Plated Review

UPDATED March 11. 2024.
This website features affiliate links. For purchases made via these links, we earn commissions that allow us to keep producing helpful content. To find out more click here. Close

Important update: We regret to say that Plated was forced to shut down its subscription service in mid-November 2019. The service is no longer processing orders and its meal kits are now exclusively available in grocery stores. If you still have credits attached to your Plated account, you should expect to have them refunded to your card as soon as possible. For some excellent Plated alternatives, be sure to view our list of the best meal kit delivery services

If you’re looking for a meal delivery service that’s the best replacement for Plated, check out Home Chef.

Plated is a New York-based meal kit delivery that has been on the market since 2012. In just a couple of years, it has managed to grow from a mere start-up to one of the industry leaders, setting and raising standards in food quality, menu variety, and flexibility ever since. If you are a home cook seeking a completely personalized meal kit cooking experience, read this Plated review and find out why this company is one of the best meal kit delivery services in America.

Plated box at the door

It is only noon and our Plated box is already here! Looks good on the outside; we cannot wait to take a peek inside.

What Is Plated

Plated is a subscription-based service that provides everything you need to cook your meals in less time and with less effort. As a Plated patron, you receive pre-portioned ingredients and beginner-friendly recipes of your choice on a weekly basis.

The recipes at your disposal are unusually numerous and change every week, allowing you to diversify your diet and expand your culinary repertoire. Keeping in mind the varying cooking skills of its customers, the service provides easy-to-understand instructions that guide you through the entire prep and cook process, which takes about 30 minutes on average.

Striving to help its patrons eat more healthily, Plated offers natural and organic ingredients that are good for your body and sure to please your palate. Many of the products included in its kits are hard to come by, which is just one of many good reasons to give this service a try.

It is further important to note that Plated subscriptions are easily modifiable and ordering is highly flexible. You get to decide on the number of kits you get per week, the number of servings per kit, and the recipes you want to try out next. At Plated, everything is geared toward your needs and convenience.

Simply put, Plated is a complete solution for stress-free home cooking. It allows you to decide on all the details, it boasts one of the richest menus in the business, its ingredients are always fresh and natural, and its recipes are designed with even the most inexperienced cooks in mind.

How Does Plated Work

Plated offers 3 meal plans that allow you to cook 2, 3 or 4 times a week for 2, 3 or 4 people. You can pick any dinner or dessert recipe from the menu and receive your recipes and ingredients on the day of the week that best fits your busy schedule.

Every week, there are around 30 recipes on the menu, including delicious dinners, brunches, appetizers, sides, as well as delectable desserts. The recipes are designed for a range of different diets, from vegetarian to low-carb.

Plated ingredients on the table

Well-packaged ingredients of high quality and colorful recipe cards that make our mouths water. Exactly what we hoped to see when we unbox our Plated delivery.

After you pick your meals and place your order, the Plated staff gets busy, handpicking the finest ingredients and carefully measuring them, so each recipe would yield perfectly satisfying portions. Your recipe cards and ingredients are carefully packed, transported in insulated boxes that preserve freshness, and delivered straight to your home.

Just like the meal plans, the subscriptions are incredibly flexible. You can pause, modify or cancel your subscription at your convenience, no questions asked. You just need to make all the desired changes before your order is processed, that is, by noon 6 days before the scheduled delivery day.

Plated is a complete solution for stress-free home cooking. It allows you to decide on all the details, it boasts one of the richest menus in the business, its ingredients are always fresh and natural, and its recipes are designed with even the most inexperienced cooks in mind.

What Makes Plated Different

As we mentioned previously in this Plated review, this unique service has managed to differentiate itself from the rest by offering greater variety and flexibility and higher food quality than most similar solutions on the market. It does not only offer dinner recipes but also comes up with incredible appetizer, brunch, side, and dessert ideas every week. Plated offers a completely personalized ordering and cooking experience, with easily modifiable plans and subscriptions. It chooses nothing but the best ingredients, so your meals are rich in both flavor and nutrients.

It carefully chooses its suppliers and exclusively cooperates with farmers that employ the best sustainability practices. The meat you receive from Plated is raised without any antibiotics or added hormones. The produce is exceptionally fresh, always natural, and organic whenever possible. Plated uses fish from sustainable fisheries and provides special artisan ingredients you cannot find in stores. The result is a huge difference in both quality and taste, which you are sure to notice instantly.

Plated miso glazed eggplant

Flamboyant miso-glazed eggplant, on the table in 34 minutes. Prepared by the Plated chefs (above) vs. our cooking and tasting team (below). Expectations exceeded!

Plated Meals and Recipes

Plated meal options
For Families
For Singles
Gluten-Free
Organic
Vegetarian

Like we already said in this Plated review, the service offers about 30 new recipes each week, carefully designed by professional chefs to fit any level of cooking skill.

Dinner recipes are the most numerous, with around 20 options available every week. They can be divided into two basic categories – weekly recipes and encore recipes. Weekly recipes are the ones freshly crafted by the Plated team and featured for the first time on the Plated menu. Encore recipes are the ones that were featured on the menu in the past weeks and received the highest ratings from the company’s customers. Thus, whether you want to try something new or play it safe and choose the meals that everyone loved, the Plated menu has plenty of options to satisfy your desires.

In addition to dinners, Plated offers 4+ brunch recipes (each serving 2 people) and a couple of appetizers (each serving 4), sides (each serving 2), and desserts (each serving 4 to 8). Therefore, you do not have to stop at just weeknight dinners but instead you can create a full feast complete with appetizers and something sweet at the end of the meal.

Plated recipe cards

Plated has gone the extra mile to ensure that its recipe cards are so gorgeous you want to keep them in your cookbook forever.

Although the service does not offer separate meal plans for individuals with special dietary needs, it does provide plenty of options for all the most common diets. Every week, the Plated menu features recipes suitable for omnivores, vegetarians, individuals allergic to gluten, and people who prefer low-carb and low-calorie meals.

In order to help you choose your meals more easily, Plated has sorted its meals by categories. Depending on your dietary preferences, you can filter the meals by main protein source and view dishes featuring meat, seafood or veggies only. Alternatively, you can apply additional filters and view gluten-free, low-carb, quick-prep, stovetop-only or meals under 600 calories.

It is important to emphasize that Plated does not only aim to satisfy your dietary needs but also expand your culinary horizons. Its recipes are incredibly innovative and inspired by numerous world cuisines, like French, Italian, Indian, Mexican, Chinese, and traditional American.

Plated expectaions vs reality

Another major success in our test kitchen. Whether our Mongolian steak stir-fry (on the right) looks better than the one cooked by the Plated team (on the left), you be the judge. All that we can say is that it tastes amazing and it was ready in just 23 minutes.

As far as meal preparation is concerned, it is minimized, as all the ingredients come in just the right quantities. The recipes are simple, with several easy steps and clear instructions that guarantee perfect results. The meals are usually ready in no more than 45 minutes and some may take as little as 20 minutes to make. Hands-on time normally ranges between 10 and 30 minutes.

Plated offers a completely personalized ordering and cooking experience, with easily modifiable plans and subscriptions. It chooses nothing but the best ingredients, so your meals are rich in both flavor and nutrients.

How Much Does Plated Cost

At Plated, meal kits cost between $8.95 and $11.95 per plate. The prices vary in accordance with the number of kits per order and the number of servings per kit (the more food you order, the less you pay per plate). Shipping is free on $60+ orders.

If you choose to cook for 2 people, you pay $10.95 to $11.95 per serving. With the 3-serving option, you pay $8.95 to $9.95 per serving. In case you are cooking for 4 people, the price per serving is the same as with the 3-serving option – $8.95 to $9.95.

Take a look at the pricing overview below to find out how much you would pay per week with each of the available meal plans.

2 Servings
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$47.80 (first week: $35.85)$11.95
3$65.70 (first week: $49.27)$10.95
4$87.60 (first week: $65.70)$10.95
3 servings
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$59.70 (first week: $44.77)$9.95
3$80.55 (first week: $60.41)$8.95
4$107.40 (first week: $80.55)$8.95
4 servings
Meals per weekMeal kit pricePrice per serving
2$79.60 (first week: $59.70)$9.95
3$107.40 (first week: $80.55)$8.95
4$143.20 (first week: $107.40)$8.95

Where Does Plated Deliver

Plated meal kit delivery is currently available in about 95% of the United States. It does not ship its meal kits to Hawaii and Alaska, as well as several major cities in the state of Texas, including San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Laredo, and Midland.

Plated packaging

Plated meal kits are packed neatly and shipped with care, so you never have to worry about undesired spills and dents. Plus, they stay cool for hours after delivery.

If you’re not sure whether Plated delivers to your area, you can simply enter your zip code during signup to get a confirmation. This way, you don’t have to worry about subscribing and then finding out you’re not in the delivery range.

On the plus side, you get to choose the delivery date that works best for you. As stated before in this Plated review, you do not have to pay for shipping if your order is worth $60+. Furthermore, you do not have to be at home to receive your delivery. No signature is required and the boxes are insulated, so they can usually keep your food fresh at least until midnight of the same day.

Plated Pros And Cons

To make sure Plated meets all your standards and expectations, it is important to know its biggest advantages and disadvantages. With a short overview of its pros and cons, you can easily decide if Plated is the right meal kit service for you.

Pros
  • Diverse weekly menu featuring 30+ recipes
  • Dinner, brunch, side dish, appetizer, and dessert ideas
  • Gourmet, vegetarian, gluten-free, low-calorie, and low-carb dishes
  • High-quality ingredients, organic whenever possible
  • Pre-made sauces and spice blends for easy cooking and better taste
  • Incredible flexibility
  • Free shipping on orders over $60

Cons

  • Just 2 desserts per week

Sample Dishes

If you subscribe to Plated, you can easily prepare culinary masterpieces using only the ingredients and recipes found in your meal kit box. You may not be a pro chef just yet, but with Plated, you can easily make restaurant-grade meals. You don’t have to take our word for it – check out the images below to get a better idea of the types of dishes you can enjoy with Plated.

Bottom Line

As seen in this Plated review, it has many neat options which most of its competitors do not. One of the biggest advantages is the price – it actually doesn’t charge much more than what you would pay for those ingredients at your local store. On top of that, the plans are highly flexible. Not only can you choose between 2, 3 or 4 servings, you can also skip weeks and cancel at any point if you wish. The menu is incredibly versatile, with something to suit everyone’s taste, plus the quality of the ingredients is top-notch. If you’re looking to cook easy recipes several times a week at a favorable price, Plated is the meal kit delivery service for you.


Plated FAQ

Who owns Plated?

Plated is a subsidiary of Albertsons, one of the largest U.S. grocers.

Which is better – Blue Apron or Plated?

Both Blue Apron and Plated are excellent meal kit delivery services. They provide ingredients of the highest quality, feature quick-prep recipes, and offer free shipping on most orders. Discover more in our detailed Plated vs Blue Apron comparison.

How to cancel Plated?

You can cancel your subscription at any time on your Account page. However, if a box is marked Confirmed at the time of cancelation, you will receive it and be billed for that delivery. All other upcoming boxes will be canceled.

View All FAQs

User Reviews (43)

Plated is rated 3.5/5, based on 43 user reviews.

The Plated reviews listed below reflect the opinions and experiences of real users and are in no way influenced by the service reviewed here. Before publishing each review, our team checks whether it was submitted by an actual user in an effort to prevent false or spammy reviews.

  1. | March 7, 2020

    Found Plated in a store close to my moms house and I was so happy! My wife and I used to order from Plated all the time but I never bothered to check where they sell now that the company does not do deliveries anymore. Luckily, I found the place and restocked for the next couple of days!

  2. | December 4, 2019

    The people from Plated were very kind and they’ve sent me a refund in less than seven days after I wrote requesting the refund. The lady from the customer service, I think, was so polite and explained to me the whole situation, which I think is a terrible loss for the company, and informed me that the money I paid will be returned in the shortest amount of time and asked me to stay patient because they have a lot of similar requests along with other company related issues. But it didn’t take long and I’ve received a full refund. I hope I’ll be able to find them in a store near me.

  3. | September 4, 2019

    I’ve tried several meal delivery services, and so far Plated is my favorite.

    The reason? The recipes are far more interesting than Blue Apron, Martha Stewart, EveryPlate, and HomeChef (the other services I’ve tried). Ingredients are good quality, I’ve had only a handful of occasions where ingredients were not included, and customer service credited me in each instance without delay. I’m quite satisfied with this company.

  4. | August 30, 2019

    After cooking 1458 recipes, I’ve cancelled Plated. The Service began with great quality ingredients. Occasionally there would be a leaking vinegar, or sauce. We would provide feedback and often there would be improvements made in packaging. But, for the most part, everything was great! In the past 6 months the quality has deteriorated severely. The produce has been horrible. The spinach in my shipment last week was ROTTEN in 2 days from receipt. This week it was already starting to spoil when I opened the box. Previously we noticed that after providing feedback they would make GOOD changes. Now they’re just making cheaper decisions and providing less quality every shipment. We have moved on and cancelled our subscription. Plated, get it together! There is too much competition out there these days to cut SO many corners.

  5. | April 27, 2019

    I just wanted to comment on the reason why I cancelled my weekly subscription box from Plated. I was a brand new customer, very excited to try their products, so I opened an account and set up a weekly delivery and made meal plans for several future weeks. I was so excited to receive my first order…and then it didn’t come. I contacted customer service and they apologized and refunded me. I was told that everything was straightened out and I would definitely receive a box the very next week.

    A few days later I received an email from Plated saying “Yay! we’re going to ship your order!” So I shopped light at the grocery store, confident that Plated would send me a box…and then it didn’t come. Again. (I had nothing planned for dinner for the next 3 days and had to go out and buy more groceries after working a 12-hr shift.) I contacted customer service and received a refund to my bank account. But really? Two weeks in a row? No delivery, no explantion? Did they even want my business? Why would they not make certain that the order was shipped given the failure of the previous week? It was a very disappointing experience, and I would not recommend their service to anyone else. Plated gave me another refund, and when I told the customer service rep that I felt I should cancel my service if they could not deliver food I was told “We understand, sorry to see you go.” No offer of a coupon or any type of customer recovery, just sorry to see me go. Don’t bother to order from them, they can’t seem to guarantee delivery.

  6. | January 16, 2019

    7 meals in and we love love love Plated! Everything arrived super fresh which is way more than we expected in this age of online frauds and dishonesty. One important thing though, NEVER EXPERIMENT with the recipes! We did it once and it was a disaster. The recipes are laser precise and you have to follow them to a T for good results.

  7. | October 21, 2018

    I know it sounds stupid, but I work as a cook and when I come home, I don’t really feel like cooking and I have a hard time thinking of something I’d actually like to eat. A colleague of mine suggested Plated, I’ve cooked 4 meals so far, all the ingredients were good and the recipes were pretty cool, I think I could get used to this.

  8. | September 22, 2018

    Honestly, I expected the recipes to be less complicated. I mean, it looks fairly simple on paper, but I’m far from experienced, so I’m not always happy with the result. On the plus side, the ingredients always arrive fresh and it’s interesting to try out new dishes, so I think I’ll stick with the subscription, maybe my cooking improves 😀

  9. | August 30, 2018

    One star for service
    5 stars for food quality.

    Missed 2 deliveries in a row.
    No delivery resolution. If there has been one, I am unaware. What a shame.

  10. | June 16, 2018

    The convenience of this service is a 4*, but, we received meal kits with spoiled ingredients on our first delivery in 2/3 recipes. There were missing ingredients, too. It’s hard to make za’atar French fries without the spice–it’s not something in my spice collection.The second week, we were promised delivery on Friday. The food was shipped on Wednesday, and wasn’t delivered until Saturday afternoon in 90* temperatures. No wonder ingredients are slimy and spoiled.

    Poor attention to detail, I’m canceling.

  11. | June 13, 2018

    My husband and I have been using Plated since October of 2016, roughly around 360 meals to date. We began our box delivery service with HelloFresh and then Blue Apron and finally landed on Plated. At first, the meals were extremely time-consuming and difficult. I am a teacher and my husband is in sales, so coming home after 13 hour days and having to cook a meal that took me over an hour just wasn’t going to cut it. However, I stuck with them a little longer because their food was delicious and this is the only company that we had tried, thus far, that offered so many options. We have now been using them going on two years and I have no plans to stop. They have adjusted their recipes so that they are not so time consuming and require so much prep; they have also added a ton of recipe choices including yummy desserts! Yes, they may be a tad more expensive, but in my opinion, it’s worth it because the food is always fresh and delicious! Plated also has AMAZING customer service. If there is absolutely anything wrong with any of your ingredients, no matter how small the ingredient, they will credit your account no questions asked. If you have allergies, Plated always lists all allergens on their recipe cards and on the website or app when you are selecting your recipes. They offer vegetarian, low-cal/carb, and gluten free options as well. I highly recommend this company and I can only see them getting better each year!

  12. | March 28, 2018

    I ordered for the 1st time. Waited all day- Started a chat at 7:45 to let them know nothing has been delivered. Told me to wait until 8:00. Reached out again at 8:01. Going back and forth finally got a credit back to me, only that it will take 5-7 business days. Fedex – stated at 8:15 that the business was closed. This was a condo delivery. Called fed-ex not helpful. Contacted Plated again – it will be my descretion if I choose the food upon arrival. Completely unacceptable! Cancelled my subscription immediately. Very Poor – I do not want to give them a 1 star – completely below standards.

  13. | March 24, 2018

    I used Plated for a couple of years and enjoyed. When they were bought out this year the meat …. beef was less quality cut and the package was 2 ice packs instead of 4 packs.. It looked like getting less for the same price.. the original plated company always cared about your comments and concerns…….new owners never replied to my concerns. I no longer purchase Plated meals.

  14. | February 28, 2018

    My experience with Plated has been top notch so far. I’ve made three meals, and I found that the ingredients and the recipes are excellent. I’ve been really impressed with the produce, it’s al been so fresh, and the herbs are just beautiful. I read a review that complained about the work involved to put together a meal, but hey, it’s not Meals On Wheels! If that’s what you’re looking for then you’re better off ordering take out. It’s true that there is some preparation required to make a meal; the vegetables need to be rinsed and chopped, and you have to combine some ingredients before cooking them, but what you don’t have to do is shop for the ingredients wherein you purchase more than you’re going to use because that’s how they’re sold, and end up cluttering up your refrigerator with the leftover bok choy or whatever a week or so before you throw it out. (At least that’s what I do). With this, the food arrives in just the quantities you need, which incidentally saves the steps of measuring and wrapping and storing the stuff you don’t use. Not to mention not having to wash and put away measuring cups and spoons. I really love this service and the results have been delicious. And it’s made cooking a whole lot more fun for me!

  15. | February 25, 2018

    I decided to try the promotional first week free. I scheduled a Saturday delivery. No box ever arrived. When I called Plated, they said that they had no record of the shipment from their delivery company and offered no explanation. I am extremely unimpressed.

  16. | February 24, 2018

    Very complicated receipes and quality of ingridients are not great. I asked to cancel and they still send me another box.. Customer service is not flexible to take care of you more just brush you off.. Hello Fresh is way better experience and easier dishes.

  17. | February 3, 2018

    Is it just me or are the portions getting smaller? We always had leftovers when cooking with plated and now it’s barely enough for the two of us.

  18. | January 30, 2018

    I can see that old customers are outraged for some reason, but I really like Plated. Maybe it was better before, but I don’t see how.

More user reviews

Leave a review

Your email address will not be published.

* All the prices on this website are subject to change without notice. While we put a great deal of effort into making sure that all the prices are accurate, one or more products may have outdated prices. Please visit the specific product’s official website for exact prices.
Join our mailing list to receive exclusive updates, giveaways and coupon codes directly to your inbox.