Terra's Kitchen vs. Blue Apron 2023: DIY or Delivery?

On the surface, there isn’t much to compare when it comes to Blue Apron vs. Terra’s Kitchen. For starters, Terra’s Kitchen filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and hasn’t been in operation since. However, recipes from Terra’s Kitchen are still floating around the internet, so it’s not completely obsolete. 

Blue Apron, on the other hand, is very much still up and running as a meal delivery service. While Blue Apron is undeniably a front runner, recipes from Terra’s Kitchen definitely have a few points in their favor, like catering to plenty of dietary restrictions. 

At a Glance: Terra’s Kitchen vs. Blue Apron

Dietary Preferences

Blue Apron has four main meal plans: Signature (for 2 and 4), Wellness for 2, and Vegetarian for 2.

Within those meal plans, you can choose your favorite dishes from a menu that changes each week. On the Signature for 2 plan, you can choose from 14 different meal kits, which gives plenty of flexibility to choose low calorie, carb-smart, and other recipes.

 If you’re veggie, however, you have significantly less to choose from, with only 3-4 recipes a week on the Vegetarian for 2 plan.

Terra’s Kitchen recipes are a bit trickier to compare. Since the company isn’t around anymore, it’s hard to find a comprehensive list of recipes or meal plans. On its Facebook page, for example, you’ll find pictures of meals but no instructions. However, when it was still operating, Terra’s Kitchen was well-known for covering a range of diets.

It had recipes that covered popular diets like vegetarian and vegan, while also covering more niche preferences like paleo. Nowadays, Terra’s Kitchen is just a collection of recipes, which means you can tweak them to fit your dietary needs, whatever they are.

Given that the company is gone, you’ll have to dig around to find its recipes. Luckily, the company’s YouTube page is still up and running and will walk you through making quite a few of its most popular recipes. 

Video recipes on the Terra’s Kitchen YouTube channel

Winner: Blue Apron

Menu Variety

All of the recipes from Terra’s Kitchen are based on the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on plenty of healthy fats, vegetables, and fish, while limiting red meat and dairy consumption. That said, if you’re a big meat-eater, then its recipes probably won’t leave you very satisfied.

Blue Apron has a much wider range of culinary influences to satisfy pretty much every craving. From classic comfort food like burgers (both meat and vegetarian) to international cuisine like Italian and Middle Eastern, you’ll find plenty of options.

That doesn’t mean that Blue Apron is perfect, though. Blue Apron has way less variety as soon as you switch over to the Vegetarian for 2 or Wellness for 2 plans. Not only can you get just three meals a week (as opposed to a max of four on either of the Signature plans) but you also have far fewer recipes to choose from. 

Winner: Blue Apron still has the leg up on variety thanks to its diverse recipe range.

Starting Prices

Blue Apron recipes start from $7.49 per serving, which is on the lower end of meal kit prices. I have to note, however, that this is only the case when you get four meals a week on the Signature for 4 plan. The other plans even out to around $9.99 per serving.

Terra’s Kitchen prices are harder to calculate because it entirely depends on where you buy your groceries. Historically, prices were on the steeper side. Most of their meals cost around $9-$12 per serving, but some of them (like the Orange Glazed Salmon) went up to almost $17. As I said above, you now have a little more control over the cost, as it depends on where you buy your groceries and you’re just paying for ingredients, not the delivery element. 

One of the benefits of using a recipe is that it’s more of a guideline than a rulebook. I switch out ingredients when I’m cooking all the time and it’s a great way to make your meals more budget-friendly while gaining confidence in the kitchen. Terra’s Kitchen also has the bonus of not including a shipping charge, although you do need to factor in the cost of getting to the grocery store.

Blue Apron’s shipping costs range from free to $7.99. The shipping cost is only applied if you order two meals on a two-person plan. For larger orders, it’s free. To help you get a better idea of how much Blue Apron costs, I’ve run some numbers for you.

Let’s say you want two meals a week on either the Signature for 2 or the Vegetarian for 2 plans. Each meal is $19.98, plus the $7.99 shipping fee, which makes $47.95 per week.

Now let’s look at getting four recipes a week on the Signature for 4 plan. On this plan, each serving is just $7.49. That makes each meal $29.96, so $119.84 per week for four meals. There’s no shipping for this one, so $119.84 is the final price. 

Winner: Blue Apron has competitive prices for a meal delivery service (however recipes from Terra’s Kitchen can be tweaked to fit a tight budget)

Delivery and Packaging

This one’s a no-brainer. Blue Apron deliveries come once a week in a refrigerated box to ensure maximum freshness. The packaging is also 85% recyclable. Not only that, but the Blue Apron website has instructions on how and where to recycle or dispose of all the packing components.

The advantage of Terra’s Kitchen is that there’s no excess packaging other than what comes from the grocery store. It doesn’t have a delivery service, so how and when you get the supplies for your recipes will depend on you. Lots of grocery stores have introduced parking lot pick-up, or you can use a delivery app like Instacart if you don’t want to go shopping. 

Winner: Blue Apron offers convenient and hassle-free delivery every week.

Meal Prep

Both Blue Apron and Terra’s Kitchen recipes will have your meals on the table in less than an hour. For Blue Apron, prep and cook time ranges from 20-40 minutes. The time for Terra’s Kitchen is slightly shorter at 15-30 minutes.

Of course, you also have to consider the overall convenience factor. With Blue Apron, all of your ingredients will be delivered right to your door. Using Terra’s Kitchen recipes means that you’ll have to work harder to research recipes and plan your meals in the first place, then source all your own supplies, which can take a lot of time. 

Winner: It’s a tie! The time spent shopping for ingredients for Terra’s Kitchen balances out the slightly longer cooking time of Blue Apron. 

The Bottom Line

Blue Apron has Terra’s Kitchen beat on convenience, price, and variety. However, Terra’s Kitchen recipes held their own when it came to dietary preferences and prep time.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for a quality meal delivery service, Blue Apron is the clear winner. If you just want some fun new dishes to try, Terra’s Kitchen recipes may be worth a look. 

Overall winner: Blue Apron

You can also find even more high-quality meal delivery services on our list of the Best Meal Delivery Services in 2021.