O crumb all ye faithful
Get your teeth into our festive sandwich ratings
CHRISTMAS is fast approaching, which means it could be time to swap your boring ham and cheese sandwich for something a little more festive.
The fridges at our favourite supermarkets and high street coffee shops are filled with Christmas sandwich offerings, with more choices than ever before.
We have taste-tested a selection of this year’s more unusual festive options to see which ones you should try and which you can probably skip. It’s a tough job, but someone has gotta do it...
Pret a Manger Boxing Day Toastie, £5.50
Cheddar cheese, pulled ham, turkey and herby pork stuffing, and a dollop of caramelised onion chutney and sage mayo, all toasted.
Look - 7/10
Taste - 7/10
Festive factor - 7/10
A solid option if you’re in the mood for a winter warmer. Filled with a hefty amount of meat and cheese. It was a bit dry and it could do with some sauce.
Costa Turkey and the Trimmings Toastie, £5.60
Cheese-topped toastie with turkey, maplecured bacon, sage and onion stuffing, and tangy cranberry sauce.
Look - 9/10
Taste - 7/10
Festive factor - 7/10
As a cheese lover, this toastie looks like heaven in sandwich form. It’s a carby pillow of cheese. The fillings inside are pretty lost as the whole taste is overwhelmed by the cheese topping, making it essentially an epic cheese toastie.
Greggs Pigs Under Blankets Baguette, £3.50
Pork sausages with smoked sweetcure bacon topped with pork, onion and sage stuffing, and cranberry and port sauce in a crusty white baguette.
Look - 5/10
Taste - 4/10
Festive factor - 6/10
A good amount of filling inside this festive offering, with hearty amounts of sausage, stuffing and cranberry sauce. However, the bread it was housed in was far too dry.
Tesco Finest Smoked Turkey and Truffle Club, £3.35
Smoked British turkey breast with a rich truffle mayonnaise, crunchy pickled red slaw, cheddar cheese, tangy cranberry sauce and lettuce in a toasted cranberry and oatmeal bread.
Look - 7/10
Taste - 8/10
Festive factor - 6/10
For me, the bread is really what made this sandwich. Delicious, thick and toasted, and three layers too! The truffle wasn’t too strong and perfectly complemented the turkey – and the red slaw was a lovely final fresh touch.
Marks & Spencer Christmas Club Toastie, £4.50
12 layers of filling, with slices of toasted oatmeal bread, roast British chicken, maple bacon, tangy cranberry chutney, stuffing, spinach, spiced pickled red cabbage and M&S signature gravy mayo.
Look - 9/10
Taste - 10/10
Festive factor - 8/10
I absolutely loved this. There’s a lot of bread, but it hadn’t dried out or gone too soggy, and a lot of filling, all in nice, neat layers and all the ingredients complimented each other.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Ultimate Christmas Dinner Feast Roll, £4.50
Seasoned and sweetened roasted carrot and parsnip, ham hock, gravy mayonnaise, apple and apricot chutney with orange juice and champagne, smoked turkey, cranberries and spinach in a white roll with gravy granules.
Look - 3/10
Taste - 3/10
Festive factor - 6/10
There’s a lot going on here but surprisingly the strongest flavours were the orange juice
ALDI Specially Selected Butter-basted Turkey and Pigs Under Blankets Bloomer, £2.50
Butter-basted cooked turkey breast with cooked Lincolnshire pork sausage, pork, chestnut and thyme stuffing, cranberry and port sauce, beechwood smoked streaky bacon with sage and onion mayonnaise, fried onions, and parsley on malted bloomer bread.
Look - 9/10
Taste - 7.5/10
Festive factor - 8/10
The malted bloomer bread is nice and thick and fluffy, there’s a good amount of it but it doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the sandwich. I’d happily buy this one again – great value! and champagne in the chutney. It literally tastes like a mimosa. It’s certainly festive, but it’s a bit weird for a lunchtime treat.
Asda Festive Feast Wrap, £3.00
Tortilla wrap with turkey breast, pork sausage in beet casing, mayonnaise, cranberry and port sauce, beechwood smoked bacon, pork, sage, and onion stuffing, spinach, chicken stock paste, and fried onions.
Look - 6/10
Taste - 1/10
Festive factor - 6/10
This looked great, it comes as a triple so you know you’ve got loads to eat and each wrap is bursting with filling and good sized pieces
Starbucks Tis the Season Turkey Sandwich, £4.95
Sliced turkey breast, beechwood smoked bacon, sage and onion stuffing with cranberry sauce on malted bread.
Look- 9/10
Taste - 8/10
Festive factor - 8/10
This does have a proper ”roast dinner” taste to it. Lots of turkey inside and I’m a big fan of the thick fluffy bread.
of meat. However, it’s very acidic from the first bite.
Co-Op Boxing Day Feast Sandwich, £3.25
Cooked oak and beechwood smoked turkey and oak smoked formed ham with red cabbage coleslaw and spiced fruit chutney
Morrisons Festive Cheeseboard Sandwich, £2.75
Topped with Wensleydale cheese, balsamic onion chutney, mature cheddar cheese, seasoned mayonnaise, spinach and Blacksticks blue cheese on malted bread. Look - 7/10
Taste - 6/10
Festive factor - 8/10
The first bite was very enjoyable with the three different cheeses and spinach but I’m not a big fan of blue cheese. However, if you are, this could be the one for you. on fibre enriched white bread.
Look - 4/10
Taste - 3/10
Festive factor - 4/10
This tastes cheap, it’s heavy on the coleslaw, especially the mayo. It’s essentially a mayonnaise sandwich, with a little bit of meat inside.
Waitrose Turkey, Stuffing and Bacon Sandwich, £4.00
Turkey breast, pork and chestnut stuffing, turkey stock mayo, cranberry and redcurrant chutney, and smoked bacon in sliced malted bread.
Look - 7/10
Taste - 4/10
Festive factor - 8/10
The cranberry sauce was too overpowering. I could barely taste the other fillings, which is a shame as the Turkey was moist and really tasty.