Blue Apron Just Made Weeknight Dinner Even Easier

Blue Apron has been around since 2012, and while most people already know it’s one of the original meal kit companies, it’s made its name by focusing on chef-designed recipes and ingredients that are perfectly portioned. You don’t need a subscription to order (although that’s an option, too), which makes it a lower-commitment option than many other meal delivery services out there. I love that I can order as much or as little as you want and skip weeks when I know I don’t need it; it’s flexible enough to work with my ever evolving plans.

And the standard meal kits are just the beginning. Blue Apron has changed over the years to include more ways to get meals on the table, from heat-and-eat options to meals where I still get to do some of the cooking. It makes my life easier having multiple ways to cook, or not cook, depending on the kind of night I’m having.

Blue Apron now offers four distinct menu lines, each one solving your "what’s for dinner?” dilemma, but also designed for different time constraints and cooking comfort levels.

Meal Kits

This is the format Blue Apron built its name on, and it's my favorite when I actually feel like cooking, but without any guesswork. Ingredients arrive pre-portioned, recipes have real chef-approval, and most meals are ready in 35 minutes or less. It's a great way to pick up a new technique or try a cuisine you wouldn't normally attempt on a weeknight, all without a special trip to the grocery store. Meal kits are also a great option for young adults starting their cooking journey, or really anyone building out their cooking repertoire, as the detailed instructions help you get it right on the first try.

Assemble & Bake

For nights when you want a home-cooked meal but don't have the bandwidth to deal with a full recipe, Assemble & Bake is the way to go. This one-tray format takes just five minutes of hands-on prep. Ingredients come pre-chopped and ready to go, so all you're really doing is arranging everything and popping it into the oven. It's also a fun dinner to make with younger kids, since there's very little that can go wrong and they can still be involved in “making dinner”.

DISH by Blue Apron

DISH is Blue Apron's completely pre-made, non-frozen line. Think, no actual cooking, assembling, or cleaning, and ready to heat up in just a few minutes. I always recommend DISH meals for busy professionals who just don’t have time for everything that goes into making a dinner but still want a meal with real ingredients and substance. I also think these make good “emergency meals”, for days when your schedule makes a surprise pivot and you need another dinner option ASAP.

Family Style (New)

Blue Apron recently introduced their Family Style menu line, and as a mom to three teens, I’m here for it. It's designed for households of four or more, and gives you the flexibility to pick your main dish and sides separately, so you can adjust what you need for your family size or food preferences seamlessly. Everything's ready to eat in under an hour, and the mix-and-match format means you can tailor the meal so that you always have the options everyone wants to eat. I find this to be a great entry point if you’ve tried traditional meal planning before and struggled, since everything is delivered to your door, no making lists or hunting down ingredients required.

Party hosting tip: This is a great option to simplify dinner parties with friends or family get-togethers, so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests.

If DISH was already on your radar, it's worth an even closer look now. Blue Apron refreshed its entire prepared foods category, and the difference is in the ingredients list as much as the taste. No artificial preservatives, dyes, or flavors, just real ingredients that still come together into something nutritious and genuinely delicious, it’s on a whole other level from typical "prepared meals" you’d find in the supermarket.

If variety is important for your dinner routine, there are 20 new single-serving DISH meals to choose from, with some ready in just five minutes, which is less time than it takes me to decide on what to order for delivery.

As a mom of teenage boys, the most exciting upgrade for me is that Blue Apron also expanded the line beyond single servings with new Family Size prepared mains, oven-ready dishes built to serve the whole table, plus family size sides to round things out. Both go straight from the fridge to the oven, so there's no chopping and nothing to prep before you even get started.

If your house is anything like mine, planning family dinners around after-school activities and work, on top of picking something nutritious that everyone will enjoy eating, can be downright stressful. Lately, this is where I've been leaning on DISH's new Family Size prepared mains and sides. They arrive already portioned for the whole family, are made with real, healthy ingredients, and are ready to pop into the oven, so getting a real dinner on the table doesn't mean sacrificing quality for convenience. For families trying to get back into a dinner routine this fall, this is where I'd start.

My meal pick: My kids are big fans of the Family-Style Lasagna, and I love that all that cheesy goodness is ready to eat in only 35 minutes. While it’s baking, I usually throw together a quick garden salad or heat up Blue Apron’s Family-Style Green Beans to complete the meal. It’s definitely one to keep on hand for a foolproof comfort-food night.

Cooking for one can make meal kits feel like more trouble than they're worth, but Blue Apron gets around that. Their DISH line also comes in single-serving portions, so you can have a meal for one on the table in no time with zero effort. With plenty of different meals to try, you’ll never get bored and it's become my go-to for nights when no one can agree on a family-style meal, or if our schedules have us eating separately. This is also the one I would recommend for college students or even office lunches, since it’s healthy and quick to heat on the go. Single-serving portions also mean no odd leftovers and no half-used ingredients going bad in your fridge, which is the exact problem a lot of smaller households run into.

My meal pick: I love a little spice, so when I’m eating dinner solo, or have no time to pack lunch for the office, the Korean-Style Udon Noodles are a favorite. It heats up in the microwave in just a few minutes, and has the perfect noodle to veg to sauce ratio.

If dinner has become somewhat of an afterthought, Blue Apron may be just what you need to make meals a priority again. I like that you can pick different ways of getting your meal on the table, and lately, that's meant reaching for DISH more often than not. The real ingredients and new options for both solo dinners and the whole family, make it an easy one to keep in the weekly rotation.

If a subscription that puts meal planning on autopilot appeals to you, Blue Apron lets you do that too. You can even pre-plan meals and deliveries ahead of time with the Subscribe and Save option, or join Blue Apron+ for free shipping on every order, as well as other perks like access to Tastemade Cooking.