How Many Calories in a Christmas Dinner? UK Breakdown

A typical UK Christmas dinner plate is about 1,100 to 1,300 calories before pudding, based on UK government food composition data. Add Christmas pudding, a couple of glasses of wine and a mince pie and the meal passes 2,000 calories. Roast potatoes and pigs in blankets are the biggest contributors.

Last updated: 8 November 2026 · By Alan Spicer

How many calories are in a Christmas dinner?

A typical UK Christmas dinner plate is about 1,130 calories, based on the UK government’s official food composition data (CoFID) and the portion sizes shown below. Add a Yorkshire pudding and cauliflower cheese and it’s about 1,270, before pudding.

The NHS says an average woman needs about 2,000 calories a day and an average man about 2,500, so a full Christmas dinner is around half a day’s energy on one plate. That’s not a reason to skip it. It just helps to know.

Sources: CoFID 2021 (Public Health England); our worked portions.

Christmas dinner calories item by item

The table below works out each item from CoFID figures per 100g, using typical portions. Change the grams to match your own plate.

Source: McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021 (Public Health England). Portion sizes are our worked examples.

Roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and stuffing make up more than half the plate’s calories. Vegetables are the opposite: sprouts, carrots and red cabbage together are under 100 calories.

How many calories do the extras add?

The extras are where Christmas calories pile up, because they’re spread through the day rather than on one plate. Here are the common ones, worked out the same way:

Source: CoFID 2021 (Public Health England); portions are our worked examples.

How many calories do people eat on Christmas Day?

Christmas Day calories depend mostly on what happens outside dinner: drinks, chocolate, cheese and evening snacks. Our example below is one realistic day of festive extras on top of dinner.

Source: CoFID 2021 (Public Health England); our worked example.

That’s already more than the NHS average daily need for a woman, before breakfast. Plenty of people eat well beyond this on the day, which is fine as a one-off.

Which Christmas foods are highest and lowest in calories?

Per 100g, the highest-calorie Christmas foods in UK government data are chocolate, cheese, mince pies and streaky bacon, and the lowest are boiled vegetables and gravy. Turkey sits in the middle and is high in protein.

Source: CoFID 2021 (Public Health England).

How to enjoy Christmas dinner and keep it lighter

You can have every part of Christmas dinner and still cut a few hundred calories by changing proportions. These are small swaps, not sacrifices:

• Fill half your plate with vegetables first, then add the rest.
• Choose turkey breast and leave the skin (light meat is about 153 kcal per 100g, meat with skin about 190).
• Have three or four roast potatoes rather than six.
• Keep pigs in blankets to two or three.
• Pour gravy rather than drowning the plate, and leave the bread sauce if you’re not fussed.
• Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or a low-calorie drink.

Plate size matters too. A Cochrane review of 58 studies found people eat more when served larger portions or use larger tableware, so a slightly smaller plate does some of the work for you.

Should you count calories over Christmas?

You don’t have to count calories over Christmas or log every mouthful on the day. A rough idea of what’s on your plate is enough, and getting back to normal on Boxing Day matters more than any single meal.

If you’re on GLP-1 medication, your appetite may be smaller anyway and rich food can sit heavily, so smaller portions and eating slowly often help. Talk to your prescriber if you’re unsure about alcohol or big meals. My post on alcohol on Mounjaro covers that side.

What should you do after Christmas?

Go back to your normal meals on Boxing Day or the day after. The scale often jumps after a big day because of extra food and fluid in your body, so give it a few days of normal eating before you judge it.

If you want a fresh start for January, set a calorie plan and log a normal week. My beginner’s guide to counting calories walks through it, and how many calories to eat to lose weight helps you pick a sensible target.

People also ask

Frequently asked questions

Is turkey high in calories?

No. Roast turkey light meat is about 153 calories per 100g in UK government food data, and it’s high in protein. Skin adds more: whole roasted turkey meat with skin is about 190 calories per 100g.

How many calories in a mince pie?

A shop-bought mince pie is about 377 calories per 100g in UK government food data, so a typical 60g pie is about 226 calories. Homemade pies vary with the pastry.

How many calories in Christmas Day overall?

It depends what you eat beyond dinner. A Christmas dinner with pudding, two glasses of wine, a mince pie, some chocolate and a bit of cheese adds up to about 2,330 calories in our example, before breakfast and evening snacks.

Which Christmas foods are lowest in calories?

Vegetables and turkey breast. Boiled sprouts are about 32 calories per 100g and boiled carrots about 29, while roast turkey light meat is about 153 and high in protein.

How many calories are in Christmas drinks?

A 175ml glass of red wine is about 133 calories from UK government data, a 125ml glass of sparkling wine about 105, and the NHS says a pint of 5% beer can be up to 222.

Should I count calories on Christmas Day?

That’s up to you. Plenty of people would rather enjoy the day than log every mouthful. If you want to stay aware, logging the main meal with a photo takes seconds and gives you a rough picture without spoiling dinner.

How can I make Christmas dinner lower in calories?

Fill half the plate with vegetables, have turkey breast without skin, keep roast potatoes and pigs in blankets to a few each, and go easy on the gravy and sauces. You’ll still have a proper Christmas dinner.

Do roast parsnips have more calories than roast potatoes?

They’re similar per 100g: roast parsnips in rapeseed oil are about 158 calories and roast potatoes about 161 in UK government food data. Portion size makes the difference.

Final thoughts

A typical UK Christmas dinner is about 1,100 to 1,300 calories before pudding, and roast potatoes and pigs in blankets do most of the damage. Turkey and vegetables are the lightest things on the plate.

Christmas is one day, and one day doesn’t decide your year. If you’d like a rough picture without thinking about it, take a photo of your plate in CaveCals and let it estimate the meal, then get back to your normal routine on Boxing Day.

Sources: [1] McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021 (CoFID), Public Health England. [2] NHS: Understanding calories. [3] NHS: Calories in alcohol. [4] Hollands GJ et al. Portion, package or tableware size, Cochrane 2015.

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