Our Favourite Thing About Christmas Dinner Is . . .


Shutterstock / Yuganov Konstantin © christmas dinner

The roast potato is the UK’s favourite element of a “traditional” Christmas dinner, according to new national research.

The study, carried out by Foodhub, one of the UK’s leading food order apps, revealed that roast potatoes are the UK’s favourite part of Christmas dinner, racking up a whopping 57% of the vote.

But, if you live in Kent, it is likely that you’ll eat far more pigs in blankets over the Christmas period than anything else. On average more than 20 will be consumed during the Christmas period from Christmas Day to New Year’s Eve.

It is the opposite story in East Anglia where people eat the least pigs in blankets during a typical Christmas break. In fact, a quarter of people in the area, including the “turkey capital” of Norwich, don’t eat a single pig in blanket over the festive season.

Turkey is without a doubt the UK’s number one Christmas meat

Pigs in blankets might be big in Kent but they only managed third most popular item on the Christmas dinner plate after roast potatoes and turkey.

Turkey is without a doubt the UK’s number one Christmas meat, but there are increasingly more options out there.

The Scots and those living in the North East are the most likely to eat beef on the big day – almost a third opting for a beefier Christmas dinner in those two locations.

Almost a third (31%) of those in Northern Ireland enjoy gammon or ham as their main meat.

Elsewhere, 12% of Londoners delight in duck.

And, hard as it might be to comprehend, stuffing is the fourth most popular item (25%) of the festive feast, topping gravy and Yorkshire pudding, which polled as joint fifth most popular elements (21%).

There are many who don’t eat meat at all on Christmas Day, of course.

And if you live in Wales you are among the most likely in the UK to be eating a vegan Christmas dinner this December 25th – 15% of Welsh people will be going vegan in 2021.

You are most likely tuck into stuffing in the South West of England (31%) than anywhere else in the UK this year.

But, surprising as it may be, for many Brits Christmas dinner is the worst, however it is served – 5% of the nation confesses it hates the traditional annual feast and refuses to eat it.

What are you looking forward to getting your fork into on December 25 this year?

The UK’s favourite Christmas dinner ingredients

  1. roast potatoes (57%)
  2. turkey (39%)
  3. pigs in blankets (35%)
  4. stuffing (25%)
  5. gravy (21%)
  6. Yorkshire pudding (21%)
  7. sprouts (18%)
  8. parsnips (14%)
  9. cranberry sauce (8%)
  10. carrots (5%)

Click here to take a look at some delicious recipes from “The People’s Friend”. You may even by a new choice for Christmas dinner!

Iain McDonald

Iain is Digital Content Editor at the "Friend", making him responsible for managing flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine's website and social media channels.