Femail taste test Christmas dinner kits to get a festive roast ready in an hour or less

With many separated from family this festive season, Christmas will see a record number of first-time cooks head to the kitchen to tackle a turkey dinner.

As a result, many restaurants, supermarkets and food companies have released meal kits, complete with all the trimmings, that are designed to involve minimal prepping time. 

Designed with even the most clueless cooks in mind, some kits, such as the one offered by Noble House Events, require no prep at all and simply need to be put in the oven. 

Tesco is offering a traditional and a vegan option, both £35, that cook in less than an hour. 

Others, such as the meat-heavy offering from Colman x Black Farmer’s Christmas selection will take longer to cook but claim to be oven-ready, meaning all the stress is taken away on Christmas day. 

Other kits are less traditional, and more luxurious, including Cue Point’s British Afghan Barbecue set which includes beef brisket and smoked turkey that comes vacuum packed and can be reheated in 15 minutes. 

Kantar data shows that 53 per cent of people will be making Christmas extra special this year following months of lockdown, so is it worth splashing out on the high-end kits for a more indulgent dinner? 

And can you really make a turkey dinner as good as homemade in an hour or less?

Femail taste tested 13 festive meals kits, which start at less than £5 per person, to find the best out there…

CUE POINT: British Afghan festive three course dinner kit  with smoked turkey and smoked brisket

Price: £70 for three people

Cooking time: 40 minutes 

Rating:

MailOnline’s Danny Hussain tested out the £70 kit from west London barbecue restaurant Cue Point.

The restaurant, which closed in lockdown but is now selling meal kits, offers a fusion of British and Afghan food – which is reflected in their festive dinner kit.

Inside is a combination of 24hr brined oak smoked turkey, and smoked brisket accompanied by aromatic potatoes, charcoal grilled veg and ‘cow in a rug’ a pork-free alternative to pigs in blankets.

It comes with a in-house made collection of sauces, pickles and jams as well as a brownie and salted caramel sauce for dessert.

Danny said:  What a feast! 

Maybe not traditionally Christmassy, but not far from it.

The cows in rugs were delightful and the brisket and smoked turkey were incredibly high quality. 

The gravy was light and really added to the taste and the jalapeno jam transformed the meat with a nice kick. 

The brisket was melt-in-your-mouth tender and is one of the better bits of beef I’ve eaten in a long time. 

I’m not a huge turkey fan but Cue Point’s sauces and gravy sold me.

The food was incredibly easy to cook, all you have to do is put the bags of turkey and brisket in boiling water, then snip them open and serve. 

It’s the same for the roasted veg and the potatoes, though they’ll need five minutes in the oven too.

The other stuff also needs just a few minutes in the over so pretty easy all round.

Despite the easiness, it’s still incredibly tasty. 

As a big barbecue and grill food fan, I cannot recommend it enough!

Cote at Home: Festive Dining Box

Price: £79.95 for four people

Rating:

Cooking time:  50 minutes

Femail’s Jessica Green tested Cote’s Festive Dining Box from the French high street chain.

The meal, which serves four to six for £79.95, includes a 2.5kg turkey breast wrapped in streaky bacon, ready to bake in the oven and serve with the accompanying traditional trimmings such as pigs in blankets and braised red cabbage, as well as Côte’s popular gratin potatoes, for a French twist.

Jessica said: This was nearly the perfect Christmas dinner – crunchy carrots, green beans and parsnips, scrumptious pigs and blankets, tasty potatoes and a turkey that appeared to be lovingly prepared and tasted top class. The best part being, it was all ready with minimal effort needed.

There were very clear instructions on each item of food, with nearly all the cooking times being the same (apart from the turkey), which took the stress away from having to orchestrate when to cook things. Some items were also microwavable.

All the ingredients had good use by dates and seemed very fresh, even the gravy and cranberry sauce.

But we all know the proof of the pudding is in the eating – and the Christmas dinner impressed with almost every bite!

The turkey was tender and definitely the main star of the show, but most of the trimmings were just as tasty – which is what I hoped for when I looked at the price of the box.

However, the chestnut stuffing wasn’t to my liking, and I found it odd to have garlic butter on the green beans for a Christmas dinner.

But if you’re ready to embrace a slightly less traditional roast for the festive season, then this kit is a brilliant buy, with the ease of cooking it and the fresh, delicious ingredients being worth the money.  – Jessica Green

The Black Farmer x Colmans Best of British Festive  

Price: £40 for six people 

Cooking time: Three hours

Rating:

Femail’s Jessica Green tested The Black  Farmer X Colman’s Best of British Festive box.

The Best of British box is filled with produce to feed a family of six, celebrating the very best of British beef this season, paired with a dollop of Colman’s mustard.

Instead of the traditional turkey,  the box includes a 2kg topside of beef, 2kg of boneless Gammon and 10 pork, sage and onion stuffing balls.

Also included is eight gluten free pigs in blanket, on The Black Farmer red wine gravy and a bottle of Colman’s English Squeezable Mustard.

Jessica said: This box of meat was certainly huge and contained most of the items for a perfect roast – such as pigs and blankets, beef, gammon and stuffing. 

It was also supposed to arrive with a Colman’s Mustard jar but my delivery sadly didn’t include one.

The items were all packaged very securely and appeared fresh, however there didn’t appear to be any instructions on how long or at what temperature to cook the products – and since I’m a very amateur chef, this had me panicking and turning to Google rather quickly.

But following a short amount of stress after trying to work out when to add the different meats to my preheated oven, the items came out looking mouth-watering.

The beef was melt-in-the-mouth gorgeous, with not a speck of pesky fat encountered, while the gammon was just salty enough and very easy to cut and enjoy.

The pigs and blankets were made with sausages containing a light herby taste, perfect to counteract the saltiness of the bacon.

Meanwhile, the stuffing balls were perhaps the best I’d ever tasted – full of meat and sage and onion flavouring.

The only downside regarding the ingredients is that I would hesitate in saying it would be good for a Christmas day choice, since no turkey is included.

Gousto’s Vegan Christmas Dinner With All The Trimmings

Price: £28.49 for two

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Rating:

Femail’s Claire Toureille tested the Vegan Christmas Dinner With All The Trimmings from food box subscription service Guosto.

Included in the box is Naked Glory chicken bites, parsnips, carrots, pine nuts, potatoes and sprouts.

With it able to be prepared in less than an hour, the box is popular with vegans and meateaters alike – with it being praised by Good Housekeeping this year. 

Claire said: As someone who’s recently become a vegetarian, I thoroughly enjoyed the Gusto vegan dinner.

I liked the fact it came in completely recyclable packaging, with all the veggies wrapped in paper rather than plastic.

The recipe was also straightforward and easy to follow and the quantity of food for two was generous enough to make this a very substantial Christmas meal.

While it was strange to see only a few bits of chicken in my plate rather than the usual trimmings, the fake poultry was so savoury I didn’t mind.

The fake chicken was tender and tasty, and was not chewy at all like some other offering. 

The vegan gravy, which was made of mustard-like condiments and vinegar, added an extra layer of yumminess to the mix.

Rudy’s Christmas Vegan Feast

Price: £55 for four people 

Cooking time: 45 minutes 

Rating:

Femail reporter Harriet Johnston tried a festive feast from Rudy’s.

The first UK vegan butcher – has released a meat-free box this year in the hope that those avoiding turkey don’t have to eat a dry nutroast this year. 

The box from the vegan hotspot behind the cult Camden diner includes famous pastrami, seasonally spiced Christmas ham, marvellous meat-free meatballs, and not forgetting their American roots, the festive meatloaf en croute. 

This meatloaf, wrapped in crisp, flaky pastry, is a special nod to the USA with a virtuous vegan twist.

Also included is a seitan Turk’y packed with soysage stuffing accompanied by a generous serving of Turk’y gravy with fresh rosemary, thyme and garlic,  King Edward potatoes, parsnips, carrots, Brussel sprouts with baycon bits, all seasoned and ready to roast.

Each box is also packed with popped water lily seeds in three delicious flavours; dark chocolate and raspberry, paprika and Provençal herbs, or the Cheezy vegan – nutritional yeast and black pepper.

Harriet said: This vegan Christmas dinner was really fantastic. 

The £55 box comes with everything you could need for a delicious festive meal for two, with enough for days of leftovers afterwards. 

The box came with piles of vegetables and potatoes, readily prepared to be popped straight into the oven, with simple instructions on meal prep and timings. 

The meatloaf en croute was a real highlight, with flaky pastry and tasty faux-meat flavourings. The gravy was also a real hit in our books.

However, the reason my rating isn’t a little stronger is in part due to the main part of the meal – the Christmas Turk’y roll. 

Maybe our oven wasn’t hot enough, but the flavour was a bit rubbery and ‘fake’ tasting in a way which wasn’t delicious.

I’d also appreciate knowing what was in the meat substitutes – I know they’re ‘secret recipes’ but I’d rather know what I’m eating than some mysterious ‘meat’. 

Aldi x Deliveroo Christmas Dinner on a Plate

Price: £44.11 for ten people 

Cooking time: FEMAIL received it cooked, if cooking from scratch roughly three hours

Rating:

Aldi has partnered up with acclaimed chef, Neil Rankin to help first time cooks this festive season with ‘Christmas on a Plate’ – the perfect roast dinner delivered to your door by Deliveroo for just a £5 donation to food charity Neighbourly. 

Femail’s Jo Tweedy tested the kit, which was only available for one day but items are now available to pick up at Aldi stores across the country ahead of December 25.

Jo said: The jewel in the German supermarket’s festive crown this year is the Specially Selected Roly Poly Wholebird Turkey (£5.95/kg), on shelves from 19th December. 

The Roly Poly bird – British, free-range, oat-fed and reared on RSPCA assured farms – made a fine centrepiece to our early Christmas dinner. 

The meat was moist enough, the skin suitably bronzed and there was enough of it to leave our family of four waving a white flagfand making up plates for neighbours. 

The supporting cast of veggies offered a Mediterranean twist, which traditionalists might raise an eyebrow at… but we loved. Carrots – purple and orange – were spiced with cumin and the sprouts fired with ginger, garlic and cranberries. 

The pigs in blankets had a hint of truffle to them. The spiced cider stuffing with roast squash and cranberry onion Pithivier was a meal in itself.

Disappointments? The potatoes were a little hard on the outside…they were nice but home-made would definitely trump these. 

Generally though, pretty delicious, and with a price tag that was good value.

Noble House Beef Christmas Dinner 

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Rating:

Cooking time: 50 minutes 

Price: £48 for four 

Jo Tweedy also tried Noble House Prepared, a new food delivery service which launched last month by the team behind Noble House Events.

Thanks to the fine dining credentials of the brand’s Executive Chef, who has spent many years leading the restaurants of Michelin star chef Gordon Ramsay, Christmas in a Box claims to be everything you’d expect to find if you were eating out at a top gourmet eatery.

Jo said: If a December 25th turkey doesn’t float your culinary boat, then Noble House have a grass-fed British beef Christmas dinner that promises to take the stress out of cooking…and serve up restaurant-quality food. Sour dough bread sauce, anyone? 

The brand will box up and deliver all the elements for a festive feast; they’re frozen and you simply defrost the meat and cook the veg from frozen. 

As the sort-of chef, I took delivery of the two sizeable boxes; with all the dishes clearly labelled and well protected by recyclable packaging. I’ll admit I found the cooking a little bit complicated, with some dishes needing six minutes in the microwave and others cooked up alongside the meat. 

The 20-minute cooking time for the beef didn’t work in our oven, it needed longer. Likewise with the veg and the – very plump – pigs in blanket, they looked delicious after an hour… but no sooner. 

When plated up and presented, the diners raved about it – the roast potatoes were super fluffy on the inside, the honey mustard glaze on the pigs in blankets absolutely delicious and the beef surprisingly tender. The pud and brandy butter, made by the Lilly puds brand, offered a delicious, fruit-packed chaser. 

allplants: Vegan Feast Box

Price: £50 for four people (including a £5 donation to Choose Love)

Cooking times: 45 minutes 

Rating:

Femail’s Bridie Pearson-Jones gave the allplants vegan Christmas feast box a try.

The seasonal box, comes as a two-course roast dinner for four people, or two dinners for two, ready to heat up and enjoy within 45 minutes – no prep, no mess, minimal effort.

Inside the box, there is a Cranberry and Walnut Loaf as the centrepiece, alongside crowd-pleasing seasonal sides: Crispy Roast Potatoes, Spiced Red Cabbage, Rosemary Roasted Veggies, and Truffle Cauliflower Cheese. For the delectable desserts, you can choose from Tiramisu Cheesecake and Sticky Banoffee Pudding to end your feast. All for only £12.50 per serving.  

Bridie said: You can really tell allplants speciality is plants. These were the nicest roasties I’ve had. Better than homemade (sorry mum and dad)  or any restaurants.

The quality of the rosemary roasted veg (parsnip, beetroot, sweet potato) was exceptional. You could tell these are really well sourced, and the seasoning was great too. 

The rosemary flavour really came through, and the delicious allium flavours really hitched it up a gear, so much garlic and onion goodness.

I also loved the truffle cauliflower cheese, a real luxurious touch to the meal, with enough gooey, creamy sauce to spread across the whole plate.

It was also incredibly easy to do. They all fitted on one oven tray (with a little but of Tetris-style manoeuvring), and cooked all in 45 minutes. Minimal washing up is always a godsend.

Perhaps three stars is a little harsh for the review, but the nut roast – which is the main event of the meal – was a real let down and I’d be disappointed if that’s what I got on Christmas day. 

Maybe I’m just not the biggest fan of nut roasts (it’s 2020 – there are so many great meat free alternatives out there!) but it really took away from the superb quality of the veg.

I would recommend buying the vegetables to accompany your Christmas meal, as they are the easiest, and tastiest, roast veg I’ve tried.  

Cookaway: Vegetarian Christmas Feast 

Price: From £22 for two people, with extras FEMAIL tried it was £40 

Cooking time: One hour 

Rating:

Subscription-free recipe box service The Cookaway has teamed up with MasterChef finalist Jack Lucas to create a merry menu of seasonal dishes, tested by Bridie Pearson-Jones.

The festive recipe boxes cater for two or four dinner guests and include show-stopping centrepiece options; Chicken Wellington & Red Wine Sauce or Portobello Mushroom & Goat’s Cheese Tart as well as a selection of canapés including Goat’s Cheese & Onion Chutney Squares, Smoked Salmon & Horseradish Blinis and Blue Cheese & Cranberry Sausages all topped off with a decadent Vanilla Cheesecake for dessert.  

Bridie said:  As tasty as this was, this was quite a lot of effort and far from a traditional roast dinner.

Individually, each meal was great. I had four courses, Goat’s Cheese & Onion Chutney Squares, Sesame Halloumi Bites with Chilli Sauce, Portobello Mushroom and Goats Cheese Tart with Creamed Leak & Spinach and for dessert Vanilla Cheesecake with Rhubarb & Ginger.

While you can pick your own mix with Cookaway, a real bonus that many other box services don’t have, this particular mix is very samey and heavy on the cheese, onion and pastry.

While easy to do, the ‘prep’ times on the recipe cards are quite deceptive. Most of them said they would take 15 minutes or less, and ended up at least double that.

Although distinctively unfestive, these would make great dinner party recipes or appetisers.

My favourite was the sesame halloumi bites, they reminded me of sesame prawn toast, and I love chillis, so would have been delighted to have it as a starter on Christmas day – or as a Christmas eve treat. 

I have to admit, I was fairly sceptical of the creamed leak and spinach at first, but it was a real show stealer, would happily eat it with a spoon myself.

For anything other than Christmas, this would be a fantastic meal, but it ventures a little too far from the traditional festive feast for me. 

Iceland Luxury Festive Bundle

Price: £25 for six

Cooking time: From frozen, 2.5 hours, one hour if Turkey is defrosted for two days before  

Rating:

High street frozen food giant Iceland clams you can make a luxury dinner in less than an hour with change from £25.

The meal, which feeds six,  includes 1.5kg of turkey, a tray of canapes and luxury roast potatoes.

Femail’s Monica Greep tested the meal, with the help of some hungry housemates, which included sprouts, bacon and pigs in blankets. 

Monica said: The Iceland roast was surprisingly good. 

It was very easy to cook, although it’s probably suited to a household with a bigger or two ovens to get everything out at the same time.

The turkey reminded me of school dinners in the best, most nostalgic way possible and while I was dubious about eating an entire frozen turkey in under three hours, it was easy to prepare and tasted decent.

The vegetables were tasty and you couldn’t really tell they’d been frozen, but the sprouts and bacon did burn slightly so I’d recommend not putting them in as long as advised on the packet. 

The potatoes didn’t go as crispy as I’d normally like but they were fluffy on the inside and once again tasted good.

The trimmings and dessert were all delicious and while I don’t think I’d substitute my entire roast for a frozen alternative, there were definitely things you could add to make cooking a lot easier for yourself.

Overall, the roast was really good value for money and while it wasn’t the best roast I’ve ever had, if you’re looking for an easy meal on a budget, I would definitely recommend this kit.

Mindful Chef: Christmas vegan menu

Price: £11.50 for two people 

Cooking time: One hour 

Rating:

Mindful Chef is serving up a festive menu for the for the first time this yer, aiming to bring a joy-filled, healthy, stress-free Christmas to customers nationwide.

The Christmas offering is suitable for one-person, two-people or full-blown family feasts, as well as catering for gluten-free, dairy free, vegan, flexitarian and pescatarian diets. 

Their Christmas menu includes mushroom lentil roast, turkey and the trimmings and a middle eastern spiced chickpea & butternut squash – which was taste tested by Femail’s Bridie Pearson-Jones.

Bridie said: This is a great vegan alternative to turkey for Christmas dinner – but it’s a far cry form a full Christmas meal with the trimmings. 

It was easy to make, and isn’t a recipe I’d usually try. The butternut squash was high quality and baked easily.

The sauce involved some veg cutting, but it did make me feel like more of a chef rather than shoving everything in the oven.  

It’s very healthy, and a wonderful winter warmer, the pomegranate is a really nice fruity touch.

I could have done without the coconut yogurt and mint dressing, I don’t think it added much to the dish.

While this is a fun treat on a winter night. If it was a substitute to meat for Christmas dinner, there would be a lack of protein and meaty flavours you get in faux meat and nut roasts.

It also wasn’t the prettiest to photograph – despite tasting great. 

Overall, delicious and easy, but not one for traditionalists.   

Tesco Finest Christmas Vegan  Dinner for Two in a Box

Price: £35 for two 

Cooking time:  47 minutes

Rating:

Many people will head to Tesco to pick up their Christmas dinner this year, but now the supermarket has made it easier by putting it all in one grab and go box.

The vegan version – tested by Bridie Pearson-Jones – includes a ‘Wicked Wellington’ with pea-protein beef substitute inside, as well as meatfree cocktail sausages, roast veg and potatoes. 

 It all cooks in less than 50 minutes in the oven or microwave.

Bridie said: This really is the full deal, and a great option if you’ve only got two of you at home.

I was really impressed by the bottle of champagne and the crackers too. It’s all you need for December 25’s dinner.

It was incredibly easy, everything went in the oven a baked in an hour or less. Hardly any washing up and great for anyone who doesn’t enjoy cooking.

Or anyone who is just busy, I cooked one in a morning before a night shift and managed to finish it all before starting a day of work. 

This is also the first time I’ve seen a faux-meat Wellington. I loved the idea and it certainly makes a change from mushrooms and nut roasts that most vegetarians and vegans are sick of. 

And it was delicious, on first bite, the pastry was flaky and the ‘meat’ had a rich umani flavour.

But it lacked a real depth, which meant it got repetitive quite quickly.  The stuffing was a highlight, and also had a meaty taste, while the cocktail sausages were as good as any other.

I think the veg was a real let down though. It was very bland – I don’t think it had been seasoned at all.

If done right, the sprouts and broccoli can be the highlight of the Christmas dinner,  but these were bland and school dinner-esq. 

The gravy was very very thick and completely cloaked any flavour in the rest of the meal, which was a shame. 

If I were to order again, I’d add a lot of marinade to the vegetables before whacking it in the oven, otherwise, the trimmings were a huge let down. 

Tesco Finest Christmas Dinner Box

Price: £35 for two

Cooking time:  One hour 

Rating:

Like it’s vegan counterpart, the Tesco Finest Christmas Box serves two, and comes with Christmas crackers and champagne.

Also £35, it includes tender turkey breast wrapped in bacon, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings, roasted carrots and parsnips with thyme, broccoli, cauliflower and sprouts, with sage and onion stuffing, plus rich turkey gravy and a sweet cranberry sauce. 

For dessert, the box includes a cider and Courvoisier VS Cognac Christmas puddings served with brandy sauce. 

This all comes with premier cru Champagne and Christmas crackers. Cheers British Turkey Breast Fillet Wrapped In Streaky Bacon Broccoli, Cauliflower & Brussels Sprout Vegetable Medley Goose Fat Roast Potatoes Turkey Gravy Thyme Roasted Carrots & Parsnips Pigs in Blankets Cranberry Sauce Sage & Onion Stuffing & Yorkshire Puddings Christmas Puddings French Brandy Sauce Premier Cru Champagne Christmas Crackers.

Femail’s Jessica Green cooked it for her family.

Jessica said:  I had high hopes for this Tesco Christmas dinner kit when it arrived – it was neatly packaged and I loved seeing the bottle of bubbly included.

The methods to cook the ingredients were clear and easy to do, and there was more than enough for two people to enjoy.

However, the taste of the main star of the show massively let this product down – the turkey was chewy and cheap.

It’s a shame that the meat wasn’t up to scratch, because the trimmings were quite delicious, from the crunchy roast potatoes to the scrumptious pigs in blankets.

Source: Food Recipes and News