I would love to say that I thought The Purple Carrot plant-based subscription box was amazing but it honestly fell flat. We decided to order it after finding a 50% off promo code in my email. I figured for $35, yes the regular price is $70, that it was worth giving the family box a try. Then our box arrived.
The first recipe we had was for a spinach risotto with crispy chickpeas. I made the recipe per the directions and served it up to my family. First thing I noticed was that the chickpea and spinach ratio to rice was way off. It was like having a big bowl of spinach with a tiny bit of rice. Secondly the entire dish was incredibly bland. Lastly it was simply boring and extremely overpriced. For me to purchase the items myself it would have cost me maybe $20 and that would be with extras to use for another meal or two. Really not impressive or interesting.
As for meal two which was a chili with flatbread again one of those meals that was fine but nothing that stood out to me. We actually ended up going to purchase extra toppings per recommendation of a friend to really jazz things up. For me to have made this dish myself I could have done it for around $20-25 with ingredients for another few dishes.
Overall I found The Purple Carrot to be a bit uninspired and nothing I couldn’t have done on my own without a service. Now I know that my cooking standards/abilities might be higher than others but honestly I really don’t think anyone needs a service for recipes like these. Honestly considering they put the recipes up on their site each week you could purchase all of the ingredients yourself and make the same dishes for a fraction of the cost. You might have to and shop for the items and measure things yourself but honestly that will take you very little time. You could even have all your groceries delivered to you via services such as Instacart* for a minimal delivery fee and tip.
Maybe it’s that they don’t have any competitors since they are the only plant-based/vegan box out there or maybe it’s because they are brand new and are still working the kinks out but at this time I wouldn’t recommend this service unless money is no object and you just want it all done for you. I hope that over time they will workout the kinks and that it will become something great but for now I think it’s just meh.
Have you tried The Purple Carrot box? Thoughts?
Disclaimer: This post is NOT SPONSORED. I used a promo code to get my first box 1/2 off.
*Referral Link.
That’s a bummer to hear that Purple Carrot isn’t great – I LOVE meal delivery services and order quite regularly from Hello Fresh, Sun Basket and Blue Apron. Hopefully either Purple Carrot will step up their game, or another great vegan box option will show up!
I’m so sorry that it was so uninspiring and fell flat. What a bummer. Hopefully they will improve as they get more feedback and as more competition heats up in their specific meal delivery space (which it will). You plated the meal so beautifully though!
Thanks for your honesty, Lindsay. There are so many monthly box services out there now, and it sound like if Purple Carrot doesn’t step up their game fast, they likely won’t be around very long.
good to know! I’ve wondered about that box. Very disappointing!