Pigs in blankets put to the taste test from…

Pigs in blankets put to the taste test from Sainsbury's, M&S, Aldi and more

It's a must-have addition to Christmas dinner for many of us - but which supermarket offers the best pigs in blankets?

With households more prepared to shop around to save some money amid the rising cost of living, it's often worth taking a look at the different festive food offerings out there to see where you can save some pennies. Of course, it's not just about finding the cheapest option - taste is all-important too, especially when it comes to Christmas dinner.

Luckily, the Manchester Evening News has tried out pigs in blankets from seven supermarkets - Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl - to see which ones emerge on top when it comes to price, appearance and flavour. While some failed to impress in the taste test, there was one clear winner - here's the full verdict.

Here are all the supermarkets that were put to the test, from cheapest to priciest per 100g for a dozen pigs in blankets:

Lidl: 89p per 100g (£1.99 per pack)
Aldi: 89p per 100g (£1.99 per pack)
Morrisons: £1.07 per 100g (£2.25 per pack)
Asda: £1.08 per 100g (£2.40 per pack)
Tesco: £1.09 per 100g (£2.50 per pack)
Sainsbury's: £1.15 per 100g (£3 per pack)
M&S: £1.50 per 100g (£4.25 per pack)

Some of the pigs in blankets looked better than others when cooked - but it all came down to the taste test (Manchester Evening News)

When it came to the most festive look, Sainsbury's and Morrisons came out on top for their Christmassy packaging while Tesco and M&S came bottom for their plainer appearance. Once they had been in the oven for 25 minutes, some looked more appealing than others - but most importantly, how did they perform on taste?

While Lidl 's offering looked promising with crispy bacon and well-coloured meat, they were found to be "quite grisly" in the taste test. Similarly, Aldi 's pigs in blankets were found to lack flavour while the bacon was "quite fatty" according to reporter Bethan Shufflebotham - meaning that both cheapest options unfortunately failed to pass the taste test.

Tesco's festive favourites fared better, but similarly didn't manage to impress as much as some of the other supermarkets due to their overly salty taste, while Morrisons also fell in the middle due to a lack of flavour. Meanwhile, Asda 's pigs in blankets were found to be "quite bratwurst-y" - meaning that Sainsbury's and M&S were left to battle it out for the crown.

While Marks & Spencer offered thicker sausages, this did mean that the bacon wrapped around them shrank in the oven and lost them some points when it came to the taste test. M&S still managed to bag the runner-up position - but as the cheaper option, Sainsbury's pigs in blankets ultimately won out when it came to both their rich taste and all-important value for money.

"For me, it was Sainsbury’s who brought home the bacon with a herby sausage that tasted like effort had been made to put these together," was Bethan's verdict. "They were richer than cheaper offerings, with the perfect bacon to sausage ratio."

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