Taste tested: The best supermarket Christmas food 2023

Aldi

Specially Selected Five-Year Cheddar Bake
Oozy, cheesy bakes for dipping are all the rage, and this one has good depth of flavour from the aged cheddar. £5.99 for 300g, available in store now

Specially Selected Rostis
A great freezer buy for a special brunch. Choose between Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash or Carrot, Beetroot & Broccoli. Just add a poached egg on top. £2.99 for 300g, available in store now

Waitrose

Chestnut-fed Galician Serrano Ham
delicious. editor Karen’s top choice: a rich taste of northern Spain for party nibbles – no prep required. £6 for 80g, available in store now

Cinnamon Bunettone
Panettone meets cinnamon bun: a buttery Italian cake with pockets of mascarpone sauce and a cinnamon icing sugar topping. £8 for 500g, available in store now

Beef Fillet with Truffle & Porcini Butter
Dish up an umami explosion with this exquisite beef fillet. The meat is ultra-tender and the flavour outstanding. £14 for 630g (serves 4), available in store from 13 December

Smoked Salmon Eclairs
Switch the vol-au-vents for these choux pastries filled with poached and smoked salmon, soft cheese and crème fraîche. Topped with bronze shimmer, they taste as good as they look. £7 for 10/125g, available in store now

Sainsbury’s

Smoked Haddock Rarebit
Generous and luxurious, ideal for a chilly betwixtmas evening. Serve with sourdough bread or baguette for dipping. £10 for 500g, available in store now

Taste the Difference Free From Caramelised Chocolate Orange Cookies
These gluten-free cookies have a delightful balance of citrus, spice and chocolate, with a soft, shortbread-like texture. £2.50 for 150g, available in store now

Iceland

Maltesers Bubble Dessert
One of Iceland’s Mars range of puds (including corner shop favourites such as Bounty and Snickers). A fun bubbly-shaped chocolate shell encases moreishly malty, airy mousse. Not suitable for vegetarians. £10 for 560g (serves 9), available in store now

Mary Berry Iced Fruit Cake
Another Iceland exclusive. Just as you’d hope, this cake is uber moist, with plenty of fruit, a pleasing hum of booze and crunchy nibs of almonds. Also available as a bar. £10 for 900g (serves 12) or £4.50 for 400g (serves 8), available in store now

Booths

Venison Lasagne with Pancetta and Red Wine
Tender venison and rich bechamel marry harmoniously in this comforting dinner, a standby treat to keep in the freezer. £12 for 800g (serves 2), available from Booths Food to Order only

Beckleberry’s Broccoli & Stilton Quiche
Sharp cheddar and stilton with greens to cut through it all. £19 for 1.45kg (serves 10), available in store now and from Booths Food to Order

Ocado

Picard savoury canapés
The French brand’s pastry bites are great to have on hand. The Assorted Mini Pastry Appetisers (£5.50 for 30/360g) include four varieties – the goat’s cheese puffs are especially good. The Mini Cheese Gougères (pictured; £5.50 for 225g), flavoured with comté, brown in five minutes and come 30 to a box. Both available online now

Tesco

Finest Vegetable and West Country Cheddar Pastry Pithivier with Salsa Verde
Shortcrust pastry encases cavolo nero and thin slices of root veg with a bright-tasting mascarpone filling. £22 for 1.1kg (serves 4), available in store now (limited availability) and from Tesco Festive Food to Order

Finest Winter Orange, Mascarpone & Ginger Highwall Cheesecake
Creamy baked cheesecake with pops of orange sauce inside and a ginger-spiked biscuit base and walls. Indulgent yet zesty. £10 for 600g (serves 6), available in store from 11 December and from Tesco Festive Food to Order

Finest Lobster & King Prawn Thermidor Rolls Kit
This luxe buy can serve as brunch for two, snacks for eight or nibbles for 16. A winning combo. £24 for 536g, available in store now (limited availability) and from Tesco Festive Food to Order

Morrisons

The Best Tiramisu Tarts
For the mince-pie deniers, here’s a boozy treat that’s just as festive. Rich coffee cake in a pastry shell with a layer of gooey chocolate and marsala-flavoured buttercream. £2.50 for 4, available in store now

The Co-op

Irresistible 12 Pioneer Crunch Vol-au-Vents
Sturdy (but not dry) puff pastry bites that crisp up nicely in the oven. Vintage cheddar gives the cheese and onion flavour impact; a second variety, sprinkled with ham hock, has a pleasant mustardy punch. £5 for 170g, available from 13 December

Irresistible All Butter Cinnamon Sugar Knots
We recommended them to you last year and we’re recommending them again. These short, spiced biscuits are the taste of Christmas. £1.75 for 150g, available in store now

Asda

Extra Special Chocolate & Honeycomb Avalanche Dessert
A salted caramel-flavoured semifreddo-style dessert with honeycomb pieces. Remove its collar and the chocolate sauce flows dramatically down the pud. £10 for 722g (serves 8), available in store now

Scallop and King Prawn Vol-au-Vents with Brown Butter & Spiced Dark Rum Sauce
A tasty seafood starter and a step up from the standard prawn cocktail. £7.50 for 234g (serves 2), available from 19 December

Cherry and Amaretto Cheesecake
This fruity number features a crunchy speculoos base – win! £10 for 500g, available from 18 December

Lidl

Deluxe 12 Mini Soufflette Selection
Individually encased in baking paper for a homemade look, these bite-size soufflés are a returning favourite, with mature cheddar & onion and creamy garlic mushroom flavours. £4.49 for 12/300g, available in store now

M&S

Collection Chocolate Torte
A smooth vegan chocolate torte with an equally chocolatey salted cookie base. It’s petite but rich, so a small slice goes a long way. £15 for 500g (serves 6), available from 18 December

All-butter pastries
Elevate your festive breakfast with this attractive new range. The Cherry Stollen Croissant has a hit of cinnamon; the burnished Raspberry and Madagascan Vanilla Teardrop hides a layer of custard beneath its fruit, and the trendy striped Roasted Hazelnut Chocolatine has crunchy nibs of nut studded through the rich chocolate filling. £2.50 each, available in store now