Jubilee Weekend is right around the corner and the likelihood of you hosting or being invited to a garden party is high, with a special extended bank holiday weekend marking the historic milestone of the Queen serving 70 years on the throne.
Thankfully, the celebrations between friends and family will also be marked with every supermarket offering budget value items to help start the party. Targeting some iconic favourites in the 'party food' category, I decided to find out which supermarket had the best value.
I chose three individual staple party food items to compare at each supermarket to see how far my money would get me.
Read more: I compared M&S Percy Pigs to supermarket own-brand varieties and I've got a new go-to
Sainsbury's
Frozen mini pizzas, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages: £6.55
Frozen items in the supermarket offered good budget value party food at a high quantity, although the processed products are not ones for a health-conscious garden party. For £6.55, I got 9 frozen mini pizzas, 50 pork cocktail sausages and 40 mini sausage rolls - a reasonably-valued and large selection.
The only downside with frozen goods is preparation time. The frozen pizzas require 12 minutes and sausage rolls 30 minutes in the oven, so the ease certainly isn't there.
In terms of quantity, for a handful of pounds you get a pretty substantial platter to offer guests, the sausage rolls are light and puffy to eat making you go back for more. The frozen mini pizzas are bursting with tomato and taste like you've made them yourself. Cocktail sausages are a must on any garden party menu and can even be enjoyed by any furry companions.
Rating: 3/5
Aldi
Frozen Pizza sub, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages - £3.73
The likes of mini pizzas and other party food options were lacking from Aldi's frozen goods section but refrigerated cheese, meats and pasties were in abundance. For £3.73, I got two frozen pizza subs, 10 sausage rolls and 50 pork cocktail sausages, a considerably smaller spread than Sainsbury's — but at less cost too.
The frozen pizza subs were the only item requiring preparation time (at 20 minutes in the oven) and you could reasonably cut each into three slices which would satisfy a small party. The sausage rolls were thick and perfect with some ketchup on the side, and cocktail sausages were as I expected: you can't fault them.
The pizza subs were arguably the biggest disappointment, not entirely enjoyable to eat and tasted of dough more than pizza — I will not be buying again.
Rating : 2/5
Lidl
Frozen garlic bread slices, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages - £3.26
Sadly, the local Lidl branch we visited only offered whole pizzas so we opted for another sharing item that could be used when hosting a party of some sort. For £3.26, we got 10 garlic bread slices, 8 sausage rolls and 40 pork cocktail sausages. The garlic bread was the easiest of the items needing cooking thus far, only requiring five minutes in the oven. They were, however, probably best kept on the shelf as there didn't seem to be much garlic involved.
The sausage rolls were the largest and best thus far and were incredibly good value. Cocktail sausages were again a welcome snack for the party.
Rating: 3/5
Morrisons
Pizza baguettes, sausage rolls, cocktail sausages - £2.94
Morrisons had an abundance of small pizzas, freshly cooked pastries and meats within the store, all worthy of a spot on the party spread. For £2.94, we got two pizza baguettes , eight pork sausage rolls and twenty pork cocktail sausages. The pizza baguettes were again the only item needing preparation: 20 minutes in the oven.
The pizza baguettes were poor value for money, with a distinct lack of tomato and cheese to go alongside the dough. Twenty cocktail sausages for £1.09 were by far the worst value for money when other supermarkets were cheaper and offered more. The sausage rolls and cocktail sausages weren't anything to praise - I expected better from the supermarket giant.
Rating: 1/5
