Home Chef or EveryPlate for simple recipes?
If simple recipes are your main goal, EveryPlate is usually the better fit because its meals focus on familiar ingredients, straightforward steps, and low-cost cooking. Home Chef is better if you want simple meals plus more choice, including Express, Oven-Ready, and other low-prep options. Your best pick depends on whether simplicity or flexibility matters more.
EveryPlate vs. Home Chef for Simple Recipes
Both services are designed to make dinner easier, but they take slightly different approaches.
EveryPlate leans toward basic, familiar meals with fewer moving parts. Its current recipe library includes many dishes marked “Easy” and “Quick,” such as 20-minute tacos and 25-minute rice bowls.
Home Chef gives you more ways to make dinner simple. Its menu includes traditional meal kits, Express meals that come together in under 30 minutes, Oven-Ready meals, and Fast & Fresh options.
| Factor | Home Chef | EveryPlate |
|---|---|---|
| Simple recipes | Excellent | Excellent |
| Beginner-friendly meals | Excellent | Excellent |
| Quick options | More choices | Many |
| Recipe variety | Higher | More focused |
| Cooking styles | More flexible | Mostly standard meal kits |
| Familiar ingredients | Very good | Very good |
| Best for | Simplicity + choice | Straightforward cooking |
Why EveryPlate May Be Better for Simple Recipes
EveryPlate’s biggest strength is that it does not try to make every dinner feel complicated.
Its recipes often use familiar foods such as chicken, beef, rice, potatoes, pasta, tortillas, vegetables, and simple sauces. Current recipes include Tex-Mex Beef Tacos listed at 20 minutes and Ponzu Beef & Rice Bowls at 25 minutes, both marked as easy.
That makes EveryPlate a good choice if you are thinking:
“I just want dinner instructions I can follow without spending a lot of time figuring things out.”
The recipes are easy to recognize
A beginner may feel more comfortable making tacos, burgers, pasta, rice bowls, or skillet meals than a recipe with many unfamiliar ingredients.
That matters because recipe simplicity is not just about the number of steps. Familiar ingredients and familiar cooking methods can make a meal feel much easier.
Many meals are built around basic cooking skills
You may still need to chop vegetables, cook meat, boil pasta, or prepare a sauce. But these are common kitchen tasks rather than advanced techniques.
WIRED’s 2026 EveryPlate review also described the service as focused on simple, hearty meals and noted that its recipes generally avoid the complexity found in higher-priced meal kits.
Where Home Chef Has an Advantage
Home Chef can actually be the better choice if by “simple” you mean the least amount of hands-on work.
Its current menu includes several formats designed around convenience. Home Chef says its Express recipes come together in 30 minutes or less, while Oven-Ready meals use an oven-safe pan to reduce preparation and cleanup.
Some individual Home Chef recipes are labeled Easy. For example, a current Chicken Teriyaki Bowl is listed as Easy with a 25–35 minute prep and cook time.
Home Chef gives you more ways to simplify dinner
You can choose among options such as:
- Traditional meal kits
- Express meals
- Oven-Ready meals
- Fast & Fresh meals
- Other easy-prep choices
That flexibility is useful when your definition of “simple” changes from night to night.
For example, you might want to cook normally on Sunday but have almost no energy on Wednesday. Home Chef gives you more ways to choose a lower-effort dinner.
Which One Is Easier for a Beginner?
EveryPlate gets a slight edge for straightforward beginner cooking.
Its recipes tend to stay close to familiar meal ideas. Current examples include burgers, tacos, rice bowls, pasta, and skillet meals, with many marked Easy.
Home Chef is also beginner-friendly, but its larger menu can include more ambitious meals alongside its easy options.
That means Home Chef may be better for someone who wants to learn while having choices, while EveryPlate can be better for someone who simply wants dinner to be predictable.
Which Has the Simpler Recipe Instructions?
Both provide step-by-step instructions, but simplicity can depend on the specific recipe.
EveryPlate promotes simplified cooking and its app describes its recipes as four-step recipes designed to keep the weekly menu fuss-free.
Home Chef also provides step-by-step recipes and identifies details such as preparation time and difficulty on individual recipes.
So instead of assuming every meal from one company is easier, check the difficulty, prep time, and cooking method before adding a meal to your box.
Home Chef or EveryPlate: Which Is Better for Busy Weeknights?
If you are busy but still want to cook, Home Chef has the stronger advantage because of its range of quick and low-prep meal formats.
Its Express meals are designed to come together in under 30 minutes, while Oven-Ready options can reduce chopping, pan preparation, and cleanup.
EveryPlate can still work very well for busy nights. Many recipes are around 20–40 minutes, and its simple meal design reduces the need for complicated preparation.
The difference is choice. Home Chef gives you more ways to avoid a long cooking session.
Which Is Better for Someone Who Hates Complicated Recipes?
EveryPlate is the better starting point.
If you do not enjoy complicated cooking, a menu built around familiar meals can make the process less stressful. You can look for recipes marked Easy or Quick and avoid meals with longer cooking times.
Home Chef is still a strong option if you want to avoid complicated recipes but also want more variety. Its menu currently has more than 35 weekly meal choices and several preparation styles.
What About Recipe Variety?
This is where Home Chef pulls ahead.
Home Chef currently advertises more than 35 weekly meals, along with different meal formats and customization options.
EveryPlate has a more focused approach. Its current recipe pages show a wide range of familiar meals, but the service emphasizes affordability and simple cooking rather than a large range of cooking experiences.
If you want to eat simple food without eating the same style of dinner repeatedly, Home Chef may be worth the extra choice.
Which One Should You Pick?
The answer depends on what you mean by “simple.”
Choose EveryPlate if:
- You want straightforward recipes.
- You are new to cooking.
- You prefer familiar meals.
- You want fewer complicated cooking decisions.
- You care strongly about keeping meal-kit costs down.
Choose Home Chef if:
- You want simple recipes but more variety.
- You like choosing different cooking formats.
- You want quick or Oven-Ready options.
- You want more customization.
- You sometimes want an easy dinner and sometimes want a more involved recipe.
Home Chef’s current meal pricing starts at $7.99 per serving on its website, while current EveryPlate pricing and promotions can vary, so compare the actual weekly checkout total rather than relying only on advertised starting prices.
Two Simple Real-World Examples
If you are a beginner cook
Imagine you are cooking dinner for two and do not cook often.
You probably do not need a large selection of advanced recipes. An easy EveryPlate meal such as tacos or a rice bowl may be enough. These types of meals use cooking skills that are easy to practice and repeat.
EveryPlate would be my pick.
If you are busy but want more choices
Now imagine you already know your way around the kitchen but have very little time during the workweek.
You may prefer Home Chef because you can choose an Express meal on a busy evening and an Oven-Ready meal when you want less cleanup.
Home Chef would make more sense.
The Bottom Line
For simple recipes specifically, EveryPlate has the edge. It focuses on familiar meals, easy cooking, and straightforward preparation.
But if your real goal is easy dinners with more flexibility, Home Chef is the stronger choice. Before ordering, look at the actual weekly menu and choose meals marked Easy, Quick, Express, or Oven-Ready rather than judging the entire service by its brand name.
A good rule is simple: choose EveryPlate for uncomplicated everyday cooking; choose Home Chef when you want simplicity plus more options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EveryPlate easier than Home Chef for beginners?
EveryPlate is often the simpler choice for beginners because many recipes use familiar ingredients and straightforward cooking methods. Home Chef is also beginner-friendly but offers a wider range of meal styles.
Does Home Chef have simple recipes?
Yes. Home Chef offers Easy-prep, Express, Oven-Ready, and Fast & Fresh choices, so you can select meals based on how much cooking and cleanup you want.
Which is better for quick and easy dinners, Home Chef or EveryPlate?
Home Chef has an advantage if speed is your main concern because its Express meals are designed for under 30 minutes and it also offers other low-prep formats. EveryPlate is a better fit if you want simple, familiar meals without needing as many preparation choices.
