing digital instead of paper recipe cards, and streamlining their packaging.

Delivery 

Dinnerly delivers to most of the contiguous U.S. states. The day and time of your delivery will depend upon your location. At the time of this review, shipping costs $9.99, which is pretty comparable to other meal kit delivery services.

Dinnerly Promo Code, Discounts & Deals

Dinnerly occasionally offers discounts and coupons, especially for first time customers. Keep an eye on their website leading up to holidays—companies of this kind tend to run deeper discounts during these times.

About Dinnerly, the Company

Dinnerly was founded in 2017 by Fabian Siegel, founder and CEO of Marley Spoon, a meal kit delivery service that recently partnered with Martha Stewart. Intended to be a cost-conscious option that takes complicated recipes and exotic ingredients off the table and instead delivers “unfussy, affordable weeknight meals” to busy people’s doors, Dinnerly is one of the most inexpensive meal kit delivery services on the market today. 

Dinnerly Customer Service

You can contact Dinnerly customer service by phone or email.

• Phone number: 888-267-2850
• Email address: hi@dinnerly.com

The company also offers a modified chat feature that provides automated responses to your questions based on the topic.

Dinnerly vs Competitors

Dinnerly distinguishes itself from the competition in two primary ways: 

1. Its cost—Dinnerly is almost half as expensive as other meal delivery services
2. Its simplicity—The recipes typically require fewer steps and fewer ingredients

Here’s how Dinnerly stacks up against specific competitors:

Dinnerly vs Everyplate:

Of all the competitors, Everyplate is most similar to Dinnerly. Both brands provide a cost-conscious way to create classic, home-cooked meals that appeal to even the pickiest eater. The prices are pretty comparable, and the shipping costs are the same. The menus are also extremely similar—each focuses on comfort food over exotic cuisine. Like Dinnerly, Everyplate does not offer meal plans catering to specific dietary preferences, but there are always five vegetarian meals on the weekly menu.

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two brands is that Dinnerly offers more menu selections every week—47 compared to EveryPlate’s 17, and more add-ons thanks to its “Market by Dinnerly.” Customers can shop the market for grocery items and packs of chicken breasts and fish, plus seasonal specials like desserts, snacks and more. Everyplate does offer some protein packs and a limited number of desserts, but their offerings are not nearly as robust as Dinnerly’s.

Dinnerly vs HelloFresh:

HelloFresh recipes are more culinary masterpieces than classic comfort food, but that comes at a cost—HelloFresh is nearly twice as expensive. The better option for you depends on your priorities. Dinnerly is a great choice for the busy, cost-conscious crowd, and for those who appreciate simple, classic flavors. HelloFresh is optimal for those who crave menu variety and culinary creativity—and don’t mind paying more to get it.

Dinnerly vs Home Chef:

Home Chef offers fewer menu options than Dinnerly—20 compared to Dinnerly’s 47. Home Chef is also more expensive than Dinnerly, and offers fewer vegetarian recipes—they offer one meat-free recipe every other week.