Gobble Review 2024: Simple 15-Minute Meals?

Gobble’s main selling point is that you can have gourmet meals on the table in less than 15 minutes – I know that’s how I got tempted. You’re probably wondering if that’s really enough time to make a flavorful meal, let alone a meal that passes as gourmet.

I’ve researched a lot of services that claim to provide top-quality meals in minutes – and I haven’t always been impressed with the results. But Gobble delivers meal kits with high-quality ingredients that really do only take about 15 minutes to prepare, providing you have some basic kitchen knowledge.

Each meal kit is designed to reduce the time spent preparing the ingredients and doing the actual cooking. Overall, Gobble is a convenient service that delivers on its promise.

However, that convenience comes at a cost, so it may not be for everyone. I’ve put together a comprehensive review where you can read about the pros and cons, the ingredients included, the meals, shipping, and so on. Keep reading if you want to learn more!

What’s on the Gobble Menu

Gobble offers 2 plans (for couples and families of 4), and the menu includes entrees, salads, soups, sides, breakfasts, and desserts.

Meal Options

The most popular menu category is the Classic Dinner, where you can find a selection of meal kits featuring home-cooked favorites such as burgers, pasta, salmon, roasted chicken, and more. Most meals on the Classic plan are around 700 to 900 calories.

The 3rd menu category is for vegetarian meals, with healthy protein sources such as tofu, beans, eggs, and meat substitutes. However, there aren’t that many options on the weekly menu to make it a sustainable plan for strict vegetarians who want choices. I counted 5 on the weekly menu at the time of writing, plus a couple of salads.

Customization

Overall, the menu has some global influences, including Vietnamese, Greek, Indian, and Moroccan-inspired dishes. Most meals offer between 2 and 5 options for protein customization, which is an amazing feature!

Even if you can play with the protein sources, you can’t eliminate allergens from the meals. That means you’ll have to check the menu carefully. Each recipe lists possible allergens such as milk, wheat, soy, tree nuts, dairy, or shellfish (the most common ones).

Since this is a meal kit delivery service, you can choose to exclude certain ingredients yourself before preparing each meal, but you can’t eliminate ingredients before you place an order. You can specify preferences at sign up but this just removes entire meals containing problem ingredients from your menu options.

Each ingredient is prepped and packed separately, but Gobble doesn’t guarantee there isn’t any cross-contamination, so it’s important to be careful in the case of severe allergies.

Unboxing

The Gobble box is easy to spot on your doorstep since the colorful brand stands out from a distance. But you probably care a lot more about what’s inside, right?

Under the ice packs, you’ll find all the ingredients neatly stacked and individually packed in small plastic bags.

All the ingredients, besides the meats, are grouped by the recipe in their own bag. Also, each bag comes with a paper sheet that contains cooking instructions, a list of ingredients, and nutritional content. Gobble recommends you place all the ingredients you’re not using right away in the fridge for safekeeping.

As I mentioned earlier, everything is already diced, chopped, and prepared by Gobble’s pro sous chefs, so you only have to do some basic cooking.

Cooking with Gobble

Gobble promises you won’t spend more than 15 minutes preparing these meals. While this prep time isn’t always accurate (sometimes cooking might run over by 5 minutes), that’s pretty standard. Just in case, I usually allow a 5-minute buffer when it comes to testing meal kits.

All the sauces are premade, so you only have to add them to the meal. Even more, some ingredients are partly cooked or pre-marinated and then vacuum-sealed to preserve their freshness. This ensures that meal prep will stay under 20 minutes and the meal will be packed with flavor.

Shortlist of My Favorite Meals

For this review, I selected 1 meal from each plan to get a good idea of Gobble's overall offering.

Starting with the Classic Dinner plan, let’s take a look at the Chicken Katsu Bento Bowl with Jasmine Rice and Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas.

The recipe includes boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you have the option to choose the organic version. It’s simple but classic, and the freshly sourced ingredients make it a customer favorite.

After such a healthy recipe, let’s see how the Lean & Clean plan compares. As with all the dishes on this plan, the Vietnamese-Style Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce and Ground Chicken has less than 600 calories. Plus, you can replace the ground chicken with sustainably raised ocean shrimp or shredded pork.

Lastly, the Vegetarian menu category has a few delicious recipes like this Mediterranean Fattoush Salad with Green Harissa Dressing. The veggie plan has a nice mix of plant proteins on offer most weeks, including tofu and chickpeas.

Just like Home Chef, Gobble does a great job of allowing customers to choose the protein they want in their meals. This way, most recipes have 2 to 5 variations each, so it’s perfect for fussy eaters or those who want to stay with the same service long-term.

Prices

With Gobble, you can order meal kits for either 2 or 4 people, with slight price-per-serving variations. For instance, if you order the minimum amount, which is 2 recipes per week for 2 people (4 servings), you’ll pay $16.99 per serving.

The lowest per serving price is $11.99. You’ll need to order at least 5 meal kits per week for 2 people or 3 meal kits for 4 in order to pay this amount. Don’t forget to add the shipping fee, which is $8.99 per week if it’s not your first order.

Compared to other meal kit delivery services, Gobble is quite expensive. This is because you’re paying for the convenience and expertise of the chefs who help prep your meals for you. It’s worth noting that the price is the same no matter which meal plan you choose.

A lot of effort goes into making these meals as easy to cook at home as possible. Plus, the company runs all sorts of discounts such as Order today and get your first 6 meals for $36, so there’ll be times when the cost will go down if the higher prices are holding you back.

Shipping & Delivery

Gobble delivers to most of the contiguous US, with the exception of Montana, and there’s limited service in Nebraska, New Mexico, and Kansas. So before you think about considering  the service, it’s a good idea to check if it can reach your zip code.

If the service does deliver to your area, shipping is rather smooth, and you can choose the most convenient delivery day during the week (there’s no weekend delivery). Once you place the order, you receive a tracking code so you can follow the status of the delivery.

How Gobble Works

Gobble is a weekly-recurring subscription service, so your 1st order will renew automatically. If you just want to give the service a try, you have the option to skip the weeks following the date of your 1st order (you can skip a delivery up to 4 weeks in advance) so you have a chance to taste the meals before ordering any more.

How to Sign Up

1. Create your account (you’ll be asked to create an account when you start your first order).

2. Set your preferences for meals (choose between Classic, Vegetarian, and Lean & Clean) and proteins.

3. Choose between the 2-person plan and the 4-person plan and select the number of servings per person.

4. Add your address details and billing information, and choose the best day for your delivery.

5. Select your meals and place the order.

Managing Your Subscription

Use your Gobble Dashboard (your account on the platform) to manage your account. From here, you can skip or cancel a subscription. You can even plan your meals 4 weeks in advance since the company always shows you the menu up to 5 weeks ahead.

Customer Service

The Gobble team is readily accessible for any questions you may have, but I suggest checking out the extensive FAQ section first to attempt to find a solution. You'll discover numerous thoroughly explained responses there. If you still wish to reach out, there are multiple ways to do so.

First, try live chat – the bot is available 24/7 and can reply to lots of inquiries about the service, shipping, and more.

To contact the customer service team, you can use the contact form and 2 phone numbers available Monday to Friday, 5 am to 8 pm PT, and Saturday to Sunday, 5 am to 1 pm PT.

How Gobble Compares to Other Meal Delivery Services

• Gobble vs. Factor: Factor delivers a larger variety of ready-made meals to your doorstep, which eliminates the need to spend time in the kitchen. The service also has a well-developed Extras section with a wide range of options for breakfast, snacks, and healthy desserts.

• Gobble vs. Fresh and Easy: Both services focus on speedy meal kits that turn into deliciously fresh meals. However, Fresh and Easy is the better option. Fresh and Easy provides access to Home Chef’s famous Customize It feature and core menu, so it delivers more variety and flexibility.

• Gobble vs. Blue Apron: Blue Apron is more focused on creating a restaurant-worthy dining experience through gourmet meals. However, the meal kits take longer to prep and cook, and there are fewer customization options. But if you don’t mind investing a bit more time, Blue Apron is a great option for delicious home-cooked meals.

The Bottom Line: Is Gobble Worth It?

For people who want to cook but have very little time, I think it is. The service is all about ease, which turns cooking into a pleasurable experience even for the busiest of us. I really liked the menu diversity, the add-ons, and the customization possibilities. 

Overall, I think Gobble is perfect for people who want to enjoy gourmet meals in the comfort of their homes but don’t have the time or disposition to cook them from start to finish. But hey, if you feel it’s a no-go, our expert reviewers have compiled a list of the top meal kit services out there – whatever your time constraints or skill, there’s a service for you!

FAQ

How is Gobble different?

This means that most of the ingredients come chopped, sliced, or peeled, and sauces are premade, so you don’t have to do anything but cook and assemble.

What kind of meals does Gobble have?

Gobble’s menu is diverse, with everything from American fare to more global-inspired recipes. There are also a few soups, sides, and desserts, and you’ll find options for vegetarians and people on a low-calorie, low-carb diet.

Does Gobble have vegan options?

For the time being, Gobble only has several vegetarian options per week. So if you’re strictly vegan (or planning on becoming so!) Gobble isn’t the best option.