The findings from a survey this month of 2,000 UK adults by OnePoll showed the roast dinner was also named as one of the top five things that provide the most comfort to 50% of Brits during poor weather.
Roast potatoes are the most popular variety of potato to include in a roast dinner, with almost three quarters (72%) of UK respondents choosing them, with only 12% choosing mash and 6% going for chips.
Brussels sprouts were named as the second favourite vegetable, after roast potatoes.
Beef has been named as the nation’s preferred meat (29%) closely followed by chicken (21%), lamb (16%) and pork (7%).
Carvery prices cut
Meanwhile, Greene King’s Pub & Carvery has launched a competition to find the nation’s biggest carvery lover and has cut carvery prices to £7 for limited time.
The operator is putting up a prize of free carvery meals for the whole of 2025, plus a £2,025 cash prize.
The competition is open to anyone and began on Monday 16 September and will run until Monday 20 October.
Greene King business unit director for food pubs Gavin O’Neill said: “With the darker nights and seasonal changes upon us, there’s no better hearty, warming meal than full roast carvery, so why not make it even better value for money at only £7?”
“Plus, with free carvery for a year, and a £2,025 cash prize up for grabs for Britain’s ultimate carvery fan, this is a great opportunity for customers to pick up the title of Carvery King or Queen, along with a great prize at the same time.”
Sauce-y choices
Other findings from the survey include 32% of respondents would be willing to pay between £11 and £15 for a good roast dinner while 29% would push the boat out farther and pay between £16 and £20.
Three activities were found to provide more comfort on a winter’s day than a roast meal and they were having a hot drink (62%), snuggling under a blanket (60%) and sitting by a fire (52%).
The top five roast dinner vegetables were roast potatoes (47%), Brussels sprouts (9%), broccoli (8%), parsnips (8%) and carrots (7%).
The top five roast dinner sauces are gravy (62%), mint sauce (22%), horseradish (16%), apple sauce (15%) and cranberry sauce (13%).
