Thursday, 18 Apr 2024

Supermarket Christmas sandwiches rated for 2019 – and the winning one is veggie

While Christmas dinner itself involves crispy Yorkshire puddings, perfectly cooked roast potatoes and of course, lashings of gravy, shop-bought Christmas sandwiches can often leave a lot to be desired.

From dry turkey, to tasteless stuffing and don't even get us started on the soggy bread, finding the best Christmas sandwich at your local supermarket is harder than it seems.

So to make things a little easier and ensure you're eating only the best, we rated every single supermarket Christmas sandwich for 2019, to see which ones are worth their weight in turkey and bacon, and which ones should be left on the shelf.

According to our extensive research, weirdly the best Christmas sandwich out there in supermarkets this year is a vegetarian option, with M&S' tangy and indulgent Brie and Grape offering (£3) taking the crown.

But in second place is Sainsbury's On The Go Christmas market sandwich (also £3), which is full to the brim with tender ham hock, tasty beer mayo and a beautifully unique sour kick from sauerkraut and gherkins that made us think we were right in the centre of a German Christmas market, rather than the local supermarket.

If you'd prefer to get your festive lunchtime treat from a coffee shop instead, we've also taste tested all the best 2019 Christmas sandwiches from the likes of Costa, Starbucks and Pret, in a separate round up here.

Sainsbury’s

On The Go Christmas Market Sandwich, £3

Taste: 9

Festive factor: 9

Look: 9

Well it certainly stands out from the crowd, towering over its rivals with a big brioche bun.

But despite the unseasonal bread, it's weirdly festive, comprising of ham hock, sauerkraut, beer mayo and beautifully piquant gherkins that give the whole thing an intriguing sourness.

A great choice for risk takers.

Sainsbury’s On The Go Turkey Feast, £2.40

Taste: 5

Festive factor: 8

Look: 5

One of the most standard turkey sandwiches we ever did taste, looking beige and lifeless, with no taste of cranberry and a bit too much bacon. No, we never thought that would be a negative either…

Vegan Christmas New Yorker, £2.25

Taste: 8

Festive factor: 7

Look: 5

I wasn't expecting to fall in love with this sandwich as much as I did, with interesting, tangy flavours, that was somehow both fresh but filling.

Not overpowered by the same abundance of mushy veg that can be found in most other vegan sandwiches, the coconut oil cheese kept this tasty and intriguing the whole way through.

Marks and Spencer

Yule hog, £3.50

Taste: 7

Festive factor: 7

Look: 8

M&S' take on a hog roast bun adds a nice alternative to the Christmas line-up, with well-flavoured mayo, and meat that wouldn't be out of place at your next barbecue. Sadly, the only downside is the hugely overpowering bread, which swamps the rest of the flavours.

Three bird roast, £3.80

Taste: 8

Festive factor: 8

Look: 8

A great choice for those who like a little bit of variety – and have a big appetite – the duck in this is amazingly rich, with moist meats and impressive amounts of flavour.

It does taste a little more Chinese takeaway than it does Christmas, but at least the chicken and turkey numbers beside it make up for that…

As for the other two, the chicken is a little boring – albeit still decent – and the turkey tastes considerably better than a lot of its lone turkey sandwich competitors.

Turkey and pigs and blankets, £3.50

Taste: 4

Festive factor: 7

Look: 5

We don't know how M&S managed to do their three bird roast so well, and their one bird and one pig option so badly.

This was pretty much just a huge hunk of grey meat with big bit of spinach hanging out, with a scattering of limp and fatty bacon.

No turkey feast, £3.50

Taste: 7

Festive factor: 8

Look: 8

While fake meat usually fills me with dread due to its tasteless and overly processed traits, this shows how far vegan substitutes have come.

Featuring almost the same texture as mushrooms, it smells very festive in an almost spiced ginger cake way, although with a bit too much mayo for my liking. An interesting vegan take on the classic Christmas sandwich that will no doubt impress a lot of meat eaters.

Brie and grape, £3

Taste: 10

Festive factor: 10

Look: 7

Boasting big fat slices of brie paired with purple and green layers, this is undoubtedly the best vegetarian sandwich we tried this year.

The amazing creamy cheese is accompanied by the fresh – and not overpowering – grapes instead of cranberry sauce, for a filling, festive and flavourful sandwich quite unlike any other.

Steak with peppercorn sauce, £3.50

Taste: 6

Festive factor: 4

Look: 5

I was very excited about this option, before taking a bite and realising that the steak slices were in fact slim bits of chewy beef on overly moist bread.

The saving grace was the beautiful pepper sauce, which covered all of the lacklustre ingredients in a tangy, spicy sauce.

Tesco

Turkey trimmings wrap, £2.50

Taste: 3

Festive factor: 5

Look: 4

As with most wraps, there's rarely ever enough filling to class them as a meal, and you're often left with a lot of dry bread at the end of it all.

But you're not missing out on much, with the sausage tasting rather processed, and no sign of the cranberry.

If this constitutes a Christmas sandwich, how on earth have they become so popular?

Wicked kitchen festive feast, £3

Taste: 8

Festive factor: 0

Look: 4

Yes it's very messy, but it's a risk you should be willing to take for this impressive, full-of-flavour vegan wrap.

I'm not quite sure how it's being classed as Christmassy, considering it tastes like a beautiful array of tangy Asian-style vegetables, but if you look at the ingredients, it's apparently made from pea protein “turkey”, parsnips, crisp greens, traditional sage and onion stuffing plus a dollop cranberry and creamy vegan gravy mayo. Could have fooled me…

Waitrose

Pigs under blankets, £3

Taste: 8

Festive factor: 8

Look: 8

It's hard to find the perfect amount of sauce in Christmas sandwiches, with some verging on dry and others on sodden.

But Waitrose has managed to nail it, with a nice balance of flavours and lots of that all-important meat.

Coronation turkey wrap, £3

Taste: 6

Festive factor: 4

Look: 6

Coronation chicken is often a controversial Christmas sandwich flavour, with the raisins adding some nice fresh notes to a very saucy wrap. Although whether that's a good or bad thing is probably up to you…

Vegan no turkey feast, £3.30

Taste: 8

Festive factor: 8

Look: 3

This sandwich is every reason why I shudder when I hear there's fake meat involved, with the substitute turkey looking exceptionally grey.

But apart from its exterior, everything else is pretty decent, with an orange chutney that tastes rather alcoholic adding to the festive vibes, and the whole thing being considerably non-mushy – a success for a vegan alternative.

Brie and cranberry, £3

Taste: 6

Festive factor: 7

Look: 6

Although it doesn't look like it contains much cheese, looks can be deceiving, with this one a lot stronger than the other brie sandwiches I tasted.

While M&S won top marks for their brie offering, this one is for very different cheese fans, offering a much less creamy and more potent flavour.

Co-op

Turkey Feast Sandwich, £3

Taste: 3

Festive factor: 5

Look: 4

One of the stranger sandwiches we ate today, this was oddly gluey, getting stuck to my teeth thanks to its rubbery stuffing.

Boxing Day Lunch Sandwich, £3

Taste: 2

Festive factor: 3

Look: 1

Christmas is a time for indulgence, of hearty winter food and trying new things. And should never, ever involve white sliced bread.

Not only is it massively un-Christmassy, it also struggled to hold everything together – and the watered-down coleslaw didn't help matters.

Vegan festive feast, £3

Taste: 6

Festive factor: 3

Look: 7

More like a curry than Christmas dinner, this sandwich sacrificed a lot of tradition for flavour.

Almost like an onion bhaji sandwich, it comprises of a parsnip fritter with cranberry slaw and toasted seeds, plus a sage and onion vegan mayo. While the poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds and sultanas were nice, it still lacked a little je n'ais ce quoi.

Morrisons

Turkey Lunch Sandwich, £2.50

Wensleydale & Spiced Fruit Chutney sandwich, £3

Taste: 6

I do like it when brands go a little bit rogue – especially when it comes to veggie options, so it was good to see a new invention on the menu this year.

Comprising of a big, soft, brioche bun, it certainly looked the part, but in reality, was a little too sweet for me, and was pretty similar to tucking into a panettone for lunch. A dream for some people, but sadly not for me…

No turkey feast, £2.75

Another overly sweet option, this was overly seasoned and very fruity, and fell apart as soon as I took it out the packet. You're probably better off just sticking to an apple instead…

Asda

Turkey tower, £3

Taste: 7

Festive factor: 10

Look: 8

It would be physically impossible to cram any more Christmas into this sandwich, which is packed full of smoked and pulled turkey and traditional pork, sage and onion stuffing, festive coleslaw complete with cranberry ketchup and of course, a bubble and squeak fritter to finish.

There's no denying that you get a lot for your money with this ambitious hybrid of veggie and meaty lunch offerings, although it does kind of remind me of leftovers, although that's not a bad thing.

Vegan Roasted Cauliflower and Houmous sandwich, £2

Taste: 6

Festive factor: 5

Look: 4

If you like cauliflower you will love this, being delicately spiced and still with a good crunch. It's not the best of the best, but it's a solid option for a quick and nutritious festive lunch. Although we did subtract some festive points for the hummus. That's definitely not Christmassy.

ALDI

Turkey feast, £1.69

Taste: 5

Festive factor: 8

Look: 8

While there was nothing massively wrong with the flavour of this, there also wasn't much right with it, with slightly spongy bread, and stuffing that was almost mashed-potato esque. There is a decent meaty flavour though, we'll give it that.

Specially Selected Turkey with Pigs Under Blankets (not in stores until Nov 29th)

Taste: 7

Festive factor: 8

Look: 6

I was a big fan of this well stuffed number, which boasted decent layers of multiple meats, an intriguingly different bread and a nice sprinkling of seeds. The only downside is that it is perhaps a little too sweet, but I'd definitely eat it again.

Turkey and trimmings wrap, £1.79

Taste: 4

Festive factor: 4

Look: 5

We were excited at the prospect of seeing crispy onions in an Aldi wrap, but sadly, we were left a little underwhelmed.

As well as a dry wrap, the whole thing tastes weirdly smokey, as if you're eating it stood next to a Bonfire – perhaps due to the beechwood smoked bacon.

Brie and spiced cranberry, £1.69

Taste: 6

Festive factor: 6

Look: 6

The most stand out thing about this sandwich is its big pieces of brie, and it is exactly that. Pretty tasteless apart from the huge slabs of tasty cheese, this is the perfect sandwich for those that wish they could eat a wheel of brie on the go, but have to settle for something that involves no cutley and just the one hand. Not for everyone, but an absolute bargain for some.

Festive turkey wrap, £1.79

Taste: 6

Festive factor: 5

Look: 5

If you got rid of the wrap this would be ten times better, with decent flavour in the meat, and better than the Aldi version.

Better than the aldi one, decent flavour of the meat but wraps just overpower the taste

Ham hock on west country farmhouse cheddar, £1.69

Taste: 4

Festive factor: 8

Look: 4

This is called deep fill but is essentially just big bread.

The plum and apple chutney is a nice try, but is horrendous in the sandwich, and should stick to the crackers from now on…

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