Green Chef Review 2026: Is Organic Worth It?

Overview

Green Chef impressed me with its extensive menu options, quality ingredients, and flexibility for different dietary needs. It caters to a range of specialized diets, with plans tailored for keto, plant-based, Mediterranean, gluten-free (properly certified), and more. You can mix and match between plans, there’s a great range of add-ons available each week, and there are always a few ready-made meals on the menu.

The globally inspired menu suits adventurous tastes, and with 35+ main options each week, there’s ample choice (though if you’re exclusively vegan, there’s less variety). There are also customization options for some individual recipes, including protein upgrades and swaps. 

Each time I’ve tested this service, I’ve been impressed by the freshness and quality of the ingredients. Organic produce costs more, but I could taste the difference compared to similar, non-organic competitors. Green Chef’s recipe cards and detailed instructions make meal prep straightforward, though I found prep times occasionally exceeded the estimates. Some of the packaging is eco-conscious, though for a company with green in its name, I’d like to see less plastic overall, particularly around non-perishable items.

Overall, Green Chef is a premium service that justifies its price with high-quality ingredients, convenience, and some of the tastiest meals I’ve ever made from a meal kit service. While it costs more than budget options like HelloFresh, I found the investment worthwhile, especially for home cooks prioritizing top-quality ingredients.

Green Chef’s Menu: A Foodie’s Paradise!

Meal Options: Green Chef Covers a Wide Range of Dietary Needs 

Green Chef’s plans cover 8 categories catering to different dietary needs.

These include:

• Carb Smart: 20 g or less of net carbs (plus no gluten, additives or added sugar).

• Plant Based: meatless vegan and vegetarian recipes with plant-based proteins

• Mediterranean: Mediterranean flavors with lots of veggies and healthy fats

• Quick & Easy: recipes ready in 25 minutes or less

• Gluten Free: free from gluten, with no wheat, barley, rye, or triticale

• High Protein: satisfying recipes with around 30 grams of protein or more

• Functional Nutrition: nutrient-dense recipes with high-fiber and fresh ingredients

• Calorie Smart: meals with less than 650 calories

Green Chef now includes a few prepared meals on its menu each week that are ready in just 3 minutes. While most of its meal kits still take 30-40 minutes to cook and prepare, the Quick & Easy options can be on the table in 25 minutes or less. For an even faster fix, there are also a few 10-minute lunch recipes available.

Green Chef’s minimum order is 3 meals for 2 people, but you can order up to 4 meals serving 6 people per week. While this is great for large families, Green Chef meals may be a tough sell for picky eaters. However, my picky daughter was brave enough to taste (and enjoy) the Creamy Mushroom Truffle Linguine dish.

Good Selection of Cuisines & Add-Ons

The recipes cover a lot of culinary ground, with dishes inspired by global cuisines. There’s everything from Asian stir-fries to Middle Eastern rice bowls and even classic American meatloaves.

Green Chef also offers add-on items like breakfast entrees, juices, protein shakes, and bulk protein packs. There’s even the option to add Factor Form supplements (Green Chef and Factor both have the same parent company). The selection of add-ons is currently very good, with around 50 options every week.

You can choose from all 35+ recipes on the menu, but your options are narrower if you need to stick rigidly to a specific meal category. For example, the week I ordered, there were 11 Calorie Smart recipes, but only 6 vegan and 6 vegetarian (Veggie) recipes. However, you can increase the number of vegan/vegetarian recipes with a few simple swaps.

For example, you can make Green Chef’s Pork with Cherry BBQ Sauce vegetarian by swapping the pork filet with tofu for no extra charge.

Most Green Chef meals are certified gluten-free by the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG). While Green Chef offers a few meals containing gluten, they’re prepared and packed separately to avoid cross-contamination.

Colored tags on each recipe let you see which meal preferences they work with. There are also labels highlighting which meals are new or bestsellers and which are premium (the Chef Select tag).

Unfortunately, Green Chef doesn’t offer filters to deselect meals with other allergens. Each recipe includes a complete ingredient list, but there’s no simple way to avoid problem ingredients like tree nuts and no guarantee against trace contamination, so this service might not be suitable for people with other allergies.

Luckily, many Green Chef dishes are customizable (around half of the menu), and you can follow the “Customizable Meal” label to identify them. You can usually only swap the protein, but there are enough options to give you some culinary freedom. If there’s an extra charge (usually happens for higher quality protein), you’ll be notified when you make your selection.

Green Chef’s Menu at a Glance

My Unboxing Experience With Green Chef: Everything Was Great, Except the Plastic!

I was at home when my Green Chef order was delivered. When I went downstairs, the box had been placed directly outside my front door, and I took it straight inside to unpack. It was in good shape, and when I opened it, the inside was still cool, so the chill packs did their job well.

Green Chef’s packaging was extremely well-insulated and contained ice packs to keep things fresh. I liked that the ClimaCell lining that makes this possible is plant-based and curbside recyclable, too.

The 5 meals I ordered were each in a clearly labeled paper bag. The meat and ready-to-eat meals were packed separately and hidden at the bottom of the box, under the ice. Despite coming a day late, the ice packs were fully intact, and everything was safely chilled. There were no signs of leakage with the steak or the other ingredients.

I put all the ingredients directly into the fridge to stay fresh and ready to use. Some items might’ve been better stored at room temperature, but I find it extremely convenient to keep everything contained in each paper bag. When you want to cook, you just get the paper back with the name of the recipe out of the fridge and start working.

Green Chef recommends you prepare meal kits within 5 days, or 2 to 3 days if your meal contains seafood. There were no storage instructions in the box, but you can find best-before dates on the packaging for each individual ingredient. Overall, I was quite impressed with Green Chef’s delivery… save for a small problem.

I would love to see Green Chef dial back on the plastic. I understand chicken breast and pork cutlets need to be sealed in plastic when shipped, and I appreciate the pre-portioned and clearly labeled ingredients. But I don’t think carrots or garlic cloves (unpeeled) need to be wrapped in plastic.

On the other hand, organic ingredients can be particularly tricky to transport. Organic food lacks preservatives, which means it tends to have a shorter shelf life. Green Chef is the first CCOF-certified organic meal delivery service, and that quality was noticeable. The vegetables and herbs were really fresh and colorful, apart from the green beans. However, this may be because I cooked this meal at the end of the week, so it sat around for a while.

Plastic aside, Green Chef does a good job of being environmentally responsible. Its boxes are made of corrugated cardboard containing a minimum of 40% recycled content, and I noticed that some of the plastic packaging was marked “Plastic Neutral,” meaning these are more easily recyclable than other plastics.

Green Chef also provides recycling instructions for all its packaging material. So I would give it a solid “B” for its environmental efforts.

Cooking (And Eating) With Green Chef: A Truly Enjoyable Experience

Green Chef’s detailed instructions made it easy for me to cook restaurant-quality meals at home. I started each recipe by setting out all the ingredients and equipment before I began cooking.

I found Green Chef’s estimated cooking times to be fairly accurate, although I spent around 5-10 extra minutes on food prep per recipe. I don’t consider myself a particularly slow cook, so based on my experience, I’d add an extra 5 minutes for prep and then some more for cleaning up.

I like that the recipe cards are of nice quality, with clear, easy-to-read instructions and sturdy paper. They’re good enough to store your favorite recipes if you ever plan on making them again. 

Besides ingredients and cooking instructions, they also feature any staples you may need to have on hand, like butter or olive oil. The list of required utensils was also thorough. Make sure you check these through at the start, so you can set up your food processor or get the colander from the back of the cupboard if needed.

Some meals provided ready-chopped veg, and others needed chopping or slicing. If you are a beginner chef, I’d recommend reading through all the instructions thoroughly before you start; it can be easy to miss things if you aren’t concentrating. That said, Green Chef’s new prepared meals (Heat & Eat) are a great fallback for quick lunches or busy evenings when you don’t have the time (or energy) to cook from scratch.

Shortlist of My Favorite Meals

Green Chef’s recipe cards helped me cook unfamiliar meals with confidence. When it comes to cooking, I’m much more of an intuitive chef and tend to throw things into a pot and see what happens. So it was an interesting change to see how things turn out with an accurate recipe.

I found that the organic ingredients made a big difference in all the Green Chef recipes I tried. The tastes were fresher and more intense, and the texture was superior as well. The portions were good-sized and left us full, with no leftovers. A single person could easily get both lunch and dinner out of a 2-serving meal.

Creamy Ginger Chicken Salad Pitas

This was easily my favorite dish of the week. You have chicken breast pieces with scallions, pistachios, and currants with a creamy ginger-turmeric vinaigrette stuffed into a garlicky toasted pita, and everything is served with roasted potato wedges. What’s not to like?

Since most of the ingredients go into the chicken salad, it’s quite easy to make. I also appreciated the inclusion of currants, which are not that common in the US. Also, the texture is interesting thanks to the nuts and scallions. 

One small touch that makes a big difference is toasting the pita with garlic oil. It really transforms the dish into something more luxurious and restaurant-like. I think it’s often small touches like this that distinguish pricier meal kits like Green Chef from cheaper ones.

The only low point of the dish was using roasted potato wedges as a side. They didn’t even include organic potatoes, but I don’t think this would’ve made such a big difference. I would’ve preferred a brighter side, like a green salad or some roasted veggies. It would’ve made more culinary sense next to a rich, buttery pita filled with chicken. 

Overall, I loved this dish enough to ignore the lame potatoes. I’d eat this pita every day!

Curried Coconut Turkey Soup

Garlic pita made an appearance here as well, but I promise this is not the only reason why I loved this spicy soup. The aromatic broth with ginger, onion, curry powder, and coconut milk, along with the addition of turkey and squash, turned this dish into a wonderful culinary experience.  

The roasted cashews made for a fun, textural garnish, and the pitas were perfect for dipping in the soup. Had they added a bit of cilantro or some scallions as garnish, I think this dish might’ve made it into my top 3 soups of all time.

The warm, yummy curry spices carry this dish, and the turkey meat and bits of squash are mellow enough to integrate well into the mix.

Pork Chops With Savory Garlic Pan Sauce

This one was a rather standard dish with meat, potatoes, and veggies, but I think the pan sauce and HelloFresh’s ubiquitous “Tuscan Heat” spice (a blend of salt, garlic, pepper, and some herbs) made things more interesting.

The boneless pork chops are cooked in a keto-friendly pan sauce with shallot and garlic and served over mashed potatoes, alongside roasted summer squash. I’ll admit that I overcooked the pork chops slightly, so I won’t fault Green Chef for them being on the drier side. So, pay better attention than I did!

I was pleasantly surprised by how well these mashed potatoes turned out, considering how basic the recipe was. Mine were on the lumpier side because I used a wooden spoon, which Green Chef recommends if you don’t have a potato masher.

Lastly, the roasted summer squash was pretty lame. It didn’t get crispy or anything in the oven, and it’s overall just one of the less impressive “roasted veggie” side dishes I’ve seen.

Note: My shipment included a card notifying me that the potatoes in my shipment were conventional rather than organic. Naturally, I was still charged full price, but the conventionality of the potatoes didn’t seem to affect the taste in either dish with potatoes (this one and the Chicken Salad Pitas). 

Recipes Summary

	Difficulty Level	Estimated Cook Time	Actual Cook Time	Calories Per Serving	Best For
Creamy Ginger Chicken Salad Pitas	Easy	30 minutes	35 minutes	730 calories	A quick and nutritious lunch
Curried Coconut Turkey Soup	Easy	25 minutes	35 minutes	790 calories	Those who like a bit of spice
Pork Chops With Savory Garlic Pan Sauce	Medium	25 minutes	35 minutes	620 calories	Healthy eaters

Prices: Green Chef Isn’t Cheap, But It’s Totally Worth It

Starting From	Order Size and Price (Before Shipping)	Shipping Fee
$11.99 per portion	3 meals for 2 people/week: $71.94	$10.99
$11.99 per portion	4 meals for 2 people/week: $95.92	$10.99
$11.99 per portion	2 meals for 4 people/week: $95.92	$10.99
$11.99 per portion	3 meals for 4 people/week: $143.88	$10.99
$11.99 per portion	4 meals for 4 people/week: $191.84	$10.99
$11.99 per portion	3 meals for 6 people/week: $215.82	$10.99
$11.99 per portion	4 meals for 6 people/week: $287.76	$10.99

Green Chef is a premium meal kit company, and this is reflected in its price tag. In my opinion, Green Chef’s higher-quality ingredients and delicious meals are worth the additional price if you can afford it.

No matter which plan you choose, the per-serving price is the same, and the shipping fee is a flat $10.99 regardless of your box size or delivery location. However, if you like to make swaps, the price per serving may change. For instance, some recipes allow you to upgrade from conventional to organic chicken for $2.99/serving, or upgrade tilapia fish to cobia for $6.99/serving.

While most swap options are for protein, a few dishes let you customize the sides, such as doubling up a broccoli side for $0.99/serving or upgrading from white to brown rice for $0.99/serving.

One dish even had the option to swap in pre-cooked chicken instead of raw protein for $1.99/serving. I think it’s a cool step in the direction of easy prep.

Shipping & Delivery: Super Easy, No Issues

Your Green Chef order can arrive any day between Monday and Saturday, depending on where you live. Delivery is available to the contiguous 48 states, and for NYC, it is available 6 days per week, Monday through Saturday. This appears to be the case in the majority of locations.

When you sign up, you’re automatically enrolled in a weekly delivery service, but you can pause or cancel at any time should you need to skip a week. You can make any changes via the Green Chef app, which is also great for checking the status of your shipping. Just make sure you’re aware of the cutoff date. You have until midnight Pacific Time 5 days before your scheduled delivery to make changes.

I was given a standard 12-hour time slot, which ended up being inaccurate because my package arrived a day late. I was informed of the delay on the day I was expecting the shipment, but it wasn’t that big of a deal for me. The only real issue was that I needed to figure out something else for dinner that night.

Green Chef keeps delivery in-house – the carrier is branded as “HFDN” (probably from HelloFresh Delivery Network, but I’m just guessing here). Also, you get a tracking link via email, or you can use the app to keep an eye on your shipment.

How Green Chef Works: Step-by-Step Guide

Green Chef’s signup process is quick and easy. Here’s how you can sign up for a Green Chef subscription in just a few steps:

How to Sign Up for Green Chef (Just 5 Simple Steps)

1. Visit the website and click the button. The text on the button changes, depending on what Green Chef wants to promote, but it’s the easiest way to start the signup process.

2. Select your plan and box size. For your first order, during the signup process, you can choose from 8 different categories up to 4 meals for 6 people. For your second order and moving forward, there are more order size options: up to 8 meals for a maximum of 12 people.

3. Enter your delivery address. This is used to give you your first possible delivery date. You can also leave delivery instructions at this step.

4. Input your payment details. You can pay by credit card or PayPal.

5. Choose your Green Chef meals. Your menu will be ordered with your preferred meals first, but you can always choose from the full menu.

Keep in mind: If you want to add any extras, your final cost will be adjusted accordingly. The same happens if you swap ingredients, so make sure to check your balance before clicking that Place Order button.

Managing Your Subscription

Green Chef doesn’t give you a separate Account page for changes and whatnot, because most information and the ability to change things like delivery date and box size are accessible from the main menu (My Menu).

For things like email preferences and other, more particular settings, you have the Settings page. Here, you also have access to all account information, including order history and payment info.

Overall, the website does a decent job of redirecting and guiding you to the right page. If you’re trying to change your box size, for instance, there are several places where you’ll find the link that’ll take you straight to the setting. You can also skip up to 4 weeks at a time, and you can do this on the site or in the app.

The main menu page lets you reschedule deliveries, change your box size, or skip a week. There’s also a link to change your plan. Just make sure to make any changes that impact the size, content, and time of the shipment at least 5 days in advance. You have until midnight Pacific Time, 5 days before your order is expected.

I like that you can record star ratings for past dishes and compile a Favorites list. This way, you don’t have to scroll through the entire menu each time, and you have easy access to meals you liked, if you decide to recreate them at home.

You can cancel your subscription easily via the Green Chef website. Simply log in, go to your account settings, and scroll down to Deactivate Your Plan. Of course, Green Chef doesn’t want to see you go, so they’ll try to incentivize you to stay with various offers. In my case, I was reminded I had the option to send a “free box” to a friend (a type of rewards program) and offered 25% off my next 3 boxes if I reactivate my plan.

Customer Service: Okay, but Nothing Special

Green Chef offers fairly standard customer support, featuring an FAQ section, a phone line available 7 days a week, and a chatbot that can connect you with a human representative.

I found the FAQ section surprisingly lacking. It is not intuitive to navigate, there’s not a broad variety of information, and there’s some out-of-date or downright incorrect info. To give you an idea, one FAQ answer begins with the words “At EveryPlate, the safety and quality of our ingredients is our highest priority.”

The contact page lists the phone hours as “Monday-Friday 6 am - 11 pm EST, Saturday-Sunday 7 am - 7 pm EST,” but given that other text info on the website is outdated, I’m not sure about the accuracy here. 

My experience with the chatbot, named Olive, wasn’t stellar. It mostly functions as a means to guide you through common troubleshooting ideas. I found it fully unreliable when it comes to getting accurate information, and it’s tough to get it to connect you with a human being. You have to know the sensitive areas.

For instance, clicking “I had ingredient issues” gave me a direct link to talk to an agent. Staff are helpful and friendly when accommodating issues like missing ingredients, but the majority of Green Chef customer service interactions are with pretty mediocre bots.

How Green Chef Compares to Other Meal Delivery Services

• Green Chef vs. HelloFresh: HelloFresh, Green Chef’s parent company, offers meals that are around 20% cheaper. But compared to Green Chef, HelloFresh doesn’t use organic ingredients and has fewer items that are suitable for those on specialized diets.
• Green Chef vs. EveryPlate: EveryPlate, HelloFresh’s budget line, is around 50% cheaper per serving than Green Chef. However, EveryPlate’s menu tends more toward filling comfort food and is considerably less adventurous than Green Chef’s recipes.
• Green Chef vs. Factor: HelloFresh’s line of prepared meals comes in at a similar price tag and also has a good line of keto meals, but its selection of vegetarian and vegan entrees is considerably smaller. Green Chef is better if you want to cook at home or prefer more organic produce, but Factor's ready meals are best for convenience.

The Bottom Line: Is Green Chef Worth It?

Green Chef is one of the priciest meal delivery services I’ve researched and reviewed. The premium cost makes sense, though, when you consider the quality of the ingredients and the healthy recipes that make cooking restaurant-level meals easy. Plus, I will definitely be cooking the Creamy Ginger Chicken Salad Pitas recipe again.

For me, Green Chef’s quality is good enough to back up its higher price tag. It’s up to you to decide if these features are worth the added cost over less expensive services. If the cost is too steep for you, there are several excellent budget meal kits on the market.

If you’re on a specialized diet or if eating organic is important to you, you'll love Green Chef. It may cost a little more, but it’s a great investment in your health. The meals are easy to prepare, and you’ll pick up new skills and recipe ideas along the way.

FAQ

Where does Green Chef deliver?

Green Chef delivers almost everywhere in the contiguous US states. Like most meal delivery services, it unfortunately doesn’t deliver to Alaska or Hawaii. You can check your zip code during the sign-up process.

Is Green Chef good for weight loss?

Green Chef is clinically proven to support healthy weight management*. On the menu, you can find Carb Smart as well as Calorie Smart options. In general, Green Chef’s meals are designed for those who want to enjoy a healthy, balanced diet. 

*with Green Chef calorie smart recipes, in a randomized-controlled eight-week clinical trial: results will vary depending on diet and exercise.

Who owns Green Chef?

Since 2018, Green Chef has been owned by HelloFresh, the world’s largest meal delivery service. Green Chef serves as the premium offering of this massive German company, with organic produce and sophisticated recipes.

Is Green Chef worth it?

I could taste the difference in Green Chef’s high-quality, organic ingredients, and that makes it worth the price in my opinion. Green Chef is one of the more expensive meal delivery services out there, but you get what you pay for.

Can Green Chef meals be frozen?

Many, but not all, Green Chef meals can be frozen. Green Chef’s FAQ provides instructions on which meals can be frozen and an estimated amount of time they’ll keep in the freezer.