The tasty baked good makes the perfect snack – but with so much choice, which is the best?
With temperatures set to soar again with a heatwave bringing highs of 30C on the way, it usually calls for one thing in Britain – ‘picky bits’ to eat in the garden. When it gets too hot to even think about firing up the oven or air fryer, it has become a time-honoured tradition for Brits to make do with an easy meal of ‘picky’ food that you can easily eat with your hands.
Everyone does ‘picky bits’ differently, but most rely on a few staples that are easy to pull off without much effort. From a quick salad to a selection of finger food like pork pies, deli meats and crackers.
However, there’s one thing in our house that never fails to appear at an impromptu ‘picky bits’ session—and that’s the classic sausage roll. Served from the oven or eaten cold, nothing can beat this British delicacy, in my opinion. Most supermarkets will have their own version of the savoury roll in the chilled section. But, with more hot weather likely to sweep the UK this summer, I wanted to find out which shop had the ultimate staple for picky bits.
In a sweep of the local shops near me, I got rolls from Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl, M&S and the Co-op. With enough sausage rolls to start my own version of Greggs, I tried them all to figure out where I should be shopping before the next heatwave.
I stuck with the classic version and aimed to get the same-sized packets (to fairly compare the cost). We’re not sausage roll snobs in this house, and we usually just grab a pack from wherever we happen to be shopping that week, but this is the first time we’ve ever faced them off at the same time.
I fouhd the most disappointing was Asda’s offer (£1.58) – it lacked as much flavour as the other rolls. On top of this, it was extremely flaky which ended up making the process of eating it quite messy and they were one of the paler sausage rolls we got.
Co-op was almost one of the most expensive packs in this test (£2.35). Compared to other stores, the sausage roll itself was quite average, so I wouldn’t be happy paying the amount I did when I now know you can get better for less. Tesco’s sausage rolls (£1.95) were not exceptional. I can’t complain about the flavour and price of the pack, but I also can’t say that they gave my tastebuds anything to be overly excited about either.
I had high hopes for M&S, being the self-appointed ‘Home of Picky Bits’. The cost compared to other cheaper options already made it a little more of a luxury than a cheap and cheerful treat – but it did taste quite nice and had great flavour. Unlike the Co-op, I would be more than happy plating up some M&S sausage rolls again as the quality matched the cost.
Aldi and Sainsbury’s (both £1.69) both claimed third place, and it was hard to pick a winner out of the two, and it really boiled down to flavour. Aldi’s was a slightly nicer pasty than Sainsbury’s, but I will admit Sainsbury’s had a chunky amount of sausage. I also really liked how Sainsbury’s was the only shop to opt for a non-plastic option for its tray.
Morrisons was a close second – as it tasted exceptional and had a lovely golden colour to it. It was one of the most expensive options (£2.40) which might put a bit of a dent in food shops that need to stick to a budget.
My ultimate find was Lidl’s Chef Select pack (£1.69). At just 28p per sausage roll, it’s an easy crowd pleaser that even my fussy dad (who hates budget supermarkets) liked. Everyone who tried one said that the taste was quite delicious, and the meat had a lovely blend of seasoning. It was also quite well packed, meaning there were no bites of just pure pastry. In another plus, this pack from Lidl had the longest shelf life on it compared to other brands I picked up – making it a good option to stretch over a few days.
The final ranking:
- Lidl: 9/10
- Morrisons: 8/10
- Aldi: 7.5/10
- Sainsbury’s: 7.5/10
- M&S: 7/10
- Tesco: 6/10
- Co-op: 5/10
- Asda: 4/10