Christmas: Lunch for under £5.50 per head

If you are feeling the financial pinch, you don't need to scrimp on Christmas lunch.

A few years ago team Delia took up the challenge to see if we could devise a menu for those cooking on a budget. After engaging in some intricate research, shopped, calculated, tested and cooked. The results were astonishing, even we could hardly believe it! Delia has always said cooking at home saves a load of money but it is quite astonishing how this really kicks in at Christmas.

So if you are someone in need of help we have some very good news for you, because you can serve a mouth watering sumptuous three-course Christmas lunch for 6 people (and are you really ready for this?) for under £5.50 a head! Some of the recipes are all shown below, and for more details, checklists and planning Click Here.

The Delia Online Cookery School: You can watch how to make perfect roast potatoes in our video. just click the image to play.

Prices correct as of December 2022

Absolutely Homemade Mince Pies

I will always cherish fond memories of my mother's and my grandmother's cooling trays piled high with fresh...

I will always cherish fond memories of my mother's and my grandmother's cooling trays piled high with freshly baked mince pies on Christmas Eve, ready to be packed int...

25 minutes - 30 minutes

to cook

A picture of Delia's Braised Turkey Drumsticks with Port, Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing, Bacon Rolls, with Cranberry Sauce and Roast Chestnuts recipe

Braised Turkey Drumsticks with Port and Chestnuts

Turkey drumsticks are huge and two of them are enough for six people. What makes this recipe so good is ...

Turkey drumsticks are huge and two of them are enough for six people. What makes this recipe so good is that the slow braising of the meat closest to the bone gives...

Mini Christmas Puddings for 6

These are made in moments and are cooked in less than an hour, are light-textured but have all the flavours...

These are made in moments and are cooked in less than an hour, are light-textured but have all the flavours of Christmas. You don't have to make them at the last mi...

45 minutes - 50 minutes

to cook

Perfect Roast Potatoes

The amounts here are not vital because it depends on who's greedy and who is on a diet and so on. I find...

The amounts here are not vital because it depends on who's greedy and who is on a diet and so on. I find that 8 oz (225 g) per person is enough – yielding three eac...

50 minutes - 1 hour

to cook

Roast Chestnuts

Chestnuts do not contain much oil and traditionally were ground to produce a form of flour which is still u...

Chestnuts do not contain much oil and traditionally were ground to produce a form of flour which is still used in some regions of Italy.The Delia Online Cookery School...

25 minutes

to cook

Sausagemeat Stuffing

The traditional stuffing for turkey, it can be made in advance ready for the big day. The Delia Online C...

The traditional stuffing for turkey, it can be made in advance ready for the big day. The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to chop onions in our video, press ...

Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake

This Christmas cake recipe was devised to make use of the excess vine fruits. And guess what? It’s ...

This Christmas cake recipe was devised to make use of the excess vine fruits. And guess what? It’s gorgeous

4 hours

to cook

Blinis with Smoked Salmon

These have been adapted from the Russian version, so there are no special ingredients needed. Potato mak...

These have been adapted from the Russian version, so there are no special ingredients needed. Potato makes them lighter and has a wonderful affinity with smoked sal...