7 Edwards Frozen Pie Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

The frozen dessert aisle is full of main character energy. You have ladies like Marie Callender, who's been baking pies since the 1940s and has her own little unique origin story. Next, you might run into Sara Lee, a brand that dates back even further as a longtime purveyor of cheesecakes, pound cake, and pies. Then, of course, there's Edwards. The name has similarly been around for decades — since 1950, to be exact, when the Edwards Baking Company was born. But he's carved out his own specialty in the world of frozen treats: pies you don't have to bake. It's a dream for anyone who wants the rewards of pie without having to do much of anything to get there.

Edwards keeps things simple with a thaw-and-serve approach to pies. For the majority of its creations, anyway. The focus is on cookie crusts, fluffy fillings ranging from fruity to chocolatey, and, of course, lots of whipped crème. The brand is all pie, all the time. And over the years, it's amassed a solid selection of flavors worthy of a sweet taste test.

I recently gathered up every single Edwards pie I could find with a goal of uncovering the very best. Which pies combine preparation ease with a great taste and satisfyingly indulgent textures? Let's dig in and find out.

If you've ever ventured down to Key West to vacation amongst the green iguanas and colorful conch houses, then you know just how good a true Key lime pie can get. With refreshingly sweet and tart flavors, it's the perfect dessert for the area's tropical climate, and it simply tastes better when you're basking in the South Florida sun.

Edwards attempts to recreate the delicacy. It even claims to use real Key West lime juice in its recipe, and slaps the pie onto a "fresh-from-the-oven" cookie crumb crust. Plus, don't forget about the whipped crème rosettes that decorate the rim. Like most of the Edwards pies, all it takes is a bit of thawing time before it's ready to serve.

Given its place in the ranking, you'd think I hated this pie. I really don't. But after experiencing the real deal, it just doesn't compare. While the pie filling is luscious with a custard-like consistency, it doesn't have that strong lime-y zip I was looking for. It leans far more sweet than tart, with a lighter pop of citrus. In addition, as much as I like the buttery, sugar cookie crust, I would have liked to see a classic graham cracker crust instead. It would have been better at balancing out the sweetness of the pie. Not to mention, it's tradition.

Normally, anything turtle-flavored is my kryptonite. Turtle sundaes, turtle cheesecake, even just chocolate turtle candies themselves — especially from the Demet's brand, where the sharply dressed Mr. Turtle tips his top hat to you as you reach for another.

That being said, I wasn't fully sold on Edwards' version of a turtle crème pie, and I think part of it had to do with the freezing process. It made the pecan halves on top (what's usually my favorite part of a turtle treat) lose their crunch, so they came off as stale. On the other hand, the big chocolate chunks were extra crunchy and really sent the pie overboard in terms of richness, especially on top of a crushed chocolate cookie crust.

I did enjoy the fluffy base and the deep pockets of sticky caramel spread throughout. That was the reason this pie surpassed the Key lime. Even though the base is meant to carry a caramel flavor on its own, and instead defaults more to a basic vanilla, it still has the proper flavor and texture to keep the rest of the slice afloat. If I were able to add a handful of fresh pecans and a drizzle of chocolate sauce myself, then I think the pie would have made it a lot further.

Edwards says this pie is fitting for "every occasion and holiday." But it feels best suited for summer, when strawberry festivals are being held and farmers markets are flush with fresh berries. I just can't imagine digging into a strawberry pie in the dead of winter — especially not a cold one. But the brand gives you that option, should the cravings hit at an inopportune time.

In two distinct layers, this pie combines vanilla crème filling with a strawberry one made with real strawberries. It appears that the strawberry crème was applied in individual blobs, similar to the whipped crème at the edges. If nothing else, it gives each slice a unique appearance. As for the taste, it's not as candied as I feared it might be upon first whiff. Thanks to the real strawberries, the airy mixture tastes naturally sweet, just like strawberry ice cream that's been warmed up. Combined with a crust that's very sugar cookie-esque, it lands somewhere between a tart and a strawberry shortbread cookie.

It's a pleasant, easygoing pie from start to finish. It's just missing that brighter flavor or a wow factor to make it more memorable. Without either of those, it trails behind a few of Edwards' richer, more indulgent offerings.

It's hard to go wrong with cookies and crème. Anything decked out with America's favorite sandwich cookie — or at least an off-brand version of it — is almost guaranteed to appeal to both kids and adults alike. And Edwards' take on the flavor matchup is no exception.

It's destined to be a crowd-pleaser, hitting all those standard cookies and crème notes, starting with the extra-rich chocolate cookie crust. On top of that, a velvety vanilla crème gets blended with cookie crumbles. What I really like about the filling, though, is that it has a slight cheesecake-like tartness to it, probably thanks to the cream cheese added into the mix. Next comes the whipped crème, and in this case, Edwards doesn't just stop at the rosettes. It covers the entire pie in cool, melt-in-your-mouth whipped crème — the most you'll find on any Edwards pie. And atop that, what do you know? Another sprinkling of chocolate cookie crumbles.

It does everything right, and it tastes pretty much exactly how you would expect a cookies and crème pie to taste. But similar to the strawberry crème pie, I still felt like there was room to make it even better. How exactly? I'm not sure. But what I do know is that it doesn't hold a candle to the next few picks.

Chocolate crème feels like a frozen pie staple. For whatever reason, it's also the flavor I most associate with the Edwards brand. I see it stocked more often than others at the grocery store, often available both as a whole pie or as single-serve slices. You know, for smaller households, or for quitters.

Unlike the brand's midnight chocolate pie (which I unfortunately wasn't able to get my hands on), it doesn't go all in on chocolate. But that doesn't mean it's lacking in that department either. It stacks a chocolate crème filling on top of a strip of vanilla crème, for more of a tuxedo cake vibe. A chocolate drizzle, chocolate chips, and then those beautiful rosettes of whipped crème finish it off. My first thought was that the taste reminded me of chocolate ice cream, the same way a previous pie reminded me of strawberry. The consistency has a similar kind of creaminess to it, but it's much more delicate when it's completely thawed. What I really like about it, though, is the extras. The crust tastes like store-bought chocolate cookies you would find in the bakery section, and the chocolate chips give the pie a crunch to balance out the softness. Plus, the chocolate drizzle hardens on top, almost like Hershey's Shell Topping, for another little snap.

It's similar to, but a step up from, Burger King's Hershey's sundae pie. A classic that only gets outdone by two other Edwards creations.

This is the only Edwards pie that requires a little TLC. And by TLC, I mean it just needs to bake for 10-20 minutes, depending on how long you let it thaw. Comparatively to other brands, this is a short and sweet process. But it still makes it the neediest of the bunch when we're specifically talking about Edwards' pie arsenal.

However, despite the chore that is turning on the oven, this was one of my favorites. It could be the fact that this was the only warm pie in the taste test. Or the fact that I tend to associate pecan pie with family and the holidays. But it just has a certain coziness and appeal to it. Representing a Georgia style, it leads first with pecans. Unlike the turtle pie's pecans, these are caramelized and actually maintain their satisfying crunch. As for the custard filling — what I like to call the pecan pie "goop" — it was sweet, buttery, and just fluid enough to ooze once the slice was on my plate. That's the right consistency, right in between soupy and stiff. At the bottom, a crisp traditional pie crust grounds each bite.

Altogether, it has that sweet-meets-salty balance and the kind of textural variation that's missing from many of Edwards' other pies. It's a solid option, especially if you already have a soft spot for Southern pecan pies. But I couldn't help but like one fruity pick even more.

I was as surprised as you likely are that the two citrus pies bookend the taste test. I expected the lemon crème to fall into a similar category as the Key lime: decent but nothing to necessarily write home about. But that was not at all the case. It surprised me in all the best ways.

It's even the most visually appealing of the bunch. Edwards says itself that it "looks too pretty to eat," and I can't help but agree. The pale yellow filling is piped into soft peaks across the top, while darker dots of lemon filling peek through here and there for a little contrast. It looks like something that belongs in a bakery display case or on a tower of desserts at an afternoon tea party. Then, you slice into it and realize it tastes every bit as good as it looks.

The lemon crème base (aka the pale yellow part) is fluffy to the max. But saddled up next to the custardy pockets of filling (aka the darker yellow spots), you still feel like you're getting some substance and richness. Each component has a varied level of lemon-y flavor, from subtle to sharp. The lemon candy balls on top definitely sit at the higher end of that spectrum. But when everything's combined with the sweet cookie crumb crust and whipped crème, it all levels out. It's vibrant and tart but still decadent enough to feel like a proper dessert.

Most major retailers are serving up a slice of Edwards. But I was able to pick up these seven pie varieties at both Kroger and Walmart. I went with the brand's single-serve packages, which come with two slices each, when they were available, and bought whole pies when I needed to. Options like the strawberry crème and pecan pies only come in a whole-pie format. I brought them home and prepared each one based on the instructions on the back. For the crème pies, that simply involved thawing them in the fridge for an hour or so, with a little extra time for the whole pies. Then, for the pecan pie, I let it thaw for a while before popping it into the oven.

As I tasted, I was judging everything from the crust to the whipped crème rosettes on top. I hoped the pies would stick to tradition while still bringing something distinctly Edwards to the table. I looked for fillings that were smooth and sweet, but balanced out by other notes of tartness or even a touch of salt. 

I also appreciated a little crunch or textural variation (beyond just the crust) to offset the otherwise creamy slices. Since all of the pies offer about the same amount of ease in the kitchen — no rolling dough or flour-covered counters required — the rankings really came down to those taste and texture elements.