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Roast potatoes are officially the best bit about Christmas dinner, according to science

Published 15:24 8 Dec 2025 GMT

Updated 15:26 8 Dec 2025 GMT

JOE
Roast potatoes are officially the best bit about Christmas dinner, according to science

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Yorkshire puddings, take a back seat...

Thought Christmas Dinner was all about the pigs-in-blankets, Yorkshire puddings and turkey?

Think again.

Research has revealed that roast potatoes are the UK's favourite bit of Christmas dinner.

A study carried out by Foodhub asked participants about their favourite part of the year's best meal - and a huge 57 per cent said roasties.

Turkey was the second most popular item on the menu for Christmas Day while pigs-in-blankets came in third - and interestingly, if the data is broken down by county, Kent is the likeliest to go in hard on the little piggies.

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On average, each user surveyed from the county will eat more than 20 (!) pigs-in-blankets throughout the Christmas period.

Turkey isn't ruling the roost in all parts of the UK though. Almost a third (31 per cent) of diners in Scotland and the North East prefer beef on the big day.

And the same amount in Northern Ireland prefer gammon or ham over the traditional turkey.

What about the vegans? Well, the Welsh are the most likely to have a meat-free Christmas dinner with, 15 per cent of Welsh people committing to going vegan on the big day.

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What about the booze? Well, 23 per cent of people surveyed said white wine was their choice of beverage. Just two percent less, 21 per cent, said they'd choose red wine.

Ardian Mula, Foodhub spokesperson, said of the findings: "There are so many small differences in the regions between what we have, what we accompany it with and how much of it we enjoy when it comes to Christmas dinner.”

Before we go, what about the leftovers? Well, folk in Brighton have a particular penchant for poultry on the day after the big event with 32 per cent of people from that city revealing that they actually prefer the leftovers to the main event.

Here's the full breakdown of which Christmas dinner items ranked the best.

  • Roast potatoes (57 per cent)
  • Turkey (39 per cent)
  • Pigs-in-blankets (35 per cent)
  • Stuffing (25 per cent)
  • Gravy (21 per cent)
  • Yorkshire pudding (21 per cent)
  • Sprouts (18 per cent)
  • Parsnips (14 per cent)
  • Cranberry sauce (8 per cent)
  • Carrots (5 per cent)

Explore more on these topics:

Christmas dinner