BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2023

This has good-sized slices with a classic, crowd-pleasing smoked flavour that would work well in sandwiches.

Available from:
Lidl (£3.49)

Runner-up: Morrisons The Best 'Old English' cured smoked salmon, £4.99, 120g (launching 20 Dec)

This looks expensive and is nicely packaged. It has good-sized slices and a firm texture. It is well-smoked (possibly too smoky for some) and would work well on a charcuterie fish plate.

Best hot canapé

Winner: Iceland Cathedral City mini ham & cheese crumpets, £4 (pack of 8)

A winning combination of soft crumpets, salty lardons and lots of melting cheese – must be eaten hot from the oven as soon as possible.

Available from:
Iceland (£4)

Runner up: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Baos of Holly, £6, 280g

A great microwave option, these have a fun festive design and a great ratio of dough to filling. Available in November.

The main event

Best turkey crown

Winner: ASDA Extra Special corn fed, Norfolk Bronze turkey crown with pork, sage & caramelised onion, £18.00 per kg (2kg average weight)

The lean meat is easy to cut, the turkey stays moist under a flavoursome bacon covering and the stuffing is a welcome addition.

Available from:
Asda (pre-order, £35.82)

Best alternative Christmas main

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected wagyu wing rib, £24.99 per kg (2kg average weight)

This impressive-looking joint would make a great showstopper. The meat has good texture and the outside sears well.

Best gammon

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected bone-in crackling gammon joint, £17.99

A clear winner for the judges – this centrepiece gammon is complete with crunchy crackling and juicy, tender meat.

Best pigs in blankets

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected caramelised onion chipolatas wrapped in bacon, £2.79 (pack of six)

Caramelised onions give these a touch of sweetness, with pleasing crispy bacon and good texture to the sausagemeat.

Runner up: Lidl Deluxe spiced apple pigs in blankets, price TBC

These have a sweet initial flavour from the spiced apple, balanced by herby notes. The sausage has good texture and the bacon offers slight crunch.

Best cranberry sauce

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected cranberry sauce, £1.49 (215g)

A great classic cranberry sauce: a touch sweet but would be brilliant in a Boxing Day sandwich of leftovers.

Available from:
Aldi (£1.49)

Best gravy

Joint winner: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference turkey gravy granules, £1.90 (200g)

Keep this on standby for any gravy emergencies – it is thick, savoury, well-seasoned and full of nostalgic flavour.

Available from:
Sainsbury's (£1.90)

Joint winner: Waitrose turkey gravy, £5, 400g

Rich and savoury, this fresh gravy would easily help any dry turkey.

Vegetarian and vegan

Best vegetarian main

Joint winner: Tesco Finest roasted butternut, spinach & sage galette, £7 (500g)

This hearty galette impressed the judges: it is incredibly flavoursome, enjoyably cheesy and has plenty of veg.

Available from:
Tesco (£7)

Joint winner: Lidl Deluxe Winter cheddar, leek & parsnip sharing wellingtons, £3.49 (600g)

An indulgent option, this is rich and cheesy, although judges would have liked more decoration.

Best vegan main

Joint winner: Morrisons Plant Revolution turkey crown with horseradish crumb & sage melt, £6 (497g)

Some judges felt this is the best vegan meat alternative they’ve ever tried. It has a distinct meaty flavour and crispy skin. Available from 18 December.

Available from:
Morrisons (£6)

Joint winner: Lidl Deluxe Winter vegan parsnip and portobello pies, price TBC

A hearty main to enjoy all winter, this has good pastry and plenty of gravy surrounding the veggie filling.

Runner up: M&S butternut filo pie, £8 (550g)

This has a lovely crunchy filo top and unctuous cheesy filling with plenty of veg.

Festive desserts

Best Christmas cake

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected luxury all over iced Christmas cake, £8.99 (907g)

With plenty of juicy fruit and some pieces of nut, this has good overall texture and flavour. The simple decoration is pretty and the marzipan tastes good.

Best Christmas pudding

Winner: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 18 month matured Christmas pudding, £10.50 (800g)

Large pieces of fruit make this pudding stand out, along with a light cake-crumb texture.

Available from:
Sainsbury's (£10.50)

Best showstopper dessert

Joint winner: Booths millionaire choux wreath, £15 (800g)

A showstopper with wow-factor, this choux wreath has lots going on: crisp choux pastry, decadent chocolate topping, plenty of creamy sweetness.

Available from:
Booths (£15)

Joint winner: M&S Snowy Winter white chocolate & passion fruit yule log, £15 (850g)

This smart white yule log balances sweet white chocolate with a tart refreshing passion fruit filling for a well-balanced twist on a festive classic.

Available from:
Ocado (£15)

Best free-from dessert

Winner: M&S clementine frangipane, £8 (365g)

This clever pudding just needs to be microwaved to be ready in minutes. The intense almondy orange cake has a comforting soft texture and pretty decoration – it would be great with cold cream poured on top.

Runner up: Tesco Finest Free From honeycomb tiffin bauble, £10 (500g)

This is a great option for families and Christmas feasts with lots of kids. The rocky road style has a fun design and is very sweet.

Festive bakes

Best classic mince pies

Winner: Waitrose No1 brown butter mince pies, £4 (pack of six)

A classic-tasting, richly spiced mince pie. The mincemeat has good texture and the buttery pastry stands out among others tried.

Available from:
Waitrose (£4)

Best flavoured mince pies

Winner: Waitrose No1 crumble-topped mince pies with cranberry & orange, £3.75 (pack of four)

These large shallow mince pies caught our attention for their juicy fruit filling, strong orange flavour and buttery crumble top adding more texture.

Available from:
Waitrose (£3.75)

Best gluten-free mince pies

Winner: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Free From mini mince pies, £2.75 (pack of nine)

This pack of nine mini mince pies has strongly spiced mincemeat with melting buttery pastry.

Available from:
Sainsbury's (£3.75)

Best biscuit tin

Winner: Lidl Favorina all butter shortbread tin, 500g, £4.49

This simple festive-design tin could easily be kept and reused, but it was the quality of the shortbread inside that makes this a winner: thick biscuits, buttery flavour, simple but done well.

Available from:
Lidl (£4.49)

The judging process

We invited 13 supermarkets to enter their best Christmas products across 18 categories. All food was prepared, cooked (following pack instructions) and presented by an independent home economist. Packaging was removed and judges tasted all items blind. Judges submitted comments and a score out of 10 for each product in the category via anonymous online judging forms. The entire process is overseen by an independent adjudicator.

This year, the team tested 185 different products to find their favourite in each category. As well as the winners you see here, we also awarded ‘highly commended’ status to high-scoring favourites that also deserve recognition. These can be found at bbcgoodfood.com.

All prices correct at time of publishing. If you have any questions or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.