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A tasty Christmas dinner is essential to any holiday celebration. For many, if there’s not a good meal on the table, Christmas is ruined. Don’t despair though, we at Moneymagpie have scoured far and wide for some of the tastiest and cheapest Christmas dinner options the supermarkets are putting out this year in order to ensure that your Xmas feast will be one to remember.

A recent study by MyVoucherCodes has revealed that 41% of families have mostly bought products from supermarket ‘value ranges’ to eat this Christmas. This demonstrates that the majority of Britons want the best value meal they can get for the lowest price.

We reached out to many of the best high street supermarkets for their budget Christmas dinner offerings and we heard back from the lovely people at Iceland, ALDI, ASDA and Sainsbury’s who provided us with some of their top-quality Christmas nosh to taste-test and that’s exactly what we did.

The team re-created an authentic Christmas atmosphere by having a grand Xmas dinner with all the trimmings. As a result, we’re now an authority on terrific turkeys and brilliant brussel sprouts, so read on for our full guide to the best budget supermarket Christmas dinners.

• Iceland
• Sainsbury’s
• ASDA
• ALDI
• The verdict

Iceland

Frozen food supermarket specialists Iceland have claimed that they can provide the cheapest Christmas dinner available on the High Street this year. They may have one of the most cost-friendly options, but is it the tastiest?

Here’s a rundown of the Christmas delicacies Iceland provided us with for a family of four:

• Iceland Turkey Breast Joint stuffed with Turkey, Sage and Onion (900g) - £6
• North Atlantic Sea Prawns (350g) - £3
• Seafood Sauce (500g) - £1
• Xmas 24 Pork Cocktail Sausages (340g) - £1
• Iceland Button Sprouts (900g) - £1
• Iceland Broccoli Mix (carrot, cauliflower and broccoli) (900g) - £1
• Goose Fat Roast Potatoes (1000g) - £1.50
• Red Cabbage and Apple (280g) - £1
• 4 Yorkshire Puddings (170g) - £1
• Rich Fruit Pudding (454g) - £2

Overall cost: £18.50

Iceland Turkey – 8/10

First of all, we were impressed how big the turkey breast joint was and how it could easily serve 4-6 people. The meat was also surprisingly succulent and the sage and onion stuffing had a really nice flavour to it.

Iceland Roast Potatoes – 5/10

The potatoes refused to brown and harden in the oven, which meant that they were disappointingly soft as a result.

Iceland Yorkshire Puddings – 7/10

There weren’t many Yorkshires in the pack, but boy were they big. They weren’t outstanding, however, they definitely did the job of filling us up.

Iceland Veg – 5/10

The carrot, cauliflower and broccoli mix tasted decidedly average, although the carrot remained irritatingly hard, even after the allotted cooking time. The sprouts and red cabbage had a good flavour to them, however.

Iceland Xmas Pudding – 7/10

Not too fruity and not too alcoholic; this rich fruit pudding had a satisfying blend of flavours.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s was next on our list of delicious dinners, could their offering be the best out there?

Here’s what we taste-tested:

• Sainsbury’s Frozen Stuffed Turkey Breast Joint, Taste the Difference (800g) - Now £8, Offer ends: 17/01/2012
• Sainsbury’s Large King Prawns (180g) - £3.29
• Sainsbury’s Seafood Sauce (525ml) - £1.54
• Sainsbury’s Butcher’s Choice Cumberland & Lincolnshire Cocktail Sausages (340g) - £2
• Sainsbury’s Brussel Sprouts (500g) - £1
• 2 x Sainsbury’s Carrot, Cauliflower & Broccoli (480g) - £3
• By Sainsbury’s Ready to roast potatoes with cracked black pepper - £2
• Sainsbury’s Ready Braised Red Cabbage With Bramley Apple & Spices (300g) - £2
• Sainsbury’s Baked Yorkshire Puddings x12 (220g) - £1

Overall cost: £23.83 (no Xmas pudding)

Sainsbury’s Turkey – 8/10

Looked and tasted really good and the stuffing was delicious. The joint was absolutely slathered in bacon however, which may not be to some people’s liking.

Sainsbury’s Roast Potatoes – 8/10

Fewer potatoes than we would have liked, but they did get very nice and crispy meaning that they were some of the tastiest roasts we ate.

Sainsbury’s Yorkshire Puddings – 7/10

The Sainsbury’s Yorkshire puds were fairly small, but there were a lot of them to make up for that. They thankfully weren’t too soft either, so they generally tasted like authentic Yorkshires should.

Sainsbury’s Veg – 7/10

There were no real complaints with Sainsbury’s selection of vegetables; the brussel sprouts were tasty, as were the red cabbage and veg mix.

Sainsbury’s Xmas Pudding – N/A

ASDA

ASDA are the masters of providing great quality at a low price, but how does their Christmas dinner selection shape up against the competition?

This is what we compared:

• Turkey Breast Joint with turkey, cranberry and orange stuffing (800g) - £5
• ASDA Cooked and Peeled Prawns (300g) - £3.50
• ASDA Seafood Sauce (500g) - £1
• 36 pork cocktail sausages (530g) - £2.18
• ASDA Button Sprouts (1kg)- £1.10
• Red Cabbage (pre-prepared) (280g) - £2
• ASDA Smart Price 12 Yorkshire Puddings (185g) - £0.39
• Chosen by you Christmas Pudding (454g) - £2

Overall cost: £17.17 (no roast potatoes)

ASDA Turkey – 8/10

Another tasty turkey and the cranberry and orange stuffing gave it a cool, fruity flavour, which helps it to stand out from the other turkey joints on offer.

ASDA Roast Potatoes – 7/10

Surprisingly good given that they came out of a packet.

ASDA Yorkshire Puddings – 5/10

The Smart Price Yorkshire puddings are the cheapest option by far at a lowly 39p for 12. Sadly this shows in their quality; they’re slightly rubbery in texture and – while perfectly edible – they fail to hit the heights of the others.

ASDA Veg – 6/10

We only had button sprouts and red cabbage to choose from for our ASDA Xmas dinner, but both were relatively flavoursome.

ASDA Xmas Pudding – 9/10

A scrumptious pud, this Christmas dessert will have you coming back for more even after you’ve managed to scoff your own body weight in turkey.

ALDI

The last of our supermarkets ALDI weighs in with their Xmas meal offerings; can they match their rivals?

Here’s what they came up with:

• 2 x Turkey Breast Joints with Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing (1000g) – £6.98
• Large North Atlantic Sea Prawns (350g) – £2.99
• Seafood Sauce (375g) – £0.95
• 10 Specially Selected Chipolata Sausages (375g) – £1.99
• Vegetable Medley (carrots, cauliflower and broccoli) (1000g) – £0.99
• Roast potatoes in Goose Fat (1000g) – £1.39
• Button Brussels Sprouts (1000g) – £0.99
• 4 x Large Yorkshire Puddings – £0.99
• Connoisseur Christmas Pudding (750g) – £2.99

Overall cost: £20.26 (no red cabbage)

ALDI Turkey – 7/10

Another surprisingly delicious turkey joint, but disappointingly there was only really enough meat to comfortably serve three people max, so we’d advise buying a second joint if you’re serving several people. The stuffing was to die for, however.

ALDI Roast Potatoes – 5/10

These potatoes had similar cooking issues as the Iceland ones; they simply would not brown and turn crispy.

ALDI Yorkshire Puddings – 8/10

ALDI’s Yorkshires definitely didn’t disappoint in the taste department, they were very appetising. They were as fluffy and light as you would expect any good Yorkshire pudding to be.

ALDI Veg – 6/10

This batch of veg was definitely quite tasty, but had little to distinguish itself from the rest.

ALDI Xmas Pudding – 7/10

A really good fruity/alcoholic blend of tastes meant that we enjoyed this very succulent Christmas pudding.

The verdict

On the whole, all the Christmas dinners we tested were much tastier than we originally expected and you can’t really go wrong with any of them. It just goes to show that it is possible to have a fantastic Christmas meal at a low budget price. However, if we were to recommend one, we’d have to go with Sainsbury’s, who we found to be the best value for money.

Although you’re paying a little more for Sainsbury’s, it’s definitely worth it, especially if you want to make the perfect Christmas meal that all your family will enjoy.

A little extra cash?

If you’re willing to spend a little more on a luxurious Christmas celebration, you should visit Life, Fork & Spoon. They create restaurant-quality food and deliver it straight to your door…for a price!

You can click onto the Life, Fork & Spoon website and choose from a selection of starters, main courses and desserts and order for next day delivery and – best of all – the recipes are all specially created by TV chef personality, James Martin.

Useful links

• Sainsbury’s
• ASDA
• Iceland
• ALDI