I tested 12 festive sandwiches including Aldi & Starbucks – the winner was a hearty handheld Christmas dinner under £4
IT is beginning to look a lot like Christmas – as festive sandwiches hit the shelves.
But which of the savoury bites are worth splashing your dough on?
Packed with turkey, stuffing, bacon and more, seasonal sarnies have become an annual tradition.
Lynsey Hope samples a selection from supermarkets and cafes to find out which ones are Christmas crackers.
Aldi Eat and Go Turkey Feast
- £1.99
- 521 calories, 16.8g fat, 7.5g sugar, 2.25g salt
- 4/5
ALDI has revised the recipe to this classic sandwich for 2024 – and it’s definitely better than before.
There’s more filling, with generous helpings of turkey and smoked bacon.
It’s not as moist as others, but the pork and sage and onion stuffing give it a nice flavour. There could have been more chutney, though.
Greggs Christmas Lunch Baguette
- £3.80
- 544 calories, 16g fat, 9.1g sugar, 2.3g salt
- 5/5
A GREAT option from Greggs, who describe it as a Christmas dinner “that can be held in one hand”.
The best bit is you get the taste without the faff of cooking.
It’s brimming with tender chicken, sage and onion stuffing, sweetcure bacon, Cheddar cheese and cranberry and red onion relish.
A very filling option for big appetites. Lovely, if you can resist the sausage rolls.
M&S Turkey Feast
- £4.25
- 531 calories, 17.6g fat, 8.5g sugar, 2.56g salt
- 3/5
A POPULAR choice every year, the M&S turkey feast returns for 2024 – and I’m pleased it has.
The bacon has a good smoky flavour, the turkey is juicy and there is a rich onion flavour to the stuffing.
I loved the combination of mayonnaise and cranberry sauce. But this did make it a bit messy to eat.
It was quite a salty flavour, too. However, the bread was nice and soft.
Turkey Lunch Sandwich, Morrisons
- £2.85
- 409 calories, 9.5g fat, 9.3g sugar, 1.76g salt
- 3/5
I LOVED the malted bread of this one and the turkey had a nice flavour.
The meat certainly wasn’t too dry. The sandwich is topped up with sweetcure bacon, sage and onion stuffing and cranberry sauce.
A lot of the filling was pushed to the front and the back was empty, so while a good price, it’s not as good value as it looks. Not as calorific as others, but high sugar content.
Asda Festive Feast
- £3
- 567 calories, 23g fat, 7.7g sugar, 2.6g salt
- 3/5
STUFFED full of turkey breast, sausages and smoked bacon, this is a meat-heavy sandwich.
There are clear layers of each filling, with its dominant meat flavour balanced by the tangy cranberry sauce for a solid all-rounder festive sandwich.
The bread is soft, which tasted nice, but fell apart a bit as I tried to eat it.
It is pretty calorific too, so more of a festive treat than an everyday lunch.
Costa Turkey Feast Sandwich
- £4.15
- 484 calories, 19g fat, 7.9g sugar, 1.9g salt
- 2/5
MIDDLE of the road here.
Nothing to shout home about but also no huge complaints.
The bread was nice, there is plenty of turkey but the sandwich itself was small and the bread a little on the thin side.
It is made with shredded turkey rather than slices, which made it feel a little bitty to eat.
Lots of bacon but there was not enough stuffing or much chutney.
Tesco Turkey and Trimmings Sandwich
- £3.40
- 453 calories, 9.9g fat, 7.1g sugar, 1.98g salt
- 1/5
QUITE turkey-heavy, with only a slither of bacon and a few slices of sausages.
The bread was a little dry and I wasn’t overly fussed by the turkey – it was dry and lacking in flavour.
The whole thing needed some chutney or sauce to elevate it.
There weren’t really many “trimmings”, as the packet suggests.
Price-wise, it’s not too bad value but Asda’s is cheaper, bigger and tastier.
Pret’s Christmas Lunch Sandwich
- £4.99
- 557 calories, 20.7g fat, 15g sugar, 2.25g salt
- 5/5
A standout option.
The slices of turkey were thick and moist while the cranberry sauce was lifted with port and orange flavouring.
The herby pork stuffing was delicious, and the added spinach gave this sandwich a fresh feel.
It was finished with a dab of mayonnaise and crispy onions on the best malted bread I tried.
An absolute Xmas cracker.
Starbucks ’Tis The Season Sandwich
- £4.45
- 416 calories, 9.3g fat, 7.2g sugar, 1.6g salt
- 1/5
THIS looked really perfect and neat and I couldn’t wait to tuck in, but it was a bit of a letdown.
I couldn’t taste the sage and onion stuffing at all and even when I pulled it apart, I struggled to find any.
While the sliced chicken was plentiful, with a nice flavour, the smoked bacon was too fatty.
The spinach leaves were a nice addition for a fresh feel.
But it didn’t taste very festive.
Sainsbury’s Festive Chicken Wrap
- £3
- 462 calories, 14.8g fat, 6.3g sugar, 1.22g salt
- 2/5
HEALTHIER than most others that were on offer.
But this Sainsbury’s option was a little bland.
The wrap itself was soft and floury and the whole thing was well filled.
But it was similar to a chicken and bacon wrap you could buy any other time of the year.
The stuffing flavour was subtle but there was nothing too festive about it.
By Amazon Turkey Feast
- £3.90
- 534 calories, 20.7g fat, 11.4g sugar, 2g salt
- 3/5
EVEN Amazon is getting in on the Christmas sarnie option – and in fairness, this isn’t too bad.
The bread was a little dry but the sandwich was well filled and a good size.
The turkey had a nice succulent texture and a lovely flavour.
You get a drink and snack for the price as part of the meal deal, too.
Waitrose Turkey, Stuffing and Bacon
- £4.50
- 428 calories, 9.4g fat, 7.4g sugar, 1.80g salt
- 4/5
A SIMPLE choice that isn’t too salty or sugary.
It was well filled with turkey and bacon though not as filling overall as some of the others.
I think you’d be hungry again not long after eating.
The ingredients were quality though, with moist, well-cooked turkey, smoky bacon and just the right amount of stuffing.
The cranberry and red currant chutney had a lovely, stand-out flavour.
But a little pricey for what you get.