Christmas Day is nearly here, and the panic to secure all things Christmas food and drink has commenced. If you’re still missing the mince pies, or yet to finalise your mulled wine selection, now’s the time to do it. Unfortunately, at-home delivery slots are now full for most major supermarkets, but all hope isn’t lost. Typically, supermarkets like Waitrose and M&S increase their stock intake at busy times like this, so you can rest easy knowing there’s plenty of top tier Christmas food still available in-store. You’ll just need to set your alarms for stores to open to ensure the best selection, especially if you’re hoping to snag a turkey.
Turkey – or a meat-free alternative – is undoubtedly the star of any festive spread. The tradition of a deliciously roasted turkey on Christmas Day is rooted in the 16th Century, when the New World bird was first brought to UK shores. The famously gluttonous king, Henry VIII, was among the first to eat it for Christmas. In fact, it wasn’t until the 19th Century when the rest of the population began to feast on turkey, owing to its more widespread affordability and availability.
Nowadays, most households will be putting a turkey, turkey crown, turkey joint or vegetarian substitute into their ovens on 25 December. Thankfully, modern selections are plentiful, with plenty of home cooks even opting for a three bird roast (usually a trio of turkey, duck/goose and pheasant) to wow guests. Saving you an eleventh hour dash to the shops on Christmas Eve, most supermarkets will begin stocking fresh turkeys in all their varieties from 19 December, alongside all the usual sides, desserts, champagne and more.
If previous years are anything to go by, these turkeys won’t hang about – so we’d recommend scouting out your local store pronto. The good news? Most stock from 19 December onwards will be dated for 25 December, just make sure to double check the sell-by. Whether you’re drooling at the Sainsburys ‘no turkey’ turkey crown or eyeing up Asda’s ‘turkey with all the trimmings’ box, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide to shopping for your supermarket turkey this Christmas.
Sainsbury’s Christmas turkeys 2025
Christmas Eve opening hours: 6am to 7pm (Express stores 7am to 10pm)
Sainsburys is always one to watch for the best Christmas food, and there’s a huge range of turkeys for 2025, including an organic option (£34.85, Sainsburys.co.uk), and a meat-free ‘no turkey crown’ (£6.00, Sainsburys.co.uk). Choose from a turkey crown with bacon and stuffing (£48, Sainsburys.co.uk), a bronze whole turkey (£45, Sainsburys.co.uk) or individual turkey parcels (£20, Sainsburys.co.uk). Taking the hassle out of cooking your festive feast, the Christmas dinner in a box (£50, Sainsburys.co.uk) comes with trimmings – including Maris Piper potatoes and even your gravy.
Waitrose Christmas turkeys 2025
Christmas Eve opening hours: Stores are open but you will need to check the opening hours of your local store
Waitrose was one of the first to unveil its Christmas menu – and it doesn’t disappoint. When it comes to your centerpiece, choose between a plant-based roast turkey complete with all the trimmings (£16, Waitrose.com) or a “turkey bauble” (£50, Waitrose.com) – turkey breast wrapped in dry-cured Beachwood smoked bacon, with stuffing inside and a cranberry and orange glaze. Other tempting options include a butter basted turkey breast in a smoked bacon lattice (£45, Waitrose.com) and the free ranged stuffed turkey breast joint (£45, Waitrose.com).
All of these are now sold out online for slot deliveries, but Waitrose is set to launch in-store Christmas turkeys from 19 December.
M&S Christmas turkeys 2025
Christmas Eve opening hours: 6am to 7pm
M&S’s Christmas food range is always a highlight of the festive period (especially the sandwich range). There are more than 90 dishes to choose from this year, including a Tom Kerridge collaboration with a British turkey and stuffing Wellington (£110, Ocado.com), pork, sage and onion stuffed Oakham turkey breast, wrapped in oak smoked bacon (£28, Marksandspencer.com) and showstopper three bird turkey, chicken and duck roast (£62, Ocado.com).
Asda Christmas turkeys 2025
Christmas Eve opening hours: 5am to 7pm
Asda’s Christmas range has officially landed and some of it is already available to shop in Asda stores. Highlights among the 20-strong list of centerpieces include a ‘turkey with all the trimmings’ box (£37.97, Asda.com), which includes everything you need for a Christmas dinner – think roast potatoes, honey glazed parsnips and carrots, buttered sprouts, red cabbage, pigs in blankets and turkey gravy.
Tesco’s Christmas turkeys 2025
Christmas Eve opening hours: 6am to 7pm (Express stores 7am to 10pm)
The turkeys in Tesco’s festive food to order range are no longer available to pre-order online, but there should be a wide range of offerings in-store (if you’re quick enough to get to them before the Christmas Eve rush). If you’re serving six, you could add the pork, sage and onion stuffed turkey breast joint (£20, Tesco.com) to your shopping basket, or for something a little more extravagant, the Tesco Finest slow cooked two bird roast with a pork and plum stuffing (£40, Tesco.com), which serves four, looks to be a sure-fire crowd pleaser.
Aldi’s Christmas turkeys 2025
Christmas Eve opening hours: 7am to 6pm
The budget supermarket is offering a range of turkeys in its stores, including a slow cooked bacon topped and stuffed turkey breast joint (£18.49, Aldi.co.uk), which serves six and comes with a packet of gravy. The range also includes a basted turkey crown for less than £4 (Aldi.co.uk) and a turkey breast joint that serves three, for just less than £7 (£6.99, Aldi.co.uk).
Morrison’s Christmas turkeys 2025
Christmas Eve opening hours: Opening hours vary but the vast majority will be open between 6am-6pm
In Morrisons stores, there should be turkey options to suit every festive feast, including frozen, stuffed and free range options. If you’re feeding a lot of guests, consider the frozen extra large turkey crown (was £28, now £25.20, Morrisons.com), as it serves up to 14 people. There’s also a free range bronze turkey breast joint with pork, chestnut and cranberry stuffing (£25, Morrisons.com) from the supermarket’s The Best range, which serves six people, and for those who want a little extra, its bacon-wrapped turkey serves up to eight people (£30, Morrisons.com).
From pigs in blankets to desserts, we’ve rounded up the best supermarket Christmas food 2025
