Review: Starbucks' New Mini Pies Just Gave Us Thanksgiving In October

Even though autumn officially started on September 22, Starbucks, like most food and beverages companies, got an early jump on the season and its seasoning during the dog days of summer. At the tail end of August, Starbucks unveiled its fall menu, and we dubbed it perhaps the chain's best seasonal lineup yet. Like the name of the 2026 documentary about the band Pulp, the big question is, what do you do for an encore? As the calendar turns the page to October, Starbucks isn't putting on the brakes on the fall fun, and just dropped three Mini Pies the season is overly filled with: apple crumble, pecan, and pumpkin.

Starbucks describes these new 3½-inch-wide treats as follows: the apple crumble mini pie is layered with tender apples and a buttery streusel topping, the pecan mini pie has a buttery pecan filling with toasted nutty notes and caramelized sweetness, and the pumpkin mini pie has a creamy pumpkin filling infused with gentle fall spices. 

That sounds all well and good, but are they actually tasty? Tasting Table headed on over to Starbucks to order up the trio to see if these are treats to fall for ... or just ones that are filled with nothing but fall-se notes. Now the truth can be revealed in this spiced-up chew and review.

I headed over to my neighborhood Starbucks to purchase the three new Mini Pies. The apple crumble and pecan pies were heated up by an employee, and packed with the room temperature pumpkin one in a single box. I took these treats home, and after dining on a lunch consisting of a lovely 7-Eleven Big Bite, the pies served as my dessert. Before doing so, I reheated the apple crumble and pecan pies in my toaster oven. The pies were sampled initially in the following order: apple crumb mini pie, pecan mini pie, and finally the pumpkin mini pie. After an initial round of tastings, subsequent bites were taken to finalize thoughts, and to see which was the best of the best.

This chew and review is a summation of my own personal tastes and opinions. I also factored in my previous experiences with Starbucks, its fall offerings, seasonal pies, and my overall impressions of these three new minions. The deciding criteria considered for this review were flavor, presentation, texture, temperature, aroma, value, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, and, ultimately, whether these pies are something worth your time and dime this autumn.

I started my Mini Pie adventure with the apple crumble flavor. It resembled a cookie more than it did a pie, with its fully loaded toppings almost overwhelming the eye. A sea of buttery streusel crumble and a smattering of oats covered its soft apple underbelly. It barely left any visual room for the crust to stand out, as the toppings inched over the edges. This stacked pie proved to be rather fragile, as the crust started to break apart when I lifted it towards my face. I leaned in for a whiff, and it mainly smelled like baked pie crust. I briefly thought about cutting this up into pieces, but figured a direct handheld bite was the best path forward to make it less of a mess.

My first bite ushered in a wealth of textures and temperatures. The varied top, with the streusel and oats made for quite a delightful crunch, and it was well balanced by the warm apple filling. While I had just reheated the pie, the interior wasn't exactly piping hot. Nonetheless, with each subsequent bite, it was a delicious pleasure to gobble up, over and over. To be honest, I'm not a gigantic apple pie person, but tis the season, and tis is one of the better ones I've had. I think the key here is the healthy amount of streusel the pie was dressed with. This was a great first entry into the Mini Pie taste test, and hoping the others would either match or go above and beyond.

Not sure where you stand, but to me, the best fall pie, and pie in general is a classic pecan pie. There's just some kind of sugary and savory magic when syrups, butter, vanilla, and of course pecans come together and hold steady above a crackery crust. From the surface, Starbucks' mini one had all the right looks. One large pecan sat in the center of this pie, like an island floating around the brown filling. The filling neatly buttressed right up to its crust, and had a nice glossy sheen to it, almost like a crème brûlée, without being actually caramelized. This pie had a lightweight feel, that served the crust well, as it retained its shape while handling it. I brought this one up to my nose for a quick inhale, and its seasonings had more to share than the apple crumble one did. Buttery, sugary, and molasses-like notes were a most welcome invitation to proceed with eating.

I had expected the filling to be filled with bits of pecan, but my first bite proved to be disappointing given my preconceived notions. Instead, it was just a nice and atypical pecan pie filling, and oh so sweet, but in a good way. Here, with less texture, it allowed the crust to have a say. It wasn't overly buttery, but dense and flaky, working well as a juxtaposing texture to the more squishy filling. Naturally, this pie hit its flavor apex when the actual pecan was included in a bite. It sealed the tasty deal, although it had me yearning for way more pecans.

Pumpkin pies are so simple that we often overlook them or even think less about them, when compared to other pies of the fall. While it's easy to make one, there's no shame in ever buying a store-bought one. I got the sense that Starbucks' mini take on one wasn't going to be modeled off of something you get in a grocery store. This pie was the most dainty and visually appealing of the trio. That's thanks to the ornate decorative white oak leaf centerpiece. Like the pecan in its brother pie, the leaf here is surrounded by the gorgeous-looking filling. Its pleasing caramel brown hue, and reflective shine made it almost too beautiful to eat. 

This pie immediately passed the smell test, emitting that familiar pumpkin pie aroma, where cinnamon and nutmeg work their usual seasonal magic. I had bought two of each pie, and both had structural issues with the crust. One came cracked, and became more so when I lifted it up, while another had already lost an edge before it ever met my hands.

I took a bite and my first thought was how this pie was revealing more sweet potato notes than pumpkin. That's fine by me, but that's not necessarily what I'm looking for in a pumpkin pie. I also thought that the centerpiece leaf was a sugar cookie, but it was essentially a doughy bit of crust that delivered more visually than it did tastewise. Overall, it was a nice little pie, but I would have preferred it had Starbucks not bailed for a fancier pumpkin pie and just made one with filling straight from a can.

The clear Mini Pie winner was the one that delivered the most textures and flavors, working in yummy unison — the apple crumble. While tasty lukewarm or even at room temp, it's best enjoyed steaming hot. I wish there was a larger version, so I could drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. The 2nd place finisher was the pecan mini pie, which hit the expected notes, but could have hit higher notes with some crushed pecans stuffed within. The pumpkin mini pie was no slouch either, but it would have worked better if it were less fancy tasting and was more pedestrian.

Each pie takes about 5 bites to finish, and packed a lot in with its seemingly small, circular crusty packaging. That makes these pies suitable for a single snack, or even a munchable medley if you want to delve into all 3 with friends, loved ones, or even enemies. While I have sung the praises of their taste, the actual best part of these pies is their price tag. Each one ran me a mere $3.45, and if you order all three, you basically get ½ off one, making it an offer that's hard to refuse. If you think about it, a Crumbl cookie will cost you a dollar or more, and I'd much rather have one of these pies than one of those cookies.

These pies are perfect ways to have a taste of fall any time of day, and could even pass as seasonal decoration for the home or office. I also loved indulging in Thanksgiving fare almost two whole months before Thanksgiving. In closing, I'd like to thank Starbucks for giving us these early Thanksgiving treats.

The three mini pies are new items available at participating Starbucks locations nationwide. They hit menus starting on September 29, and will remain around for an unspecified limited time only. They can be ordered anytime Starbucks is open for business, while supplies last. They can be ordered in store or at the drive-thru where available. They can also be ordered in advance for pick-up or delivery where available using the Starbucks app or website. When using the latter two options, they are listed in the Bakery section, and then the Mini Pies sub-section.

While prices may vary by retailer, each Mini Pie was sold at the Manhattan location I went to for $3.45. There are also two mini bundle options — any two for $5.95, for a savings of $.95, or all three for $8.45, saving a customer $1.90. The Apple Crumble and Pecan are served warm, and you can request the Pumpkin one to be as well.