How to Make Christmas Dinner on a Budget

Planning a pre-holiday Christmas dinner in Leicester before everyone heads home? Although your student budget may be tight, with a few clever swaps and some wallet-friendly shopping, you can pull off a proper festive feast with all the trimmings. Here’s how.

Canapes

Everyone loves some nibbles with a glass of bubbles while opening their pressies. Aldi (just a seven-minute walk away from true student Leicester) sells champagne for under a tenner, and it’s good stuff too. There are plenty of canapés you can whip up cheaply and easily: try devilled eggs, homemade tuna pate (mix tinned tuna, cream cheese, lemon juice and capers) or slices of pear topped with a Leicester stilton.

Starter

Root vegetable soup

Soup makes an excellent low-cost starter but still feels celebratory. Root vegetables tap into the seasonal vibe, but you can use whatever veg is cheap at the supermarket.

Ingredients

• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 800g root vegetables such as squash, sweet potato, celeriac, carrots and parsnips
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock (made with cubes)
• ½ tsp dried thyme or rosemary (if you have it)
• 100ml double cream (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onions until softened and beginning to colour. Add the root vegetables and garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Cover loosely with a lid and simmer until the vegetables are very soft. Leave the soup to cool slightly and then whizz in a blender until you reach the consistency you like. Add the cream if using and then gently reheat to serve.

The main event

It’s cheaper to buy frozen turkeys rather than fresh or you could opt for a chicken instead. Frozen turkeys need to be thoroughly defrosted in the fridge before cooking (allow 10 hours per kilo). Make your trip to the supermarket later on in the day to grab the reduced veg and other items. Leicester Market is a great place to go for cheaper veg too or alternatively, you could use frozen.

Roasting your turkey or chicken on a bed of carrots, onions and celery means that you can make a cheap yet tasty gravy. Once your bird is cooked, lift it out of the roasting pan to rest. Skim away as much fat from the pan as you can and then stir in a tablespoon of flour, scraping all the delicious leftover bits from the roast. Then add a litre of chicken stock made from a cube (if you use the cooking water from your veggies, it will be even more delicious), bring it to the boil, simmer until it reaches the right consistency. Add a teaspoon of cranberry sauce for a delicious touch of sweetness.

Roast your carrots, parsnips and potatoes together to save on oven space: a good drizzle of oil and some salt and pepper is all you need.

Pudding

You can pick up Christmas puddings cheaply at any supermarket. However, not everyone likes Christmas pudding, so here’s a recipe for a budget trifle that serves around six people. Using tinned or frozen fruit makes it more economical.

Ingredients

• 1 Madeira cake or other sponge
• 1 packet raspberry or strawberry jelly 
• 1 tin of drained peaches in syrup or 400g frozen berries
• Custard made from powder using 300ml milk and 1 tbsp caster sugar, as per packet instructions (or buy readymade)
• 300ml double cream, whipped, or Bird’s Dream Topping
• Hundreds and Thousands, Cadbury’s Flake or crushed biscuits to decorate

Method

Cut the cake into slices and arrange at the bottom of a large glass bowl. Make the jelly according to the packet instructions. Scatter the fruit over the cake and then pour the prepared jelly over it. Leave to set in the fridge until firm and then pour the custard over the jelly and fruit layer. Return to the fridge to set a little (placing a circle of baking paper over so it doesn’t form a skin) and then top with the whipped cream or Dream Topping. Finally, scatter over the decoration of your choice and tuck in!

Christmas at true Leicester

We hope we’ve shown you that it’s possible to whip up a delicious Christmas feast on a student budget. Our award-winning Leicester accommodation has well-equipped communal kitchens and dining areas, so you can all pitch in together and enjoy that convivial Christmas experience! Take a look at our luxury accommodation and get in touch to find out more: true student Leicester