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Kitchen & Cooking

Daily Harvest's Harvest Bakes Review

Daily Harvest has new oven-ready meals. Are they any good?

On left, raw veggies and other ingredients placed in Harvest Bakes-sized bowl. On right, hand digging into ready-to-eat Harvest Bakes with a fork, toaster oven in background. Credit: Daily Harvest

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  1. Product image of Daily Harvest

    Daily Harvest

    Pros

    • Only requires a blender to prepare

    • Very little cleanup

    Cons

    • Not very filling

    • Occasionally difficult to get frozen ingredients out of cups

    Buy now at Daily Harvest

Since the pandemic began, there’s been a booming interest in healthy eating as a method of boosting everything from immunity to mental health. But I know I’m not just speaking for myself when I say that preparing three healthy meals for yourself every single day—while simultaneously working from home—is daunting. Sometimes it’s just easier to order greasy takeout.

But Daily Harvest offers a cleaner alternative, with its plant-based, veggie-filled, fully prepared meals that get delivered to your door. It’s meant to answer the prayers of the too-busy (or lazy) consumer, who wants to add more fruits and veggies into their diet without worrying about grocery shopping, meal-planning, and cooking. And now there’s a few brand-new meal items on the menu to add to subscribers’ weekly rotations: Harvest Bakes.

What are Daily Harvest’s new Harvest Bakes?

On left, packaged Daily Harvest Harvest Bake and Harvest Bowl. On right, hand digging into a Harvest Bake with a fork, and toaster oven in background.
Credit: Daily Harvest

Harvest Bakes go straight from the freezer to your oven to the table.

These ready-to-bake, veggie-packed meals differ from other items on Daily Harvest menus—like Harvest Bowls—in that they come in larger portions and they’re prepared in the oven, rather than on a stovetop or in a microwave.

When we originally tested this Insta-famous brand—trying everything from the smoothies to the Harvest Bowls—we found that we loved the taste, convenience, and nutritious qualities of almost everything we tried, but didn’t love how small and unfilling the portions were. That’s why we were excited to hear about Harvest Bakes, which boast larger portions that the company claims are “big enough to share.”

These meals come at $11.99 each—making them the priciest item on Daily Harvest’s menu—and can be added to subscribers’ weekly meal plans. They arrive at your door frozen (along with the other items in your weekly haul) in recyclable packaging. When you’re ready to dig in, just preheat your oven, remove the plastic seal, and pop it in for the recommended amount of time.

What we tried

All four Daily Harvest Harvest Bakes spread on minimalist white steps
Credit: Daily Harvest

The four Harvest Bakes dishes offer a range of internationally inspired flavors.

There are currently four varieties of Harvest Bakes available (all gluten-free and vegan): Cremini + Smoked Paprika Ropa Vieja, Chickpea + Coconut Curry, Gigante Bean + Artichoke Olio, and Squash + Wild Rice Gratin. I tried all four (along with some other Daily Harvest menu favorites), and I was excited to see how diverse each dish was, with internationally inspired flavors that made every meal unique.

The Cremini + Smoked Paprika Ropa Vieja is a vegan take on the classic Cuban staple, with the traditional flank getting swapped for cremini mushrooms. Other veggies, like kale, green olives, red peppers, and plantains, join the mushrooms in a smoky tomato sauce, with an addition of crunch from added sunflower, pumpkin, and hemp seeds.

The Chickpea + Coconut Curry dish balances sweet and savory flavors that are expected in a veggie curry dish, with a creamy coconut and cashew sauce that coats green and white chickpeas, sweet potatoes, spinach, and peppers.

The Gigante Bean + Artichoke Olio bake is a nod to spinach artichoke dip—minus the dairy. It combines jumbo white beans, asparagus, and artichokes in a creamy cauliflower chickpea sauce that incorporates nutritional yeast, which provides that crucial cheese-like flavor.

And the Squash + Wild Rice Gratin is like a fall-themed grain bowl. It features crunchy wild rice and French lentils as the base, with delicata squash, brussels sprouts, and red cabbage mixed within a savory, parsnip miso sauce.

What we like about Harvest Bakes

On left, Daily Harvest Ropa Vieja Harvest Bakes from afar on a table. On left, the dish close-up with all veggies visible.
Credit: Daily Harvest

Daily Harvest's Ropa Vieja Harvest Bake was inspired by a beloved Cuban dish.

They’re delicious

Every single one of the Harvest Bakes I tasted was yummy. Sure, some were better than others (the Squash + Wild Rice Gratin left me feeling iffy on texture, and though I’ve never had traditional Ropa Vieja, I imagine something like jackfruit would’ve been a better substitute for flank steak), but overall, the flavors hit the mark and didn’t have me missing animal products.

They’re satisfying

Every time I dug into one of these for lunch, I felt full for hours afterwards. Each one was packed with at least 20 grams of plant-based protein (except for the Ropa Vieja, which had 16)—a leap from Daily Harvest’s smaller harvest bowls, which have fewer than 10 grams per serving, and definitely didn’t last me through the afternoon without a snack.

They’re mindlessly healthy

Nothing tops the peace of mind offered from enjoying a healthy meal that requires almost zero effort. Every dish is made with 95% organic, recognizable ingredients that you can feel confident about scarfing down at your desk. And if you really want to geek out about each dish’s health benefits, you can dig into the “Key Ingredients” descriptions on each menu item on the site, which lists the vitamins and minerals featured in the meal.

The packaging is recyclable

Every time I receive a package in the mail, I physically cringe at all the waste that comes with it. (Did they really have to use a giant box for such a tiny product?) And while there’s no way to fully avoid waste with any delivery service, I appreciate that all of Daily Harvest’s packaging—including the Harvest Bakes trays—are fully recyclable.

What we don’t like

Daily Harvest Harvest Bakes samples
Credit: Reviewed / Monica Petrucci

It took over 40 minutes to prepare Harvest Bakes, from pre-heating to eating.

They’re not as convenient as Harvest Bowls

One potential downside to Harvest Bakes is…well, you have to bake them. That means you have to wait for your oven to preheat to 450°F (which can take up to 25 minutes, plus another 22 to 27 minutes for the dish to cook—making sure to stir halfway, otherwise the sauce won’t spread evenly). If you’re working with a half-hour lunch break, you’ll have to plan ahead of time to make sure your food is ready before logging off. Compared to something like the Harvest Bowls—which require just five minutes in the microwave—these might be slightly less convenient.

They’re pricey

Twelve bucks for a veggie-based meal isn’t exactly cheap, especially when considering that, on average, plant-based groceries cost 40 percent less than meat-centric ones. Obviously, with this service you’re also paying for organic ingredients, plus the convenience of already-prepped meals and expertly crafted recipes, but it’s still something to consider if you’re keeping tabs on your monthly budget.

They’re high in sodium

Sometimes tastiness comes at a price. I noticed most of these bowls, albeit delicious, had a subtle saltiness to them. Then I looked at the packaging. The Chickpea + Coconut Curry and Gigante Bean + Artichoke Olio both had over 1000 mg of sodium (almost half of the recommended daily value), something to keep in mind if you’re monitoring your salt intake.

Some details missed the mark

I know I said these bowls were yummy and filling (and they are!), but I didn’t say they were perfect. There were a few things that put me off, like the tough skin being left on the squash in the Wild Rice Gratin, and the undercooked gigante beans in the artichoke dip-like dish. And while most of the meals were filling, I have trouble believing they’d be big enough to share, at least not without an addition like tofu, chicken, rice, or something else that would fill you up more—especially for the Ropa Vieja dish, which had the least amount of calories and protein. (For context, I’m a pretty small, five-foot woman who didn’t have a problem finishing most of these by myself—sometimes even with some bread on the side.)

Are Daily Harvest’s Harvest Bakes worth it?

On left, Daily Harvest Wild Rice Gratin bowl's plant-based ingredients arranged, not yet prepared. On right, the Harvest Bowl is prepared and ready to eat.
Credit: Daily Harvest

Daily Harvest's Harvest Bowls are all made with organic, plant-based ingredients that you can feel good about.

Yes, but only if price isn’t a concern.

Similar to the conclusion we made in our initial Daily Harvest test, it all depends on your lifestyle. These meals are certainly yummy and packed with organic veggies, making any plant-based goals you have a lot easier to attain. But at 12 bucks a meal, you’re not saving much money if the alternative is getting takeout from a salad chain—especially if you’d want to add a protein or grain to fill you up more, which might negate the purpose altogether.

But if convenience and nutrition are higher on your priority list than price, these bakes—when added to a weekly order of other Daily Harvest meals, snacks, and drinks—are probably a worthwhile investment.

Shop Daily Harvest Harvest Bakes for $11.99 each

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