The Christmas dinner food item that's loved the most is revealed, and surprisingly it’s not turkey

Have you got this most popular Christmas dinner dish nailed?

Family at the Christmas dinner table
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The most popular Christmas dinner food item has been revealed and it's not what you'd expect and can be tricky to perfect.

As families turn their attention to stocking up on Christmas foods and browsing recipes including Mary Berry's Christmas pudding, Gordon Ramsay's Brussel sprouts, and Gordon Ramsay's roast turkey, you might be wondering when does Tesco release its Christmas delivery slots?

Planning ahead of the big shop is essential as recent research revealed that over Christmas people in the UK alone will eat 264 million pieces of turkey, 162 million servings of Christmas pudding, and 250 million brussel sprouts.

But the debate over what the most popular item of food on the Christmas dinner table is one that comes around each year and Richard Price, owner of online supermarket Britsuperstore analysed more than one million search results to find the nation's favourite Christmas dinner item. 

And you'll be surprised with the results...

Most popular Christmas dinner food item

  1. Yorkshire pudding - [most popular with 183,000 searches]
  2. Chicken - 65,000
  3. Roast potatoes - 55,000
  4. Duck - 46,000
  5. Beef - 28,000
  6. Cauliflower - 23,000
  7. Gammon - 23,000
  8. Cabbage - 21,000
  9. Turkey Crown - 18,000
  10. Stuffing - [least popular with 17,000 searches]

Yorkshire puddings

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Richard said, "The study found that the nation's favourite item is, in fact, Yorkshire puddings with 183,000 closely followed by chicken with 65,000 searches."

Yorkshire puddings are often eaten with any roast dinner, and they can even be easily turned into a sweet dessert, simply by adding fruit or jam.

Despite Yorkshire puddings coming on top, they can be the trickiest dinner item to perfect, from making sure they rise, getting the oil bubbling, and pulling them out of the oven at just the right time. As a result, many people have Googled how to make Yorkshire puddings so that they can make sure theirs turn out the best along with what time to serve Christmas dinner.

They can even be cooked in an air fryer after this nan's brilliant Yorkshire Pudding air fryer hack went viral on TikTok.

The Hairy Bikers Yorkshire pudding recipe looks delicious and James Martin's Yorkshire Pudding recipe has been passed down from his Granny.

And it wouldn't be a Christmas dinner without doing a breakdown of the 10 most searched foods for dessert. Again the one that's bagged the top spot might surprise you - as the Christmas traditional pud is lagging at seventh place.

10 most popular desserts

  1. Tiramisu - 55,000 (the most searches)
  2. Panna Cotta - 36,000
  3. Pavlova - 35,000
  4. Cheesecake - 28,000
  5. Profiteroles - 21,000
  6. Trifle - 21,000
  7. Christmas Pudding - 16,000
  8. Mince Pies - 15,000
  9. Apple Pie - 15,000
  10. Treacle Tart - 11,000 (the least searches)

Tiramisu

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Surprisingly Christmas pudding is down at number seven on the list, with people preferring coffee-based desserts like Tiramisu and cream-based options including Panna Cotta and Pavlova.

The most unpopular Christmas dinner item was revealed, and if you're looking for something different from the traditional Tiramisu recipe try this Tiramisu cake recipe, or Panettone Tiramisu recipe.

Selina Maycock
Senior Family Writer

Selina is a Senior Family Writer for GoodtoKnow and has more than 16 years years of experience. She specialises in royal family news, including the latest activities of Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet. She also covers the latest government, health and charity advice for families. Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism, and gained her NCTJ and NCE qualifications. During her career, she’s also written for Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, and Woman's Weekly as well as Heat magazine, Bang Showbiz - and the Scunthorpe Telegraph. When she's not covering family news, you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories (including award-winning scarecrows!)