What to buy in Marks and Spencer for your Christmas food shop
Wondering what to buy from M&S for Christmas? We’ve shopped the festive food collection, and these are the items we’re gobbling up.
Wondering what to buy from M&S for Christmas? We’ve shopped the festive food collection, and these are the items we’re gobbling up.
My favourite thing about Christmas? No, it isn’t the presents, the parties or even the adverts – it’s the food.
For example, I’ve been happily working my way through pre-packed turkey-and-stuffing sandwiches for weeks, and fully intend to keep going until January. So, when supermarkets begin rolling out their festive fare in mid-November, it’s no surprise that little else finds its way into my trolley.
Following on from our What to Buy in Aldi This Christmas haul, we’ve now headed to one of the nation’s favourite food halls to see which treats truly tickle the taste buds.
M&S has long been known for its strong and wide-ranging Christmas selection, but with the competition fiercer than ever, how does its 2025 line-up fare?
Happily, first impressions of the Marks and Spencer food hall are excellent. While I couldn’t sample absolutely everything – some items weren’t yet available at the time of writing – I can give you a solid flavour of what’s worth picking up.
From the all-important Christmas roast to party canapés and indulgent sweet treats, this lot will stand you in good stead whether you’re feeding a crowd or simply spoiling yourself.
M&S has launched its full party food range in plenty of time for Christmas. As most items are freezable, you can stock up now, making storing and budgeting that bit easier.
And at present, everything mentioned is available on a '4 for 3' offer, so you can make a bit of a saving, too.
I’ll start with an established favourite: the M&S Collection 12 Brie & Cranberry Tartlets. These gooey, tangy treats are light and incredibly moreish. They’ve been part of the range for a few years now – so much so that, as I picked up a box, the customer standing next to me told me she never has Christmas without them. High praise indeed.
I also loved the M&S Collection 12 Mini Pies. Six are filled with British steak and pale ale gravy, and the other six contain chicken, leek and bacon. They’re super-flaky, so you’ll need to be a little careful popping them onto a baking tray, but they’re delicious. I found the beef version particularly unctuous – as were the M&S Collection 10 Mini Pulled Beef En Croute, which I found lovely and rich.
And I’d highly recommend the M&S Collection 10 Caledonian Gold Hot Smoked Salmon Rosti, too. They’d make a great Christmas morning canapé, served with a bucks fizz or a sensible orange juice.
There was a hands-down winner in this category for me and my hubby – the newly launched 8 Mini Turkey Feast Toasties. We couldn’t get enough of these little bites, which pack in turkey, ham hock, stuffing, cranberry chutney, Emmental and Cheddar cheeses, and a béchamel sauce, all sandwiched between toasted malted bread.
We polished off a whole box in an evening. We’ve already bought two more boxes for the freezer, as we won’t want to miss out.
We also picked up Our Best Ever 4 Prawn Toasts and the M&S Collection 10 Chicken Tikka Masala Naans, both of which were a nice change of pace, easy to eat and delicious.
M&S always has some talking points on its canapé menu, and this year is no exception. We found the new M&S Collection 8 Paella Bites ingenious – they taste just like a mouthful of paella, aren’t at all fiddly to eat and cook in less than two minutes in the microwave. My hubby was less sure, as they are quite fishy, but if we all loved the same thing, life would be dull, no?
A couple more options here – the M&S Collection 8 Snowman Bao Buns are a super-fun vegan treat that will brighten up your buffet. Filled with Pad Thai veg and noodles, we’d recommend serving them with a sweet chilli or hoisin dip. And the Hash Brown Topple Tower is back – and as tasty as ever.
Many of M&S’s main meat options are only just coming into stores now, and highlights such as the M&S Collection British Turkey & Stuffing Wellington by Tom Kerridge are exclusive to the M&S Food to Order service.
But we were able to try the conveniently frozen British Oakham Turkey Breast Joint, which comes in a variety of portion sizes. We found the 'serves 2-3' size ideal for two. Moist and tasty thanks to its turkey-stock basting and rosemary garnish, I’d definitely recommend this if you are planning a low-key Christmas but don’t want to miss out on turkey.
We’ll always recommend flavoursome M&S’s Oakham turkeys – particularly in 'crown on the bone' form, which makes them a lot less hassle but still delicious.
And to go with them, we’ll plump for the 14 Pigs In Blankets. Available in the 4-for-3 offer, they are simple, tasty and come double-wrapped in bacon.
There are a lot of mouth-watering options on the M&S Food to Order menu, much of which is already sold out. If you haven’t been quite so organised like me, there are a few standouts.
The first is the M&S Collection Outdoor Bred Slow Cooked Porchetta Boneless (serves 8) – a pork belly rolled in garlic, fennel, lemon and herbs, with a moreish crackling.
There’s also the M&S Collection Fillet of Beef, and the M&S Collection Free Range Whole Goose, which are still available to order.
The exclusive M&S Collection Fillet of British Beef Wellington by Tom Kerridge and M&S Collection British Turkey & Stuffing Wellington by Tom Kerridge have had a lot of press already, and word from M&S’s official Christmas food launch held earlier in the year is that the Turkey version is “a triumph”. It consists of a tender turkey slice with moist pork, apple, chestnut and cranberry stuffing, wrapped in rich pulled turkey thigh and buttery puff pastry.
It serves six people and is perhaps the ultimate main meal indulgence.
Meat-free doesn’t have to mean mediocre, at least where the M&S Christmas menu is concerned. In fact, a few of the options this year might steal the limelight from your turkey centrepiece.
Back by popular demand is the M&S Collection Butternut Squash, Brie & Caramelised Onion Wellington. A hit last year, it comes ready to bake on greaseproof paper and is strong with Brie.
My vote goes to the M&S Collection Mushroom, Barber’s Cheddar & Leek En Croute, topped with a salty miso crumb.
It serves two as a main, but would also make a lovely veggie option in smaller portions as a starter.
Plant-based turkeys are popping up all over the shops this festive season. But I’m particularly drawn to the M&S Plant Kitchen No Turkey Crown – made with wheat and pea protein, it comes with a chestnut, apple and caramelised onion stuffing, and is topped with a plant-based garlic and sage melt.
It looks just like turkey and costs £12 for a four-person serving, which makes it an incredibly tempting “main event” for vegans and non-vegans alike.
I’d say this is the best bit, but I’ll be honest, I think every course is a treat at Christmas. But if you can squeeze it in, these sweet options are worth finding room for.
For traditionalists, we have the M&S Collection 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, which serves four.
As you’ll know if you’ve read my Aldi Christmas food round up, I like to have a mince pie and custard in lieu of the richer Christmas pudding option. And you really can’t fault the M&S Collection 6 All Butter Mince Pies. Crumbly and perfectly spiced, they have won countless five-star reviews this year, including one from me!
Having tried the M&S Collection Chocolate Cherry Yule Roulade, I’m considering saving the mince pies for another day. This heady mix of Amarena cherries, dark chocolate, fluffy yet crisp meringue and whipped cherry semifreddo is the indulgent treat to beat in my book.
And I also want to point you in the direction of my sister-in-law’s favourite Creamy Tiramisu Brownies. In her words, they’re “the perfect balance of coffee and chocolate flavours”. She adds that the “mascarpone frosting cuts through the sweetness and gives them a creamy aftertaste”.
Hands down, this has to be the M&S Collection Lemon & Mascarpone Panettone Gateau. It combines all my favourite flavours and is a lighter alternative to traditional fruit cakes.
“This is the standout Christmas dessert of 2025 – absolutely delicious,” says food critic Harry Wallop, and we don’t disagree.
In our house, a post-dessert cheeseboard is the perfect excuse to linger at the table with one last glass of wine. And it never fails to amuse me that, no matter how “full” everyone claims to be, generous wedges of Brie, Stilton, Cheddar – and their accompanying biscuits – mysteriously vanish every time.
M&S has a lovely selection of cheese boards to take the hassle out of choosing individual wedges for your festive table. The headline pick is the British Cheeseboard Selection, which includes Farmhouse Red Leicester, Blacksticks Blue, Button Mill Brie, Cornish Cruncher extra mature Cheddar and Kidderton Ash goat’s cheese, with a chilli and piquillo pepper chutney.
We treated ourselves to a few jars of chutney and this was our favourite – not too sweet and definitely bringing a kick. We can also recommend the M&S Collection Festive Chutney, which brings a hit of winter with its cinnamon, orange and clove notes.
As I’m a bit fussy when it comes to cheese, I’ll be grabbing another lump of M&S Vintage Red Fox Red Leicester Cheese.
And, while it’s not cheese in the most traditional sense, we wanted to make mention of the delicious Chicken Kyiv Hot Melting Dip. It is packed with soft and hard Italian cheese, alongside succulent chicken with a crunchy parsley and garlic herb crumb. We’ve been enjoying it for lunch on crusty bread, and are planning to stock up for Christmas.
Once you’re tried it, you’ll be doing the same.
We’ve already sung the praises of the M&S Collection 12 Brie & Cranberry Tartlets, but if you can’t get enough of the stuff, we’ll point you in the direction of the M&S Collection Brie en Croute.
Expect to see this creamy whole Loire Valley brie wrapped in all-butter puff pastry and studded with rosemary and garlic on many a social media reel come Christmas.
We always like to keep a good stash of wines and champagnes on hand at Christmas – something bubbly for spontaneous toasts, a couple of full-bodied reds and some easy-drinking whites, so we’re always prepared for unexpected visitors or a cosy night in wrapping presents by the fire.
For us, it’s less about being fancy and more about being prepared – because we’re busy enough without panic dashing to the shops.
After a rather fun tasting evening, here’s what the hubby and I picked as our favourites.
We’ll start with champagne, and the pick of the bunch is the M&S Collection De Saint-Gall Champagne Brut, which comes in at under £30 and tastes delicious.
Highly commended is the M&S Delacourt Blanc de Blanc Vintage Champagne, which has already picked up a Good Housekeeping Institute award.
I’m a huge crémant fan – I find it just as tasty as champagne, and far less sugary sweet than prosecco. We tried the award-winning M&S Crémant de Bordeaux Blanc Brut – a steal at £10 – and found it a very quaffable fizz with a hint of toffee.
I can also recommend the M&S Classics Crémant de Bourgogne, which is a little lighter and again easy drinking, though the former remains my favourite.
A couple of mentions here. First, the totally addictive Chocolate and Cherry Flavour Irish Cream Liqueur. It comes in a gorgeous, giftable gold bottle, and if you’ve ever wondered what a liquidised Black Forest gâteau would taste like as a boozy aperitif, here’s your answer.
The surprise package for me was the range of M&S mulled wines. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed the rosé version – sweet, but a tasty take on classic orange, vanilla and mulled spice flavours. I preferred it chilled, but you can have it warm. It’s a little lighter than the standard red equivalent. Please do try it – trust me!
(Hero image credit: Amy Cutmore)
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