Five Christmas food trends for 2025 that we’re totally here for

Two candy canes facing each other to form a heart shape. On a deep red background

Every Christmas, there are particular flavours and dishes that steal the spotlight on the supermarkets’ shelves.

The festive plotting there kicks off earlier than you’d think. James Campbell, Sainsbury’s director of product and innovation says, “We start planning Christmas over 12 months in advance.

“Our teams look at sales data as well as emerging food trends and insight from chefs and suppliers to forecast what customers will be craving next season.”

Last year was all about Camembert, citrus desserts and grazing boards at the supermarkets. But what’s jingling all the way into our baskets this Christmas? Here’s the inside scoop.

Sausage rolls with a festive glow up

This buffet mainstay has had a makeover this year, with supermarkets shaping theirs into wreaths or garlands, or serving them with fancy dips.

“Sausage rolls are a festive staple […] enjoyed by everyone from fans of nostalgia to fussy children,” says Breige Donaghy, director of product development and innovation at Tesco. “But, at Christmas, customers also want something that looks and feels special.”

Enter the ultimate picky bits: new wave sausage rolls.

Remixed party bites

According to Iceland Foods, we’ll be seeing off nearly eight billion party food items nationwide this Christmas, with the average Brit tucking into 117.

Shop-bought canapés tend to get reinvented each Christmas – 2024 was the year of the festive themed bao bun. For this season, things are about to get even more unpredictable.

“Bold global flavours and unexpected fusions have been a popular trend for 2025 and have carried over into Christmas,” says Lizzy Massey, director of own brands and innovation at Morrisons.

Expect to see mashups of familiar dishes: think curries combined with doughnuts, meat and seafood trading places, and pasta-based classics shrunk into finger food.

Pastry-wrapped veggie showstoppers

From pies or a pithiviers, crowns to croûtés, this year lots of the supermarket’s meat-free centrepieces are encased in pastry with varying degrees of embellishment.

And there’s good reason. Campbell explains it’s all about creating the same ‘wow’ moment as when the roast bird is brought to the table.

“We know there is increasing demand for plant-based dishes that look and taste just as special as a traditional roast, and pastry offers the perfect canvas for that creativity.

“Pastry has become a hero in many vegetarian and plant-based Christmas mains because it delivers that sense of grandeur and occasion worthy of a centrepiece, and it can hold big, bold flavours.”

Maple, maple and maple

Maple syrup does the business year-round, but this December it’s won the race of the syrups, with searches rising 17% since last Christmas at Ocado alone.

Expect to see it as a sticky seasoning for veg, a glamorous glaze for meat and fish, and in drinks and sweets. And look forward to ‘swavoury’ combinations, too.

Donaghy sees it as an evolution of the very popular hot honey trend. “Maple is strongly associated with Christmas and found in many traditional dishes, but it works just as well as honey when combined with a little spice.”

If you fancy trying this at home with your roasties on the big day, pour maple syrup, clementine zest and juice, smoked paprika and sea salt flakes over roasting veg in the final 20 minutes of cooking time. Carrots, parsnips and swede are all fair game, too.

Chocolate desserts

With ‘mocha mousse’ named Panetone colour of the year and chocolate mousse Google searches going up 16% last Christmas compared to the one before, it’s little surprise that this restaurant trend is making an appearance in our shopping baskets.

Chocolate prices are up 15% since 2024, but supermarkets are clearly confident we’ll still cough up for it, shaping it with festive moulds and paired it with yuletide flavours like gingerbread and orange.

“Chocolate will always be a timeless favourite […] It’s indulgent, versatile and also family friendly, as more traditional fruit-based festive cakes and puddings are less popular with younger generations,” explains Charlotte Gale, buyer for sweet bakery and desserts at Ocado Retail.

Because, honestly, what’s Christmas without Chocolate?

When you find yourself planning your Christmas food shop this year, will you stick to tradition or try out a trendy twist?