Budget Christmas dinner
Instead of forking out for a turkey this year, treat the family to tender and succulent chicken with all the festive trimmings. It's far cheaper, easier to cook and once carved it's hard to tell the difference. A small chicken will easily feed four and only takes around an hour to roast. Cook your vegetables in the same oven and make the most of the microwave for a delicious Christmas dinner with a lot less fuss.
See the Recipe Tips for ideas on how to tweak this recipe to suit your family.
This recipe is part of the Budget Christmas Dinner Menu and the Budget vegetarian Christmas dinner menu, both serve four people three courses for under £17 (originally under £15. Recosted December 2023).
Ingredients
- 800g/1lb 12oz potatoes, peeled and cut into 4–5 chunks
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small whole chicken (around 1.3kg/3lb)
- ½ tsp dried mixed herbs or dried thyme (optional)
- 4 rashers back bacon, ideally smoked
- 8 sausages, separated
- 4 medium carrots (around 400g/14oz), peeled and cut in half lengthways
- 85g/3oz sage and onion stuffing mix
- 175ml/6fl oz just-boiled water
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
- 250g/9oz frozen peas
- salt and ground black pepper
For the gravy
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 300ml/10fl oz hot chicken stock, made with ½ chicken stock cube
Method
Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water and a lid. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 210C/190C Fan/Gas 6½.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them stand for 5 minutes, then return to the saucepan and shake vigorously to knock the potatoes about and scuff up the surface – this will make them much crisper when they roast.
Add 3 tablespoons of the oil, season well with salt and pepper and toss together. Scatter the potatoes over a large baking tray (or two smaller trays).
Place the chicken on another baking tray or in a roasting tin (pick a tray with sides, so the roasting juices don't run off). Snip off any trussing string from the chicken, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the dried herbs, if using. Roast the chicken and potatoes on two shelves in the oven for 20 minutes.
Put the bacon rashers on a board and cut lengthways through four of them to make 8 slender rashers. Wrap a piece around each sausage.
Make up the stuffing mix using the 175ml just-boiled water then leave to stand for 5 minutes before rolling into 8 small balls.
Take the tins out of the oven, place the bacon wrapped sausages around the chicken. Turn the potatoes and add the carrots and stuffing balls to the same tray. Drizzle the carrots with the remaining oil and return both tins to the oven for a further 20 minutes.
Take the tins out of the oven, turn the vegetables and stuffing balls. Turn the sausages and return both trays to the oven for a further 20 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the juices run clear when the thickest parts of the breast and thigh are pierced with a skewer or tip of a knife. (If your chicken is larger than the suggested size, it will take longer to cook.)
Transfer the chicken to a serving platter or board, cover with foil and a couple of tea towels to keep warm and rest for 10–15 minutes.
Transfer the roasted vegetables, stuffing balls and sausages to serving dishes and keep warm. (If you turn off the oven and leave the door slightly ajar, you can keep them warm inside – and you can warm your plates and serving dishes at the same time.)
To make the gravy, stir the flour into the fat and cooking juices in the roasting tin used to cook the chicken. Stir in half the stock, using a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up all the pan juices. Pour into a small saucepan, add the rest of the stock and simmer gently for 2–3 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Season to taste and pass through a sieve into a warmed gravy jug.
Put the Brussels sprouts into a microwaveable serving dish, add 3 tablespoons water, cover and cook on full power for 4–5 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt and ground black pepper.
Put the peas in a microwaveable serving dish, cover and microwave on full power for 4–5 minutes, or until hot. (You can boil the sprouts and peas if you prefer.)
Carve the chicken and serve with the roasted vegetables, stuffing, sprouts, peas and gravy.
Recipe Tips
The cost of the ingredients here have been calculated using supermarket value lines and the recipe is designed to be made in conjunction with a low-cost store-cupboard.
If you like, use this recipe as a guide but add a few twists of your own depending on what you have available – a splash of wine for the gravy, or cranberry sauce to serve alongside the chicken perhaps.
Not keen on stuffing or Brussels sprouts? Add a pack of frozen Yorkshire puddings instead (about 50p for a pack of 12–15) or buy two large parsnips and roast them in the same way as the carrots (you may need to use an extra oven tray though as they won't cook properly if the tray is overcrowded).
If the vegetables begin to overbrown before the chicken is ready, transfer to another tin then return to the oven to reheat while the chicken is resting.
I’ve par-boiled the potatoes to make them extra crispy, but you can leave out that step if you prefer and simply toss the peeled potato chunks with the oil before roasting.
I’ve used back bacon here as you are more likely to find it in a value pack, but you could use streaky instead if you prefer.
