7 Frozen Dessert Pie Brands, Ranked From Worst To Best
Famed astrophysicist Carl Segan said, "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe," according to Medium. These opening words of "Cosmos" speak to the long evolution of even the simple ingredients in apple pie. Like these ingredients, pies also have their own long history, and the Library of Congress states that the word "pie" was first written in literature as "pye" as early as the 14th century. Fast forward to the 16th century, and Elizabeth I was among those who loved cherry pie.
While making a pie from scratch can feel daunting, you don't need to dabble in universe creation to make it happen. Instead, consider picking out a frozen pie. With several companies available in your grocer's freezer, these great brands offer several creative and delicious flavors. After tasting several offerings, we learned that each brand offers something a little different. Between fruit pies and those filled with creme, there's something in the freezer for everyone.
7. Great Value
Like Belmont, Great Value is a private label exclusive. However, rather than Aldi exclusivity, you'll only find Great Value items at Walmart. It prides itself on offering a slew of products, and Walmart boasts that this brand has quality items at a great value (as the name suggests) for all your different needs. Of the many private label items you'll find at Walmart, frozen pies are some of the tastiest. We were excited to see the s'more-flavored pie because it is so different from other pie offerings we regularly see. Depending on your store, you may find a few additional flavors, but some stores seem to only be carrying this flavor. Though you'll normally enjoy s'mores around a crackly fire accompanied by ghost stories, s'mores pie is an excellent alternative.
With a creamy s'mores filling and graham cracker crust, this one gets topped with marshmallows and chocolate to create the full vibe of that delicious campfire treat. Like other crème pies, you'll thaw and serve this pie rather than baking it up.
Looking at this pie, it is absolutely fantastic looking. This may be the coolest-looking pie we tried, full of carefully added whipped cream and adorable little marshmallows. However, we found that the flavor of the pie was less than stellar. The chocolate filling tasted like watered-down and cooled hot cocoa, the whipped cream was too gooey, and the crust was a little bland.
6. Belmont
Stores like Aldi and Trader Joe's don't sell the brands you may be used to seeing at other grocery stores. Instead, Aldi explains that they offer private labels; in fact, over 90% of the items you'll see at Aldi are from a private label, like Belmont. While it isn't a name brand, Belmont still provides a tasty and beautiful pie for your dessert spread. When we picked up our Chocolate Crème Pie, we noticed that Aldi was also carrying a whipped cheesecake from Belmont. Parent Tested Parent Approved reviewed some Belmont pies from years past, like French Silk and Caramel Pecan Silk.
This Belmont pie consists of layers of chocolate and whipped cream, all atop a chocolate cookie crust. It also has a lovely drizzle of chocolate with little chocolate chips on top to make it especially photographic. Like other crème pies, this one does not require the use of your oven to prepare; you just need to thaw and serve it.
The first thing we notice about this pie is the crust. Unfortunately, it isn't super flavorful, and especially when compared to other crème pies, we wanted more from this crust. For the filling, we enjoyed the whipped crème with chocolate, but the chocolate filling felt too simple, and it reminded us of a pudding instead of a crème filling. While pretty, we wanted a little more from this crème pie, and we think there are better options out there.
5. Mrs. Smith's
Mrs. Smith's pies began with Amanda Smith cooking for small audiences like her friends, family, or perhaps the occasional event. The delicious, home-baked goodness led to a business dedicated to delightful pies made with great ingredients. A blue ribbon winner, the flakey crust is Mrs. Smith's primary claim to fame. While some pie companies have a catalog of options, Mrs. Smith's frozen pies come in four flavors: pumpkin, flaky crust apple, Dutch apple, and cherry. While we can appreciate this narrow focus, there are so many more delicious and interesting pies out there. For us, the flavor offerings are just too few.
We picked up the pumpkin flavor because it perfectly encompasses a traditional pie, and many point to it as their go-to Thanksgiving option. We must say this pie is the picture-perfect example of what a simple pumpkin pie should look like. After 65 minutes in your 375 F oven, you'll have a lovely pumpkin pie perfect for your dessert table.
Though fully cooked and cooled, this pie comes out feeling a little gooey. Pumpkin pie should be just a little firm, but this seemed oddly closer to a mousse. However, this pumpkin pie has a great, simple flavor. We think the jiggle in this pie would be remedied with a bit of time in the fridge after the pie finishes baking. This way, it may firm up more and offer a better texture.
4. Martha Stewart Kitchen
The name Martha Stewart is synonymous with quality, and she has products all over craft stores and kitchenware aisles; in fact, Martha has even opened a new restaurant. So, it's no surprise that you can also find baked goods for sale from her. Martha Stewart Kitchen brings all the flavor and quality this mogul is known for to your favorite grocery store. The line includes apple crisp, brownies, carrot cake, mixed fruit crisp, and hand pies in apple, mixed fruit, and peach with apple flavors. We love how accessible these pies are and that you can cook them without needing to commit to a whole pie.
We found these hand pies in our Target, but they were so popular the only flavor available was the apple variety. Each box comes with two hand pies, so you can make one or both, depending on how many people you'd like to serve. Though we cooked ours in the oven, you can also opt for air fryer cooking instead. Either way, heat your oven or air fryer to 350 F and remove your pie or pies from the cellophane wrapping. Then, cook in the oven for 20 minutes or in the air fryer for 11 minutes.
The texture of this hand pie was delightful, and it cooked up nice and golden. We found the hand pie tasty, but we wish it were a little sweeter. It also felt like it would benefit from a delicious dollop of cool whip
3. Sara Lee
As Sara Lee explains, this dessert giant grew from humble beginnings. In 1935, Charles Lubin teamed up with his brother-in-law to purchase a few small bakeries. These few bakeries formed the foundation of what would become the Sara Lee Corporation. Always looking for new ideas and sweets, Sara Lee quickly became the leader in baked and frozen goods. Today, the freezer is packed with pies from Sara Lee, including fruit pies like apple, blueberry, cherry, dutch apple, peach, and raspberry. It also offers seasonal ones such as mince, pumpkin, sweet potato, and southern pecan. Of course, there are also decadent creme pies in varieties of chocolate, banana, coconut, key lime, and lemon meringue.
Wanting to go with something truly classic and iconic, we chose a cherry pie. Opening up the box, we were immediately impressed by how nice the pie looked, even when it was frozen. The instructions on this one were interesting because they required that we cut one-inch vents in the crust before cooking. We didn't mind doing this, but it's definitely a step we would have missed had we not carefully read those instructions.
We were very impressed with this pie. It was wonderfully sweet, and the cherries were nice and plump. It tastes homemade, and if you brought this pie to a holiday gathering, no one would think it was store-bought. While the crust is beautifully flakey and buttery, we believe some extra crunch from the sugar on top would make the pie especially delightful.
2. Edward's
Edward's Baking Company has been selling desserts since 1950 when the company turned its focus to the biggest success in the company: frozen pies. Their Lemon Meringue Pie was a hit and cleared the way for other pie flavors. Today, Edwards offers many desserts, including several whipped cheesecakes: original, chocolate, and berry. Of course, you'll also find plenty of pies: lemon crème, pecan, chocolate crème, key lime, turtle crème, cookies and crème, and strawberry crème. Though many of these pies are not the typical pie variety, they are creative and decadent.
Enticed by the turtle crème option, we decided to give it a try. With a caramel crème filling, boasting tasty caramel and chocolate drizzle, it also hosts other turtle necessities, like pecans. The whole thing is contained in a cookie-crumb crust of chocolaty goodness. We loved that the provided instructions allow you to enjoy a single portion when you want it or prepare a whole pie for sharing.
We absolutely loved this pie. The crust is perfectly crumbly while still holding its form well, and the crème filling is sweet and delectable. As for the drizzles and sprinkles items on top, they don't just look lovely; they are also a perfect accompaniment to the filling. Edward's is one of our favorites because of the fresh and delicious taste, beautifully decorated pies, and variety of flavors.
1. Marie Callender's
As Marie Callender's tells it, the legacy of Marie and her pies began in the 1940s when Don, her son, traveled about town on his bike, delivering his mother's pies made with wholesome ingredients. Only eight years later, Marie lept headfirst into business and began baking and selling 100 pies daily. She funded the bakery and the initial days of her business by selling her car. Then, only another eight years later, Marie and her family opened their doors to a coffee shop that also sold Marie's delicious pies. This shop would grow into a chain before finding its way into grocery stores and making its way into your freezer.
Though Marie Callender's offers many different pies, we were drawn to the Dutch apple variety. We should note, however, that this pie does have some special instructions. After baking your pie for about 60 minutes, you'll open a bag of strudel topping, sprinkle it over the top, and then bake the pie for an additional ten minutes. This extra step may seem a little odd, but it helps preserve the topping and maintain its texture.
This Dutch apple pie stands apart from the others we tried. The apples were still perfectly crisp and not at all mushy. The spices were absolutely spot on, and it was everything you're going to want in an apple pie. This is a true and excellent representative of the quality and flavor a Marie Callender's pie offers.