Molly Yeh Shares Why Partnering With Blue Apron On A New Limited-Edition Meal Kit Made Perfect Sense

Food Network star and cookbook author Molly Yeh has a lot going on these days. She has her show, Girl Meets Farm, just opened her first restaurant, Bernies in East Grand Forks Minnesota, and now has partnered with Blue Apron on a limited-edition meal kit just in time for Mother’s Day.

The new kit includes recipes and ingredients to make Ginger-Scallion Burgers with Fried Eggs, Pickled Cucumbers & Hoisin Sauce, Peanut Noodles with Bok Choy, Crunchy Cabbage Slaw with Sweet Chili Mayo & Sesame Seeds, and Miso Apple Pie with Pistachio-Coconut Crumble, all inspired by her heritage, family recipes, and current Midwestern farm life. It’s available right now on Blue Apron both with and without a subscription.

“I have been a fan of Blue Apron for a really long time,” shared Molly Yeh in an interview with Forbes.com. “I vividly remember when I first moved here to Minnesota 10 years ago, I got a Blue Apron box to try for myself and fell in love with it. I’ve always been drawn to cute ingredients in little packets and things like Lunchables when I was growing up. I love DIY things, so the first time I opened up a Blue Apron box, I remember seeing the Knick Knacks, the individually-portioned ingredients, and immediately feeling how much fun this is, how delicious all the recipes are, and I’ve since used Blue Apron personally during both of my maternity leaves. It was a total lifesaver to be able to have such easy, delicious, homemade meals, and so when this opportunity came about, I jumped on it!” said Yeh.

It sounds like this partnership was a long time coming. “Honestly, this has truly been a dream of mine to create this menu. These flavors are inspired by flavors that I grew up with. They are my comfort flavors, and to be able to do this collaboration and bring those to the Blue Apron audience has been such a blast!” said Yeh.

Yeh based the recipes in her Blue Apron kit on the dishes that she grew up with. For example: “The sesame peanut noodles were based on one of my all-time favorite dishes that my mom makes. She would always bring them to me when I would fly home from college. When she picked me up from the airport, she would bring me a big bowl of sesame noodles in the car, which I realized was a very random airport snack, but that’s where my inspiration from the sesame peanut noodles came from,” said Yeh.

Regarding the burger bar, those burgers are inspired by the potsticker filling that Yeh makes. “So it’s heavy on the ginger, scallions, and garlic – and those three items are in Blue Apron’s Asian sofrito blend, which makes it so easy to add a ton of flavors to these burgers,” said Yeh. The burger bar is loaded with lots of different burger toppings because that’s how Yeh likes to eat with her own family. “It’s family-inspired because, as anybody with kids knows, it is really difficult to find one dish that appeals to everybody, so the fact that this is a build your own scenario, where the little kids can do plain burgers, and my husband and I can load ourselves with all the toppings, is really awesome for family time. I just want everybody to enjoy their meal at the dinner table, so the DIY element is huge,” said Yeh.

As for the slaw, it has a lot of her favorite ingredients all in one. “It’s super colorful and fresh. It’s a great balance to the big, meaty burgers,” she says.

Then, of course there’s the dessert! The pie recipe in the kit looks like a classic apple pie, but it has some extra special flavor elements – like the pistachios and the coconut. “I use those two flavors in my baking all the time. So, this pie is just truly a reflection of how I like to make baked goods feel familiar and nostalgic, but also a little new and fresh and maybe unexpected,” said Yeh.

Molly Yeh is a big fan of recipe kits. “There is this nostalgic part of me that is drawn to the cute little knick knacks. I also love it on a very functional level. When you’re done making a Blue Apron meal, since you are given the proper quantities of every ingredient, I’m not left with half a bunch of cilantro to try to find the use for the next day. I’m not left with a third of a box of pasta. I love that it cuts down on food waste. I love that it brings a lot of ingredients together in a town like mine where it is difficult to find some specialty ingredients in some grocery stores. It takes all of the legwork out. If I were to go out to the grocery store in my town and get the same ingredients found in a Blue Apron meal kit, I would probably have to go to two or three stores just to track them down. So, I love the convenience, as well. But again, the fact that Blue Apron cuts down on food waste is a huge thing for me.”

A big draw of these kits for Yeh is that they inspire new flavor combinations and techniques. “I personally have learned about new types of dishes through trying Blue Apron meals. I think the meal kits break down a barrier to try a new dish. I know for me, personally, if I want to try a new dish, the thought of tracking down all the ingredients, prepping them, and not fully knowing if it will be good or not is a risk to take,” said Yeh, who shared for herself, she’s tried a lot of new dishes because it is so easy and convenient. “Even as somebody who cooks for a living, I truly, truly had those moments where I’m in a rut, and I want to try new things, so this is such a brilliant way to try these new things.”