It's Hard To Believe Pillsbury Makes The Worst Store-Bought Frozen Pie Crust

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Making pie crust from scratch is no easy feat, requiring precision of temperature, ingredients, and technique. Luckily, different store brands have taken the work out of pie crusts for us, so all we have to do is spread the premade dough over a pie tin, add filling, and bake. We sampled and ranked nine store-bought pie crusts according to flavor, texture, structural integrity, and how evenly the crust baked in the oven. Surprisingly, Pillsbury came in last place with its frozen deep-dish variety.

Renowned for a long line of deliciously flaky baked goods from crescents to biscuits, we had high hopes for Pillsbury's pie crust. The deep-dish pie crust is frozen and pre-shaped, so it's ready to be placed in a pie tin and baked immediately out of the packaging. Unfortunately, the cost of convenience is stubborn dough that isn't nearly as malleable as refrigerated or even other frozen counterparts. Right off the bat, we deducted points for a lack of structural integrity and difficulty of use. But what was even more disappointing was how the pie crust tasted once we baked it. Instead of an all-purpose, buttery, and crispy crust, the flavor of the Pillsbury crust tasted like almond meal with bitter nuttiness that wouldn't be amenable to just any pie filling. The crust was also disappointingly thin, which means it would become soggy and dense or simply fall apart under the weight of the filling.

It wasn't hard to find a ton of customers who agreed with our negative review of the Pillsbury Deep Dish frozen crust. We looked at reviews on Pillsbury's own website to find many a tirade from disappointed customers. One customer wrote, "Save yourself and don't buy. They changed the recipe ... These are horrible, they're tough, no flavor at all, stuck to the pan and never browned." The crust not browning despite following the baking instructions, as well as sticking to the pan were common complaints that most of the reviews on Pillsbury's website and Walmart's. As for consistency and integrity, one customer wrote, "They're difficult to work with and the final product is thin, non-flaky, and extremely unattractive." One review said the crust tasted rotten, while another said it was so salty that they had to throw it away.

Considering how much more expensive Pillsbury is than store-bought brands like Trader Joe's and Great Value, the deep-dish crust is certainly not worth the price. That said, we did like Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crusts, which landed in second place for their delectably flaky crust and buttery flavor. It only fell in second place because you had to roll it out and shape it into a pie tin, while the first-place pick, Wholly Wholesome pie crust, comes preshaped and ready to bake.