Taste tested: The best supermarket food to buy for Christmas 2022

Marks and Spencer

M&S Collection Slow Cooked Venison Shank
Price: £35 for 1.39kg
Available: From 30 Nov (also available on Ocado)

Feed four with this striking centrepiece: a large shank, already slow-cooked to perfection (it requires just under an hour in the oven), with a red wine, shallot and bacon sauce. The meat is reared on sustainable grassland.

M&S Collection Christmas Sourdough
Price: £4 for 600g
Available: In store now

Can you improve on sourdough? M&S succeeds with its sage, onion and cranberry enriched loaf (it calls to mind stuffing – in a good way), finished with lots of lovely pumpkin seeds. Just the thing with a festive cheeseboard.

M&S Collection Rustic Potato, Caramelised Onion & Brie Pie
Price: £8 for 500g
Available: From 18 Dec (also available on Ocado)

Layers of cheese and skin-on potatoes with cream and all-butter pastry make for a comfortingly rich winter warmer. Decadent enough for Christmas with a homemade look and flavour. A great veggie main.

Aldi

Specially Selected Lobster Tails with Thermidor Butter
Price: £9.99 for 254g
Available: From 19 Dec

A Marine Stewardship Council-certified treat at a competitive price; finesse it with garlic and olive oil (and loosen the meat from the shell before cooking) for a special starter for two.

Specially Selected Cheese Profiteroles
Price: £4.49 for 180g
Available: From 7 Dec

Barber’s mature cheddar makes for a properly cheesy filling that separates these bites from the boring beige party food brigade. Also available with chorizo pieces.

Specially Selected Firecracker Pudding
Price: £7.99 for 500g
Available: From 11 Dec

One for those looking for a twist on tradition – chilli heat builds in the background as you enjoy this juicy fruit-packed pud. There’s chocolate sauce too (but the popping candy fizzles gently rather than pops).

Specially  Selected Exquisite Game Selection Box £29.99 for 2.5kg
Price: £29.99 for 2.5kg
Available: Now

Looking for game? We didn’t have the chance to test this product, but it looks and sounds too interesting not to mention. This box contains four pheasant breasts, two game bird wellingtons and two prepared pheasants from British estates, plus pork and cranberry stuffing. Worth a try.

The Co-op

Festive Feast Sausage Rolls
Price: £1.50 for 5
Available: Now

Tasty pastry finished with a flavoursome herby crumb elevates these rolls, featuring flecks of veg and syrupy cranberry sauce (something to be wary of if you warm them!). Good for gatherings or festive lunchboxes.

Irresistible Cinnamon Sugar Knots
Price: £1.50 for 150g
Available: In store now

Made in Holland, these divine morsels have a melt-in-the-mouth short texture and beautifully spiced flavour, inspiring thoughts of European Christmas markets. Buy two boxes.

Asda

Extra Special Tomahawk Wellington
Price: £28 per kg (1.5-2.3kg)
Available: From 19 Dec

Reservations that this epic centrepiece might be all style and no substance were banished by its oh-so-pink, tender meat, encased in buttery pastry and surrounded by good quality mushroom duxelles.

Extra Special Giant Mince Pie
Price: £4.50 for 485g (serves 6)
Available: In store from mid Dec

A citrussy-boozy sharp filling and luxurious all-butter pastry make for a happy flavour balance. Serve warm or cold with cream (it keeps well for a few days). A good budget dessert option.

Extra Special Ibérico Bellota Crostini Kit
Price: £6 for 140g (10 canapés)
Available: In store now

Bored with blinis? Assemble these Med-inspired bites: crostinis, tomato and olive tapenade and acorn-fed ham, with manchego to shave over the top. The Spanish-sourced cheese and meat are good quality.

Extra Special Vegan Chocolate Baubles £4.50 for 340g (2 x 170g)
Price: £4.50 for 340g (2 x 170g)
Available: From 17 Dec

Offers lavish portions of coconutty choc mousse offset by a rich dark choc casing. A decadent plant-based pud.

Waitrose

Waitrose No.1 Blood Orange and White Chocolate Quenelle
Price: £16 for 750g (serves 10)
Available: From 15-24 Dec

We’re unsure why it’s called a quenelle, but this enjoyable light mousse is unlike anything else we’ve tried. The flavour of the filling recalls tinned mandarins (in a good nostalgic way) and the chocolatey-crunchy base provides interesting contrast.

No.1 Basque Cheesecake with Tipsy Fruits £13 for 900g (serves 10).
Price: £13 for 900g (serves 10)
Available: From 15-24 Dec

Authentically craggy and scorched, it has a light, creamy texture and delicate vanilla/ caramelised flavour. You really could pass it off as homemade. The sauce is fine, but not really needed.

Heston from Waitrose Mandarin Negroni Stollen £10 for 530g (serves 8)
Price: £10 for 530g (serves 8)
Available: In store now

Stollen purists may roll their eyes, but this works. Gooey candied orange slices, an enriched but light dough and a good wodge of marzipan through the middle.

Ocado

Hackney Gelato Gingerbread Gelato
Price: £5.50 for 500ml
Available: Online now

Christmas spices, fresh ginger and caramelised biscuit crumbs combine in this sumptuous, limited edition tub of gelato from the brand helmed by two Italian born chefs.

Ocado is stocking several artisan cheeses such as reblochon and langres, plus picks from cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield, including a clothbound, cave-aged Cheddar Pounder for £17.50.

Booths

The Parsnipship Mushroom & Peanut Roast
Price: £9 for 400g (serves 2-3)
Available: Order only for Christmas collection (1-24 Dec, last dates vary)

Chock-full of mushrooms (both ‘wild and tame’) and nuts, with garlic and lemon thyme, this great nut roast is a solid option if hosting just one veggie/vegan.

Booths Savoury Cheeseboard Cake
Price:£30 for 1kg (serves 10)
Available: Order only for Christmas collection  (21-24 Dec) or New Year (30-31 Dec); last dates vary

An incredible treat for a (large!) cheese-loving family: creamy cheesecake and a beautifully textured cracker base, topped with chutney and four quality slabs, including garstang blue and double gloucester. A real showstopper.

Studio Bakery Garam Masala Mince Pies
Price: £8 for 6
Available: Order only for Christmas collection  (21-24 Dec) or New Year (30-31 Dec); last dates vary

Well balanced, crisp-pastried, deep-filled pies with boosted warmth and spice (without being overly hot or savoury). Far from just a novelty.

Sainsbury’s

Taste the Difference 10 Crab Thermidor Crumpets £5.50 for 204g
Price: £5.50 for 204g
Available: From 7 Dec

Appealing little bites (which would be a faff to prep yourself), with a prominent brown crab flavour and good texture.

Taste The Difference Cherry & Almond Panettone
Price: £10 for 750g
Available: In store now

The nuts and candied fruit are well-distributed and generous in this Italian- baked gem. Not too sweet and finished with pretty sugar nibs. “It’s hard to stop eating it,” said our tester.

Taste The Difference Caramelised Biscuit Pudding
Price: £12 for 700g (serves 7)
Available: In store now

A tasty alternative to the classic, with caramel sauce.

Tesco

Tesco Plant Chef 10 No Prawn Tempuras
Price: £2.50 for 150g
Available: In store now

Battered jackfruit and mushroom bring impressive texture to please vegetarians and vegans (or anyone). Easy to cook from frozen – we’d dish up with a dipping sauce. They’re gluten free, too.

Tesco Finest Christmas Present Blonde Chocolate Torte Bar
Price: £11 for 635g (serves 6)
Available: Order only for collection or delivery, 20-23 Dec; orders close 14 Dec

Smart patisserie-style looks with a pleasant combo of ganache, chocolate sponge and caramel and white choc cheesecake. Indulgent – and a cinch to serve.

Lidl

Deluxe Royal Smoked Scottish Salmon Fillet with Gold Dusting
Price: tbc for 200g
Available: From mid Dec

This has the buttery-smooth texture characteristic of this premium cut – serve it in sashimi-style slices to best appreciate its delicate flavour. We had doubts about the gold, but the sparkly slivers do look pretty.

Deluxe Vegan Dim Sum Collection 256g
Price: tbc for 256g
Available: From mid Dec

A colourful three-dumpling assortment with some pizzazz. Sesame, chives and chilli provide interest; mushrooms, jackfruit and water chestnuts deliver texture. Use a steamer for best results.

Morrisons

The Best Vegan Chocolate & Salted Caramel Cheesecake Dessert
Price: £7 for 375g (serves 4).
Available: Now

We don’t love the plastic serving bowl, but the light dessert inside it is a winner: chocolate cheesecake meets caramel mousse, topped with crunchy crumbs.

The Best Pumpkin & Cranberry Roast
Price: £2 for 350g
Available: In store from 13 Dec

A frozen roast with crunchy sunflower and pumpkin seeds, orange and cranberry fruity flair and brown rice for satisfying substance. Nut roast deniers will be pleasantly surprised.

The Best Smoked Haddock Rarebit Crumpets
Price: £3 for 200g (2 x 100g)
Available: Now

Generously topped and finished with vintage cheddar, these cook from frozen and make an easy festive brunch (or supper in front of the TV).

The Best Panettone Christmas Pudding with Black Cherry Sauce
Price: £10 for 700g (serves 7)
Available: Now

Lighter than most, with an attractive bundt shape.

Iceland

Luxury Smoked Prawns with Lemon & Pepper Butter
Price: £5 for 180g
Available: In store now

A different seafood starter for two: deeply savoury prawns to fry and baste with a zingy lemon butter. Serve with crusty bread and good mayo.

Luxury Prawn Pil Pil £5 for 195g
Price: £5 for 195g
Available: In store now

Simplicity itself – just pop the terracotta dish in the oven for homemade looking, succulent and spicy prawns.

Twix Chocolate Caramel Tart
Price: £6 for 456g
Available: In stores now

Iceland has teamed up with Mars for a range of puds inspired by fave choc bars. The Twix tart has biscuity pastry, oozing caramel and sink-your-teeth-in ganache. We also like the Snickers Dessert Bar (see picture), £7.50 for 600g.

Plus…three Christmas food cheats to have up your sleeve

Crosta & Mollica Pistachio & Almond Tartufi Gelato
Price: 5 for 2 x 104g
Available: From Waitrose & Ocado

Pistachio gelato fan? It’s at the centre of these jumbo Italian gelato truffles, coated in almond gelato and pistachio crumb. Stash in the freezer for an outstanding dessert in a flash.

Philadelphia Intense Herbes de Provence
Price: RRP £2.25 for 140g
Available: From major retailers

Tangy, creamy and herby with a fluffy, whipped texture. Keep it in the fridge as an alternative blini topping or to mix with Greek yogurt for a dip. There’s a new garlic and herb variety too

Baker Street Marzipan Stollen Bites £3.50 for 275g
Price: £3.50 for 275g
Available: Tesco, Co-op, Asda, selected Spar stores

Ideal if you need a bake to share, in a pinch and on a budget, as are the Baker Street Stollen Cookies (Tesco). We’re yet to try the Chocolate & Orange and new Caramel Cake Truffles (also at Tesco), but they’re sure to be equally appealing.