I tested Poundland’s Christmas dinner for £5 per person – it’s cheap but I wouldn’t eat it again

POUNDLAND is known to millions as the place to bag a £1 item – but now customers can get a full Christmas meal for £5 per head.

The retailer has launched a new festive meal which includes veggies, stuffing, gravy and a turkey crown.

Shoppers can bag the main meal for £5 per person.

Or they can opt for four courses, which includes a starter, main, pudding and cheeseboard for £6.85 per person.

Poundland’s offer might be tempting to families looking to cut back on Christmas costs this year.

Data from retail research firm Assosia revealed the price of classic Christmas food went up by 20% year-on-year between 2021 and 2022.

But was the Poundland meal worth it? We put it to the test to see how it came out in terms of flavour and value for money.

What’s on the menu and how did prices compare?

Customers can already get chilled and frozen food across hundreds of Poundland stores.

It comes after the budget retailer first started testing selling frozen food including pizza, chips and ready meals in 2019.

But if you’re looking to get all the items on Poundland’s Christmas menu, it’s worth calling ahead to ask if they have all the items in stock.

When we went out to buy the items, not every store had the full range.

Across the four courses, these were the products, their weights and prices.

• Salted caramel Baileys profiteroles – 216g (£2)
• 12 sausage and bacon wraps – 300g (£2.50)
• Aunt Bessie’s 600g of potatoes (£1.50)
• Aunt Bessie’s – 500g parsnips (£2)
• Frozen Orchard turkey breast crown – 2kg net weight (£15)
• Young’s frozen prawns – 180g (£3)
• Gorse Hill carrots – 750g (£1)
• Brussels sprouts 1kg (£1)
• Bisto gravy granules – 180g (£1)
• Paxo stuffing balls – 170g (£1)
• Jacobs festive selection crackers – 450g (£1.50)
• Cheese selection (£2.75)

Of course, you should always shop around for the best deals when looking at your Christmas lunch or dinner as you might find cheaper prices.

We checked the prices of some of the main ingredients that go into Poundland’s Christmas meal against some major high street supermarkets.

And Poundland came out on top for value for money.

We couldn’t compare all the products as some retailers didn’t stock them.

Plus, some didn’t stock the exact same size or brand but we found a similar brand or size.

All in all, we compared the prices of the following products:

• 12 pigs in blankets
• Aunt Bessie’s potatoes
• Aunt Bessie’s parsnips
• 2kg turkey (some sizes were different but we worked the prices out based on weight per kilo)
• Carrots
• Brussel sprouts
• Bisto gravy granules
• Paxo turkey and bacon stuffing balls
• Jacobs festive selection crackers
• Cheese selection

Poundland’s basket is £33.25, while next cheapest is Sainsbury’s at £35.

Then it’s Asda at £37.90, Morrisons at £40 and then Tesco at £43.35.

How did it taste?

Starter

The three-course meal is split into a starter, main and pudding.

For starter, I had the Young’s frozen prawns.

Of course, you’ll probably want to turn them into a prawn cocktail, but those ingredients aren’t included in the £5 per head offer.

If they’re fully defrosted they only take around two to three minutes to cook but you can cook them from frozen too.

The one drawback to them is they came out a bit watery, but were packed full of flavour.

Rating: 4/5

Main meal

The main meal features pigs in blankets, Brussels sprouts, Aunt Bessie potatoes and parsnips, Paxo turkey and bacon stuffing, carrots, gravy and of course the turkey crown.

The turkey was supposed to take 1 hour and 40 minutes to cook from defrosted, but I didn’t realise and had to cook it from frozen.

Even still, it only took around 2 hours and 10 minutes to cook. The veggies took around 40 minutes, the pigs in blanket 45 minutes and the stuffing about 30 minutes.

It was the first time I’ve cooked a roast, so I played it simple with the spices and stuck with just salt and pepper on the meat and veggies.

In terms of flavour, the bacon on the pigs in blanket crisped up nicely, but the sausage meat wasn’t the best quality.

The Brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes and parsnips all cooked nicely and tasted good.

The parsnips were a standout. But at £2 for a 500g bag, I’d still probably go to Lidl, Sainsbury’s or Aldi who are either currently selling the same size bag for 19p or are due to by December 18.

The centrepiece itself, the turkey, was a bit dry, although the skin crisped up nicely, plus the gravy and stuffing were tasty.

Rating: 3/5

Pudding

Pudding was the salted caramel Baileys profiteroles, which come in a pack of 12.

They’ll cost you £2 at Poundland, but you can get them for £1.50 at Tesco if you’re a Tesco Clubcard member.

As a fan of pudding, these were a highlight for me. And anyone that likes Baileys will be keen on them too.

Rating: 4/5

Cheeseboard

The cheeseboard came with cheddar, red Leicester, double Gloucester with spring onion and chive and Wensleydale with cranberry flavours.

I’m not a fan of cheese with fruit in it so wasn’t too keen on the Wensleydale with cranberry.

But the double Gloucester with spring onion and chive and cheddar were creamy and tasty.

The Jacobs cracker box came with seven varieties too, so you’re gotten plenty to choose from.

At £2.50 it’s pretty good value for money too.

Asda is selling a 12-pack of cheese bites for £3.50, while Morrisons is selling one for £3.69.

Rating: 3/5