Best Christmas sandwiches of 2023 taste tested: [BRAND], [BRAND] and more

ver at ES Best, there’s nothing that ruins our working day more than a bad lunch.

We look forward to it from breakfast and will be thinking about it all the way til dinner – so it must live up to expectations with the perfect balance of hunger-soothing carbs and tastebud-tickling fillings. With the tail end of the year here, it’s time for our annual inspection of the Yuletide lunch champion: the festive Christmas sarnie!

This is a time when our favourite eateries go all out with their offerings where that first turkey sarn signifies the start of the celebrations and only top-notch midday meals can follow. There’s no need to settle for a terrible supermarket sandwich, especially in the lead-up to the festive season.

Each year, the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose improve their selections, while everyone’s favourite office spots from Pret to Nando’s create mouth-wateringly delicious combinations that bring joy to the darker winter months. Best of all, if you have any dietary needs – be it a plant-based diet or you’re gluten-free, you need not miss out on the festive bread buffet. There are vegan alternatives and wheat-free wraps to suit all preferences – and they’re good (promise).

But which one is top of the tree, and which sarnie would be improved with a lump of coal as the filling instead? St Nick and his elves are busy, so we’ve taken on the huge task of sampling the selection of this year’s Christmas-themed sandwiches on your behalf. From classic pigs-in-blankets to hunks of bread slathered with brie and cranberry jam, the ES Best team is tucking into them all to give you our honest review.

See our reviews below and keep checking back as new menu items are revealed.

Waitrose Salt Beet and Emmental

Waitrose

Rating: 7/10

If you like beetroot, you’ll like this sandwich. It’s as simple as that as this option is incredibly beetroot-heavy. It’s a lightweight lunch with a distinctly tangy pickled taste, which went down well with some members of the team but won’t be for everyone.

While delicious, this vegetarian sandwich could’ve done with an extra layer of the Emmental cheese. Doubling down on this would have given it a more diverse flavour as it was basically non-existent. Overall, it was one of our favourites in the Waitrose selection.

Waitrose Turkey & Stuffing

Rating: 8.5/10

Even if you’re not a turkey or cold poultry fan, you will find this sandwich seriously tasty. An absolutely delicious sandwich that is exactly like a Christmas lunch, in the best possible way. Most of us make a beeline straight to the stuffing by the time Christmas family meals roll around, and this sandwich combines all the best elements – turkey, the bacon which comforts those little pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce and – of course – scrumptious stuffing.

Plus, there’s an added element of crunch in the form of fresh green spinach. We’ll be grabbing this sandwich daily once it’s available. It was one of the heavier and the messiest of the lot, so would also be ideal for post-Christmas party hangovers.

Waitrose Ham And Festive Slaw Sandwich

Waitrose

Rating: 5/10

While this sandwich may not look the most appetising on first appearance, we chose to feature it as it’s something a little different on the typical line-up of festive feasting. We were surprised by the orange marmalade sweetness as well as thicker chunks of slaw that made it a dynamic eat. The ham taste, despite the many layers, was lacking but this is not necessarily a bad thing as the veggies were the star of the show. The seeded bread was the true star.

Waitrose Pigs in Blankets

Rating: 8/10

There’s quite simply nothing better than a posh sausage sandwich, and this Christmas edition from Waitrose absolutely takes the biscuit. Slightly spiced sausages are tempered by sweet cranberry sauce and a bit of crunch in this mouth-wateringly Christmassy combo.

It was a close call between the turkey and Pigs in Blankets sandwiches. They tasted very similar, but the turkey was more filling. This option is the least likely to crumble in public, plus the fine layers of bacon and tempting presentation make it a win-win for meat-eaters.

Waitrose Vegan Bubble And Squeak Sandwich

Waitrose

Rating: 6/10

For those following a vegan diet, finding an interesting sandwich to fill the lunchtime void is not easy, but that’s where this option comes in. There is a lot of taste going on and boring it is not. Honourable mention goes to the seeded bread but that’s just where the good stuff begins. Duck fat that typically stars in Bubble and Speak is of course not featured, but the other classic ingredients remain; potatoes, cabbage and swede with the addition of butternut squash and cranberry sauce.

M&S Turkey Toastie with Turkey Gravy Dipper

Rating: 9/10

The full M&S Christmas sandwich offering doesn’t hit the supermarket shelves till November but in the meantime, we got a taste for a sandwich that will be in the in-store cafes and it’s good. Really good.

Shredded turkey is set alongside shredded ham hock with sage onion stuffing and a slice of Emmental cheese. The cranberry ketchup gives it extra flavour, as does the gravy dipper that is served on the side – a moist maker if you will. It is served warm with the cheese oozing and trust us, you’ll keep going back for more.

Source link