We recently set out to determine if Sunbasket is worth it. I was really curious to see if it was easy enough for kids to make and if the meals were kid-friendly.
Watch our Sunbasket review or read the details below the video to see if Sunbasket is a good healthy meal subscription option for your family!
Sunbasket Review From The Kimballs
Can’t see the video? Watch our Sunbasket review here on YouTube!
Is Sunbasket Good for Kids?
Honestly, we had some bumps in the road, we thought that it’s really not kid-friendly. There’s a lot of mushrooms, things mixed together, and sauces. It’s a little spicy, and there are just some tastes more suited to adult palates. We also felt it was a bit fancy for many families.
If your family is full of adventurous eaters, this might be a great option for you!
Kids with some cooking aptitude could definitely make these meals. You’d have to have a little bit of cooking instruction like knife safety skills. Sunbasket recipes will not teach a child to cook, but kids who already know the basics could do it.
The directions were pretty good, but Blue Apron has pictorial directions which are easier both for kids and adults who are learning to cook.
We’ll be sharing another video in a few weeks of my kids actually making one of our Sunbasket review meals!
RELATED: Raddish Kids subscription review!
Is Sunbasket Worth the Money?
It costs about $40 for four servings. While that did serve our family of six, it’s a little bit of a hard pill for me to swallow because I’m super budget-friendly.
Considering that I still have to do the work of cooking, I’m not sure I would do it often.
It definitely costs less than going out to eat, but we had fewer leftovers than when we go out. However, it is hard to go out and have organic produce and well-sourced meats. Obviously, that has to raise the price of Sunbasket.
RELATED: We source our quality meats from Butcher Box.
I tried one of their “Fresh and Ready” meals for lunch. I loved it, but it was a bit spicy. It was plenty of food for one meal, but only 6 bites of meat and not that many veggies. It was pretty expensive for being mostly rice.
When you order using this link you’ll receive $90 off, free shipping, and four free gifts with your first order which helps with the budget factor!
Is Sunbasket Environmentally Friendly?
If you’re competing with other meal services like HelloFresh and Blue Apron, it does make a lot of dishes to wash. That’s kind of a bummer. I would try to cut corners where I could.
For any meal delivery kit, you’re going to have some waste. They come with ice packs which I don’t love. However, Sunbasket has a high commitment to sustainability. They have instructions to reuse and recycle as much as possible. I liked that we were able to pour out the ice packs into the garden and recycle the plastic.
It’s better than most, but there’s still a little bit of waste. Sunbasket cites a University of Michigan study that shows that shopping at grocery stores generates 33% more greenhouse gases than meal kit delivery—with packaging and delivery included. Something to consider.
Is it Easy to Order From Sunbasket?
When you go to order your meals there are no options over 4 in the family. It worked out for us because a meal for four served the six of us, but if your family is larger, you’ll need to double up on the same meal for a single day.
Sunbasket is a subscription. So if you don’t go in to change your meals each week, they will choose for you and that makes me nervous. Put a reminder in your calendar for Tuesday evenings or Wednesday mornings in case you miss Sunbasket’s reminder email!
I had a hard time navigating the website at first. You have to be on one screen to see the ingredients and description, and another to add to your cart which is similar but slightly different.
Often you can choose your protein for your meal, including adding protein to a vegetarian meal for an upcharge.
Who is Sunbasket Best For?
Now, if I was a young wife, a young married couple or college students, roommates living together, it would be so fun! It would be a special event like eating out, except that you’d get to learn cooking skills and do a fun activity with your spouse or friends!
I think it would be a neat gift for a niece/nephew/child/grandchild living out on their own who wants to learn to cook and eat well.
One benefit for us is that we did learn some things. We learned how to make soft-boiled eggs, (I’d never heard of that!), and we learned how to heat tortillas over an open flame. That was cool since we’re usually the ones doing the teaching in the kitchen!
Kids Cook Sunbasket Meals
Can’t see the video? Watch my kids cook Sunbasket meals here on YouTube!
Sunbasket Review: Bottom Line
Bottom line is that Sunbasket is something we would try very occasionally.
It is nice to have it planned out. I didn’t have to put thought into it, saving brain space on my end. Maybe it would be good on a week where we didn’t want to think about food but still wanted to eat well.
If you have high-class tastes and are ready to try new things then this might be something that would be worth it for your family.
Sunbasket is a little bit of an adventure! Overall, it was really an interesting experience!
