Left Christmas dinner to the last minute? This simple roast chicken menu and one-trolley shopping list has you covered

Christmas has a habit of sneaking up on people. One minute you’re idly thinking about menus and mince pies, the next it’s mid-December, the supermarket shelves are looking ominously festive and the turkey you vaguely meant to order has long since disappeared into someone else’s freezer.

If you haven’t sorted Christmas dinner by now, you’re not alone – and you’re also probably not getting a turkey delivered in time.

That’s why we’ve gone with chicken. It’s easier to find at short notice, more forgiving to cook, and far less likely to leave you spiralling over timings and temperatures. This recipe is designed as a calm, last-minute Christmas dinner for real life: one oven, a small number of pots and pans, and a clear, step-by-step timeline that gets everything on the table in about two hours if you follow it to the letter.

There are still all the things that make Christmas dinner feel like Christmas dinner – crisp roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, proper gravy, bread sauce, stuffing and a few festive flourishes (sprouts that actually taste good, cauliflower cheese that bubbles reassuringly in the oven). But there’s no unnecessary faff, no advance prep, and no point where you need to be in three places at once. Less time in the kitchen, less washing up, and more time doing whatever it is you’d actually like to be doing on Christmas Day.

And if, at any point, you decide to replace a section with a shop-bought version – bread sauce, pigs in blankets, even the stuffing – that is not a failure. No one is judging, and after a few buck’s fizzes, no one will care anyway. Think of this as a Christmas dinner safety net: simple, forgiving and designed to work, even if you’re starting later than planned.

If you’re doing this at speed, this is everything you need for the recipe below in one place. Buy what you can, skip what you can’t, and remember that shop-bought shortcuts are not a moral failing. If something’s sold out, don’t panic – shop-bought pigs in blankets, ready-made bread sauce or frozen roast potatoes are all perfectly acceptable stand-ins.

Meat

1 large whole chicken (2-2.2kg)

12 good-quality sausages

16 rashers streaky bacon (12 for pigs in blankets, 4 for sprouts)

Dairy

Butter (about 200g total)

Whole milk (1 litre)

Mature cheddar (200g)

Bakery

Fresh white breadcrumbs (or a small white loaf to blitz)

Vegetables and fruit

1 lemon

1 garlic bulb

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery stick

1 small onion (for bread sauce)

1.5kg potatoes (such as Maris Piper)

800g parsnips

1 large cauliflower

750g Brussels sprouts

Small bunch thyme and/or rosemary

Extras

Sage and onion stuffing mix (such as Paxo)

Cooked chestnuts (100g)

Cranberry sauce

Chicken stock (or stock cubes)

Cupboard basics

Plain flour

Olive oil

Vegetable or goose fat

Honey

Dijon mustard

Bay leaf

Whole cloves

Nutmeg

Salt and black pepper

This is Christmas dinner for people who thought they’d have a plan by now. A golden roast chicken with proper gravy, crisp potatoes, pigs in blankets, cauliflower cheese, festive sprouts, bread sauce and stuffing – all achievable from a last-minute supermarket shop, all cooked in a sensible order so nothing goes cold or soggy. Buy the cranberry sauce. Buy the Paxo. No one is judging you and you’ve got enough on.

Serves: 4-6

Total time: About 2 hours, including prep

You’ll need: one large roasting tin, one extra roasting tray, one baking dish, a saucepan and a frying pan. Everything cooks in the same oven.

Ingredients:

For the chicken and gravy:

1 large whole chicken (2-2.2kg)

1 lemon, halved

1 garlic bulb, halved crossways

Small bunch thyme and/or rosemary

75g butter, softened

Salt and black pepper

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, roughly chopped

1 celery stick, roughly chopped

1 tbsp plain flour

500ml good chicken stock (hot)

For the roast potatoes:

1½kg potatoes (such as Maris Piper)

100ml vegetable or goose fat

Sea salt

For the honey-roasted parsnips:

800g parsnips, peeled and halved lengthways

2 tbsp olive oil

1½ tbsp honey

Salt and pepper

For the pigs in blankets:

12 good-quality sausages

12 rashers streaky bacon

For the stuffing:

1 packet sage and onion stuffing (such as Paxo)

Butter and boiling water (as per packet instructions)

For the cauliflower cheese:

1 large cauliflower, cut into florets

50g butter

50g plain flour

600ml whole milk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

150g mature cheddar, grated

Nutmeg, salt and pepper

For the Christmas sprouts:

750g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

40g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

4 rashers streaky bacon, finely chopped

100g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped

Black pepper

For the bread sauce:

1 small onion, halved

300ml whole milk

1 bay leaf

4 cloves

75g fresh white breadcrumbs

30g butter

Nutmeg

Salt

To serve:

Cranberry sauce (shop-bought, proudly)

Method (timed so everything works):

0:00 – Get the chicken in the oven

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.

2. Put the chicken in a roasting tin. Season the softened butter generously with salt and pepper. Starting at the neck end of the chicken, gently ease your fingers under the skin to separate it from the breast meat. Push about two-thirds of the butter directly onto the meat, spreading it evenly over both breasts. Rub the remaining butter over the skin. It looks worse written down than it is in real life.

3. Stuff the cavity with the lemon, garlic and herbs. Scatter the onion, carrot and celery around the bird.

4. Put the chicken in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 200C/180C fan. Roast for 1 hour 20 minutes (or allow 20 minutes per 500g, plus 20 minutes extra for a different-sized bird), basting once halfway if you remember (and if you don’t, it will survive). Leave the oven on – everything else will cook around the chicken.

0:15 – Start the potatoes

5. Peel the potatoes and cut into large chunks. Boil in well-salted water for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just starting to soften. Drain well, shake to rough up the edges, then leave to steam dry.

6. Put the fat into a large roasting tray and place it in the oven to heat, ideally on a shelf below the chicken.

0:35 – Prep everything else

7. Wrap the sausages in bacon and set aside.

8. Toss the parsnips with olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.

9. Trim and halve the sprouts.

10. Cut the cauliflower into florets.

0:45 – Potatoes into the oven

11. Carefully add the potatoes to the hot fat, turning to coat. Sprinkle generously with salt. Roast for 1 hour, turning once. They cook at the same time as the chicken. If they stick slightly, leave them alone – they’ll release when they’re ready.

0:50 – Make the bread sauce

12. Put the onion, milk, bay and cloves in a saucepan. Bring just to the boil, then turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

13. Strain, return the milk to the pan, add the breadcrumbs and butter and gently heat, stirring, until thick. Season with salt and nutmeg. Cover and keep warm on the lowest heat – or reheat gently later if needed. Bread sauce is famously forgiving.

1:05 – Get the cauliflower cheese ready

14. Boil the cauliflower in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain well.

15. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth and thick. Stir in the mustard and cheese, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

16. Tip the cauliflower into a baking dish, pour over the sauce and set aside.

1:15 – Sort the stuffing

17. Make the stuffing according to the packet instructions. Spoon into a buttered ovenproof dish or roll into balls. Set aside.

1:25 – Rest the chicken

18. Check the chicken is cooked through – the juices should run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced. Lift onto a plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 20-30 minutes. If in doubt, give it another 10 minutes in the oven – it won’t suffer.

1:30 – Make the gravy

19. Place the roasting tin over a medium heat (it’s fine to put it straight on the hob). Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then gradually whisk in the hot stock, scraping up all the caramelised bits from the base of the tin. Simmer until glossy and rich. Taste and season. If it looks lumpy at first, keep whisking – gravy nearly always comes back.

1:35 – Final oven push

20. Add the pigs in blankets, stuffing and cauliflower cheese to the oven (they can share shelves). Turn the heat up to 220C/200C fan and cook for 25 minutes, until everything is golden and bubbling.

1:40 – Finish the sprouts

21. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp.

22. Add the sprouts cut-side down and cook without moving them for 4-5 minutes, until golden underneath. Toss, add the chestnuts and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until the sprouts are just tender and everything is hot.

23. Finish with plenty of black pepper. Taste – the bacon usually provides enough salt.

2:00 – Serve

24. Carve the chicken. Bring everything to the table. Open the cranberry sauce. Pour gravy generously. Breathe. You’ve just cooked Christmas dinner.