Our Favourite Readymade Festive Food

Are you looking for an alternative to the traditional turkey with sage stuffing? Something you don’t have to prepare yourself? Here’s our top picks for your festive feast

It can be difficult to plan for Christmas dinner, especially in today’s climate. If you’re not sure how many people you’ll be having over, you might not even have bought a turkey. And even if you feel assured that the whole family will be with you, perhaps you’d prefer to spend quality time with them than slave away in the kitchen.

The answer - keep it simple with readymade centrepieces, which you can cook with minimum fuss. These are our favourite pre-prepared dishes, which we’ve kindly taste tested for you!

Tesco's Maple & Orange Glazed Side of Scottish Salmon

If you fancy some fish for Christmas dinner, then nip out to your local Tesco’s for this pre-prepared side of salmon. We loved the sweet tangy glaze and the succulent fish. We ate ours with roast potatoes, but we think a readymade dauphinoise would be a delicious accompaniment.

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Parson's Nose Beef Wellington

If you’re looking for a readymade centrepiece, our absolute favourite was the beef wellington from independent butcher Parson’s Nose. Meltingly tender beef was wrapped in a mushroom duxelle and encased in crisp puff pastry. It was accompanied by a sachet of the all-important gravy, which was rich and delicious. You can also pick up Christmas stuffing and a veg box to go with your selection. This was restaurant quality food, and comes highly recommended! Parson’s Nose offer same day delivery locally (to London addresses) and next day nationwide delivery.

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Heston from Waitrose Sweet & Spiced Mincemeat Gammon

We love Heston Blumenthal’s playful take on the traditional honey roast ham. It has a mincemeat stuffing and a sweet-spicy ginger glaze - perfect for the festive season! We recommend serving it with duck fat roast potatoes and thyme sprouts. Pick it up from your local Waitrose or order online to get it delivered. Waitrose are also currently doing a 4 for 3 deal on their Christmas canapes (just saying)!

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