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Which supermarket sells the cheapest Christmas dinner food?
With the majority of Christmas celebrations unable to happen last December, many people will be extra-excited about spending the big day with loved ones this year. But if you're hosting, you don't need to spend a fortune on Christmas dinner.
Which? crunched the numbers to uncover how much you could be paying for your festive feast in 2021, and found Aldi to be the cheapest supermarket to buy Christmas dinner ingredients from.
Our Christmas dinner for six people cost £27.38 at Aldi, but how did this compare with the prices you can expect from the likes of Lidl and Sainsbury's?
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Which is the cheapest supermarket for Christmas dinner?
Which? checked supermarkets' prices for 9 Christmas dinner ingredients, including turkey, Brussels sprouts and Christmas pudding, in a snapshot investigation in November.
Aldi (Aldi.co.uk) and Lidl (Lidl.co.uk) tend to be neck and neck when we compare supermarket pricing each month, and this time Aldi's total came to £27.38 - just 9p less than Lidl's £27.47 basket.
Asda (Asda.com) was third-cheapest, with our range of food costing £27.62, followed by Tesco (Tesco.com), where the ingredients cost £28.01.
There was just a 1p difference between the cost of our basket at Morrisons (Morrisons.com) and Sainsbury's (Sainsburys.co.uk), at £31.89 and £31.90 respectively.
Waitrose is the priciest supermarket for Christmas dinner
Upmarket grocer Waitrose (Waitrose.com) charged the highest price for dinner for six, with our collection of yuletide grub coming in at £42.17, or £14.79 (54%) more than Aldi.
Online-only Ocado (Ocado.com) sat about half way between Sainsbury's and Waitrose, rolling in at £36.38.
When it came to individual items, Waitrose was the most expensive option for seven products in our basket, followed by Ocado with three. That said, Waitrose's 43p red cabbage was cheaper even than the discounters.
- Find out more:best and worst supermarkets
Where can you buy the cheapest turkey?
Frozen turkey crowns ranged from £12.99 at Aldi and Lidl to £22 at Waitrose, which is a variation of £9.01 or 40%. If you prefer fresh turkeys or turkey crowns to the frozen variety, supermarkets tend to start stocking them around 19 December.
Another grocery item with one of the biggest price differences was own-label sage and onion stuffing, which cost £2.29 at Waitrose but just 29p at Aldi (that's an 87% difference).
Here's how the entire basket broke down (cheapest prices in blue, highest in red).
Items | Asda | Aldi | Lidl | Morrisons | Ocado (incl. M&S own brand) | Sainsbury's | Tesco | Waitrose |
Frozen turkey crown 1.53-2.5kg | £14.30 | £12.99 | £12.99 | £17.50 | £16.83 | £17.50 | £15 | £22 |
Albert Bartlett Rooster potatoes 2kg | £1.75 | £1.75 | £1.75 | £2.25 | £1.80 | £1.75 | £1.75 | £1.75 |
Own-label parsnips 500g-600g | £0.50 | £0.42 | £0.42 | £0.55 | £0.70 | £0.42 | £0.42 | £0.70 |
Own-label carrots 1kg | £0.43 | £0.40 | £0.40 | £0.40 | £0.40 | £0.40 | £0.40 | £0.65 |
Own-label Brussels sprouts 500g | £0.85 | £0.60 | £0.95 | £1.25 | £1 | £1 | £0.95 | £1.35 |
Own-label red cabbage | £0.88 | £0.49 | £0.69 | £0.79 | £0.80 | £0.68 | £0.59 | £0.43 |
Own-label whole cranberry sauce 200-335g | £0.59 | £0.45 | £0.99 | £0.70 | £1 | £0.75 | £0.50 | £1 |
Prices collected on 18-19 November 2021.
- Find out more:which is the UK's cheapest supermarket?
When do I need to order my Christmas food by?
While most slots for Christmas supermarket deliveries have already been snapped up, some supermarkets may have click-and-collect slots left for shoppers who want to pre-order their Christmas food to pick up from a store.
Below are the final dates you can pre-order by, but you should check the supermarkets' websites to find out if your local branch has slots available, to avoid disappointment.
| Supermarket | Click-and-collect deadline |
| Aldi | TBC |
| Asda | Advised to book as soon as possible |
| Lidl | Doesn't offer click-and-collect |
| Morrisons | 22 December (subject to availability) |
| Sainsbury's | 26 December |
| Tesco | 23 December (subject to availability) |
| Waitrose | 23 December (subject to availability) |
- Find out more: best and worst supermarkets
The best Christmas foods
Price isn't the only thing you need to consider when shopping for your Christmas dinner ingredients. That's why we asked 9,211 Which? members in January 2021 to rate the shops they'd bought their Christmas dinners from in terms of the products' quality, taste and value for money.
For the full results on everything from turkey to desserts, check out our guide on the best places to buy your turkey and trimmings.
In addition, the Which? taste-test team has been getting merry and bright guzzling gravy, scoffing frozen roast potatoes and knocking back a glass or two of champagne - all in the name of finding the very best festive fare.
Click the links below to find out which items tickled our panel's tastebuds:
- Best Christmas puddings
- Best mince pies
- Best red wine
- Best champagne
- Best frozen roast potatoes
- Best place to buy your turkey and trimmings
(This story was updated on 3 December to remove comparisons relating to mince pies pricing and to reflect the change in the ranking of the different supermarkets as a result. )
