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 :
- Food to make ahead & freeze
- Christmas leftovers recipes
- How to freeze your other leftovers
- Deliciously cheap filling food
- 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.
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.
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:
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 …
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 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 …
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.
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 …
Homemade Christmas Cookies
Homemade Christmas cookies are cheapest if we just make 1 or 2 types.
These classics are always popular :
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 :
[…] leftovers plan helps and there’s loads of yummy leftovers recipes here for everything from turkey and roast […]