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Christmas Food Ideas On A Tight Budget

October 11, 2022 by Alice 9 Comments

Christmas Food Ideas On A Budget
Make Ahead And Freeze Christmas Buns
Cheap Christmas Recipes Including Leftovers Ideas
Cheap Christmas Recipes To Make Ahead And Leftovers Ideas
Cheap Christmas Recipes Plus Leftovers Ideas
Budget Christmas Recipes
Make Ahead Budget Christmas Recipes Plus Delicious Leftover Ideas
Budget Christmas Recipes
Christmas Food Ideas On A Tight Budget

This year many of us will be looking for delicious Christmas foods ideas we can serve up on a tight budget.

Times are hard!!!

Yet there are simple smart ways to deliver a scrumptious but cheaper Christmas dinner PLUS yummy meals throughout the holidays.

And I have the very best of them for you here including :

  1. Food to make ahead & freeze
  2. Christmas leftovers recipes
  3. How to freeze your other leftovers
  4. Deliciously cheap filling food
  5. Homemade cookies & cakes that won’t cost a small fortune!!

It is chock full of cheap Christmas food ideas so do bookmark or save.

And for more fab frugal tips check out my Budget Christmas Guide.

Table of Contents

  • Freezing Christmas Food You’ve Made In Advance
    • How To Freeze Cookie Dough
    • How To Freeze Pastry Pie Crusts For Leftovers
    • Freeze Ahead Mince Pies
  • Delicious Christmas Leftovers Recipes
    • Easy Christmas Leftovers Pie
    • Christmas Leftovers Soup
    • Christmas Leftovers Plan
  • How To Freeze Remaining Christmas Leftovers
  • Fill Up On Better Carbs
    • Christmas Morning Rolls
    • Fragrant Christmas Buns
      • Cinnamon Christmas Buns With Cream Cheese Icing
      • Cranberry Christmas Buns
      • Scandinavian Lussekatter Saffron Buns
      • Mini Christmas Stollen
    • Low Carb Roast Vegetables
  • Homemade Christmas Cakes, Pudding & Cookies
    • Simple Christmas Cakes
      • Make In Advance Cake
      • Last Minute Christmas Cake
      • Ginger Cake
    • Christmas Desserts
      • An Inflation Beating Christmas Pudding Recipe
      • Danish Christmas Pudding
      • Poached Mulled Wine Pears
      • Frozen Yoghurt Bark
    • Homemade Christmas Cookies

Freezing Christmas Food You’ve Made In Advance

Making our own Christmas food is cheaper but can be super stressful.

The secret is to make ahead & freeze a few items a week including :

  • Christmas cookie dough
  • Pastry pie crusts
  • Gravy
  • Cranberry sauce
  • Stuffing
  • Bread sauce
  • For fellow Brits mince pies
  • Ready to rise bread rolls
  • Christmas morning muffins
  • Party faves like sausage rolls, pigs in blankets & cheese straws
  • All sorts of make ahead appetisers.
  • And heart warming breakfast bake cinnamon buns …

How To Freeze Cookie Dough

The fragrance of freshly baked Christmas cookies is so joyful.

And simple homemade cookies are cheaper AND much more filling.

Best Traditional Christmas Cookies

So freeze gingerbread dough in November and pop some in when the oven is on in Advent. It is best frozen in small rolled rounds …

How To Freeze Pastry Pie Crusts For Leftovers

Freezing pastry pie crusts is a huge money saver at Christmas as it lets us transform sad leftovers.

Scraps of turkey, veg, cranberries & gravy hidden under a golden crust of pastry looks and tastes delicious.

Follow these tips on freezing pastry:

Frozen pastry can also be made into:

  • Christmas Leftover Flan
  • Leftover “Sausage” Rolls
  • Christmas Leftover Pasties
  • Mini Cranberry Sauce Tarts

Freeze Ahead Mince Pies

Mince pies are weird to the rest of the world but we Brits love them.

Again homemade are cheaper & more filling and the freshly baked fragrance actually helps satisfy our hunger so we eat less …

Delicious Christmas Leftovers Recipes

Great Christmas leftovers recipes save big money because we :

  • Chuck out less waste
  • AND buy less in the first place.

With little effort Christmas leftovers can be a real meal in themselves and not a sad afterthought.

Easy Christmas Leftovers Pie

With a pie crust in the freezer we can whip up a spirit lifting leftover pie with barely 5 minutes work …

Christmas Leftovers Soup

And soothing Christmas soup is wonderful when we feel fragile.

This noodle soup finishes off turkey :

And this version uses up any random leftover roast vegetables :

Christmas Leftovers Plan

Even if you hate meal planning, it’s worth writing a leftovers plan with easy recipes ready to go.

I love these leftovers recipes :

  • Christmas Leftover Curry
  • Bubble & Squeak With Chestnuts
  • Leftover Toad In The Hole
  • Cranberry Sauce & Apple Crumble
  • Pigs In Blankets Carbanara

And I have loads more Christmas leftover recipes here including leftover ham recipes, awesome Christmas leftover sandwiches & toasties, turkey risotto and more …

How To Freeze Remaining Christmas Leftovers

However delicious our Christmas leftovers recipes we can only eat so much turkey, cranberry sauce etc!

We can save lots of money just by buying less in the first place.

But with leftovers from leftovers we need to be ready to freeze them fast.

There’s tips here on freezing turkey :

And specific tips on freezing …

  • Ham
  • Cheese
  • Christmas pudding
  • Christmas cake
  • Leftover roast vegetables

By the end of January we’ll be happy again to eat them up in our Christmas leftovers recipes.

Fill Up On Better Carbs

Christmas Food Ideas On A Tight Budget

Christmas meat is always expensive but could be off the scale this year!

So we need to think again about filling up with better carbs.

Homemade bread & buns don’t give the same sugar spike as shop bought and there are loads of cheap, delicious and low carb roast vegetables alternatives to potatoes.

A 15 minute Christmas walk immediately after breakfast and lunch can curb blood sugar spikes.

Christmas Morning Rolls

The smell of fresh bread on Christmas morning is a gift in itself and costs almost nothing. These rolls can be made from the freezer :

Fragrant Christmas Buns

The waft of fragrant rich buns is a super cheap way to make Christmas morning special. Our memory is closely tied to smell so these made-ahead buns truly will make memories.

Cinnamon Christmas Buns With Cream Cheese Icing

This Christmas bun recipe has great freezing tips so the buns warm quickly on Christmas morning …

Cranberry Christmas Buns

These cranberry Christmas buns can be left unglazed to cut sugar …

Make Ahead And Freeze Christmas Buns

Scandinavian Lussekatter Saffron Buns

Saffron rich Lussekatter are a freeze ahead alternative to cinnamon …

Mini Christmas Stollen

You can also freeze ahead mini Christmas stollen …

Low Carb Roast Vegetables

If you do need to watch your carbs carefully, fill up on these delicious easy low carb side dishes.

They include loads of yummy cheap swaps for mashed & roast potatoes.

Easy Low Carb Side Dish Recipe Ideas

Homemade Christmas Cakes, Pudding & Cookies

Homemade Christmas cakes, puddings and cookies can be much cheaper than bought ones.

We just need to keep them simple and free from fancy ingredients and panic inducing instructions!!

Simple Christmas Cakes

These Christmas cake recipes really are easy & will fill up a hungry hoard.

Make In Advance Cake

This easy one can be made early …

Last Minute Christmas Cake

And this cake can be made super fast in barely 30 minutes …

Ginger Cake

A classic ginger is a fab cheap, easy alternative to fruit or chocolate cake.

And can look beautiful with simple sprinkled or glace icing …

Christmas Desserts

Show stopping Christmas desserts sound scary. No fear. These are easy and will look stand out stunning with simple Christmas table decorations.

An Inflation Beating Christmas Pudding Recipe

This yummy Christmas pud recipe goes back to the great recession of the 1930s!! It’s cheap and easy …

Danish Christmas Pudding

Risalamande is a gorgeously traditional Danish Christmas pudding …

Poached Mulled Wine Pears

These pears look stunning and can be poached sugar free …

Frozen Yoghurt Bark

A plate of frozen yoghurt bark looks effortlessly elegant with quick natural Christmas table decor and slips down when everyone is stuffed!!

For more inspiration check out these 50 stunning Christmas desserts. They are not all super cheap to make but they are much cheaper than bought versions and many of them can be made ahead and frozen …

Christmas Dessert Ideas That Look Stunning

Homemade Christmas Cookies

Homemade Christmas cookies are cheapest if we just make 1 or 2 types.

These classics are always popular :

  • Crinkle Cookies
  • Spritz Cookies
  • Snickerdoodles
  • German Christmas Cookies
  • Classic Shortbread

Freeze your cookie dough in small rounds so you can have a fresh batch whenever oven goes on.

And there you go, loads of recipes for simply delicious homemade Christmas food you can make ahead cheaply and freeze PLUS yummy ideas for leftovers and tips on freezing anything at all that is left!!

I do hope they help you enjoy a wonderful family Christmas.

For more cheap lovely Christmas ideas explore these posts :

  • 25 Handmade Gifts
  • 16 Homemade Candies
  • 26 Homemade Ornaments
  • 26 Homemade Christmas Cards
  • 40 Small Christmas Trees
  • 30 Simple DIY Wreaths
  • 10 Easy Table Decorations
  • 30 Mason Jar Gifts
  • 18 Homemade Preserves
  • 100 Best Experience Gifts

And follow my Christmas board on Pinterest :

Filed Under: Frugal Food Tips, Homemade Christmas Food, How To Live Frugally, Simple Christmas Ideas Tagged With: christmas recipes, frugal

Previous Post: « Simple DIY Christmas Wreaths
Next Post: Fun Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas For Kids »

Reader Interactions

Trackbacks

  1. Zero Waste Christmas Ideas says:
    October 14, 2022 at 3:22 pm

    […] leftovers plan helps and there’s loads of yummy leftovers recipes here for everything from turkey and roast […]

    Reply
  2. Simple DIY Christmas Wreaths says:
    October 14, 2022 at 5:32 pm

    […] Cheap Yummy Christmas Food […]

    Reply
  3. Quick & Easy Christmas Table Decoration says:
    October 15, 2022 at 10:01 pm

    […] Cheap Yummy Christmas Recipes […]

    Reply
  4. Top 10 Best Christmas Cake Recipes says:
    October 17, 2022 at 7:15 pm

    […] 30 Cheap Christmas Recipes […]

    Reply
  5. Homemade Christmas Candy Recipes says:
    October 17, 2022 at 9:13 pm

    […] Deliciously Cheap Christmas Food […]

    Reply
  6. Fun Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas For Kids says:
    October 20, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    […] tags need more time but are a lovely idea if you’re making Christmas gingerbread. You can freeze ahead cookie dough to make these last minute […]

    Reply
  7. The Best Traditional Christmas Cookies says:
    October 21, 2022 at 8:08 am

    […] Deliciously Cheap Christmas Food […]

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  8. Homemade Preserves For Christmas Gifts says:
    October 22, 2022 at 8:58 am

    […] 40 Cheap Christmas Recipes […]

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  9. Christmas Dessert Recipes says:
    November 5, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    […] you are on a tight Christmas food budget and looking for Christmas leftover recipes, remember you can make yummy Christmas pudding trifle from leftover […]

    Reply

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