£50 to spend in M&S food department: any good store cupboard recommendations?

[pattihews]

I've been given a £50 M&S voucher and tomorrow I'm going past a flagship food store. My local M&S food department is small and limited so I thought I'd ask MN's advice.

I'm a good cook and rather than spend the money on ready meals that I can produce myself, I'd prefer to buy some store cupboard items that I can use when I'm short of time or to introduce new flavours and ingredients to my standard repertoire. What would you recommend?

Tinned chilli is really good for emergency nachos, the frozen French range, brand escapes me but mini croque monsieurs are fab. Spice pastes, pasta sauces, and the pasta in the papery bag is all good.

Frozen truffle butter

all butter biscuits

cornish cruncher crackers

blacksticks blue cheese

cheese twists

Mexican layered dip

High protein choco crunch cereal (I'm having some as a late night snack!)

Ditto the treacle and fruit loaf!! Also love the Columbian single origin coffee (beans or ground). Oh, and the giant chocolate bar with crushed mini eggs…

I've just emptied some stuff out of the freezer and and filled the gaps with freezer blocks so I can take the cool box with me tomorrow. A friend has insisted I buy a couple of packs of King Prawn Bhuna. Their best curry, apparently. So I'll have some triple-cooked chips and frozen croissants and other treats too. At this rate it'll be hard to limit myself to £50.

Thanks for the suggestions. I wasn't really aware that M&S did jam or chutney or half the things mentioned. Mushroom and truffle soup... yum.

Dd likes the hot choc sachets which you make with water.
She also likes the mini Colin caterpillar cakes.
I love a cheese scone for the journey home.
Red onion chutney is lush.
Salad pots are tasty.

Definitely jams

Their own brand hot sauce (my husband’s favourite Christmas present apparently, he has plans to buy enough to last “for life”!!!)

They do big packs of mature cheddar for £5 which are really tasty and good value. Not store cupboard but should last quite a while.

Not food but might be in the food section, nice teacups or coffee mugs, tea containers, honey spoon thing, spoon rest type things

Their baked beans are really good and only like 5p more then Tesco own brand.

Also not store cupboard but their frozen pastries and frozen cookies are so good.

The tomato and basil pasta sauce (non refrigerated) is very good. Like a proper decent marinara.

mixed beans (pulses) in a tin

Spiced apple and pear chutney
Seeded oatcakes
Gold teabags

id probably spend the whole lot on Percy Pigs and Walnut Whips.. but I also recommend the jams and chutneys. I like their Thai green curry paste too!

Chipotle paste
Cornish cruncher crackers
Orange chocolate rounds
Tiffin slices
Chocolate covered cashews
Smoked haddock chowder
Blood orange lollies
Harissa lamb parcels
Anchovies
Mountain bars

All my favourite things
And the toddler loves a bakery soft pretzel

The Earl Grey teabags are the best, the only ones I'll drink.

The Florentines are excellent.

Frozen chopped garlic and ginger are staples in my freezer, along with the frozen almond croissants, so delicious.

I've got a real soft spot for the box of coffee chocolates.

Thai red curry paste shots (and a small tin of coconut cream)
As you're now buying chilled - prawn siu mai
Sicilian lemon & white chocolate cookies or a close second the pistacho ones

I love their biscuits, especially the almond ones. Tinned goods very reasonably priced, good staples. I noticed some lovely things in the freezer section like flavoured butters recently!

Chunky fish fingers, gorgeous

Frozen Danish pastries and croissants!

Dates

Ohh also the Korma spice paste is delicious

Black truffle crisps.

I'd buy loads of herbs and spices, especially more unusual ones like ras-el-hanout. It's so easy to cook cheaply if you have a packed spice rack!

Truffle mayo.

And tights.

I always shop in M&S but don't find the food to be significantly better than anywhere else, so I'd spend the voucher on tights or underwear.

Truffle pesto. It might be good for cooking with - who knows- I've always eaten it straight from the jar.