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The best Christmas pudding to finish your meal in style
The GHI reveals this year’s best puds to round off your feast
Tested by Callum BlackFood and Drink Testing Manager
If you’re planning to make your own Christmas pudding this year, you’ll need to leave plenty of time to allow the vine fruit to soak up any alcohol you may have included (brandy and rum are both popular choices).
However, if you're going to miss Stir-up Sunday (which takes place on 23 November this year, just FYI), or are just too busy eating mince pies (same), we’re confident these shop-bought Christmas puds will do an excellent job of impressing guests.
Best Christmas puddings 2025
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Best Christmas pudding
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 18 Month Matured Christmas Pudding 800g
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How we test Christmas puddings
The Good Housekeeping Institute tested 21 classic Christmas puddings for 2025 with the help of our panel, including those from supermarkets and luxury retailers. To avoid brand bias, all were tasted blind and cooked according to instructions.
Not so keen on the traditional? We’ve also found the most exciting Christmas puddings with a twist for 2025 – for those who prefer their puds with more unusual ingredients such as sticky toffee, panettone and gin.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 18 Month Matured Christmas Pudding 800g
Score: 86/100
This year’s winning Christmas pudding has been lovingly matured for 18 months. Packed with plump vine fruit, it was popular with testers thanks to its dense, sticky texture and brown sugar sweetness. Don’t forget to serve with a dollop of brandy cream.
Score: 85/100
Our runner-up wowed with its “authentic, warming” aroma, and testers loved the contrast of crunchy walnuts in the moist, sticky sponge. Made with French brandy, sweet apple chunks and zesty citrus, this premium pud is a full-flavoured treat.
Score: 84/100
As a nod to its Yorkshire heritage, this classic recipe includes a glug of local ale. Testers loved the deep, brown sugar sweetness and generous fruit, with zesty citrus coming to the fore and a lick of ginger on the finish.
Score: 82/100
Daylesford’s organic pudding is cloth-wrapped and would make a lovely gift (if you can bear to give it away). Our panel found it pleasingly boozy, thanks to a combination of rum and stout, and enjoyed the warming, spicy ginger. The moist fudgy texture would benefit from a little brandy cream to counteract the heaviness.
Score: 80/100
Tesco’s take on the traditional dessert has an intense boozy kick, thanks to a combination of cider, brandy, amontillado sherry, and ruby port – hic! It’s packed with flavour, from rich vine fruit to sweet molasses and light spice, while almonds and walnuts add welcome crunch.
Score: 78/100
What sets this pudding apart is the inclusion of Brentwood Brewing Company’s Chockwork Orange Beer. The zesty citrus adds a pronounced clementine flavour to the sweet vine fruit and lifts each bite. Expect a fudgy, uniform texture, with the occasional bit of mixed peel to add interest.
Iceland Luxury 18 Month Matured Christmas Pudding 400g
Score: 78/100
While the brandy and spices are subtle in this budget-friendly bake, we reckon the moist, treacle sponge will be popular with sweet-toothed guests this Christmas. It also happens to be vegan-friendly.
Score: 77/100
A longer maturation period means Aldi’s classic Christmas pudding is full of festive flavour. From the treacle and brandy notes to the intensely tangy vine fruit and crisp almonds, it’s a party for your taste buds.
Available in-store now
Score: 76/100
Following a 40-year-old recipe, COOK’s light Christmas pudding is very crumbly, with gingerbread-style spice and treacle sweetness. Our testers described it as “intensely buttery” and told us it “melted in the mouth”.
And if only one of you eats Christmas pudding, COOK also offers it as a single 110g serve.
Riverford Organic Farmers Christmas Pudding 450g
Score: 76/100
Reminiscent of the classic dessert, spotted dick, Riverford’s organic Christmas pudding has a more subtle flavour. Laced with cinnamon, ginger, dried fruit and citrus peel, we’ll be pairing this one with creamy custard.
Score: 76/100
Abel & Cole has got the vine fruit to sponge ratio spot on, ensuring there’s plenty of booze-soaked fruit and candied peel in each bite. There’s lots of spice and soft brown sugar sweetness too, which combine to make for a very classic Christmas pudding.
These also passed...
- Morrisons The Best Christmas Pudding, £9 for 800g, Score: 75/100
- Waitrose No.1 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, £11.20 for 800g, Score: 74/100
- Exceptional by ASDA Luxury Christmas Pudding, £11.39 for 800g, Score: 73/100
- Cartwright & Butler Merry Christmas Pudding in Tin, £18.50 for 454g, Score: 73/100
- Made in Oldstead Tommy Banks’ Christmas Pudding, £42 for 900g, Score: 71/100
- Lidl Deluxe 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, £4.79 for 400g, Score: 70/100
Is it better to steam or microwave Christmas pudding?
All the puddings in our round-up can be either steamed or cooked in the microwave; however, many brands recommend the former for the best results.
Microwaved puddings can overheat, making them a little tough in the process. If time allows, steaming should result in a lighter texture.
How to light a Christmas pudding
For the ultimate grand finale to your festive feast, you’ll want to light your Christmas pudding. Follow these instructions for a guaranteed flame.
- Once you’ve cooked your pudding, turn it out onto a serving plate and ensure a clear surface area.
- Gently warm the brandy in a small saucepan, before pouring it over the pudding — this way you can be confident it will ignite when you put a flame to it.
- Tip the brandy to the side of the pan before lighting.
- Point the pan away from you when pouring over the pudding.
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
Callum is our Food and Drink Testing Manager and has been part of the world of professional catering for 10 years, from cheffing to food manufacturing. While working in manufacturing he specialised in bespoke product and menu development for several start-ups and well-known brands such as Wrap It Up! and HOP Vietnamese. He holds the WSET Level 2 in wine, a Level 3 in spirits and has a particular interest in agave spirits.
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