SunBasket Review for 2023 | What We Loved & Hated!

Martin GruninOctober 12, 2023Last Updated: October 12, 2023

5 3,596 9 minutes read

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Sunbasket is a leading meal kit delivery company, and in our personal opinion, the best one!

We’ve been on and off customers of Sunbasket since 2017, and we’ve decided to refresh our Sunbasket review in 2023 since there have been many new changes to their service since our last review! Our last SunBasket review did feature a video review, so if you also want to see the meals on video, make sure to check it out! But, we do recommend reading this review, since we go over all the changes! Once you’re sure of your purchase, make sure to check out our Sunbasket Coupon page!

So a quick history on Sunbasket, it was started by Chef Justine Kelly in 2014. Even though SunBasket is one of the youngest of the bigger players in the market, they’ve grown rapidly due to its health-conscious meal kits and pro-environmental approach.

Every bit of Sun Basket’s packaging is bio-degradable and every week the company donates over 1,000 pounds of food to food banks. This is a big key for us personally since there is A LOT of waste in typical food delivery, and in general food waste, so it’s nice to see them being proactive on these issues.

Ordering Sunbasket Meals

For starters, you’ll want to decide what “type” of meals you’re looking for. If you want quick meals, meals that you simply throw into the oven for 10-15 minutes without any actual cooking, then the “Fresh & Ready” meals are perfect for you. On the other hand, if you do enjoy cooking, and want to be part of the process from start to finish, then “Meal Kits” is the suitable option for you.

As you might notice, the “Fresh & Ready” meals are cheaper than the “Meal Kit” meals, so that is one thing to keep in mind. In this review, we will be covering both types of meals, but first, let’s dive into the prices!

How much is Sunbasket?

How much you pay per serving comes down to how many meals and servings you’re ordering per delivery. Since this can be a bit cumbersome to fully detail, we do have a separate where we completely break down how much Sunbasket costs.

The simple answer is that for “Meal Kits”, you’ll pay as much as $13.99 per serving or as little as $10.99 per serving. For “Fresh n’ Ready” meals, you’ll pay as much as $11.99 per serving or as little as $8.99 per serving.

This is also a great point to mention that we do keep an eye on the different Sunbasket coupons that come out, and the current one is a $90 off promo w/ 1 free gift

If you use this promo code, you’ll only pay $6.36 per serving for the “Meal Kit” meals and $4.36 for the “Fresh n’ Ready” Meals. Now that’s quite the savings!

We have seen that in the past few months, prices have gone up by another $1 per meal due to supply constraints and ongoing inflation.

Our Sunbasket Review

Here’s the juicy part, let’s get into what we ordered for the family! We actually ordered 7 different meals, 4 of them were “Fresh n’ Ready”, and the other 3 were “Meal Kits”:

Delivery Process

The Sunbasket Meal Kit I ordered arrived on time and the packaging was fantastic! There were two boxes, one with enough gel packs to keep the food “refrigerated” and a second box with enough gel packs to keep the frozen food from thawing out. It was really cool to see that the gel packs were made of biodegradable material, allowing them to simply be cut open and thrown in the trash.

As we were unboxing the kit is was very simple to distinguish between what needed to be put in the refrigerated and what needed to be kept frozen. There were a total of 7 meals in the kit, 4 simple “toss in the oven” ready-made meals, and 3 which took a bit more preparation (Meal Kits). The 4 meals that required multiple ingredients had everything bundled together in a brown paper bag in the box to be refrigerated, which was labeled with the meal name on the side. Any additional ingredients that needed to be frozen were labeled with which specific meal they belonged to, which made things very nice and organized.

Overall, receiving the delivery and unpacking everything was a very well-thought-through and seamless process. I was able to easily stack all of the meals in my fridge on a single shelf, and the frozen ingredients were neatly packaged and stackable as well. The ingredients all looked fresh and appetizing and with the exception of the two items mentioned above, everything was bundled together with the meals they belong with.

Preparing the Meals

Preparing the meals was every bit as easy as the delivery and packaging! Obviously, the frozen meals were much simpler than the other 4, but that was to be expected, and they were not overly complicated either! I would feel more than comfortable letting my children help me out in the kitchen making these meals or trusting a teenager to follow the directions step by step on their own.

The frozen meals were all uniform in their preparation steps. Simply add a single tablespoon of water, cover with foil, and bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Stir and continue baking for 10-15 more minutes… easy as pie (literally!). There are also microwave instructions, but I stuck with the conventional oven. My first meal was a bit mushy, so I went off script on the next two and kept the foil off after the initial 20 minutes of backing to help dry up some of the moisture and firm up the entrée.

Prep for the 4 bigger meals was more involved. Some meals required washing and cutting vegetables, thawing proteins, and other routine food prep tasks that might require a bit more skill. Each meal kit had a set of instructions included in the bag along with the ingredients. The instructions are written very clearly and neatly and include a list of all of the ingredients that should be inside the paper bag meal kit, a list of any ingredients you will need from your own pantry (things like salt, pepper, olive oil, etc…), and a list of tools/utensils you will need for prep and cooking. You can then simply follow along step by step and the very well-written instructions take you through preparing your base ingredient (the quinoa in my three meals), washing, chopping, and making ready your vegetables and garnishes, and cooking your proteins.

Each meal lists more than one protein option and directions on how to prepare it to pair with the specific meal you are cooking. For instance, my full meal kit came with both chicken and salmon. Each of the four meals I prepared gave instructions on how to cook chicken, fish (salmon), or beef to pair with the meal, so I could mix and match any protein I was feeling on a particular day to go with that meal!

The first day I had a bit of a false start when I grabbed one of the meal kits out of the refrigerator only to realize that the protein for the meal was still frozen in the freezer. That is completely my fault, but it pays to remember that the protein is separate from the refrigerated meal kit.

Overall the prep is very well thought through and easy to execute. Each step is done in a logical order so that you end up with a warm plate of food at the end, rather than cooking your meat first and then letting it get cold while you finish the rest of the steps. The recipes are crafted with great attention to detail.

Rainbow Quinoa (Meal Kit)

The flavors here were good. The guacamole and salsa that came pre-packaged had a surprisingly fresh flavor too them, which suggests to me that they were made not too long before being shipped! Add in the fresh lime that came with the kit and everything had a nice fresh and earthly flavor to it! The quinoa-black bean mix was good, but my kids prefer meat as the protein in their tacos rather than beans, so that might be something to keep in mind when you are ordering for your family. The corn tortillas were definitely not your grocery store variety. They were clearly handmade (with slight variation in size and shape) and a much more refreshing flavor than the typical tortillas that have aged for an unspecified amount of time on a shelf in a store.

Spicy Tinga Tacos with Black Beans and Pico De Gallo (Meal Kit)

This was our favorite!!! Just as with the last meal the tortillas were fresh and flavorful. Also, the Pico De Gallo, salsa, Tinga sauce, and parsley were still very earthy in flavor. My family appreciated the black beans much more without the quinoa mix. And most important for me, there was a bit of a kick, but they were not overly spicy, even though that is in the name.

Quinoa Bowls with Wilted Greens and Citrus Dressing (Meal Kit)

We all liked the greens, chicken, and citrus dressing together as a salad, but the younger members of the family were not as excited about the addition of the quinoa. Also as I’ve mentioned before I would suggest cooking the chicken a little less time than what is prescribed in the instructions. The greens were all fresh and the Citrus Dressing was like a fresh spin on a Caesar dressing… very tasty! This was also kind of light for dinner the serving size we had was for 2, but I think I would eat the whole portion myself for dinner!

Cheesy Chicken Tetrazzini with Braised Kale (Fresh n’ Ready)

This didn’t look really appetizing coming out of the oven, but was actually pretty good! The kale mixes in nicely with the flavor of the rest of the meal, so it was a great way to “sneak” in some green vegetables to my kid’s diet! The chicken was a little dry, but no more than what is to be expected from an oven-ready meal in my opinion. I’m not sure what sort of cheesy sauce was used, but it was very flavorful and coated the noodles, kale, and chicken well.

Zesty Black Bean – Quinoa Bowl (Fresh n’ Ready)

This was our least favorite. The quinoa was not nearly as flavorful as what comes in the fresh meal kits we tried first. The best way I can describe the flavor is similar to that of “old” rice, there was almost a “musty-ness” to the taste… if that makes sense. We couldn’t really taste the beans or the “zesty” sauce of the quinoa.

Cauliflower Mac and Cheese (Fresh n’ Ready)

This was good, but I think it would have been great if I had removed the foil during the last few minutes of baking. Since I followed the directions on the package, however, it was soggy and watery. I also would suggest Sunbasket or parents cut the cauliflower pieces a bit smaller before serving, there were some pretty decent-sized chunks in my meal! Aside from those two things, the flavors were good and the mac and cheese and cauliflower make a great pair!

Quinoa Penne with Spicy Arrabbiata, Italian Sausage, and Bell Peppers (Fresh n’ Ready)

This meal was also very tasty! It looked bright and colorful when we took it out of the oven and mixed it up and the taste matched the visual! The sausage was still a little warm, while the rest of the meal was hot, but had a great flavor to it. The sauce and the bell peppers added another level of heat to the dish (which was a level too high for me and a couple of the kiddos – so keep that in mind if you have some mild pallets!). Overall great flavor, is very appetizing to look at, and is very tasty!

Final Thoughts

Another lovely experience with Sunbasket! What I really loved about ordering “Meal Kits” from Sunbasket was finding new recipes and flavors to explore. Over the years, I’ve taken my favorite dishes from Sunbasket, and simply replicated them myself moving forward! Did we love all the meals in our box? Nope! But did some of the meals blow us away? Yes, they did!

When I placed this particular order in, I decided to go outside my comfort level for some of the selections, specifically the quinoa. While I’m not the biggest fan of quinoa, as you might have read, it was still fun to experience those sorts of dishes.

Over the years, I have noticed Sunbasket place incredible effort in expanding their meal lineup, and even adding on snacks, and various other options such as “Breakfast”. I’m happy to see that, and I intend to continue being a Sunbasket customer.

It’s worth mentioning that pausing your subscription is simple, and done with a few clicks, so don’t be worried about being roped into a long commitment.

Just make sure to use this promo code, select your own meals, and tell us down below what you think of your meals!

Thank you for reading our review.