Hungryroot Review 2024: Is This Meal & Grocery Delivery Service Worth It?

About The Brand

Hungryroot Inc. was founded by Ben McKean, who also serves as the current Chief Executive Officer. He was previously a General Manager and Vice President at Groupon. 

In 2015, McKean came up with the idea to start a food delivery company that would impact people’s lives by offering them relatively better meal options. That’s when Hungryroot was formed. 

Hungryroot has its headquarters in New York in the U.S. Aside from Hawaii and Alaska, Hungryroot extends its services to most parts of the United States including Washington D.C. and the 48 contiguous states.

All of Hungryroot’s delicious meals are convenient, balanced, and healthy. Rest assured that all the meals are aimed at keeping your weight in check and giving you all the nutrients required for a stronger immune system^[1]. 

Most of the recipes have low-moderate calories – approximately 400 to 600 calories – which is in line with most people’s weight loss goals. 

Keep reading Hungryroot’s honest review to understand how it works, its pros, cons, unique features, and so on. Let’s get into it, shall we?  

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How Does Hungryroot Work?

Hungryroot works on a subscription basis. You need to sign up for a Hungryroot profile on hungryroot.com by answering a few survey questions that should give them a rough idea of the best services to offer you. 

You’ll be asked questions pertaining to the number of people you’re feeding, how much food you’d want to receive weekly, whether or not you’re interested in losing weight, and so on. 

Hungryroots gives you the ability to customize all your deliveries to accommodate any diet. They give you a list of all the ingredients for every meal, so it will be easier for you to determine what you’ll be comfortable with. 

You’ll be provided with a collection of images of the food they offer – including breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner – and require you to click on the ones that look most appealing to you. 

One area that Hungryroot excels at is stocking food items that might either work as small meals (e.g., the tamales + sous vide egg bites special breakfast) or easily be used to form more complex recipes and meals. 

In most cases, the food that’s set aside for recipes is a lot more than you need. It’s therefore up to you to determine how you’ll use it. 

After every delivery, Hungryroot will do a quick survey on what impressed you and what didn’t. They will ask you to give each recipe a rating and allow you to decide if, in the future, you’d want to order different meals along with the frequency (never, sometimes, often)

As long as you have an active Hungryroot subscription, you’ll keep receiving curated grocery boxes. They will keep charging your card and sending boxes as often as you keep customizing your order each week. 

One setback is that you won’t be able to cancel your subscription until they fulfill and ship your order. You’ll need to set a reminder to do away with your subscription a couple of days after you confirm your most recent order.  

Who Should Use Hungryroot?

Hungryroot is perfect for couples, families, or individuals who tend to prioritize cooking and ease of shopping over variety. 

It’s also a splendid fit for individuals who prefer fast and nutrient-dense alternatives as their primary standard without having to sacrifice flavor. If you want variety in your diet, Hungryroot may not be the best option for you. 

Hungryroot is also great for people who like the concept of meal kits but are never in the mood to prepare the recipes. Hungryroot allows you to order simple recipes that don’t have complex cooking processes. 

They offer meals that have as little as three ingredients. For example, you can opt to prepare a paleo Thai chicken stir-fry with three basic ingredients: precooked chicken, uncooked green beans, and Thai curry sauce. 

The result will be mouth-watering and will cost you almost no effort or time. There are several reviews of Hungryroot that you can read through to find out what their customers have to say to choose if it’s something that will work for you. 

Pros

• Ample, healthy, and adequate meal sizes
• Affordable meal plan options
• Fast and easy-to-prepare recipes
• Organic and clean ingredients

Cons

• Some cooking enthusiasts may not be impressed by limited-ingredient recipes.
• You’ll need to dispose of the large boxes and other packaging every week. 

Hungryroot Reviews

Packaging

The ingredients for your meals are packed in a convenient cardboard box. Like most other meal kits, Hungryroot meals are packed alongside a cooling element that’s manufactured using biodegradable gel. 

The items are separately wrapped and sealed, just as you’d expect to find them in your local grocery store. The packaging is soft non-recyclable plastic along with recyclable plastic bins and tubs. 

A typical box includes 32 different packaging pieces. 17 of them are trash, while nine pieces (including the cardboard) are recyclable; the rest either fall under the “home compostable” category^[2] or require recycling at special facilities. 

While these descriptions may seem like trouble, the kind of packaging used by Hungryroot should generate a similar quantity and type of waste you’d expect from an ordinary grocery trip.  

Recipe Variety

Hungryroot has a variety of grocery items and recipes that are sure to meet your individual taste. 

You can enjoy up to more than 3,000 meals (based on your dietary restrictions) across various categories in Soups + Stews, Bakes, Salads, Sandwiches, Veggie Noodles, Wraps, Burgers, Tacos, Flatbreads, and Mains + Sides. 

While it might seem like a wide array of meal alternatives, the ingredients are usually duplicitous (can do double-duty with different recipes)  and somewhat simple.

Every order you make will come with a Kitchen Companion, which is basically a small pamphlet that contains a detailed guide,  including extras in your meals, simple recycling instructions, and a link to Hungryroot’s cooking playlist on Spotify. 

You’ll also receive a summary of all the products you ordered and how to use them to prepare the recipes. 

Another ingredient that comes with most meals is the sauce. They provide a wide range of sauces, including sesame ginger sauce, tomato sauce, coconut curry, and so on. Hungryroot makes all these sauces soy-free, gluten-free, and vegan. 

Delivery Service

Hungryroot delivery takes place on different days based on your location. It is a responsible delivery service. 

Rarely is there a delay in their deliveries. Even if it happens, the customer care team will send you multiple notices in regards to the delay and what to do in case any of the ingredients are not within the temperature range. 

Sometimes, when you receive an out-of-stock notification, the system will automatically substitute your choice and replace it with an alternative meal. 

Although you have the option to change this yourself, some customers may find the automatic change slightly irritating and presumptuous. 

Cooking Process

All Hungryroot recipes are fast and easy to prepare. In fact, anyone without prior cooking experience will find the meals relatively easy to prepare. 

Each recipe is made up of at least six ingredients (pre-prepped) that in most cases only require heating. Every item takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. The only major prep work is simple slicing. 

You’ll also notice that you won’t need to wash a lot of dishes afterward. Some of the ingredients will only require a bowl to blend all the ingredients, others just some basic cookware (a skillet, a pot, etc.). 

For a smoother cooking process, you’ll need a microwave^[3] to prepare some of the ingredients.

Costs

Hungryroot’s meal plans are fully editable. They have a convenient credit-based system that allows customers to shop for various ingredients/groceries or recipes. As straightforward as it might seem, some customers may find it a little cumbersome to operate. 

Hungryroot’s recipes and ingredients are priced differently. The simpler vegetable-based ingredients tend to cost less, while the more meat-based or complex dishes end up on the higher end. The meals will therefore cost less or cost more, depending on what you choose. 

Generally, Hungryroot’s plans start at a mere $65, which is typical of most other meal kit delivery services. Their portion sizes are ample and adequate. 

You have the option of adding extra servings (increments of two to four) each at an increase of 10 dollars. The cost per serving will decrease for bulk orders. Hungryroot offers free shipping for all weekly plans over $70.

Freshness, Flavor, And Quality

Despite the limited amounts of the pre-prepped Hungryroot ingredients, you’ll find the quality, texture, and flavor are simply exceptional. 

The vegetables are packed at different levels of readiness and are 100% fresh with no discernible signs of discoloration or wilting. 

The cooking process will not lead you to an overcooked or mushy place. You’ll notice that vegetables are the backbone of every meal. 

Nutrition Value

A complete nutritional information set is available for each recipe and grocery product, although Hungryroot could help the process by introducing extra filters to help in sorting by nutrients. 

There are plenty of Hungryroot reviews with weight-loss recipe alternatives, so it might be impossible to determine the exact calorie ranges per meal. Rest assured, however, that no meal appears to be above the 700-calorie mark per serving^[4]. 

Hungryroot caters to a variety of specialty diets, which is an advantage over other meal delivery services. 

There are more than 10 alternative dietary restrictions to pick from, including pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan^[5]. Hungryroot packs raw vegetables and delivers all proteins either cooked or pre-seasoned.

Customer Service

Aside from the highly beneficial FAQ page on the official website, Hungryroot boasts a solution-oriented, efficient, and friendly customer service team. 

Their services extend to each and every avenue of live communication, including email and text service. While they may not be active after-hours, they’re otherwise everpresent on weekdays, weekends, and also different holidays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

Alternatives to Hungryroot

Final Thought: Is Hungryroot Worth It?

Yes. There are plenty of Hungryroot.com reviews that prove just how efficient their services are. We recommend Hungryroot for health-focused individuals looking for tasty, basic, and efficient foods. 

As much as it might be a tad repetitive and somewhat burdensome to customize on some occasions, it’s a huge win for busy people who wish to optimize their nutrient intake.   

Compared to most other traditional meal kits, Hungryroot has a way of making meal prep for snacking and mealtime fun and super easy. Some users consider it a valuable medium for exploring new and interesting recipes, snacks, and foods. 

Hungryroot outlines a customized package of groceries that will keep you satisfied with the majority of the meals for the entire week. All this for a few dollars more than if you were to go get the groceries yourself. (But then, consider the gasoline savings.)

You’ll find the sign-up, customizing, and ordering processes super easy. The meals are simple but quite tasty. Plus, you’ll get introduced to new brands and products that you weren’t even aware of. 

Frequently Asked Questions

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