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Kroger has jumped into the packaged meal market with their new line – Prep + Pared. Prep + Pared kits are sold in-store only (select Kroger locations) range in price from $14 to $20. They feed two adults and include fresh, seasonal ingredients which are prepped and measured so there is no waste.
Prep + Pared Meal Kit
Cost: $14 – $20/meal
Ships To: Pick-Up in Store
Coupon Code: N/A
Options
My local Kroger had seven or so different kits to choose from including Cripsy Pork Chop, Black Bean Street Cakes, Shrimp Scampi with Lemon Garlic Fettuccini, Carne Asada with Fajita Vegetables and Refried Black Beans and more.
Our Selection
We opted for the Carne Asada with Fajita Vegetables and Refried Black Beans kit. It was $18 (with our Kroger Plus Card) and included:
~1 Lime
~2 tsp. Cumin
~2 tsp. Chil Powder
~10oz. Flat Iron Steak
~1/2 cup Julienned Red Bell Peppers
~1/2 cup Julienned Onions
~1 cup Black Beans
~1 tsp. (1 packet) Chicken Stock Concentrate
Everything arrived neatly packaged and perfectly fresh.
Instructions / Recipe Card
My husband made this and found the instructions to be clear and easy to follow. There was no confusion, but it took more like 30 minutes to make it – not the 20 minutes shown on the package.
The Result
It doesn’t look all that attractive, but it was delicious! It both said we’d have this Kit again and we’ll be trying some of the other kits. That said, we did think this dish needed a few things. We would have added tortillas, sour cream and avocado to the kit to make it more filling. As served it was 420 calories, which honestly, just isn’t enough to fill my husband up.
Does your local store carry Prep + Pared Meal Kits? If you have tried them, what’d you think?
Not a great experience overall. The packaging is flimsy and really is not easy to open–I know, but some kits clearly mark this or use perforations, lacking here. Plus there is no packing material to keep it the kit cool, unless you’re running right back home, I would worry about food spoiling. I found the Shrimp and Carrot Stir Fry very to be an interesting recipe, but it had some issues. The recipe card is supposed to sit folded for ease of reading, but it just slides back open. The pre-sliced scallions are a great idea, but their freshness was on the questionable side. The instructions ask you to keep adding water to a crepe batter until muffin batter consistency–what’s that? I think your average meal kit purchaser may not have that experience. The portions were spot on for this price point, and the shrimp was good (definitely a cheap, farmed variety, but I don’t care) but the rest of the dish was bland. Oh, and it took me 37 minutes to make this 20 minute meal kit! Not awesome.
I hope I can save at least one person from making a huge mistake and getting the salmon kit. Absolutely DISGUSTING! My wife and I could not even choke one horrible bite down. It was within two days of the date on package. It barely looked ‘OK’ in the box. Paid half price, so had to at least give it a try. so completely horrible that I searched online to leave a review to save at least one person from making the mistake of purchasing that particular meal kit. I can’t speak for the others, but this one was so BAD I won’t even try them. Sad too, was hoping this would be a nice alternative here and there for dinners.
Ohh, I actually liked this one! We tried a salmon one and made it per their instructions. It need to be cooked at least another 15 minutes or we would have been eating some pretty raw salmon!