Need to feed the whole family this Christmas for less? My analysis of the cheapest supermarket to get your Christmas dinner gets you the perfect festive feast with all the trimmings for just £25!
This budget Christmas dinner includes all the festive favourites – including pigs in blankets and sprouts – plus you’ll get change from your spend!
And with new deals coming in all of the time in December, I reckon it’s possible to get this for £20 to serve six people.
This is enough to serve six people, although I reckon you could probably stretch it to seven especially if some of your guests are small children who won’t be tucking into quite as big portions.
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Cheapest supermarket for your Christmas dinner shopping list
I’ve shopped around for my cheapest Christmas dinner ingredients from the big supermarkets.
Unsurprisingly your best prices for most items come from Aldi. But Tesco is where you will currently find the cheapest pigs in blankets and a few other essentials.
It’s important to note that as we get closer to the big day these prices may fluctuate and you can look out for some great deals! As things like sprouts come into season they are bound to come down in price.
So use this shopping list and prices as a guide, but do be on the lookout for deals, offers and price reductions as you shop around. I reckon it’s possible to do this for less than £20.
This will serve 5-6 people. Onto the shopping list.
- Turkey Crown (2.3kg-2.5kg) Aldi – £15.49
- Pigs in blankets frozen Aldi – £1.15
- Stuffing mix Aldi – 49p
- Frozen roast potatoes 800g Tesco – 76p
- Carrots (500g) Aldi – 33p
- Brussel sprouts (500g) Aldi – £1.29
- Parsnips (500g) Aldi – 50p
- Cranberry sauce Aldi – 65p
- Gravy granules Tesco – £1
- Christmas pudding 400g Tesco – £3
TOTAL COST (serves 6): £24.66
Price per head: £4.11
Cheap Christmas dinner
It would be unsurprising that you don’t fancy shopping around several different grocery stores to find your Christmas dinner essentials!
So I’ve broken down the costs of getting your Christmas meal essentials – 10 of the absolutely key items I think you’ll want for a family feast – all from one place.
Tesco Christmas dinner
We’re using a frozen turkey again for our cheap Tesco Christmas dinner, as it really does work out far cheaper. Plus getting a crown makes further savings.
The roasties are frozen too, and come in half the price of buying fresh potatoes to make from scratch.
This shopping list will serve 4-5 people.
- Frozen turkey crown 1.5kg – £16
- Frozen roast potatoes 800g – 76p
- Pigs in blankets (pack of 12) Tesco – £3
- Sprouts 500g – 95p
- Carrots 1kg – 50p
- Parsnips 500g – 60p
- Stuffing 170g – 49p
- Cranberry sauce 200g – 80p
- Gravy granules – £1
- Christmas pudding 400g – £3
TOTAL COST (serves 4): £27.10
Price per head: £6.77
Aldi Christmas dinner
I had expected Aldi to be by far the cheapest place to buy a Christmas dinner, and if you are planning to serve more than four people then it does work out extremely good value!
Their frozen turkey crown is bigger than the Tesco one listed above but 50p cheaper.
- Turkey Crown frozen (2.3kg-2.5kg) – £15.49
- Potatoes (2.5kg) – £1.59
- Pigs in blankets – £1.99
- Carrots (500g) – 33p
- Brussel sprouts (500g) – £1.29
- Parsnips (500g) – 50p
- Cranberry sauce – 65p
- Gravy granules – £1.15
- Stuffing mix – 49p
- Christmas pudding – £3.69
TOTAL COST (serves 5-6): £27.17
Price per head: £4.50
Asda Christmas dinner
Asda has some of the cheapest deals to be found, including super cheap stuffing mix at just 30p for the pack!
However the costs really stack up due to the price of their pigs in blankets and Christmas pudding.
I suspect that once the Christmas season moves into overdrive they will have better offers on pigs in blankets as we get closer to Christmas Day.
- Turkey crown frozen 1.5kg – £15.50
- Potatoes 2.5kg – £1.29
- Pigs in blankets (pack of 10) – £3.25
- Carrots 1kg – 50p
- Parsnips 500g – 60p
- Brussels sprouts – £1
- Gravy granules – 40p
- Cranberry sauce – £1
- Stuffing mix – 30p
- Christmas pudding 400g – £5.50
TOTAL COST (serves 4): £29.34
Cost per head: £7.30
Cheapest Christmas dinner menu
With these ingredients you’ll have everything you need for an amazing roast turkey with all of the trimmings.
I’m assuming here of course that you already have salt and some kind of cooking oil.
And I always suggest using a squidge of honey to create honey roasted parsnips, which is how I always do my roast parsnips. They’re amazing and you just need to add a couple of blobs of honey to your chopped up parsnips before they go into the oven.
All of the other items on the list can be cooked according to the packet instructions.
Christmas dinner on a budget
Use my Christmas dinner shopping list to help with keeping the costs of the main meal down.
These tips can also help you to save money on your festive food shopping.
Consider buying frozen
A frozen turkey is far cheaper than fresh, plus you can get it well in advance of Christmas Day and avoid the festive stampede on Christmas Eve.
At Aldi a fresh turkey costs £4.95 per kg, whereas a frozen turkey is £2.78 per kg. That’s a huge difference!
The key with frozen turkey is to plan ahead and make sure you give it plenty of time to defrost ahead of getting it in the oven.
Another way to save on your turkey is to purchase a turkey crown instead of a whole bird.
Don’t overbuy
Figure out exactly how many people you need to feed and only buy the amount of food you will actually need for that number.
It can help to break it right down – for example one person is like to have two slices of turkey, two pigs in blankets, three-four carrot batons, three Brussels sprouts, two parsnips, three-four potatoes and a ball of stuffing.
Make a meal plan
For me the excess spending often comes from the mountain of nibbles and extra food I purchase that will be served around Christmas Dinner and the days before and after.
Try to plan out both the Christmas Day menu in full as well as what you will eat for the rest of the week.
Supermarkets are absolutely chocked full of amazing looking food around the festive season because they know how tempting it is for us to treat ourselves!
Consider leaving it last-minute
I don’t love to leave big things like the Christmas Day food shop until the last minute but hear me out.
Once you get to Christmas Eve supermarkets have got a ton of food they need to get off the shelves, because they won’t be open the next day and then Christmas is over and it’s on to New Year’s.
So there are so many bargains to be found in the shops on Christmas Eve. Turkeys are reduced, veg is cut price and sides such as pigs in blankets are also on offer.
If you can hold your nerve to visit your local supermarket on Christmas Eve then you’re likely to save a large amount on your food shop.
Just be prepared to have your elbows out, and to not have such a wide choice when it comes to certain foods.
It’s likely that supermarkets will start to add yellow sticker discount prices to food early on Christmas Eve, but the best bargains come at the end of the day.
Never buy pre-cut
You’ll pay a premium for pre-cut and peeled veg such as carrots and other veggies. Buy your vegetables in their whole form and do the prep yourself.
If you’re worried about having time to do all the prep on Christmas Day then try doing some of it the night before.
You can peel and chop most things ahead of time. I even roasted our turkey on Christmas Eve one year, which freed up the oven for the next day.
Swap turkey for chicken
A turkey may be the star of the Christmas dinner show for many, but it’s also one pricey bird.
If you’re happy to swap it out for something else then consider a cheaper cut of meat such as pork.
If you want to stick with the poultry then go for a whole chicken instead of turkey. By the time everyone has a cracker and some gravy they won’t notice there’s no turkey!
Make a plan for leftovers
One way to save money on Christmas food is to make it last as long as possible for the days that follow the big day.
Research recipes you can use on Boxing Day and beyond to use up all of those Christmas leftovers.
For example try a turkey curry and turkey soup. Omelettes are also great for leftovers such as peppers and roast potatoes. I also love to chop up cold roast potatoes and fry them in a little oil, these go great with cold cuts of meat!
Plan ahead
One of the easiest ways to help with your Christmas budget is to start planning for next Christmas as soon as this one is over.
If you start setting aside even a small amount every month at the start of the year then you can spread the cost of the big day over time.
With presents you may well need at least £500 to have a merry Christmas time, assuming you’re hosting for Christmas dinner.
So by setting aside £42 a month from January to December you’ll have that money ready to go when it comes time to do the Christmas shopping in early December.
What is the average cost of Christmas dinner?
The average cost of a turkey meal for four is £31, according to research by Kantar.
It’s become much tougher to keep the cost of the Christmas meal down as the cost of food has risen sharply in the last 12 months.
Even frozen turkey – a cheaper option than fresh – is costing 15 per cent more than last Christmas.
So if you are finding it hard to keep Christmas costs down then do not worry, you’re not alone!
To save money through December and beyond you may find these tips for saving money on food useful.
Final thoughts
I think you can easily save money on your Christmas Day food by following the tips above.
Something as simple as swapping your regular supermarket for one of the big budget options such as Lidl or Aldi can make the world of difference.
And the key is formulating a key plan to feed the number of guests you will actually have on the big day and minimise food waste.
If you want to save more money on food you may also like these cheap family meals.
Best of luck with your Christmas festivities!
