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Sales of food were up 10% on last year and 12.4% on the year before in the 18-week period to 28 December.
The company said that its Simply Food stores performed particularly well.
It added that its products also did well on Ocado deliveries, making up 30% of deliveries in December.
Chief executive Steve Rowe said: “Food has maintained its momentum, outperforming the market over both 12 and 24 months.
“The market continues to be impacted by the headwinds and tailwinds that we reported in the first half, but I remain encouraged that our transformation plan is now driving improved performance.”
Overall, food sales were £1.9bn out of total sales of nearly £3bn in the 18 week period.
M&S said it now expects full-year profit before tax of at least £500m.
Full-year results for the year ending 2 April 2022 will be reported on 25 May.
The results received a broadly warm welcome from observers.
Chris Daly, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, said: “Marks and Spencer’s positive results perfectly demonstrate the correlation between an active marketing strategy and commercial success.
“The British retailer’s significant investment in Christmas campaigns, alongside its twist on traditional marketing techniques, is now paying dividends.
“M&S has successfully taken advantage of new, social led opportunities, using the creative capability of TikTok to reach a younger demographic.”
Nick Everitt, director of advisory at Edge by Ascential, added: “M&S has also built several new partnerships, from its deal with Costa to sell M&S food in its coffee shops.”
Everitt said that Edge by Ascential forecasts global online sales will grow again this year even after two years of substantial digital commerce growth.
It expects e-commerce growth of 10% in the UK in 2022 and believes M&S is well-positioned to capture that growth.
