Freezer Aisle Face-Off: We Steamed Every Supermarket Dumpling So You Don't Have To

There's a moment of truth that happens in every British kitchen at around 7pm on a Wednesday. You've got a bag of frozen dumplings in the freezer, a takeaway menu on the counter, and a quiet hope that the freezer option might actually be decent this time.

After steaming our way through every frozen dim sum item we could find — eleven products across six supermarkets — we've got answers. Proper, scored-on-a-spreadsheet answers.

How We Ran It

Every product was cooked blind, straight from frozen, following the packet instructions (usually steaming, occasionally pan-frying). We scored each one on three things:

• Wrapper — texture, thickness, whether it went gloopy or stayed silky
• Filling — generosity, seasoning, and whether it tasted of anything at all
• Value — price per dumpling versus the pleasure it delivered

No microwave shortcuts, no garnishes to hide behind. Just dumplings, a bamboo steamer, and judgement.

The Results, From Worst to Best

The bin-worthy. One major own-brand spring roll — we won't name names, but it rhymes with a certain budget chain — arrived greasy and collapsed like a wet paper bag. The filling tasted mostly of pepper and regret. There is no steam upgrade that saves a wrapper this far gone.

The meh middle. A well-known branded gyoza range looked the part but delivered a filling so mild it was basically wallpaper paste with cabbage. Fine if you drown it in chilli oil. Why bother, though?

The dark horse. Lidl's frozen gyoza punch well above their price point. Thin wrappers, a properly punchy pork filling, and roughly 6p a piece. Steam them for a minute longer than the packet says and they're genuinely hard to fault.

The winner. Waitrose's own-brand bao buns were the standout of the whole exercise. Fluffy, pillowy, with a sticky pork filling that tasted close to something you'd get from a good Chinatown bakery. Steam for eight minutes, add a slick of sriracha mayo, and guests will assume you made them from scratch.

The Quick Steam Upgrade

Whatever you buy, a two-minute trick makes everything better: get your steamer properly raging before the dumplings go in, line it with parchment or cabbage leaves so nothing sticks, and resist the urge to peek. Half-steamed, half-soggy is the enemy. Full steam, lid on, timer set.

And if you've got five minutes to spare, pan-fry then steam the gyoza instead — a crisp golden base transforms even the mediocre ones.

The Verdict

Skip the spring rolls entirely, treat Lidl's gyoza as a freezer staple, and keep a box of those Waitrose bao in reserve for emergency dinners. Your Wednesday self will thank you.