Iceland’s Christmas Dinner For 4 in a box(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Cooking Christmas dinner can be challenging at the best of times and when you’re the one forking out for the food, it can feel even more of a struggle.
So it’s hardly surprising that Iceland’s £25 Christmas Dinner for 4 is getting quite some attention. First launched by the frozen food retailer last year, it includes everything you need for a full festive roast.
Packed inside one sturdy box you’ll find an 800g turkey breast joint along with beef dripping roast potatoes, maple glazed Chantenay carrots, stuffing balls, sprouts and bacon, parsnips, pigs in blankets and turkey gravy.
The contents of the box(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Unlike last year, when you had to keep the box to see all the cooking instructions in one place, they’re now on a handy sheet that comes inside it.
From frozen, you can get it all cooked in just over two hours, or if you want to defrost the turkey first, you can bring it down to an hour and 10 minutes.
It can all be cooked in the oven, or you can choose to pan fry the carrots and sprouts, and you can use an air fryer for the pigs in blankets and stuffing balls too.
Iceland’s Christmas dinner(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
It’s a bit of a faff having different temperatures, but with them ranging from 180 degrees to 200 degrees, I went with 190 in our convection oven and it was all fine. I just gave the turkey and parsnips a few minutes on our air fryer’s roast setting to give them some extra crispiness.
Overall it was pretty simple to put together, especially when you compare the time it takes to prep and cook everything from fresh. And there was more than enough for the four of us, even without the Yorkshire puddings we decided to add.
Of course it looks lovely on the box, it would wouldn’t it, but what about in real life? Well I was actually very impressed with how it turned out overall. And, minus the sprouts, even the kids cleared their plates.
It makes a tasty roast (Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Roast potatoes done from scratch are always going to be nicer than frozen ones, but these are an ideal cheat if you’re wanting an easier option. A decent size, they’re fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside and the beef dripping gives a really tasty flavour, especially if you add a bit of salt.
And there’s plenty more flavour too, with the maple glaze carrots and the buttery sprouts – not forgetting some rather delicious turkey gravy – bringing something extra to the table.
If you’re looking to keep costs down this Christmas, but wanting to keep things cheap and simple, with this £25 meal in a box, you really can’t go wrong.