British shoppers hoping to keep festive spending under control could still enjoy a high-quality Christmas dinner, with a new taste test highlighting affordable food products that rival more expensive alternatives.
The Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI) has released the results of its 2026 Christmas Taste Test, assessing 664 festive food and drink products across several categories, including turkey, traditional side dishes, party snacks, desserts and alcoholic drinks.
Aldi emerged as the strongest overall supermarket, securing 13 first- and second-place finishes. Lidl also performed well, earning 11 Best Value awards for products ranging from prosecco and flavoured salmon to roast potatoes, meat-free mains and yule logs.
The results suggest that shoppers do not necessarily need to pay premium prices to serve impressive food during the festive season.
Aldi Takes Top Honours for Traditional Christmas Favourites
Aldi delivered several of the most notable performances in the savoury and dessert categories, including a repeat victory for its Specially Selected Double Wrapped Pigs in Blankets.
The product scored 88 out of 100, retaining its title for a second consecutive year. Its Specially Selected Roly Poly Whole Turkey also claimed the top position in the whole-turkey category with 82 points.
Aldi’s Christmas pudding proved another standout, with its Specially Selected 24 Month Matured Christmas Pudding scoring 85 out of 100. The supermarket also secured the top spot for all-butter mince pies, which received 86 points, and luxury topped stollen, which scored 82.
The results helped Aldi establish itself as one of the leading destinations for shoppers seeking traditional Christmas food without stretching their budgets.
Tesco, Waitrose and COOK Score Wins in the Main Course Categories
Although Aldi led the overall supermarket rankings, other retailers and food brands also secured important victories.
Tesco’s Finest Roast Potatoes with Confit Garlic earned 84 out of 100, while its Finest Bronze Turkey Crown with Pork, Cranberry and Chestnut Stuffing received the same score to win the turkey crown category.
Waitrose took the lead in the alternative meat centrepiece category with its Slow Cooked Free-Range Clementine and Maple Gammon, which scored 85 points.
For vegetarians and shoppers looking for a meat-free centrepiece, COOK’s Brie, Portobello Mushroom and Caramelised Onion Wreath was named the category winner, scoring 79 out of 100.
Aldi’s double-wrapped pigs in blankets, meanwhile, remained a popular choice in the test, demonstrating that a budget-friendly supermarket product can maintain its standing against competing festive offerings.
Edenmoor Sausage Roll Wreath Achieves the Highest Score
One of the biggest highlights of the 2026 assessment came from Edenmoor’s Festive Sausage Roll Wreath, which achieved an impressive 94 out of 100.
The product recorded the highest score among all 664 entries assessed, making it the overall standout of this year’s taste test.
Waitrose also attracted attention for its Homemade Polar Bear Bao Buns. Scoring 92 out of 100, they became the highest-scoring supermarket product in the party-food category.
Sainsbury’s Ultimate Luxury Seafood Platter secured the top position among seafood platters, earning 84 points.
The results provide shoppers with several options for entertaining guests, whether they are planning a traditional Christmas gathering or looking to introduce something different to their festive table.
Christmas Puddings, Mince Pies and Cakes Put Retailers to the Test
Aldi continued its strong performance in the dessert categories, but other supermarkets and specialist food brands also secured recognition.
Morrisons won the flavoured Christmas pudding category with its The Best Limoncello and Clementine Christmas Pudding, which scored 78 out of 100.
Bettys’ Soft Iced Christmas Cake received 85 points, making it the highest-scoring Christmas cake in the assessment.
Tesco’s Finest Toffee Apple Panettone took the flavoured panettone title with 88 points. Morrisons’ The Best Classic Panettone also scored 88, winning the classic category.
Co-op’s Millionaires Trifle and Waitrose’s No.1 Raspberry and Strawberry Trifle shared the top position in the trifle category.
These results underline the range of choices available to shoppers looking for traditional Christmas desserts as well as alternatives with more contemporary flavours.
Asda, Aldi and Other Retailers Lead the Festive Drinks Rankings
The drinks assessment produced strong performances across several supermarket chains and established champagne brands.
Exceptional by Asda Prosecco Brut won the prosecco category with a score of 87 out of 100. Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Exclusive Champagne Brut NV was named the leading champagne, receiving 83 points.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Discovery XO Cognac topped the brandy category with 84 points.
For Christmas red wine, Aldi and Asda shared the honours after both scored 89 out of 100. Sainsbury’s and Waitrose achieved the same score to share the white wine title.
Lidl also featured among the year’s Best Value winners, with its performance including prosecco and other festive products aimed at shoppers seeking better value for money.
Five Months of Testing Behind the Results
The GHI said the annual assessment involved extensive testing by its experts and Good Housekeeping VIP members over five months.
More than 230 consumer testers participated at the institute’s tasting facility in west London. The testing process included sampling more than 500 individual mince pies, preparing 261 pigs in blankets and roasting over 70 kilograms of turkey.
Stacey Smith, the GHI’s senior food and drink editor, said the annual taste test was an important opportunity to identify the strongest festive products available to consumers.
She explained that the 664 entries were blind tasted, with judges assessing everything from traditional Christmas dinner favourites to party food, desserts and drinks.
According to Smith, the winning products demonstrated the quality and variety available to shoppers, helping them make informed decisions when planning their celebrations.
Where to Find the Full 2026 Christmas Taste Test Results
The complete results of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s 2026 Christmas Taste Test are available on the Good Housekeeping website.
For shoppers preparing their festive budgets, the rankings offer a guide to products that performed well in testing, with Aldi leading the overall supermarket results and Lidl collecting the largest number of Best Value accolades.
The findings also show that strong performances were not limited to discount retailers, with Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, COOK and specialist brands all earning recognition across different categories.
