Marley Spoon Review: I Tried It—Here’s What I Thought

Meal kits are supposed to make dinner easier, but some options on the market are definitely more exciting than others. Marley Spoon caught my attention because its menu is packed with interesting recipes, tons of variety, and options for just about every kind of eater.

As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about food (occupational hazard of being a dietitian!), I was especially curious to see whether Marley Spoon could actually deliver meals that were both convenient and worth getting excited about. So, naturally, I had to put it to the test.

I tried several of the meal kits myself to see how they stacked up in terms of flavor, preparation, nutrition, ingredient quality, and overall convenience. Here’s my honest Marley Spoon review, including what I loved, what could be improved, and whether or not I think it’s worth trying.

What is Marley Spoon?

If you love the idea of cooking a homemade dinner but don’t love the mental load that comes with figuring out what to cook every night, Marley Spoon might be right up your alley.

Marley Spoon is a meal kit delivery service that brings pre-portioned ingredients and recipes straight to your kitchen, taking much of the planning and prep work out of making dinner.

The company offers a rotating menu of recipes inspired by a wide range of cuisines and dietary preferences, so there’s lots of variety if you’re a picky eater or a person who gets bored eating the same few meals on repeat.

What really stands out about Marley Spoon, though, is the sheer range of recipes. The menu tends to go beyond the basics you might expect from a meal kit, like chicken and rice or pasta and meatballs. Instead, you’ll find everything from cozy comfort foods to globally inspired dishes, vegetarian options, and meals that feel a bit more fun or adventurous.

How it works

Once you’re ready to get cooking, Marley Spoon gives you two main ways to approach dinner: Marley Spoon Recipes, which comes with pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step instructions so you can cook the meal yourself, or Balance by Marley Spoon, which offers prepared meals that are ready to pop in the microwave or oven.

If you go with Marley Spoon Recipes, you can choose between 2, 4, or 6 servings per meal and select 2-6 meals per week, making it easy to adjust your box based on your household and how often you want to cook.

You can also personalize your recipe recommendations based on the types of meals you like. Preferences include:

• Everyday Variety
• Low Carb
• Low Calorie
• Gluten-Free Friendly
• Dairy-Free
• Low Sodium

You can select multiple preferences or stick with Everyday Variety, which gives you access to the full menu. And importantly, choosing preferences doesn’t lock you out of the other recipes, so you’ll still have access to all of the available options each week.

If you prefer to skip the cooking altogether, Balance by Marley Spoon offers single-serve prepared meals, with plans ranging from 6 to 18 meals per week. These are designed to be quick and convenient when you want something you can heat up and eat without chopping, measuring, or dirtying half of your kitchen.

Once you’ve selected your plan and preferences, you can choose the meals you want each week, and Marley Spoon takes care of getting everything delivered to your door. You can also adjust your selections from week to week, so you’re not stuck eating the same meals again and again.

Marley Spoon works as a weekly recurring subscription, but you’re not stuck with receiving a box every single week (unless you want to). You can skip a delivery, change your meals or preferences, or cancel your subscription as needed, which helps make it a little more flexible.

Menu options

Compared to a lot of meal kits on the market, Marley Spoon takes variety pretty seriously. The company says it offers over 100 recipes on its weekly menus, so there’s a pretty good shot you’ll find something that sounds good.

You can also filter the menu based on your dietary preferences, which makes it much easier to narrow down the options. Filters include:

• GLP-1 Support
• Healthy Choice
• High Fiber
• High Protein
• Keto-Friendly
• Kid Friendly
• Low Calorie
• Low Carb
• Low Sodium
• Mediterranean Diet
• Vegan
• Vegetarian

As someone who gravitates toward plant-forward meals, I especially appreciate being able to quickly filter for vegetarian and vegan options rather than scrolling through dozens of recipes to find them.

You can also browse recipes based on allergens, cook time, meal type, protein source, cuisine, and dish type. So whether you’re looking for a quick dinner, a high-protein meal, something vegetarian, or just want to try a different cuisine, there are plenty of ways to zero in on what you’re in the mood for.

A few examples of meals on its menu include:

• Grilled Jerk-Spiced Chicken with Pineapple Salsa & Crisp Salad
• Tofu Pad Thai with Peppers & Peanuts
• Pastrami Turkey Burger & Thousand Island with Everything Bagel Corn on the Cob
• Sweet & Sticky Glazed Trout with Sesame Broccoli & Pickled Radishes
• Roasted Vegetable Fattoush with Lemon & Tahini Dressings

With that much diversity, you’re definitely not going to run out of options anytime soon.

Nutritional value

From a nutrition standpoint, I found Marley Spoon to be pretty well-rounded overall, though some of the meals are definitely on the heavier side.

A lot of the recipes I looked at landed in the 800-1,000 calorie range per serving, which is higher than what you’ll find with some other meal kit services. There are lower-calorie options available, though, so it’s worth using the menu filters if you’re looking for lighter meals.

One thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the protein content. Even the vegetarian and vegan meals tend to provide a solid amount of protein — and that isn’t always a given with meal kits.

Depending on the recipe, you’ll see protein coming from ingredients like meat, seafood, poultry, beans, lentils, tofu, eggs, dairy, and meat substitutes.

The one nutritional detail I wish Marley Spoon made easier to evaluate is sodium. Unlike some other meal kit services, the company doesn’t disclose the sodium content for every meal. For the recipes where it is listed, though, the sodium tends to be fairly high, which is pretty common for meal kits, since sauces, seasonings, cheeses, and other prepared ingredients can add up quickly.

Overall, I’d describe Marley Spoon’s meals as fairly balanced but a little heavy.

Most recipes include vegetables alongside a protein source and carbohydrate, and I liked seeing a good mix of ingredients rather than meals built around the same few staples.

That said, the generous portions, sauces, cheese, and other calorie-dense ingredients can make some of the meals feel more indulgent than what you might typically make at home.

Cost

When it comes to cost, Marley Spoon falls pretty much in line with other meal kits, though your price per serving depends on the specific plan you choose.

Marley Spoon meal kits cost between $8.99 to $12.99 per serving, with the per-serving price generally decreasing when you order more servings or meals per week.

If you prefer the convenience of prepared meals, Balance by Marley Spoon costs $9.99-$11.99 per serving, depending on how many meals you order.

No matter which you choose, there’s also a $10.99 weekly shipping fee to factor into the total cost.

Marley Spoon also has a few different recipe tiers that can affect what you pay. Saver recipes cost up to $1 less per serving than standard recipes, whereas Customizable recipes let you swap proteins to make your meal a little more personalized. Premium recipes come with an additional charge if you want to upgrade your dinner with a more elevated option.

Ultimately, Marley Spoon is definitely more expensive than grocery shopping and cooking everything from scratch, but you’re also paying for the convenience of having recipes planned and ingredients portioned out for you, which, depending on how much you value that convenience, may be well worth it.

My honest review of Marley Spoon

I was genuinely excited to try Marley Spoon because the menu had so many options that looked interesting. In fact, there were quite a few recipes I immediately wanted to try, which is always a good sign when you’re scoping out a meal kit. I ended up choosing these four meals:

• Vegan Lebanese Hashweh
• The Best Indian-Inspired Butter Chickpeas
• Impossible Cottage Pie
• Creamy Skillet Alfredo Pizza

My box arrived right on time, and everything I ordered was included, so I didn’t run into any missing ingredients or other major delivery issues.

One thing that was different from other meal kits I’ve tested, though, was how the ingredients were packaged. Instead of grouping the ingredients together by recipe, everything arrived together in the box. While this isn’t a huge deal, I personally found it less convenient since I had to sort through the box and figure out which ingredients went with which meal.

I also noticed that a few of the produce items were past their prime when they arrived and weren’t the best quality. Nothing was completely unusable, but it was a little disappointing and took away from the otherwise convenient meal kit experience.

Preparation

Preparation is one of the areas where Marley Spoon fell a little short for me. Compared with some of the other meal delivery services I’ve tested, the recipes required a bit more prep work and were more involved overall, with multiple steps and several components to prepare.

Nothing was particularly difficult, but the recipes weren’t quite as simple as the ones I’ve had from some other services.

The fact that the ingredients weren’t sorted by recipe also made the prep process more time-consuming. Before I could even start cooking, I had to dig through my fridge, identify which ingredients belonged to each recipe, and get everything together, which added a few extra minutes to the total prep time.

I also noticed that not all of the ingredients were pre-portioned. For example, some spices and other ingredients came in larger quantities that I still needed to measure out for the recipe. Again, it’s not a huge inconvenience, but it made the experience less convenient than it could be.

On top of that, Marley Spoon recipes tended to require more pantry staples and extras than other meal kits I’ve tried. Most meal delivery services I’ve tested stick to basics like salt, pepper, and oil, whereas some of my Marley Spoon recipes called for things like butter, flour, red wine vinegar, sugar, and balsamic vinegar.

None of these are unusual ingredients to keep in your pantry, but it’s still something to keep in mind if you’re expecting a meal kit to provide nearly everything you need.

Overall, I didn’t find the recipes difficult, but they weren’t as convenient or low-effort as some of the other meal kits I’ve tried.

Taste

Now for the part that matters most: the food was delicious. I genuinely loved everything I tried, and Marley Spoon gets five stars from me when it comes to flavor.

My favorite was the Creamy Skillet Alfredo Pizza, which tasted like a delicious mashup of a broccoli Alfredo pasta and a flatbread. It was creamy, flavorful, unique, and surprisingly filling. I’m always a fan of a recipe that takes a familiar dish and gives it a fun twist, and this one definitely delivered.

A close runner-up was the Vegan Lebanese Hashweh, which had such a great blend of warm, savory spices. It was another recipe that felt a little different from your usual meal kit fare, and I loved how flavorful and interesting it was.

My husband (who is notoriously critical when it comes to food) was a big fan of the Impossible Cottage Pie and said the flavor of the Butter Chickpeas was spot-on.

So while I had a couple of personal favorites, there really wasn’t a dud in the bunch. When it came to taste, Marley Spoon absolutely nailed it.

Would I recommend it?

If you’re looking for a new meal kit to try, I’d recommend considering Marley Spoon, especially if flavor and variety are high on your list.

The recipes I tried were genuinely delicious, and I liked that the menu offered plenty of options that felt a little more creative and interesting than your typical weeknight meals.

If you enjoy cooking and want to try some fun new recipes or pick up a few new cooking techniques along the way, I think Marley Spoon could be a great fit.

That said, the recipes can be a little more involved than what I’ve experienced with some other meal kits. If you’re looking for the absolute quickest and easiest dinner possible, you’ll want to stick to some of the simpler recipes on the menu.

And if you’d rather skip the cooking altogether on busy nights, Balance by Marley Spoon’s prepared meals are another convenient option.

Who should try Marley Spoon?

Marley Spoon won me over with its diverse menu and, most importantly, its flavor. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the perfect meal kit for everyone. The recipes can be a little more involved, and the overall experience isn’t quite as streamlined as some of the other services I’ve tried.

• People who love variety: With 100+ recipes on the weekly menu and tons of ways to filter your options, there’s a lot to choose from.
• Home cooks who want to try something new: If you enjoy experimenting with different cuisines, flavors, and cooking techniques, Marley Spoon has a variety of recipes to keep things interesting.
• People who prioritize flavor: Every meal I tried was delicious, and the creative recipes were a major highlight for me.
• Vegetarians and vegans: There are quite a few plant-based options on the menu, and I was impressed by both the flavor and protein content of the vegetarian and vegan meals I tried.
• People who want flexibility: You can choose how many meals and servings you want, skip weeks, change your selections, or cancel as needed.
• People who want a mix of cooking and convenience: You can choose traditional meal kits when you feel like cooking or prepared meals when you want something faster.

On the flip side, you might want to skip Marley Spoon if:

• You’re very particular about produce quality: A few of the produce items in my box weren’t as fresh as I would have liked.
• You want the absolute easiest meal kit possible: Some recipes require multiple steps, more prep work, and more measuring than other meal kits I’ve tried.
• You don’t want to keep pantry staples on hand: Some recipes require extras like butter, flour, sugar, and different types of vinegar.
• You’re looking for mostly lighter meals: Many of the recipes I looked at were in the 800-1,000 calorie range, although lower-calorie options are also available.
• You want every ingredient perfectly pre-portioned: Some ingredients, including spices, still need to be measured.

Comparison with competitors

Marley Spoon has plenty going for it, but how does it stack up against some of the other popular options on the market?

Here’s a quick look at how Marley Spoon compares to other meal kits on everything from menu variety and pricing to dietary options and convenience.

	Marley Spoon	HelloFresh	Blue Apron	Home Chef
Menu variety	100+ weekly recipes and market items	100+ weekly recipes and market items	100+ weekly recipes and market items	35+ weekly recipes and market items
Meal kit price	$8.99-$12.99/serving	$10-$13/serving	$8-$13+/serving	$10/serving
Prepared meals	yes	yes	yes	yes
Vegetarian options	yes	yes	yes	yes, but limited
Vegan options	yes	yes	yes	no
High-protein options	yes	yes	yes	yes
Dietary filters	extensive	extensive	extensive	extensive
Recipe difficulty	moderate; some recipes are more involved	generally easy	easy to moderate	easy, with quick-prep options
Best for	variety, flavor, and adventurous home cooks	all-around convenience and variety	foodies who want creative, chef-inspired meals	customization and convenience

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Conclusion

For the most part, I was pretty impressed by Marley Spoon and enjoyed my experience, especially when it came to the variety and flavor of the meals.

While the recipes required a little more prep work than some other meal kits I’ve tried, I thought the extra effort was well worth it for the creative, delicious meals.

If you enjoy cooking and want a meal kit that keeps things interesting with fun new recipes to try every week, I think Marley Spoon is definitely worth considering.