Gobble Meal Kit Review (Updated)
As a busy business owner and registered dietitian, Gobble intrigued me! Gobble is a premium meal delivery service advertising fast prep - straight from box to table without a lot of work. But is it worth the extra cost?
Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review, or given free product. Normally I’d add an affiliate code here, but you’ll see why I didn’t as you keep reading. This is why its good to have unbiased reviews!
Overview:
Gobble is advertised as a super fast meal kit ready in 15 minutes or less! They claim that Gobble's chefs do all the prep work, like peeling, chopping & marinating, so you can cook a fresh homemade dinner in just 15 minutes while only dirtying one pan!
However, I didn’t find this to be quite true. Read more about why below!
Nutrition wise - meals were all based on proteins + vegetables. The amount of oil they recommended adding was pretty high though, several tablespoons per serving plus what was already in the pre-made sauces!
Very few carbs were present, and that made the meals a bit sparse.
Seared Barramundi
Sautéed Squash, Eggplant, Feta and Green Harissa Sauce
Delicious! We loved this meal - the harissa was so good. The fish was delightful.
They recommended adding an extra 5 tbsp of cooking oil, we only did 2 and it was plenty.
Of note - those calories in the cooking oil were NOT in Gobble’s totals. So someone following the directions would have eaten 300 extra calories per serving without knowing
Vegetables were not pre chopped as advertised either which was disappointing.
(note that my photo shows two servings)
Per Gobble: 370 calories, 37g protein, 17g fat, 6g fiber, 17g carbs.
In reality, following directions: 670 calories, 37g protein, 50g fat, 6g fiber, 17g carbs.
Price Breakdown:
Specifics: 3 meals for 2 people, with no discounts was $80 after shipping. $13.50/serving.
Shipping is $7 per order.
Peruvian-Inspired Steak
Potatoes Bravas, Vegetables & Red Chili Pepper Sauce
Again, a delicious meal. Potatoes did come ready to heat and eat. Sauces were delicious, and we didn’t have to do too much work as far as chopping etc. The zucchini and eggplant did need to be cut before cooking.
This meal took 2 people about 20 minutes to prepare using one pan (as recommended). Cooking time could be lessened with 2 pans.
700 calories, 37g protein, 46g fat, 6g fiber, 33g carbs.
Add ons:
Premium dinners are available for an extra cost, and are around $20 per serving. Meats could also be substituted for other options that might add an extra cost.
Soup, salad, breads, omelettes, cookie dough and extra proteins are available to add on.
As you will see below, we added some tasty add ons! They were a bit pricy, but delicious and included quiche and cakes.
Petite Breakfast Quiche Florentine
Delicious- heated up easy in the toaster oven in 15 minutes. $8 for two mini-quiches.
It is unclear if each quiche is one serving or two. I couldn’t find an answer for that. The calories seem a bit low for a whole quiche to my eye.
250 calories, 10g protein, 1g fiber, 18g carbs
Ordering Process and Menu
This was awful. No two ways about it. They advertise a coupon code, but its hard to use. I had to email them to figure out how to use it. Everytime I log in, I need to go in “incognito mode” or it has an error message and I can’t log in.
The menu has 13 main options, plus 2 premium ones. So it’s a bit of a smaller menu compared to other services. Proteins are customizable though so you can say swap fish for steak etc. That does expand the menu variety somewhat.
Lots of exotic and unique foods with global flavors, mostly Mediterranean inspired.
Vegetarian/Vegan? Not your service. Look elsewhere.
Gluten Free? Meals can be made gluten free, often by not including the sauces which are the best part of the meal.
Dairy Free? Again, meals can be made dairy free, often by not including the sauces.
Ingredients are not organic, which is disappointing with the higher pricepoint.
Skipping weeks is pretty easy, and you can also schedule the exact day of the week you will get your box which I liked. Cancellation was not too difficult, but hard to find as it is buried in the FAQ page.
Menus are available to select several weeks in advance so you could easily place your orders for many weeks at once and then be set for a while.
Thai-Style Salmon
Green Beans & Bell Peppers
Delicious again - flavors were on point. But I was hungry after eating this because it was a little salmon filet with veggies.
Salmon is farmed and not wild, decreasing nutritional value.
Lots of prep here with chopping all the veggies yourself. This would be fine, but that’s not what the service is advertised for. It took me 25 minutes to make.
520 calories, 35g protein, 26g fat, 4g fiber, 37g carbs, before adding 2 tbsp recommended cooking oil (an extra 120 calories per serving)
Packaging
As always - there is a lot of packaging. Standard with any meal kit service unfortunately
Each ingredient comes in its own little plastic bag with the name on the label
Each meal comes in its own plastic bag
Meal cards are laminated, making them impossible to recycle. They are cute though.
The basil was very wilted, still usable but it had only been a few days since we’d gotten the box so that was disappointing.
Update: Since I first wrote this article, I got a coupon from Gobble and thought I’d try it again. They lost my box… twice. So two times I had thought I had meals, and they never came. When I contacted customer service, they just gave me more credit for another box. In the end, I did get my box (3rd times the charm??). The food was fine. I didn’t review it - I was so tired at that point of the run around.
Hazelnut Gianduja Cake
Delicious - I ended up eating half that night and the rest the next day because it was so rich!
Ready to just pop out of the packaging and eat. Very convenient.
It’s unclear if one cake is supposed to be 1 or 2 servings.
370 calories, 7g protein, 21g fat, 3g fiber, 37g carbs
Ease of Cooking:
Not as simple and quick as advertised. The potatoes in one meal were pre-roasted and seasoned, and all sauces came in ready to use packets. But I didn’t find this any quicker than my current favorite Sunbasket meals, with a higher pricepoint and non-organic ingredients.
This was definitely much faster than most meal kits, and meals took around 20-25 minutes to prepare. So I’m not complaining that they took a long time - but it wasn’t quite as quick as advertised.
Grading Time!
Customization…….B
Delivery/Packaging…….F
Nutritional Value…….C
Ordering Process…….F
Price…….$13.50/serving (inc shipping)
Flavor…….A
Texture…….A
Ease of Cooking…….B
Meal Variety…….C
Amount of Food……..D
Final thoughts: Gobble is not worth the high pricepoint, with poor customer service, lost boxes, and wilted/bad items.
To top it off, foods weren’t organic and we got some items that were starting to go bad. The ordering process was difficult with website difficulties everytime, and menu variety was low.
I did really like the food - the sauces were amazing and I wish I could just buy those! The flavors were so on point, but the meals as a whole fall short.
I cannot recommend Gobble meal service in good conscience.
Check out my other meal kit reviews for Sunbasket (my current favorite service), Hello Fresh, and Freshly
