It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but there’s no getting around the fact that Christmas can be very expensive.
While we typically factor in the price of presents, decorations and food, it’s easy to overlook the cost of electricity and energy used to actually cook the big Christmas dinner. That’s where we come in.
We’ve worked out the average amount of energy used to cook a typical Christmas dinner and, based on the average gas and electricity rates according to Ofgem, concluded how much cooking will cost you this Christmas.
We’ve also listed some tips to help you reduce your energy usage this Christmas and save a bit of money in the process.
What is the current energy price cap?
From the time of writing, and up to the 31st December 2025, the direct debit cap in the UK is 6.3p per kWh for gas and 26.35p per kWh for electricity. The average standing charges work out to 34.3p for gas and 53.69p for electricity per day.
These figures are expected to change from 1 January 2026.
How much energy is used to cook Christmas dinner?
Before we begin, it’s worth noting that the exact amount of energy used will vary depending on a few factors, such as the food you’re cooking, portion sizes and the energy rating of your appliances.
The average fan oven should draw a maximum of between 2kW and 3kW of power, so we’ll use our 2025 best oven winner, the Beko BBIMA13301XMP, to work out average costs. The Beko’s stated power is towards the higher end, at 3000W/3kW, which is the maximum amount of power the oven will draw.
The oven will draw more power as it heats, but once at temperature the oven can turn its heating element on and off to maintain temperature, using less power. When we test ovens, we measure the power required to cook a batch of chips at a temperature similar to that used to cook a roast. This test runs for 20 minutes (the cooking time on the pack of chips).
Our Beko oven used 0.446kWh of power for this. If a turkey takes three and a half hours to cook, then that’s 10.5 times longer than our chip experiment, so you can expect a power usage of around 4.5kWh. Factoring in the heat-up time (say, 0.5kWh), and adding a couple of extra hours of use on for potatoes, veg and possibly some desert (2.7kWh), that’s a grand total of 7.7kWh.
With the current electricity price cap at 26.35p, that makes the total cost of cooking that turkey and sides at around £2.03.
Of course, during the turkey’s cooking time, you’ll likely fill the oven with additional trays of food too. Even so, you’ll likely need to rely on other kitchen appliances, like air fryers, and your hob too.
Speaking of using the hob, you’ll likely need to add par-boiling to your cooking time. To demonstrate, we’ll use the Smeg HOBD382MB2 where one of its burners runs at a maximum of 2.1kW. Again, that max will be to bring the pan to the boil, before the hob drops back to a lower power level for simmering.
That should mean that a 15-minute parboil should use around 0.4kWh of energy, which equates to around 11p. You can probably expect to get through another kWh of power for cooking other vegetables, such as steaming cabbage or par-boiling sprouts, before frying them off in butter with chestnuts. So, add another 26.35p to be safe.
With this in mind, hob use should cost you around .
Next, if you don’t already then you should really consider utilising your air fryer for Christmas dinner – especially if you’re cooking frozen foods like pigs in blankets or even yorkshire puddings. Assuming you’re using the Ninja Double Stack (the winner of our best air fryer guide) which draws a maximum of 2.47kW, twenty minutes on Max Crisp mode could use up to 0.815kWh of energy (21p).
With the above in mind, you can expect Christmas dinner to cost you around £2.62.
How much does it cost to cook Christmas dinner?
It’s bad news for penny pinchers this Christmas. According to research conducted by Uswitch.com, the cost of cooking Christmas dinner is up by a whopping 7% compared to last year.
While the price comparison and switching service estimates the average household will pay £2.80 on Christmas Day, based on our own analysis, we’ve estimated the cost is actually a bit lower at around £2.62. However, remember the exact figures will vary depending on your appliances, cooking times and methods.
How can I reduce my energy use on Christmas Day?
While it may seem like an almost impossible task, there are ways to reduce your energy consumption on Christmas Day. One of the biggest ways to avoid wasting energy (and money) is to choose the right appliance for your meal.
For example, if you have a large enough air fryer then you can use it to make both roast potatoes and vegetables. Not only will that be quicker than a traditional oven, but as air fryers don’t need as much oil, food should be that bit healthier too.
Otherwise, there are small things you can do on Christmas Day to reduce energy use, such as not opening the oven door too much, to avoid heat escaping, and turning the thermostat down to account for more people in your home.
Uswitch.com is also offering a pretty impressive promotion for smart meter users this Christmas Day. Regardless of the supplier you use, as long as you have a compatible smart meter then you can sign up to receive up to £10 for the electricity you use between 8am and 4pm on 25th December 2025.
All you need to do is download the free Uswitch app and connect your smart meter before the 21st December.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, says that although “the offer is open to anyone with a compatible smart meter, no matter who your supplier is […] Spaces are limited”. Gallizzi advises that consumers should sign up as soon as possible to avoid missing out.
