He’s making a list and he’s checking it twice... Santa Claus might not be the only one making lists this Christmas! Have you made a list of things you’ll need for your Christmas meal but are scared you’ve left something out? Or are you simply stuck for Christmas dinner ideas? Don’t fret as Aunt Bessie’s is
coming to the rescue.

That’s right - what if we told you that you don’t need to prepare everything from scratch this Christmas? What if you could just pull your parsnips out of a frozen bag and let them do their thing in the oven? Well, guess what - you can!

The days when you’d panic over whether the Yorkshire puddings had the right consistency or not are officially over. Aunt Bessie’s has got frozen options for your traditional Christmas dinner staples!

Let’s have a look at how to prepare an easy Christmas dinner, swapping some of your staples for products from frozen, while still maintaining all the yumminess:

1. Christmas dinner preparation

First things first, make sure that you have everything you could possibly need ahead of the big day! Most shops are closed on Christmas day so if you forget the gravy, you might be stuck with some really dry turkey...

These are some of the most typical items you’ll want to make sure to have in your fridge/freezer:

1. Turkey/duck/chicken
2. Pigs in blankets
3. Toad in a hole
4. Stuffing
5. Parsnips
6. Broccoli
7. Cauliflower Cheese
8. Carrot and Swede Mash
9. Roast potatoes
10. Gravy
11. Cranberry sauce
12. Bread sauce
13. Yorkshire Puddings
14. Mince pies
15. Custard
16. Toffee pudding/apple crumble

Don’t forget that you can also buy all of Aunt Bessie’s items online as well, for example Ocado offers a wide range of our products which you can order to be delivered to your door in no time.

2. How to cook vegetables for Christmas Dinner

While you might have to get a fresh turkey, duck, or chicken (depending on what tickles your fancy), with Aunt Bessie’s you can pretty much get away with preparing the whole meal from frozen. If you’re nervous about timings, you can start by preparing the vegetables the day before to then just reheat them on the day. You can check out our extensive guides on how to cook the perfect Christmas roast potatoes and the crunchiest parsnips.

They might not be the most traditional, but Aunt Bessie’s Broccoli in a Lemon and Black Pepper Sauce are the perfect alternative to Brussel sprouts. You can easily microwave them in less than 10 minutes, and this will save you some oven space to cook the rest of your Christmas food. 

Why not add some Carrot and Swede Mash to your vegetables as well? Simply empty the pack into a non-stick saucepan and stir over a moderate heat for 8 minutes. If you’re expecting a horde of hungry guests and want to go the extra mile, we’d recommend microwaving some Cauliflower Cheese too.

3. Cooking Xmas turkey and meat

The golden rule is that when cooking the turkey, you should calculate 20 minutes for each kg plus 90 minutes. Which means that for a medium size turkey it might take at least 3 hours to cook, so you want to start cooking it with plenty of time to spare. Luckily not all the meat takes so long to cook - pigs in blankets should roughly take 30-35 minutes in the oven but who said that they are the only sides allowed at Christmas?! Check out our Toad in the hole instead – we also have a meat-free option – simply cook them for 25 to 30 minutes in the oven.

4. Christmas dinner sides

Now onto the most important things: Christmas stuffing and Yorkshire puddings. On the day, place our Sage and Onion Stuffing Balls in the oven for 25 minutes and follow our in-depth instructions for the crispiest Yorkshire puddings out there.

5. Christmas dessert ideas

And now for the grand finale – don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about dessert! Yes, Christmas puddings and mince pies are good - but why don’t you switch it up this time? We have a wide, delicious array of sweet treats which are guaranteed to be a success among your guests: from Toffee Pudding to Apple Crumble, back to pongeS emonL. 

You can easily put those in the oven after clearing the table from the main meal as they only take about 30 minutes to warm up in the oven. 

There you go! Finally, an easy Christmas dinner that will wow your guests and keep you cool as a cucumber on the day itself. No more last-minute runs to the shop because you forgot the custard! If you are still looking for inspiration, check out our guide on how to make the best roasted belly pork which could be a good alternative to cooking the turkey on the day. Don’t forget - you can shop our products in all the major retailers from ASDA to Waitrose either in shop or online.