I Cooked an Entire Thanksgiving Dinner With Just Blue Apron Meal Kits. Here's How It Went

While I’ll never pass up an opportunity to cook a delicious meal and gather with loved ones, preparing an entire feast can be a taxing endeavor. So when Blue Apron offered to send me a sneak peek of its Thanksgiving offerings, I was curious: Could I prepare an entire holiday dinner with just meal kits? And more importantly, would it make cooking less time-consuming and stressful?

Armed with eight of Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving meal kits, each one for a different dish — which you can order for delivery from Nov. 17 to 30 — I cooked my way through them. Was it a success? Here are the details. 

Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving meal kits, and how they taste

From roasted turkey to all the sides you’d want and even a pie, these meal kits covered it all. 

Roasted turkey breast with homemade gravy

This 120-minute recipe requires only 30 minutes of active preparation time. Instructions are to season the turkey with salt and pepper the day before cooking, and then coat it with a mixture of salted butter and a spice blend of onion and garlic powders, dried parsley and smoked paprika one hour before roasting. 

The drippings are reserved, which are combined with a garlic-herb butter, chicken stock and flour to make the gravy.

As a vegetarian, I didn’t make this recipe, so I can’t comment on its taste. Instead, I donated it to my local community fridge. However, I will say that the instructions seem simple enough that even a non-meat-eater like myself could easily follow them. 

Rating: N/A (I’m vegetarian) 
Cost: $50
Servings: 6
Total time: 120 minutes (active time: 30 minutes)

Fresh cranberry sauce

This was a simple recipe that took less than 25 minutes, and it tasted great. When I make my own cranberry sauce, I typically include fresh orange juice; however, the orange marmalade in this recipe served as a nice substitute that didn’t require juicing oranges. 

The only issue I had was that the meal kit didn’t come with the maple syrup needed for the recipe, but I had some on hand. It added a nice flavor, though I’m not entirely sure it was necessary, as the recipe already included sugar. Still tasted great. 

Rating: 9/10
Cost: Part of the turkey meal kit above
Servings: 6
Total time: Part of the above

Herb stuffing with carrots, celery and onion

This was the easiest stuffing I’ve ever made, and it was lovely having all the ingredients ready in one place, including the baguettes. It took less than an hour, and most of the work went into chopping the produce and herbs. Instructions were simple to follow.

I loved the garlic and herb butter, along with the spice blend, as they added a ton of flavor to the stuffing. This recipe called for chicken stock, but I replaced it with vegetable stock to accommodate my vegetarian needs. I still found it perfectly flavorful. 

Rating: 9/10
Cost: $15 
Servings: 4
Total time: 55 minutes (active time: 25 minutes)

Brown butter mashed potatoes with white cheddar and chives

These mashed potatoes were incredible, and I couldn’t stop eating them. The combination of the brown butter, white cheddar and chives was perfection. I’ve browned butter many times before, but I also felt that the instructions were straightforward enough for a person new to cooking to follow. As someone who dislikes peeling potatoes, I was grateful that the skin was left on, as it added a nice texture to the final dish. No notes. 

Rating: 10/10
Cost: $8
Servings: 4 
Total time: 35 minutes (active time: 20 minutes)

Creamy mac and cheese with truffle breadcrumbs

This was another recipe that exceeded expectations. However, I did alter it. It calls for a technique where you layer the pasta, combined with the cream sauce, and the different cheeses separately. I’ve had this type of mac and cheese before, and it isn’t my favorite style, so I instead created a cheese sauce by combining the cream mixture and different cheeses in the pot, and then added the pasta. 

Regardless, I loved the chosen cheeses — cheddar, fontina and Monterey Jack, with Parmesan on top, along with the breadcrumbs — and appreciated that they came shredded. The truffle zest seasoning on top was a lovely touch, although I used half the included amount since my partner isn’t as fond of truffles as I am. The garlic in the bechamel sauce also added incredible flavor. 

Rating: 10/10
Cost: $20
Servings: 6 
Total time: 40 minutes (active time: 20 minutes)

Challah dinner rolls with maple butter

These came from Zaro’s Family Bakery in NYC, packaged in a ready-to-bake tray, making them incredibly easy to prepare in under 20 minutes. They get brushed with a salted butter-maple syrup mixture, adding a nice touch. 

I thought these were tasty and easy to whip up, but they arrived slightly crushed in the box. However, they did puff up a bit once baked. 

Rating: 8/10
Cost: $7
Servings: 12 
Total time: 10 minutes (active time: 5 minutes)

Roasted Brussels sprouts with toasted pistachios, honey and lemon

Another fantastic recipe that completely elevates your average Brussels sprouts. I loved the combination of honey and lemon, which went perfectly with the pistachios. I actually added more of my own pistachios since I liked the extra crunch. 

I enjoyed this recipe so much that I will probably make it on my own in the future. And it only takes about 30 minutes. 

Rating: 10/10
Cost: $10
Servings: 4 
Total time: 25 minutes (active time: 10 minutes)

Roasted grape and goat cheese salad with pear and spicy maple walnuts

Though no one tends to put a lot of thought into a Thanksgiving salad, Blue Apron did. I had never roasted grapes before, and they were delicious in this dish, adding a pleasant, jammy flavor. I also loved the spicy maple walnuts with rosemary and the zingy dijonnaise-vinegar dressing. I’m not a fan of goat cheese, so I didn’t add it to my salad; however, the other flavors went great together. 

The only issue I encountered was that the baby kale had gone bad by the time I got to it. It was fresh when I received it, but three days later, I found it spoiled in my fridge. I should have kept an eye on it or removed it from its plastic packaging and placed it in one of my new linen produce bags to increase its longevity. However, this is likely user error more than anything. 

Rating: 9/10
Cost: 12
Servings: 4 
Total time: 30 minutes (active time: 20 minutes)

Apple crumb pie with almonds

This 80-minute recipe requires only 20 minutes of prep time, and it was enjoyable to make, as it all smelled mouthwatering. The pie crust came premade, so only the filling and crumb topping required preparation. Both were delicious. I loved the honey in the apple filling and thought the almonds, almond flour, maple syrup and quatre epices (a blend of white pepper, nutmeg, ginger and cloves) tasted fantastic in the topping. 

The only aspect I thought could be improved was the pie crust (made with wheat flour, water, honey, salt, yeast, enzymes and palm oil), but that’s likely because I typically make my own crust with butter. However, it’s hard to complain when the crust is premade and requires no effort. It was still tasty. I just thought it could be more flavorful. 

Rating: 8/10
Cost: $15
Servings: 6-8  
Total time: 75 minutes (active time: 20 minutes)

How much do Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving meal kits cost?

Here’s the price breakdown for Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving meal kits:

• Roasted turkey breast: $50
• Herb stuffing: $15
• Brown butter mashed potatoes: $8
• Creamy mac and cheese: $20
• Roasted Brussels sprouts: $10
• Goat cheese salad: $12
• Challah dinner rolls: $7
• Apple crumb pie: $15

The total cost: $137

While you might be able to make these recipes cheaper yourself, I do think the convenience and time-saving are worth the cost. When we did the math, we discovered that meal kits can also be less expensive, especially now that grocery prices are increasing.

Additionally, I found all the ingredients to be fresh upon arrival (though my baby kale did spoil after a few days in its plastic packaging), and I thought the recipes were all delicious and creative. If you’re looking for a tasty Thanksgiving feast made easier, I’d recommend it. 

How many people can Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving meal kits serve?

The turkey, cranberry sauce, mac and cheese and apple crumb pie can all serve up to six people. The rest of the recipes, aside from the rolls for up to 12 people, serve four people.

Since Blue Apron now offers an a la carte model instead of subscriptions all year round, you can pick and choose between the dishes and add as many as you require. Instead of purchasing all the meal kits for an entire feast, you could just get a few to supplement your own meal, so you don’t have to find a recipe, shop, prepare and fully cook every dish on your own. 

My final thoughts 

I think Blue Apron did an impressive job of creating these Thanksgiving recipes. I enjoyed all the dishes, found the instructions easy to follow and appreciated that everything came preportioned in individual meal kits that were ready to go. As a vegetarian, I also love that all of these recipes are vegetarian, except for the turkey, gravy and stuffing (which I made vegetarian by replacing the chicken stock with a vegetable-based version). 

To answer my initial question: Yes, you can prepare an entire Thanksgiving meal with only meal kits, and it does make the entire process much easier and less stressful. Who wouldn’t be thankful for that?