We rate lunchtime meal deals and explain which shop, including Boots and Tesco, gives you the most for your money
WE'VE rated high street lunchtime meal deals to find the combos that save you the most money.
Boots was crowned the winner, with shoppers set to save up to £4.85.
Its meal deal costs £3.29 or £3.99 in London and customers get to choose three items from the list of products on offer.
Even though the savings in the capital are less, at a maximum of £4.25, it is still better value that any of the deals offered by leading supermarkets.
As keen champions of lunch, we took it on ourselves to find the best value meal deal combos, so you can get the most for your money.
We asked high street brands to tell us the most expensive main, snack and drink included on the offer - and we calculated the savings.
All of the retailers got back to us, apart from Morrisons which said it didn't want to take part. Here's what we found:
Boots - save up to £4.85
- Meal deal: £3.39 (£3.99 in London)
- Most expensive combination: £8.24
- Saving: £4.85 (£4.25 in London)
Boots was the overall winner with the highest possible savings of a pretty impressive £4.85 outside of London, or £4.25 in London.
The most expensive main in the range is a triple sandwich that will set you back £3.35 if bought separately - almost as much as the meal deal costs on its own.
Customers who pick out a KIND protein bar for a snack can expect to pay £2.29, making it the most expensive one in the range, while an Innocent Coconut Water will set you back £2.60.
The items would add up to £8.24 if bought individually at Boots.
Even though it's not the cheapest lunchtime meal deal on the high street, it has the biggest offering in terms of savings.
Co-op - save up to £3.55
- Meal deal: £3.50
- Most expensive combination: £7.05
- Saving: £3.55
At £3.50, Co-op has one of the most expensive lunchtime meal deals but it came out in second place when it comes to value for money.
The winning combination is a salmon and prawn combo sushi pack, which costs £3 on it's own, and a £1.30 satay sticks with sweet chilli dip for your snack.
The most expensive drink included in the offer is a Naked Juice smoothie that would normally set you back £2.75.
Overall, the combination costs £7.05 - making it the second most expensive combination outside the deal that we looked at.
Shoppers can save £3.55. In total, Co-op says there are 664 products that are included in the lunchtime offer.
A percentage of the profits of Co-op own brand products in the deal is also donated to its charity, Co-op Local Community Fund, which funds UK projects.
Ali Jones, customer director at Co-op, said : “Value for money for our members and customers is a key focus for us at Co-op and we’re thrilled that we’ve placed so highly in this retailer comparison."
Tesco - save up to £3.24
- Meal deal: £3
- Most expensive combination: £6.24
- Saving: £3.24
Tesco came out on top in our meal deal comparison last year but this year it has slipped to second place.
At Tesco you save £3.24 on buying the items separately.
To get the best value for money combo, you'll need to buy the chicken triple sandwich (£2.75) for your main, a pack of Fridge Raiders (£1) to snack on and a Coconut Water Vita Coco (£2.49).
Outside the deal, the three-piece lunch would set you back £6.24.
Tesco has over 500 items to choose from when it comes to selecting the perfect combination for your lunch.
Sainsbury's - save up to £2.35
- Meal deal: £3
- Most expensive combination: £5.35
- Saving: £2.35
Sainsbury's charges the same price for its lunchtime meal deal as competitor Tesco - £3.
The most expensive items on its meal deal would cost £5.35 if bought separately.
Unlike Tesco and Boots the supermarket doesn't offer a triple sandwich option - it's most expensive sarnie is £2.
A packet of crisps is the most expensive snack at 90p, while a Naked Juice drink normally costs £2.45.
Overall, you'll save upto £2.35 with the deal, which isn't that great value for money as the saving is less than half compared to the other offers.
Sainsbury's also has fewer food products to choose from as there are only 160 products in the range.
Asda - save up to £1.25
- Meal deal: 3 for 2 (cheapest item free)
- Most expensive combination: £6.36
- Saving: £1.25
After years of steering clear of the lunchtime meal deal, the supermarket finally launched its own in August but with a twist.
Rather than offering a flat price deal, it is running a three for the price of two offer across a range of hundreds of products.
You don't have to choose a main, snack and drink either, the combination could be three mains if that's what you fancied and you'd get the cheapest one free.
To get the best value combo, you'd need to choose the New York deli sandwich (£2.75), the onion Bahji snack (£1.25) and a Naked Juice (£2.36).
If the items were bought separately it would cost £6.36 at the till. The deal only saves you £1.25 because you get the cheapest item free, in this case the snack.
But it's worth noting that Asda also offers the cheapest meal deal combination too.
If you bought the oak smoked ham sandwich (£1), a packet of Walkers baked crisps (60p) and a bottle of water (38p), your whole lunch will cost just £1.60.
An Asda spokesperson said: "We know our customers want a wide range of choice when it comes to grabbing a quick bite which is why as well as our these items we also have the best value meal-deal in our stores.’"
Waitrose - save up to £1.05
- Meal deal: £5
- Most expensive combination: £6.05
- Saving: £1.05
Like Asda, Waitrose offers its own take on the lunchtime meal deal with its lunch bags.
The "lunch for today" pre-prepped bags come with more food than you'd normally get in a meal deal, with five items up for grabs.
Not all of the products can be sold separately, such as a single apple, but it still works out as the least value for money in our comparison.
The biggest saving you can make is £1.05.
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The contents of each bag will normally set you back £6.05 - separately sandwiches cost £2.50, a flapjack costs £1 and a bag of crisps will set you back 87p.
You can't buy apples on their own but a pack of six costs £1.60, so each piece of fruit costs 28p, while a smoothie costs £1.40.
But while you can more items in it, you won't be getting the best value for money and you're better off heading over to Boots.
Tesco did not wish to comment. Boots, Sainsbury's and Waitrose were contacted by The Sun for comment.
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