I Tried Martha & Marley Spoon Meal Kits and Here’s What I Thought
Service: Martha & Marley Spoon
Price: Martha & Marley Spoon has two offerings to choose from: One is for two people, and the other is for three to four people. These two offerings are broken down further into how many dinners you want that week: two, three, or four.
For two people, the boxes range from $48 to $76. The box for three to four people ranges in price from $76 to $131. The meals are cheaper per person if you buy more meals per week. Shipping is included.
Overall impression: Feel like queen Martha Stewart herself with the help of this awesome meal kit service! The recipes from Martha & Marley Spoon are super inspiring and the ingredients are great. This meal kit service is for someone who loves cooking and food, and doesn’t mind a little bit of extra cleanup in the name of something delicious.
Martha & Marley Spoon: A Quick Summary
Characteristics and specs: A brief history of the company: Martha & Marley Spoon was originally just called “Marley Spoon” and it was founded in 2014 in Berlin. It came to the United States in 2015, and in June of 2016 they partnered with Martha Stewart (hence the name change).
Martha & Marley Spoon wants to make weeknight dinners a little more exciting. You choose the plan that is right for you, then you choose your recipes for the box, and pick the preferred delivery day that works for you. Martha & Marley Spoon is a subscription service, but you can skip weeks or pause the subscription when you want.
The box includes recipe cards with easy-to-follow photos for cooking. Each box includes all (or most) of the pre-portioned ingredients you’ll need to make a meal. The only ingredients you might need are usually salt, pepper, and oil. All the recipes have six-step instructions. The meal options change weekly.
Favorite details: Out of all the meal kits I’ve tried, Martha & Marley Spoon has the most delicious recipes.
Potential problems: This is not a meal kit for someone who is new to cooking or is looking for a quick meal with minimal cleanup.
The meals I made required a lot of pots and pans, which meant extra time cleaning. And it took me an hour to make a couple of the recipes, even though they said they were 30 minutes (although I think this is more of a general problem with recipes, not necessarily something that should deter you from Martha & Marley Spoon). For someone who is trying to get dinner on the table fast, this might not be the best option.
Who would love this: This is the best meal kit for someone who loves food, but maybe is in a cooking rut or wants to alleviate some meal planning and grocery shopping stress for a couple weeks. This would also be the perfect gift for newlyweds or new parents because it feels a little more special than some of the other meal kits I’ve tried.
My Review of Martha & Marley Spoon
I tried six meals from Martha & Marley Spoon: three meals one week, and three meals a second week. Here’s what I made each week.
Week 1
- Juicy Lucy Veg Burger
- Chicken Satay with Coconut Rice
- Summer Fried Rice
Week 2
- Corn and Cheddar Tostadas
- Thai Veggie and Cashew Stir-Fry
- Coconut Shrimp Masala
Martha & Marley Spoon provides a similar experience to many other meal kit services. After choosing my recipes, I received a large insulated box sometime in the afternoon of my preferred delivery date. The box included three paper bags filled with pre-portioned ingredients to make three meals. Each recipe came with a colorful recipe card with six-step instructions to make each dinner.
This meal kit stands out above the rest due to its super-smart recipes. Take, for example, the chicken satay recipe, which I stupidly decided not to photograph because I thought it would look kind of bland (I was wrong). The coconut rice was made by simply adding shredded coconut to the rice. Brilliant! And the quick-pickled cucumbers were such an easy touch. I ended up making this recipe again the next week without a meal kit because I loved it so much.
I was also particularly enamored of the coconut shrimp masala, which was the easiest recipe to make of the bunch, and was super flavorful with not that many ingredients. The juicy Lucy vegetarian burger also stood out to me because veggie burgers usually take forever to make, and these came together a little bit faster and had the added bonus of melty cheese in the middle.
If you love food and cooking and are interested in trying out a meal kit, Martha & Marley Spoon is your best match.
If it’s not obvious, where Martha & Marley Spoon really shines is its use of impactful ingredients. Whether it’s shredded coconut or an usual spice, the ingredients used in the meal kits always teach me something new in the kitchen.
Overall, I would say if you love food and cooking and are interested in trying out a meal kit, Martha & Marley Spoon is your best match. The recipes are stellar and the extra cleanup is worth the trouble for a good meal. The meals I had during those two weeks left me feeling energized in the kitchen.
AT Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the service did give us products for review purposes.