SHOPPERS looking to snap up a bargain Christmas dinner will want to head to two supermarkets this year.
New analysis from consumer website Which? has revealed the cheapest retailers to buy your festive food.
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It looked at the prices of 12 popular items across seven major chains between November 6 and November 27 – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.
Which?’s analysis did not factor in loyalty card prices or multi-buy discounts.
Do bear in mind that these results only compare the prices at these selected supermarkets too, and prices vary day-to-day.
The list of foods Which? looked at were: a medium frozen turkey crown, pigs in blankets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, potatoes, stock, cranberry sauce and Christmas pudding.
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And the cheapest two retailers beat the most expensive supermarket by a whopping £19.
Aldi was crowned cheapest overall, with the 12 items coming in at £33.80, while Lidl was a close second at £33.84 – just 4p more.
In third place was the first of the more traditional supermarkets, Asda, where the 12-item basket cost £37.01.
Meanwhile, Tesco came in fourth at £39.49 and Sainsbury’s next at £44.81.
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Morrisons was second most expensive at £45.34 and Waitrose was the most expensive by over £7, coming in at £52.68.
The analysis from Which? revealed shoppers heading to Aldi or Lidl to buy a traditional 12-item Christmas dinner would save £18.88 overall compared to heading to Waitrose.
When it came to specific items, a medium turkey crown was the most expensive item across all of the supermarkets, but was cheapest at Aldi and Lidl where it cost £15.49.
Waitrose came in the most expensive, at £26 on average.
Which? also found Aldi and Lidl were joint cheapest for Christmas pudding where it was £4.49 while Sainsbury’s was the priciest – you’d have to fork out £8 there.
The consumer website found the biggest gulf between products was on cranberry sauce.
Aldi was selling a 200g jar for 59p while Waitrose’s own-brand Wild cranberry sauce (205g) was £2.20 – 270% more expensive.
Which? also found Tesco and Morrisons had hiked the price of their medium turkey crown the most compared to 2022.
The price at Morrisons was £21.99 on average across a three-week period in 2022 but went up to £25.35 this year – a £3.36 rise.
Meanwhile, Tesco’s was up from £17 in 2022 to £19.50 in 2023 – a £2.50 increase.
But Which? also found that at Asda the price for the same size frozen turkey crown went down by 3% from an average of £16.50 in 2022 to £16 in 2023, despite high inflation.
At Aldi and Lidl, the price of the same size turkey crown stayed the same year on year, flatlining on £15.49.
Ele Clark, Which? retail editor, said: “With food prices still very high, we know lots of people will be feeling the pinch this Christmas so it’s good to know that there are significant savings to be made by choosing one of the cheaper supermarkets.
“While Aldi and Lidl were the cheapest retailers in our analysis, two traditional supermarkets were not far behind, meaning most people are likely to live reasonably close to a store where they could pick up their turkey and other festive essentials for under £40.”
An Asda spokesperson said it was “pleased” to be recognised as the cheapest traditional supermarket in the analysis, while Aldi said it “couldn’t be more delighted” to be crowned winner.
Meanwhile, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said Which?’s analysis was based on “extremely misleading conclusions” and out of date prices.
Morrisons said it had cheaper items available compared to the branded products used by Which? in its analysis.
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Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said many supermarkets were introducing further discounts in the run up to Christmas which was not accounted for in Which?’s analysis.
The Sun approached Tesco, Lidl and Waitrose for comment.
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