olive summer supermarket awards 2022

Best supermarket summer foods at a glance:

• Best sausage: Waitrose 4 Pork Chorizo & Manchego Sausage Whorls, £4.25
• Best barbecue sharing centrepiece: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Flat Iron Beef Steak with Teriyaki Glaze, £8
• Best summer seafood: Tesco Finest Garlic & Parsley Butter King Prawns, £6
• Best burgers: Aldi Specially Selected Ultimate Burger, £2.69
• Best meat kebab: Iceland Chiquito Mega Chicken Skewers, £6
• Best ribs: Asda Ultimate Ribs, £9
• Best chicken wings: Iceland TGI Fridays Crispy Nashville-Style Chicken Wings, £4
• Best vegan burgers: M&S Vegan Steak Burgers, £5
• Best veggie burger: Tesco Fire Pit 2 Quarter Pounder Halloumi Burgers, £2.20
• Best vegetarian sausages: Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers Cumberland Shroomdogs, £2.25
• Best veggie kebab: Co-op GRO Cauli Shawarma Kebab, £3
• Best sharing bread: Co-op Irresistible Hand Finished Rosemary and Rock Salt Focaccia, £2
• Best sausage rolls: Waitrose No 1 Pork and Apple Roll, £2.75
• Best veggie sausage rolls: Tesco Finest 4 Cheddar & Caramelised Onion Rolls, £2.30
• Best pork pie: M&S Collections Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, £3.75
• Best scotch egg: Co-op Irresistible Scotch Eggs, £1.50
• Best hummus: Morrisons The Best Pesto and Parmesan Hummus, £1.75
• Best handheld ice cream: Aldi Specially Selected Ice Cream Mini Pots, £2.69
• Best summer showstopper: Booths Flower Celebration Cake, £38

Best sausage

Joint winner: Morrisons The Best Italian Style Sausages (400g), £2

A classic, versatile sausage with a generous amount of herbs, perfect for hot dogs or toad-in-the-hole.

Available in store at Morrisons (£2)

Joint winner: Waitrose 4 Pork Chorizo & Manchego Sausage Whorls (360g), £4.25

These chorizo-style sausages are smoky and peppery with a hit of paprika.

Available from Waitrose (£4.25)

Best barbecue sharing centrepiece

Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Flat Iron Beef Steak with Teriyaki Glaze (560g), £8

A spicy, peppery crust, juicy meat and caramelised at the edges.

Available from Sainsbury's (£8)

Runner-up: Asda tomahawk steak

An impressive-looking cut of meat, this is served on the bone, making it a showstopping centrepiece. It’s a plain steak that cooks well, so you can jazz it up at home with marinades, dips and interesting accompaniments – a great supermarket find.

Available in store at Asda

Best summer seafood

Winner: Tesco Finest Garlic & Parsley Butter King Prawns (210g), £6

These plump prawns were juicy and firm with plenty of classic garlic butter to mop up with bread.

Available from Tesco (£6)

Runner-up: M&S wild Canadian scallops in an XO sauce, £9 (146g)

A simple way to cook scallops at home. These are prettily presented for a stylish starter. The scallops are well-cooked, with the crunchy crust adding texture.

Available in store at M&S (£9)

Best burgers

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Ultimate Burger (340g), £2.69

For a classic burger, these were our pick – juicy, highly savoury burgers with a good flavour and texture.

Available from Aldi (£2.69)

Runner-up: M&S two chilli cheese beef burgers, £4.50 (300g)

Try something different with these cheese and chilli burgers. The cheese runs through the whole burger without being overpowering, and we enjoyed the jalapeño kick.

Available in store at M&S (£4.50)

Best meat kebab

Joint winner: Iceland Chiquito Mega Chicken Skewers (700g), £6

Really juicy chicken with crispy skin, these kebabs had a great balance of spice and sweet notes, and a sticky glaze.

Available from Iceland (£6)

Joint winner: Aldi Ashfields Grill Sweet Chilli Jam Beef Kebabs (400g), £2.69

The chilli jam adds pleasing sweetness and plenty of fragrant spices to these simple kebabs.

Available from Aldi (£2.69)

Best ribs

Winner: Asda Ultimate Ribs (830g), £9

These had tender, juicy meat and were much less dry than others tested. The sweet, almost orangy sauce added great glaze and stickiness.

Available in store at Asda (£9)

Runner-up: Waitrose & Partners slow-cooked Korean-style beef ribs

These beef ribs have really tender meat and would be an impressive summer centrepiece. The barbecue sauce is sticky, with slight soy notes.

Available in store at Waitrose & Partners

Best chicken wings

Winner: Iceland TGI Fridays Crispy Nashville-Style Chicken Wings (600g), £4

A fun choice for chicken nugget fans, these battered wings had a crispy coating and gentle Nashville-style spicing.

Available from Iceland (£4)

Best vegan burger

Winner: M&S Vegan Steak Burgers (340g), £5

A solid meat alternative, this thick burger had a very meaty texture and slightly smoky flavour. It would easily work with ketchup in a bun.

Available in store at M&S (£5)

Runner-up: Morrisons Plant Revolution Tex-Mex burgers, £3 (220g)

If you don’t like meat substitutes, this vegan burger is filled with veg. It was good to see sweetcorn chunks, and judges could clearly taste the beans. It has pleasing char marks once cooked and light, sweet heat.

Available from Morrisons (£3)

Best veggie burger

Joint winner: Tesco Fire Pit 2 Quarter Pounder Halloumi Burgers (228g), £2.20

This halloumi would work well layered into a veggie burger with grilled veg and salad.

Available from Tesco (£2.20)

Joint winner: M&S Masala Cauliflower Bhaji Burgers (240g), £3

This firm patty had nice chunks of chickpea, gentle spicing and subtle notes of coconut.

Available in store at M&S (£3)

Best vegetarian sausage

Winner: Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers Cumberland Shroomdogs (300g), £2.25

A good meaty texture, this herby, mushroom based option would work well in BBQ hot dogs.

Available from Sainsbury's (£2.25)

Runner-up: Tesco Plant Chef Cumberland-style bangers, £1.75

These have a texture similar to a meat-based sausage, with good herby, peppery flavour. Would be great for a veggie hot dog with ketchup and caramelised onions.

Available from Tesco (£1.75)

Best veggie kebab

Winner: Co-op GRO Cauli Shawarma Kebab (240g), £3

These had a lovely light masala flavour, gentle spicing and a soft texture that would grill nicely on a BBQ.

Available in store at Coop (£3)

Runner-up: Waitrose & Partners Mediterranean-style vegetable and halloumi kebabs with lemon & oregano drizzle

Admittedly, it would be simple to make your own version of these kebabs at home, but they're a quick solution if you’re having a last-minute barbecue. With fresh flavours and no prep time, they can be jazzed up at home with a marinade or tzatziki.

Available in store at Waitrose & Partners

Best sharing bread

Winner: Co-op Irresistible Hand Finished Rosemary and Rock Salt Focaccia (300g), £2

A good crisp crust and light and chewy within. It’s generously flavoured with lots of strong rosemary.

Available in store at Co-op (£2)

Best sausage roll

Winner: Waitrose No 1 Pork and Apple Roll (160g), £2.75

With very buttery, flaky pastry, this large sausage roll makes a hearty picnic main course. The coarse meat had a good flavour with a gentle sweetness.

Available in store at Waitrose (£2.75)

Runner-up: Iceland Cathedral City cheddar sausage rolls, £2.50

These are a twist on the classic, and delicious served warm. Flaky, herb-dusted pastry, juicy meat and an after note of melting cheese that's not too overpowering.

Available from Iceland (£2.50)

Best veggie sausage roll

Winner: Tesco Finest 4 Cheddar & Caramelised Onion Rolls (188g), £2.30

Really good flaky, golden pastry, notes of mature cheddar, while the nigella seeds add light crunch.

Available from Tesco (£2.30)

Best pork pie

Winner: M&S Collections Melton Mowbray Pork Pie (440g), £3.75

This had crisp pastry and good flavoured jelly, and the generous pork filling was well-seasoned with a satisfying texture.

Available from M&S (£3.75)

Runner-up: Asda small Melton Mowbray pork pie, £1.60 (140g)

A traditional pork pie, with excellent dark golden pastry and firm jelly. The pork has warmth from generous black pepper spicing.

Available in store at Asda (£1.60)

Best scotch egg

Winner: Co-op Irresistible Scotch Eggs (120g), £1.50

These had a thin breadcrumb coating with good flavour, nicely seasoned meat and a well cooked egg in the middle.

Available from Co-op (£1.50)

Runner-up: Waitrose & Partners pork onion bhaji scotch egg, £1.28 (120g)

For a subtle twist on a classic scotch egg, these have onion seeds in the breadcrumbs for a boost of flavour, plus a sweet curried flavour throughout, reminding judges of coronation chicken.

Available from Waitrose & Partners (£1.28)

Best hummus

Joint winner: Morrisons The Best Pesto and Parmesan Hummus (170g), £1.75

The strong basil pesto and smooth hummus worked together perfectly for a moreish dip.

Available from Morrisons (£1.75)

Joint winner: M&S Lamb Shawarma Houmous (450g), £5

The hummus is smooth and well seasoned, and the gently spiced, chewy lamb makes an interesting twist on the classic.

Available in store at M&S (£5)

Best handheld ice cream

Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Ice Cream Mini Pots (4 x 110ml), £2.69

Highlights were the tangy blackcurrant and chocolate, and the smooth salted caramel.

Available from Aldi (£2.69)

Best sweet picnic treat

Winner: Iceland TGI Fridays Mini Brownie Obsession (240g), £3.50

These molten chocolate cakes take just 15 seconds in the microwave for an irresistible snack.

Available from Iceland (£3.50)

Best summer showstopper

Runner-up: Booths flower celebration cake, £38

For street parties or big celebrations, this giant cake looks incredibly impressive and would easily feed over 20 people. The hand-piped icing flowers are beautiful, while the light vanilla cake and sweet raspberry jam are simple crowdpleasers.

Available from Booths (£38)

How we chose the winners

The olive team chose 23 categories, having researched the products that you, our readers, would be most likely to buy this summer. We invited all the big supermarkets to select the products they wanted to nominate (just one entry per category, so they had to choose carefully). Our expert panel of judges blind-tasted them, rating each on taste, texture and appearance. We then awarded winner accolades to our favourites.