Hungryroot is a grocery delivery service that provides a curated or customized box of healthy ingredients each week and provide instructions/or recipes to show you how to use everything. I tried Hungryroot a few different times and this is my honest Hungryroot review.
**This post contains affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you decide to subscribe to Hungryroot. However, this is my completely honest review and you’re by no means obligated to use my links. If you do, thanks so much for supporting my site.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
One of my favorite things to do is test out and review different meal kit companies. I feel these companies have really hit a home run catering to the busy needs of individuals and families. Specifically people who want to eat healthy without all the work. Whether you’re eating keto, paleo, clean, counting calories, or don’t really care there is a meal kit box to meet every need. Of course, these kits aren’t for everyone but if you’re looking to jumpstart a new healthy eating style, or simply want convienence, then a meal kit can be the solution. You can read all of my reviews here.
The latest “meal kit” I’ve tried, which isn’t exactly a meal kit, is Hungryroot.
Hungryroot actually makes mention on their website that they aren’t a meal kit company at all but instead a grocery delivery company. But they really aren’t sending basic groceries either – like you can’t order milk or eggs. Instead they are sending ready to use ingredients to help you quickly prepare a healthy meal. So it’s a mix between prepared sauces, salads, and other things like that along with prepped vegetables. There’s also meats, pasta, beans, grains, mixes, vegan cookie dough, and meal cups (oatmeal, chili, soup, etc).
Again, it’s all about convienence so all the ingredients are prepared in some way, shape, or form. The point is to have prepped ingredients in your kitchen (refrigerator and pantry) to put together a healthy meal within minutes.
Also, most of their ingredients are geared towards a vegan lifestyle. There are some chicken sausage options but I’d say most of the food is dairy and meat free. This is great for busy vegans!
When I first signed up for Hungryroot I didn’t really know what to expect. Some of the ingredients seemed odd but I decided to give it a try because it’s my job to be the meal kit guinea pig.
Anyway, I’m going to get into more detail about my experience but I just want to say this – I am super impressed with Hungryroot. Even though all items are prepared and packaged ahead of time everything tasted super fresh. Also, every “recipe” came together in 15 minutes or less.
However, I was most impressed with the flavors. Who would’ve thought I’d love cashew cheese or black bean cookies. What?! But, I’ll show all that later on.
First let’s chat about the Hungryroot basics. I already gave a quick background so now let’s go over some details.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
How much does Hungryroot cost?
This is always the million dollar question with any meal kit. Please keep in mind that any meal kit company is going to be more expensive than simply purchasing all the ingredients from the store. You’re paying for convienence.
With that said, there are 3 different plans to choose from.
How much food comes in each plan?
Great question! In a small box you’ll get groceries to make 3-4 two-serving meals plus snacks. This box works best for 1 person. In a medium box you’ll get groceries to make 4-5 two-serving meals plus snacks. This box works best for 2 people. A large box is perfect for families because it has 5-6 tw0-serving meals plus snacks.
My advice is to start with a small box to test it out. If you like the food, and it works for your lifestyle, then move up to a larger box, if needed.
What items do I get? Can I pick my items?
You can either pick your own items or have Hungryroot curate a box. If you decide to have Hungryroot put together your boxes then it’s really important to go through and fill out the food profile.
You’ll start with your dietary needs. So if you’re vegan or soy-free then Hungryroot will make sure you only get itms than meet those needs.
From there, you’ll go through all the items they offer and select whether or not you often, sometimes, or never want that item in your box. So if you hate Bok Choy then make sure to click never. If you don’t click anything then it’s free game.
Personally, I like having Hungryroot put together my box. Like I said, there are a lot of different choices and I tend to get paralyzed when given too many options. Plus, I like to be surprised and try new things. But that’s just me.
Just FYI, if you do want to curate your own box then you’ll be able to do that after you sign up and it’s scheduled.
Speaking of customizing, if you want to change up and/or skip your order then you can do that by clicking on “My Hungryroot” and clicking customize or reschedule.
You can also go into your account and click on “manage calendar” if you want to skip more than 1 week. Personally, I wish they’d make it easier to skip weeks because I did have to do a little digging around before finding this. So, just keep this in mind so you don’t get charge for a week you don’t want.
How do I cancel my Hungryroot account?
Simple go into settings and then click edit under the “account details” section. You’ll see a cancel plan button. I thought this was easy and straight forward.
Okay let’s chat about my experience.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
My Hungryroot Review
Just like every other meal kit delivery service Hungryroot delivers all the ingredients in a sturdy insulated cardboard box. Honestly, I love seeing these boxes get delivered to my door – it’s like Christmas but with boxes of food.
After I opened the box I found an envelope that had a paper with all the ingredients listed in my box along with recipe instructions. Keep in mind these recipes are just suggestions. You can use these ingredients however you want. From my experience everything is interchangeable (for the most part) and still taste great.
Here’s everything I got in my box. Can I just say how excited (but slightly frightened) I was to see chickpea cookies and black bean brownies in my box? I never tried these before. This is one of the reasons I love testing out, and using, meal kit companies because I’m always pushed out of my comfort zone at some point. Honestly, I think I’m a better cook because of these companies. Anyway, I’ll talk about these treats in a little bit.
Here are the recipes they sent. Keep in mind I had Hungryroot curate my box so they chose the recipes and ingredients for me. If you pick your own items you can choose between meals and individual items so your box and recipes will look different.
Here’s everything in my box. I thought all my items were neatly packaged. Nothing leaked or got smashed. Also, everything was cold and I even left it in the box for an extra day because I needed to take pictures and ran out of time. Oh the food blogger life. Anyway, happy to report everything stayed cold even with an extra day in the box.
One of the biggest complaints (besides the cost) people have about any meal kit company is the amount of garbage from the box and insulation. I get it, it’s a lot but the box and insulation is recyclable so all of it can go in recycling. Yes, it’s still a lot but I guess it is what it is.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
Alright, let’s talk about the recipes. Because at the end of the day it all comes down to taste. I mean if it doesn’t taste good then whats the point?
The first recipe I want to talk about is the pasta recipe. One thing you’ll notice about Hungryroot is they keep things super simple – even down to the recipe name, or lack of name.
This pasta recipe included red lentil fusilli, garlicky chickpea duo, and kale pesto. Let me just say, I never had red lentil pasta or kale pesto so I really didn’t know what to expect.
This pasta recipe came together in about 10-11 minutes. Cooking the pasta took the longest amount of time but when that was done the recipe came together quickly.
And the taste? It was delicious. Super good. I thought the kale pesto would be strong but it was fine. Great flavor and filling. Also, I thought it made quite a bit so this would be great for dinner and then leftovers for lunch.
The next recipe I tried was the grain bowl. This had lentil quinoa rice mix, savory spiced tofu bites, superblend salad. and house dressing.
I can’t remember the last time I had tofu. I can honestly say I’ve never cooked with it before so this was definitely a step outside my comfort zone. Well, it’s not liked I cooked it because I really only need to warm it up…but still.
Even though this recipe included the most ingredients it still came together super fast. I had this on the table in less than 15 minutes. And it was scrumptious!
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
The house dressing tasted like Italian dressing. I had a bunch of dressing leftover so I can use that with another salad.
Another recipe I prepared was the veggie noodle recipe that included sweet potato ribbons, cashew cheese, and chicken sausage. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients. Anyway, I had no idea what cashew cheese was going to taste like. Honestly, I never even heard of it.
This recipe was my husband’s favorite. He said he has no clue it was sweet potato and not real pasta. And the chicken sausage was awesome, super flavorful. What about the cashew cheese? We loved it. It tasted like a thick creamy sharp cheddar cheese sauce. I think it did have a slightly different flavor but I thought it was good. This is the recipe I kept reaching for more of. It was super comforting and good.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
Another easy recipe we made was the stir-fry using cauliflower rice, kale pesto, and chicken sausage. I was looking forward to trying cauliflower rice because it’s so popular.
I think this was my least favorite mostly because of the caulifower rice. If you like caulifower rice then you’ll like this but it just didn’t do it for me. I thought it had a strong cauliflower taste. I’m not saying it was bad, the sausage made it desirable. However, if Hungryroot were asking me for a recipe suggestion I’d say lentil pasta, cashew cheese, and chicken sausage. Yummy cheesy sausage pasta! Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Mental note for next time.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
Now let’s get to the treats. I didn’t know what to think when I saw these 2 containers in my box. On one hand I was excited to give them a try but on the other I was keeping expectations low.
The great thing about both of these doughs is you can eat them raw because there’s no egg. I gave both a taste and was pleasantly surprise. Both doughs were super tasty. But just because I think they tasted good didn’t mean my husband and kids would think so. I also was very skeptical on how this dough would bake.
Here are the results.
These are Almond Chickpea Cookies. I was totally shocked that these baked into edible cookies – they even spread a bit. But what about the taste?. All I can say is OMG. Honestly, these were so good. They tasted like peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips. The texture was almost a fudge like consistency but I mean that in a good way because these cookies were awesome. I’m even thinking about making my own version in the near future.
What about the brownie bites? Here they are right out of the oven. I truly couldn’t believe they spread and baked like this. My youngest daughter LOVED these. So much, she ate the entire pan minus the one I tried. So I can’t tell you whether anyone else in the family liked them because they didn’t get a chance to try one. These brownie bites were gone before they even cooled.
The last thing I want to say about these Hungryroot recipes is everything can be made ahead of time to make it even easier during the week. I meal prepped these recipes and stored them in glass containers. All we needed to do was warm up when we were ready to eat. The meals kept great all week.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
Okay, so that’s my experience with Hungryroot.
Here are some overall thoughts.
Pros
- Hungryroot is super convenient. Everything comes prepared and ready to assemble. There is minimal cooking. All the recipes I prepared were on the table within 15 minutes.
- Speaking of cooking, if you can boil water, turn on the oven, or saute vegetables then you’ll have no issue with Hungryroot recipes. There’s no complicated recipes to follow. Just combine, cook (if needed) and eat.
- Food is very tasty. I was impressed with everything I tried. Honestly, I didn’t think the food was going to be as good as it was. Not only did I like it but my husband thought it was good too – and that says a lot!
- A big variety of healthy items to choose from. Hungryroot has just about everything you can think of to create nutritious quick meals.
- Items can be mixed and matched to create a variety of meals. One of the things I really like about Hungryroot is you’re not married to a recipe. Sure they provide recipe suggestions but once you get the hang of whipping up healthy meals with the items on hand you’ll see the skies the limit. The goal is have your kitchen stock with pantry or refrigerator items so you can quickly put together a nutritious meal.
- Is good for single people or big families. Again, you’re ordering groceries to stock your kitchen with. If you want to follow the recipes sent you can do that or you can whip up any type of meal you’d like.
Cons
- The biggest con I’d say with Hungryroot is they didn’t provide nutritional information with their recipes. Yes, all the nutritional information is located on their website but it’d be easier if they did that step for us.
- Besides a few meat items like chicken sausage and meatballs the items are definitely geared more towards a vegan lifestyle. I have a feeling this might change in the future but for now this is how it is.
- A lot of the items are on the eccentric side. For example, cashew cheese and red lentil noodles are not typical ingredients you’ll find on the everyday American family table. Not to say these ingredients are bad, I thought they were really good, but it could turn someone away who’s on the pickier side.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, and don’t want to read my entire Hungryroot review, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
Who I think Hungryroot would work great for?
- Someone who likes the idea of a meal kit (food getting sent to your door) but doesn’t want to be married too, or cook up, recipes every week. Meal kits are great for convienence in the sense that you don’t have plan or shop for dinner – but you still have to cook from scratch. Hungyroot makes it super easy to get meals on the table with minimal cooking – very minimal.
- Someone who is super busy but still wants to eat healthy.
- Someone who wants the convienence of fast food but wants it to be healthy.
- Someone who doesn’t mind paying a little extra for that convienence.
- Someone who’s vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free. There are tons of options if this is your eating style.
- Someone who likes to try new foods. This is one of my favorite things about Hungryroot, and meal kits in general, I like to try foods that I probably never would’ve purchased on my own.
Who I think shouldn’t even bother with Hungryroot?
- Someone who isn’t willing to step out of their food comfort zone. Yes, Hungryroot does have some everyday items but, for the most part, their foods are on eccentric side. At least, in my opinion.
- Someone who wants to cook full recipes from scratch. Hungryroot is about making good food easy and that means sending items that are prepared ahead of time in some way shape or form. Not to say the food doesn’t taste fresh, because it does, but if you want to chop onions and make your own sauce then Hungryroot won’t work.
- Someone who has no desire to eat vegan food. For example, you want the real deal cheese sauce and not cashew cheese then you probably won’t like Hungryroot. Hungryroot does offer many options for the non-vegan but the food is definitely geared toward vegans and vegetarians.
- Someone who doesn’t see the value in a meal kit company or company like it. These companies aren’t for everyone. If you prefer to do your own planning, shopping, and cooking then Hungryroot, or any meal kit company, won’t work for you.
I hope you found my Hungryroot Review helpful. My goal is always to provide as much information, based on my personal experience, so you can decided whether or not this service would be a good fit for you. If you’ve tried Hungryroot I’d love to learn more about your experience in the comments.
If you’re ready to try Hungryroot, you can use my link to get 15% off your first two boxes!
Here are some other meal kit reviews if you’re still trying to decide:
Sun Basket Review
Green Chef Review
Daily Harvest Review
Hello Fresh Review
Thrive Market Review
Butcher Box Review
**This post contains affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you decide to subscribe to Hungryroot. However, this is my completely honest Hungryroot review and you’re by no means obligated to use my links. If you do, thanks so much for supporting my site.
