Cooking is often a lot of work, but before you can cook, you must make a shopping list, go shopping, and carry all the shopping home.
You might often fall back on takeaways or fast food if you are busy. Fortunately, meal kit deliveries can help you to have a healthy meal even if you’re busy.
Dinnerly is one of these meal kits, but in addition to being convenient: is Dinnerly cheaper than grocery shopping?
Yes, Dinnerly is more affordable than groceries, it is one of the cheapest meal kit delivery options you could buy.
But what does Dinnerly offer, why is it so much cheaper than its competitors, and are the meals filling, tasty, and healthy? Keep reading to get all the information you need about Dinnerly.
What Does Dinnerly Offer?
Dinnerly sends out meal kits weekly (you can pause your subscription at any time). Each box includes enough ingredients to make meals for 2 or 4 people. You need to add a minimum of 3 meals and a maximum of 6 meals to each box.
Dinnerly does not offer a meal kit for singles or larger families. However, if you’re cooking just for yourself, you can always just split each meal into two, freeze one portion or have it the following days.
How Much Does Dinnerly Cost?
How much you pay for Dinnerly depends on how many people you feed and how many meals you order each week. The basic rule: the more you buy, the cheaper it is. Here’s an overview of how much you pay each week (as of January 2023)
| Meals | Cost per portion for 2 people | Cost per portion for 4 people |
| 3 | $7.04 | $6.14 |
| 4 | $6.54 | $5.89 |
| 5 | $6.44 | $5.59 |
| 6 | $6.24 | $4.99 |
If you enjoy certain Dinnerly meals a lot and want to save extra money, buying more and freezing some portions is a good idea.
For example: if you’re a couple, you could buy a meal kit for four people and always freeze half. This will save you money AND time in the future as you only have to prepare the meal once.
How Much Would It Cost To Buy Dinnerly Ingredients In A Grocery Store?
Each Dinnerly meal consists of different ingredients, so it’s impossible to list them and compare them. I have chosen the Chicken Marinara Meatballs to check how much the ingredients would cost in a grocery store (on average), compared to how much you pay for a Dinnerly portion.
For the chicken marinara meatballs, Dinnerly sends you ¾ oz Parmesan, 10 oz ground chicken, ¼ oz Tuscan spice blend, 1 oz Panko, and 8 oz marinara sauce. Depending on how many people you feed, this would cost between $4.99 and $7.04 per portion.
So how much does it cost in a grocery store?
- $2.50 for a package of ground chicken
- $1 for parmesan
- $2 for Tuscan spice blend
- $2 for Panko
- $2 for Marinara sauce
In total, you would spend $9.50 for the ingredients, which is more expensive than the most expensive Dinnerly option – and in some places, your grocery bill would be even higher, while Dinnerly’s cost doesn’t change.
Also, remember that you won’t be using everything you buy, e.g., you will have lots of Panko and some parmesan left, while there’ll be no waste with Dinnerly.
Why Is Dinnerly Cheaper Than Grocery Shopping?
Dinnerly can offer better prices than a grocery store because they send their meal kits right from their warehouse without needing a third party like a grocery store. They will have fewer overhead costs and can buy everything in bulk, unlike a normal customer.
Why Do Other Meal Kits Cost So Much More Than Dinnerly?
Now that you’ve seen that Dinnerly’s cheapest portion only costs $4.99, you might wonder how they can be so much cheaper than other meal kits (in some cases up to 30% cheaper per portion).
The answer is that they use less material. They do not send recipe cards out with your meal kits. You need to use the website or app to find the recipes. This saves Dinnerly money and is also more environmentally friendly.
In addition, Dinnerly is also different when it comes to packaging. While you receive everything in an insulated box, Dinnerly does not use extra packaging to keep ingredients separated by meal.
For example, if one meal calls for two carrots and the other for four carrots, all six carrots will be together, not individually packaged.
So, Dinnerly uses less packaging, prints no recipe cards, and achieves a few things in one go
- Cost savings that are passed on to customers
- Less waste
- Better for the environment
Other Savings If You Use Dinnerly
In addition to saving money for the ingredients, you also have some other savings:
- No fuel costs to drive to the supermarket / or no costs for public transport
- Time savings – no need to walk/drive to the grocery store, do the shopping, stand in line, and then go home again
- No food waste, i.e., you don’t throw away money
Who Is Dinnerly Suitable For?
While this sounds good, Dinnerly is not optimal for some people.
Dinnerly has a selection of vegetarian dishes, but if you are vegan, you will have difficulty finding enough meals to fill a meal kit box unless you want to eat the same meal again and again.
People with certain allergies and intolerance will also find a limited selection only, and it’s a pain to scroll through the whole menu and read about all the ingredients until you find what you need. In addition, all ingredients are handled and packed in the same place, so cross-contamination can happen.
This means Dinnerly is best for meat eaters and vegetarians. There are many options, and you can select from a good offering of meals each week.
Are Dinnerly Meal Kits Healthy And Tasty?
It depends on what you order. Some Dinnerly meals are healthier than others. Each meal comes with a description and some tags on the website, so if you are looking for healthy options only, you can easily find them.
They are tasty – as long as you order meals you enjoy. I.e., don’t order fishy meals if you hate fish.
Are Dinnerly Meal Kits Filling?
Each Dinnerly portion should be filling for the average person. Of course, there are some exceptions!
The portions may be too much for some, and for others, not enough.
You might want more if you lead a very active lifestyle, work out a lot, or work in a physically demanding job. The only way to find out is to order some and see how full you feel after eating one portion.
Final Thoughts
Dinnerly offers some great meals, especially for meat eaters and vegetarians. Dinnerly’s prices are hard to beat, and you would have to be a savvy shopper to get the ingredients for less (while also spending money on transport).
Dinnerly is one of the best options if you are looking for a meal kit delivery service. The good thing is that Dinnerly does not lock you into a long subscription, so if you decide it’s not for you, you can stop at any time.
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