With the festive season fast approaching, the annual scramble for the perfect Christmas dinner is well underway. While the traditional turkey remains a staple for many UK households, a growing number of people seek meat-free alternatives for their holiday table. However, a recent investigation into the current state of supermarket vegetarian Christmas offerings has revealed a disappointing and dramatic decline in both choice and quality.
The Shrinking World of Festive Veggie Options
Journalist Nicola Roy, a former vegetarian, embarked on a mission to sample the plant-based Christmas fare from four major budget supermarkets: Aldi, Lidl, Asda, and Morrisons. The experiment, conducted in early December 2025, was prompted by a personal dislike of turkey and curiosity about the modern vegetarian festive range. The findings were stark. Roy discovered that the selection of dedicated vegetarian Christmas dishes has drastically reduced compared to previous years, with two of the four stores offering only a single option.
This scarcity mirrors a broader trend noted by the Express, where the initial boom in plant-based eating has cooled. Factors include increased public awareness of ultra-processed foods, a category many vegan meat substitutes fall into. As demand has shifted, supermarkets appear to have scaled back their ranges, leaving vegetarians with fewer, and often poorer, choices for their celebratory meal.
A Supermarket Taste Test: From Bad to Worse
The taste test yielded overwhelmingly negative results, with three of the four products deemed not worth buying. The reviewer's experience suggests that the quality of available options could be a reason some are moving away from vegan diets.
Lidl's Vegan Turkey & Cranberry Wellington: The Least Offensive
Priced at £4.99 for a pack of two, Lidl's frozen offering required 40 minutes in the oven. It emerged golden and visually appealing, reminiscent of a Greggs pastry. The 'turkey' element was a soya protein akin to a sausage roll filling. While the cranberry centre was a downside for the reviewer (who scraped it out), this was the only product that received a semi-positive review, being described as "quite good" and something they wouldn't mind on Christmas Day.
Aldi's Brie, Onion & Potato Pie: A Textural Disaster
Aldi's contribution sounded promising on paper but failed spectacularly in execution. The £2.49 pack of two small pies looked puffy and golden after cooking. However, the first bite revealed rock-hard, undercooked chunks of potato. Combined with an overly rich brie and a caramelised onion filling too similar to cranberry for the tester's taste, this product was a significant let-down.
Asda's Mushroom Wellington: Dense and Flavourless
Despite Asda's usually impressive vegan range, its festive offering was limited to one choice: a mushroom wellington. The most expensive option at £5.64, it needed around 50 minutes to cook. Alarmingly, liquid pooled in the tray during cooking. The finished product was incredibly dense, with finely diced mushrooms that lost their texture. The puff pastry lacked flakiness and the overall dish was criticised for being bland, though the reviewer conceded it might be salvageable with ample gravy and vegetables.
Morrisons Vegan 'Roast': A Plate of Slop
The worst offender by far was the only vegetarian festive option at Morrisons. This frozen £2.99 'roast', containing brown rice, mushrooms, chestnuts, and sunflower seeds, took 40 minutes to cook but emerged looking unchanged and unappetising. The reviewer did not mince words, describing it as "slop" with no structural integrity. A single bite was enough before it was thrown away, deemed utterly inedible and a complete waste of money.
Conclusion: A Festive Feast Failure for Vegetarians?
This supermarket sweep paints a bleak picture for vegetarians planning their Christmas dinner in 2025. The combination of severely limited choices and subpar, sometimes inedible, products suggests supermarkets may be neglecting this market segment. While Lidl's wellington offered a glimmer of hope, the overall standard was poor. For those seeking a satisfying meat-free centrepiece this Christmas, the message from this taste test is clear: shopper beware, as you might be better off crafting your own festive dish from scratch than relying on these disappointing supermarket offerings.
