The One Marie Callender's Dessert You Should Skip, According To Customer Reviews

Sometimes you just want pie without going through all the hassle of actually making it. That's one of the miracles of the frozen food section of your grocery store — you can head over there right now and choose from a wide selection of frozen dessert pie brands, frozen whole and ready to bake. That said, when you get that cravings, do yourself a favor and skip Marie Callender's key lime pie. Based on customer reviews, it's the one flavor that's better left in the freezer.

On Marie Callender's own website, the key lime desserts all have the lowest ratings of any of its products. The Key Lime Mini Pies are rated just two stars out of  five, while the full-size Key Lime Pie fares slightly better at almost three stars. Multiple reviews of the mini pies complain that there is no crust at all, just filling and whipped cream. Others say there was some crust, just not enough. 

For the large, full-size key lime pies, the reviews are less consistent about what the problem is. However, more than one reviewer takes issue with the filling being curdled. Others complain that it lacks flavor or that the texture is off. It seems to be very hit-or-miss, depending on whether it tastes the way you expect a homemade, sweet and tart key lime pie to taste.

Walmart's website has over 1,000 reviews for Marie Callender's full-size Key Lime Pie, and while some are positive, the negative reviews reflect a lot of the same criticisms found in the reviews on the Marie Callender's website. One customer complained that the filling had a crumbly texture, comparing it to deodorant. A similar dry and gritty texture was a common refrain across other Walmart customer reviews, as were complaints that it wasn't as tangy as people remembered and tasted too sweet.

On the Kroger website, the Mini Key Lime Pies have more one-star reviews than any other rating. More than one customer compared the crust to dust, saying it was incredibly dry and hard to swallow. Unsurprisingly, many of the negative reviews echo the same complaints seen on the Walmart and Marie Callender's websites. There seems to be a consistent problem with the texture these pies. Some are gritty or curdled, while others had a filling that was bland and lacked any lime tartness.

If a craving strikes and you can't be bothered to make your own key lime pie, do yourself a favor and head past Marie Callender's to look for one from another store-bought brand. If that's not an option and you simply can't resist, then at least opt for the full-size pie rather than the mini ones. They don't fare much better in reviews, but people do seem to have better luck with them in terms of crust, flavor, and texture. If you really want a winner, try the Chocolate Silk Pie instead, which was the favorite when our taste tester ranked Marie Callender's frozen pies.