US Edition
Barely before Hallowe’en pumpkins disappear from sight, Christmas sandwich season begins, and the nation has an appetite for them – searches for ‘Christmas sandwiches’ in the 30 days leading up to November 8 were up over 1,000 per cent on Waitrose.com versus last year.
This winter, Sainsbury’s alone has rolled out a whopping 11 Christmas-themed lunch solutions, returning with its vegan Plant Pioneers No Pigs Under Blankets (a sandwich that disappoints just as much in 2023 as it did in 2022). It has also launched a Ho Ho Hot One – a piquant firecracker-chicken number that, despite the requisite appearance of cranberries, some wintry packaging and a jolly pun, just doesn’t feel festive in our book (on which note combinations such as prawn cocktail and brie and cranberry, which appear on shelves all year round, were discounted in this appraisal).
After tasting the length and breadth of the high street, we found that the best pay close attention to detail – good bread, quality meat, the right balance of filling – and in the case of vegetarian options don’t offer up imitation meat. Aldi’s Vegan Festive Feast and Pret’s Nut Roast both prove that traditional trimmings can be reimagined in sandwich form far more successfully than fake sausages.
And so let’s get to the crux of it: which Christmas sandwiches (or baguettes) deserve your custom this year? Read on for our verdict.
Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers No Pigs Under Blankets
£3, 458 calories
La Vie’s vegan bacon features between two slices of very damp bread along with some underwhelming meat-free sausage, delivering an artificial taste that’s reminiscent of Frazzles. There’s a very odd, metallic aftertaste to the whole thing, which may be down to the vegan ‘baconnaise’.
Booths Festive Cheese Board Sandwich
£2.90, 532 calories
Starring Cheddar, Wensleydale and blue, variously sliced, crumbed and grated, but the latter tastes too soapy and the soggy bread certainly doesn’t help. Maybe cheese boards should stick to being just that.
Starbucks Holiday Ham Sub Roll
£5.90, 425 calories
The look certainly doesn’t scream Christmas and the white bread roll does rather swamp the contents – honey roast ham (mild), mature cheddar (barely there), honey and mustard slaw (oddly tangy), cranberry chutney (not adding much) and spinach (perfectly passable).
Boots Turkey Feast
£3.25, 433 calories
On looks alone this is messy, with an uneven balance of filling. ‘Smoke flavour’ bacon definitely tastes as if the flavour has been added artificially, while the stuffing is dominant, with dried herbs to the fore. The cranberry sauce, although glossy, doesn’t provide enough sweet or sharp contrast.
Tesco Festive Duo – Pigs Under Blankets and Chicken, Bacon and Stuffing Sandwich
£3, 451 calories
Two approaches in the same packet. For the pigs, the sausage is boldly peppery, cut with very sweet caramelised onion chutney. The chicken, bacon and stuffing is less successful, with its one-note flavour profile. What is a decent filling is drowned by dense, damp and claggy bread.
Lidl Falafel & Cranberry Wrap
£2.29, 443 calories
Jolly in looks – the dark-pink tortilla getting its colour from beetroot powder - but too dry in texture. There’s plenty of the butternut-squash falafel but the vegan spiced hummus and cranberry sauce is thin on the ground and leaves us craving moisture.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Christmas Cracker Club
£4.50, 661 calories
A traditional triple decker sandwich with bar-marked bread for an attractive finish. However, the charring is only for aesthetic purposes as the bread is quite soft and pappy. The ingredients (smoked chicken breast, bacon, chutney) all have very soft, mild flavours and textures, with nice crunchy red cabbage providing the only contrast.
Lidl Turkey Feast with Cranberry Sauce
£2.29, 457 calories
The bacon is some of the crispest we’ve tried, with actual bite, but the rest of the filling, while chunky, is erratic in its distribution. A rogue piece of onion skin ruins the effect slightly, and the stuffing is the dominant element.
Waitrose Ham & Festive Slaw
£4.75, 435 calories
Thinly sliced glazed ham is loaded generously and fresh spinach leaves are welcome, but it’s the bread that stands out: thick, seed-studded and airy, which helps to distract from the slightly artificial-tasting orange marmalade chutney and seeping red cabbage.
Booths Festive Feast
£3.70, 506 calories
The weight of this sandwich comes from the stuffing, which is very herby and peppery. The turkey is very thinly sliced and there’s not much chutney spread throughout; each bite feels rather pastey, but not bad if you’re looking for a sandwich that’s bold and savoury.
Pret Christmas Lunch Baguette
£5.50, 702 calories
No bacon rashers here, which comes as a relief. The French stick trumps the sandwich of the same filling, winning out for its addition of bright and peppery rocket. The stuffing looks very artisan and rustic, almost like granola, thanks to the addition of crispy onions; sadly, however, that crisp has softened in the packaging.
Waitrose Turkey, Bacon and Stuffing
£4.75, 496 calories
An attractive sandwich that’s evenly filled with distinct layers. The stuffing is particularly impressive – earthy and natural, to which the bacon plays a supporting role. There’s a pleasant savouriness to the whole thing which could be the turkey-stock mayo working in the background.
Asda Festive Feast Triple Wrap
£3.35, 824 calories
This wrap is full of contrasting textures. The bacon gives it bite, the spinach adds freshness and the gravy mayo is truly distinctive – creamy and umami-ish. For a wrap, this manages distribution really well and each mouthful is satisfying.
Morrisons Turkey Feast
£2.85, 398 calories
Light, fluffy malted bread encloses a combination of pepper-hot stuffing, yielding turkey meat and streaky bacon, along with a slick of mildly fruity cranberry chutney. The textures jostle alongside each other well and the whole thing is neat and compact. A decent effort.
Aldi Vegan Festive Feast Sandwich
£1.99, 461 calories
This meat-free beauty, filled with a lightly spiced parsnip fritter and vegan sage and onion mayo, is dressed up with glossy sultanas and bright ruby-coloured cabbage which makes for a very good looking sandwich. It celebrates vegetables in all their greatness and you don’t feel stinted for choosing it, either.
Co-op Irresistible Christmas Market Sandwich
£3.85, 623 calories
A lovely doorstop sandwich on rye bread, inspired by the flavours you’d expect to find at a German Christmas market – essential buying for currywurst fanatics who also fancy a bit of sauerkraut, mustard mayo and cheddar. It really tastes festive – it’s bright and bold where others have been quite muted. Enjoy with a glass of cold beer.
Pret Christmas Nut Roast
£4.75, 620 calories
This sounds very decadent, and it all looks very glossy and jolly. There’s a perfect balance of textures – chunks of butternut squash have got some bite, as well as being really nicely spiced and herby, and caramelised pecans are absolutely moreish. A truly celebratory Christmas sandwich; you certainly won’t miss meat here.
M&S Turkey Feast
£3.90, 420 calories
Of all the sandwiches, this most closely resembles something you would make at home – the turkey is thickly sliced and the bacon has crisp, rustic-looking edges. When you bite into it, the textures remain distinct instead of dissolving into a mush. The consistent quality of all the ingredients give this an overall festive edge.