Back in lockdown 2021, the world was a little crazy, right?!? The future was uncertain, people lost their jobs, food queues where long, there was a shortage of toilet roll!!!

So in Christmas 2021, I challenged myself to see if I could make a 3 course Christmas Dinner for 4 people. I done it!

I made it for £9.76.

Last year, with the cost of EVERYTHING increasing, I managed to do the same 3 course menu for £11.13.

Check out my 2022 menu HERE

Today, with the cost of living crisis, Christmas dinner seems even more important than ever and thanks to Supermarkets like Lidl, I have managed to make a 3 course Christmas Dinner for 4 people for bang on £10.00! (receipt in the photos)

3 COURSE CHRISTMAS DINNER FOR 4 PEOPLE FOR £10!

Of course there are some items which I am hoping people have in their larder such as salt, pepper and oil, but everything else was purchased for £10.00 with at least 1/3 of a bag of all the veggies still remaining to use for something else.

So read on, see how its done and then share this with as many people as possible. Christmas is a really stressful time and if I can help even one person realise that Christmas Dinner needn’t be expensive nor stressful, then my work here is done!

All the ingredients were purchased from Lidl and came to £10 exactly.

Download this in a handy PDF with full recipes for this Christmas Dinner, HERE

CHRISTMAS DINNER MENU (or lunch)

STARTER - Butternut Soup with garlic bread

MAIN - Turkey meatloaf with roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, brussel sprouts and an onion gravy

DESSERT - Strawberry Cheesecake Mess and 12 mince pies

STARTERS - Butternut Soup with garlic baguette slices

• Butternut - £0.82p. Use the scale to work this out. My butternut was 0.716kg

• Frozen 2 x Garlic Baguettes - £0.85p

• 1 potato peeled

• Cream (just a teaspoon)

• 2 x Garlic butter baguettes

• 2 x stock cubes

Peel and dice butternut.

Reserve a handful (10%) for garnish.

In a pan, saute butternut until golden in colour.

Add 2 stock cubes and 1l of water.

Bring to the boil.

Add one diced potato (this will make the soup smoother and help to thicken).

Reduce heat to simmer for about 20mins.

Blend with a hand blender until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper if needed/to taste.

While your soup is cooking, gently fry the reserved 10% butternut until golden crispy and tender.

Once the soup is ready, divide into bowls, drizzle with a splash of cream and use the golden crispy butternut to garnish. You can of course add any herbs and spices like ginger, chilli, garlic etc.

Place your baguettes in the oven or air fryer until light golden brown and serve with the soup.

MAINS - Turkey Meatloaf with roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, brussel sprouts and onion gravy

• Turkey Mince 500g - £2.49. (You can off course upgrade this to a chicken which was £4.99)

• Stuffing Mix - £0.45p

• Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, brussel sprouts, shallots - all £0.15p each

• Chicken Stock Cubes - £0.65p

Peel and slice all your vegetables.

Saute your parsnips until cooked.

Saute your Brussel Sprouts until cooked.

Saute your carrots until cooked.

Par boil your potatoes.

TIP - use the same water that you cooked your parsnips in for your brussels and carrots, which will then be used to make the onion gravy. This water will be packed full of flavour!

In a bowl mix half your stuffing with your Turkey mince. Mix until fully combined. (The sage and onion mix adds a lovely Christmas flavour and because its Turkey mince it has a nice fat content so remains moist.) Shape the Turkey mix into a log on a baking tray.

Par boil your potatoes and then place around the turkey meatloaf in the centre of the baking tray.

Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes on 180/200 degrees.

Your potatoes should be golden and crispy. If not, remove the Turkey log to let rest and put the potatoes back in the over until golden. (The best thing about this is that any fat that gets released from the mince will be absorbed by the potatoes. Fat equals flavour).

For the gravy, peel and finely slice the shallots.

Saute until deep dark and golden.

Add the water used to cooked your vegetables in.

Add 1 stock cube.

Reduce until desired consistency (I like my gravy thick!).

Once all cooked, serve up.

DESSERT - Strawberry Cheesecake Mess and Mince Pies

• Frozen Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake - £0.85p

• Fresh Double Cream - £0.99p

Defrost the Strawberry Cheesecake.

Whip up your cream.

Once the cheesecake is defrosted, break it up and divide it between the 4 bowls or glasses, layering it with the cream.

Use some of the cheesecake biscuit base to crumble over the top.

Mince Pies served with a cuppa or a glass of something fizzy!

The Soup and the Dessert can be made the night before and stored in the fridge. It took me an hour and half to prep and cook the mains, taking my time. I did have the Christmas tunes on and I may have had a wee sherry or two….

As far as Christmas Dinners go, this menu gives you huge portions and 3 courses you can see that it feeds 4 people. There is no need to feel anxious about Christmas, especially when you can do your Christmas Dinner shop in one shop!

Here’s hoping your Christmas Dinner is all that you want it to be.

Merry Christmas from TartanSpoon x