(Image: Greggs)
Greggs fans across the North East have rushed to try the bakery chain’s festive bake after it landed in 200 stores across the region.
The full Christmas menu reached every UK shop on October 22, giving customers an early taste of Christmas.
More than a dozen seasonal items are now available, although none of the bakes or sandwiches contains turkey.
The menu includes the chain’s beloved festive bake, now with a new recipe, which has been part of Greggs’ Christmas range since 2009.
Some customers have called the festive menu’s release a “less-traditional sign that Christmas is around the corner" on social media.
One customer wrote: "Happy Greggs Festive Bake day to those who celebrate it, I certainly do."
Greggs began releasing its 2026 Christmas menu on October 1, with pigs in blankets, the sweet mince pie roll, sweet mince pies, Christmas cake slice and mini caramel shortbreads available first.
The second wave arrived on October 22, including the new-recipe festive bake, a pigs under blankets toastie, a pepperoni pizza with hot honey and candy cane-themed drinks.
Greggs has not announced the return of the vegan festive bake for 2026.
The company announced the second wave of Christmas treats on social media, writing: "Guess who’s back?
"Flaky, festive, and still made with chicken, get your festive bake fix from today!"
One fan wrote: “Already had two and I have no regrets!”
The treat is priced at £2.50, and contains chicken, smoked ham hock, bacon, soft cheese and pork, sage and onion stuffing in sage and cranberry sauce.
The filling is wrapped in puff pastry with a crumb topping.
Greggs said the bake was "back and better than ever," upon release, adding that the chicken filling has stuck with the product since its initial release.
"We’re brave enough to say it: turkey can get stuffed," the bakery chain wrote.
"Like the obligatory pair of socks in your stocking every year or the office party that always gets out of hand, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without it."
Fans have shared images and videos online as they rush to try the returning bake.
One North East customer said he could "taste the difference" with the new recipe, and described the bake as a "fantastic sensation."
Some vegan customers have criticised this year’s festive range and questioned the absence of a vegan Festive Bake. One customer wrote:
"Guys, I love your vegan roll but even I can only eat so many of them. Really, nothing new for us vegans to mitigate the Christmas misery?"
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John Gregg founded Greggs in 1939. The Tyneside family firm grew into the UK’s biggest bakery chain and has kept its headquarters in Newcastle.
The annual festive bake has become one of Greggs’ best-known seasonal products, with the North East's 200 shops now stocking the Christmas range.
With Christmas still more than two months away, the launch has given Greggs customers across the region an early seasonal treat, with the first Festive Bake of the season marking an important part of fans' Christmas routines.