Sunbasket Review - My Experience Ordering Through Sunbasket

Food delivery services can be a great way to add an element of convenience to your life. Not only can you save time by skipping out on the grocery store but you can also save time by not having to worry about planning out meals. 

Sunbasket is one of several meal delivery services on the market today that offers convenient meal options for a variety of dietary needs and preferences. 

What is Sunbasket?

Sunbasket is a food delivery service that packages, prepares, and sends meal kits directly to your home. Though you still have to actually cook the food on your own, Sunbasket provides a quick and easy way for you to access and prepare ingredients for your meals. 

How does Sunbasket work?

To start your delivery service with Sunbasket, the first thing you’ll need to do is create an account on their website. You can do so by using your email address or logging in with your Facebook account.

Customize your meal plan

Once you create an account, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can customize your meal plan according to your dietary needs and preferences. You can choose to feed either two or four people with their basic Meal Kits, or just one person with the Fresh & Ready meals.

What can you eat with Sunbasket?

The nice thing about Sunbasket is that there are many menu options based on various dietary preferences that include:

• Carb-conscious.
• Paleo.
• Gluten-free.
• Lean & clean.
• Vegetarian.
• Vegan.
• Mediterranean.
• Pescatarian.
• Diabetes-friendly.
• Quick and easy.

Chef’s choice meals

The Chef’s choice means that you will get meals according to what Sunbasket chooses for you. If you are curious about some of the menu options in these categories, here’s are some example of recipes:

Carb conscious/paleo

• Pork chops with braised leeks and radishes.
• Salmon and braised fennel with charred orange and green goddess dressing.

Gluten-free

• Grilled steak salad with peach.
• Salmon with green tahini.

Lean & clean

• Chicken breasts and parsley-pecan pesto with roasted beets and oranges.
• Salmon with cilantro-lime sauce and pear-cashew salad.

Vegetarian

• Chickpeas with kale and egg.
• Pappardelle with spinach and hazelnuts.

Vegan

• Five-spice black bean tacos.
• Penne with winter vegetables and balsamic fig sauce.

Mediterranean

• Salmon with green romesco and apple–poppy seed salad.
• Sicilian chicken breasts with salmoriglio sauce and broccoli.

Pescatarian

• Nicoise salad with seared albacore tuna, eggs, and green beans.
• Salmon with green tahini.

Diabetes-friendly

• Diabetes-friendly turkey black bean tacos.
• Diabetes-friendly green harissa sole.

Chef’s choice

• Steak with artichoke butter.
• Chicken with green romesco.

Meal Kit menu

With Sunbasket, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from.

Once you enter your preferences, you’ll be taken to the next screen where you will enter your payment details. I like the convenience of being able to pay via credit card or PayPal.

You should pay attention to the fine print here. Sunbasket informs you that you are starting a subscription that also includes future deliveries. You do have the option to make changes to your meal plan or cancel the service at any time under the “My Account” section of the website.

Sunbasket comes with extras like wine and dessert

If you’re looking for a service that provides your entire meal, you won’t find it with Sunbasket. At this point, there are no extras like wine or dessert; only dinner meals are available.

This may change going forward, and Sunbasket is always available for comments and suggestions.

How much does Sunbasket cost?

Here’s a breakdown of Sunbasket’s pricing. Plus there’s a special promotion now: Try Sunbasket - Get $90 off + a free gift and free shipping on your first box!.

• Fresh & Ready meals – Start at $9.99/serving. All of these meals offer one serving.
• Meal Kits – Start at 11.49. You can choose two or four servings.

Who is Sunbasket ideal for?

Those who like organic foods

Sunbasket is good for people who value sustainable business practices. For example, all of their food is organic.

If you value organic ingredients and don’t mind paying for them, then Sunbasket is perfect for you. An added plus is that all the packaging is compostable and recyclable.

Those looking to save time

Sunbasket also works for people who are looking to save time by forgoing weekly meal planning, shopping, and meal preparation. So, if you’ve got more money than time, Sunbasket will really make it easy for you to make delicious, fresh, chef-caliber meals.

Those who want kid-friendly options

This meal-delivery service also works well for people who also need kid-friendly options. In fact, the recipe booklet even highlights some tasks that kids can do during the meal preparation and cooking process.

Those with average-sized families

Finally, if you’ve got an average-sized family, Sunbasket is ideal. With an average-sized family, you’ll likely need between two-four servings of the meals offered. Sunbasket is set up for those who are ok with those quantities and the servings offered for a family of this size.

Those with smaller families

The minimum amount of food you can order with the Meal Kit option is two servings. The question really comes down to leftovers. If you’re a leftover person, then Sunbasket may very well be a good match for you. Not everyone likes to cook every night.

Note that many of Sunbasket’s meals use fresh herbs and leafy greens that might not be ideal for reheating or long periods of fridge storage. Many people say that they appreciate having fresh food that you can consume right away rather than having to freeze or depend on leftovers.

My experience using Sunbasket

Food Quality

To me, the food quality was outstanding. I’m a certified food snob and can tell if ingredients are not fresh or high quality. The fact that you are getting organic food probably plays a big role in the freshness of the ingredients and how they taste once you assemble the meal kit and eat it.

I would imagine that having organic ingredients means that you can’t store them in the refrigerator for long. For this reason, I cooked and consumed the three meals I received within about four days of delivery. I believe this made the food seem fresh and tasty once it was prepared.

Taste

One thing I really appreciate about Sunbasket is how thoughtful, yet simple the flavor selections were. The use of fresh herbs like tarragon and cilantro really added a flavorful dimension to the meals that I enjoyed.

Also, the seasonings that were included in the kits didn’t contain a lot of salt. At first, it took a little getting used to but I soon realized that with high-quality, fresh ingredients and fantastic flavor combinations, the need for a salter taste was greatly diminished.

Here’s what I ended up with on the carb-conscious menu:

• Lettuce-wrapped turkey burgers with tarragon mayo.
• Steak and stone fruit salad with walnuts and ginger-basil dressing.
• Paprika-spiced chicken over “creamed” corn with tomato salsa.

Honestly, I liked everything. The steak was a little tough but it wasn’t bad enough for me to stop eating the meal and I’d recommend it to others. If I had to choose a favorite, maybe it’d be the turkey burgers. The tarragon mayo with sherry vinegar condiment for this meal was like eating a gourmet dinner prepared by a personal chef.

Portions

The portions, to me, were just about right. Though I felt slightly hungry after eating a serving of mainly protein and vegetables, I felt that it was due to the lower carbohydrate nature of the menu I choose (carb-conscious). I would imagine that a serving would with more carbs might be slightly more satisfying.

Directions

The directions were simple and perfect down to the estimated preparation time. I was able to get the meals on the table in 20-40 minutes flat. In fact, my daughters, who are 10 and 14 years-old made one of the meals with no problems. If these kids can do it, even the most inexperienced home-cook can make these meals with ease.

Delivery & packaging

As mentioned, the packaging is made of recyclable and compostable material. Even the insulation that keeps the food at the appropriate temperature is made of recycled denim. If you are not able to recycle this once you are done, it will eventually biodegrade. In addition, the Sunbasket website also offers ideas to upcycle the large box the smaller bags are shipped in.

Price

The price, per serving starts at $9.99 or $10.99 depending on the plan you choose. This is a little higher than comparable meal delivery services, but not outrageous.

However, I can tell the quality of the ingredients is really high. The ingredients are fresh, organic and the taste really reflects the price point. If you value organic, chef-grade ingredients, the price might be worth it for you.

Sunbasket vs. other meal delivery services

Here’s how Sunbasket compares to other meal-kit delivery services:

Looking for the best meal-kit delivery service? Check out this meal delivery comparison article to find one that might be perfectly suited for you and your family. Here’s we analyze meal-kit options to help you compare the services and find the best one for you.

Summary

Overall, Sunbasket is an excellent meal delivery option if you feel it’s worth it to go for an organic, environmentally-conscious meal delivery service.

Plus, I really like the fact that the family-friendly instructions and tips lend itself to being ideal for average-sized families. The food is tasty enough so that your picky eaters will enjoy it, yet simple enough so they can be involved (and vested) in the preparation.

And there is a special promotion running now: Try Sunbasket - Get $90 off + a free gift and free shipping on your first box!.

Read more:

• Plated Review
• Home Chef Review