Lorraine Williamson
By the first week of January, Spain’s supermarket shelves look like a soft-focus nativity scene: towers of roscones, gold cardboard crowns, and “nata 100%” promises shouted in festive fonts. The real question isn’t whether you’ll find one — it’s whether it will taste like a treat or a compromise.
Because for many families, roscón isn’t just dessert. It’s part of the day.
Why Spain still lines up for roscón on 6 January
Roscón de Reyes isn’t just a cake; it’s the edible centrepiece of Spain’s Epiphany. Traditionally eaten on 6 January, it marks the arrival of the Three Kings and the end of the Christmas season in many Spanish homes. The ring shape is often linked to older European feast breads, while the figurine and bean inside turned roscón into a small family ritual: find the king and you “rule” the day with the paper crown; find the bean and, in many houses, you buy next year’s roscón. The modern fillings — especially cream — came later, but the point remains the same: a shared breakfast that turns a public holiday into something warm and domestic.
With that in mind, here’s what the latest taste tests suggest is worth putting on the table — and what to leave in the freezer.
The consumer group OCU has compared 12 supermarket roscones with cream filling for the 2025–2026 season, with expert tasters judging aroma, texture and flavour alongside ingredients and lab analysis.
The top supermarket picks this year
If you want a straightforward answer, OCU’s podium is clear.
Best overall: Carrefour Extra (nata 100%)
OCU’s best-rated roscón this season is Carrefour Extra Roscón Relleno de Nata 100%, praised for a well-fermented crumb, balanced orange blossom notes and a generous cream filling. Reference price: €9.49 for 750g.
Best “smart buy”: Lidl (nata 100%)
Lidl’s roscón (La Cestera) lands on the podium and also earns OCU’s “Compra Maestra” (best value) label. In the 20minutos price round-up, it’s listed at €8.29 for around 750g (about €11.05/kg).
Best if you’re splashing out: El Corte Inglés
El Corte Inglés’ El Obrador roscón takes silver in OCU’s ranking, scoring highly for the quality of both the bread and the cream filling — but it’s priced like a treat: €17.75 for 850g.
Cheapest isn’t always cheerful (but it can do the job)
If your priority is spending as little as possible, you can absolutely find roscones under €8. Just don’t expect the same ingredients.
Aldi: the low-price option, with caveats
OCU’s comparator lists an Aldi (El Horno) filled roscón at €6.99 for 750g (about €9.32/kg) — and rates it poorly overall.
A separate supermarket taste test by Hule y Mantel also flags Aldi as the cheapest route to having something on the table on 6 January, even if it’s not the closest to a traditional roscón.
Mercadona: popular, mid-budget, not the top pick
Mercadona’s filled roscón is listed at €9.30 for 800g (about €11.63/kg).
In OCU’s ingredient breakdown, Mercadona is among the supermarkets where the cream filling may be mixed with vegetable fats rather than being 100% cream. www.ocu.org
Dia: a surprising favourite in one independent taste test
Hule y Mantel’s own tasting puts Dia as “our favourite”, praising how the filling is layered for a creamier bite, and noting it’s among the more economical options in-store.
(That’s not an OCU ranking — but it’s useful if you care about how it eats, not just what’s on the label.)
Why some roscones taste “off” this year
OCU’s most blunt finding: only three of the 12 roscones they tested are considered genuinely good quality — and seven didn’t even reach an acceptable score.
The biggest reasons are exactly what you’d guess:
-
Cream that isn’t really cream
: some fillings replace all or part of the cream with blends using vegetable fats (including palm, coconut or rapeseed/nabina). -
Additive overload
: OCU says it found 46 different additives across the study, with an average of 12 additives per roscón, and one reaching 19. -
Frozen-by-default reality
: supermarket roscones are typically sold frozen, and OCU is clear that even improved versions still don’t match a good bakery roscón.
In other words, the cheapest roscón isn’t just cheaper because of scale. It’s often cheaper because it’s built differently.
What a “proper” roscón should taste like
Traditionally, roscón is a sweet, enriched dough flavoured with citrus and orange blossom water, topped with sugar, almonds and candied fruit. OCU notes it wasn’t originally filled — cream came later as a way to lighten the eating experience.
That helps when you’re shopping: a filled roscón can hide a dull dough. A good one still tastes like buttered brioche with a gentle perfume — not like air freshener and whipped padding.
A quick aisle guide before you buy
If you’re choosing fast, three checks help:
-
Look for “nata 100%”
(not “preparado” or mixed fats). -
Butter in the dough
is a strong sign that it will taste closer to the real thing. -
Compare by weight
: “cheap” isn’t cheap if the roscón is smaller.
(And yes, promotions change daily this week — so treat prices as a guide, not gospel.)
The real takeaway for Reyes morning
If you want the safest supermarket bet for a proper family-style roscón moment, Carrefour Extra is OCU’s clear No.1 this year, with Lidl the best-value alternative.
If you’re counting every euro, you’ll still find roscones that do the job — just understand what you’re trading away. And if you can stretch to a local bakery roscón even once, you’ll remember why this tradition still matters in the first place.
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