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The best store-bought apple pie for Thanksgiving, according to a pro baker
Our resident pastry expert sampled slices from Marie Callender's, Sara Lee and Mrs. Smith's — and there was a clear winner.
Thanksgiving is next week, ahhh! (Cue: Kevin McCallister-hands-on-face-scream.) But don't panic — you've still got time to order the turkey and double-check that you have enough tableware for your guests. As someone who used to bake for a living, might I also suggest you solidify your dessert plans? In my humble (pie) opinion, a meal isn't complete without a sweet finale, and I'm here to tell you that there's no shame in foregoing the homemade route for an easy-breezy store-bought apple pie.
But you don't want to opt for just any pre-made option. There are several widely available frozen apple pies on the market from brands like Sara Lee, Mrs. Smith's and Marie Callender's. They can't all be created equal, can they?
That's what I set out to determine. I've made (and enjoyed) many a pie in my day, but just to keep any pastry biases I might have in check, I enlisted the help of my sister, Chelsea, who manages a Philadelphia-based restaurant called Alice, and my husband, Dan, an enthusiastic pie eater. I set aside time to bake all three pies one morning so we could sample them side-by-side for a true comparison.
Now, you might be thinking, "Britt, I'm pretty sure there are four slices of pie on that plate, not three." And you'd be correct! In addition to the three frozen pies, I also picked up a pre-baked pie from Whole Foods as a control. It tastes pretty close to homemade, so I compared the frozen pies against it just to see if there were any big differences.
Prepping the pies
In case you've never purchased a frozen pie before, you can rest assured that preparing one is easy as, well, you know. All you have to do is remove the pie from its box and plastic wrapping, place it on a sheet tray and bake it in a preheated oven according to the package's instructions. That's it! Some pies have an additional step of making slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape, but that's really the only "work" required on your part.
In terms of prep, the Sara Lee and Mrs. Smith's pies required scoring the crusts, while the Marie Callender's pie did not — and that's because it had a lattice crust, meaning there were already openings in it. Each set of instructions recommended covering the sheet tray with aluminum foil before placing the pie on it and baking; that way, should any filling bubble over, it would stick to the foil and not make a mess of the tray. I only had enough foil for one pie, so I used parchment paper for the others and it worked out just fine.
All of the pies included the optional suggestion of brushing the crust with an egg wash for a more golden color, but to keep things as simple as possible (which is what buying a frozen pie is all about!), I skipped this step. Directions varied slightly when it came to baking temperature, ranging from 400° F to 425° F; internal pie temperatures ranged from 160° F to 165° F. I served all of the pies at room temperature, not only for consistency purposes but because I feel it's easier to detect nuances in flavor when food isn't piping hot.
The apple pie rating system
To assess these pies as fairly as possible, I numbered them rather than telling Chelsea and Dan which pie was from which brand. I also made score sheets so we could write down our notes on the appearance, flavor and texture of each pie, as well as give them an overall rating, from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best pie we've ever had in our lives. (Spoiler alert: None of these pies were quite at that level, but we scored some pretty high!)
As far as our testing pool, I selected brands that are widely available across the country, and went with the most traditional versions I could find. For instance, some brands make Dutch apple pies or apple crumb pies — for consistency's sake, I left those out because anything with a streusel topping has an unfair advantage in my book.
On a similar note, here's what I generally look for in an apple pie: a crust that's tender but not super soft, ample flakiness and a filling that marries sweetness and tartness, ideally with a bit of spice. I also prefer a medium-sized apple slice — too small, and the filling becomes mushy; too big, and the apples sometimes aren't cooked enough.
Alright, ready to see how these frozen treats fared? Keep scrolling to see which one(s) deserves a spot on your holiday table.
The best store-bought apple pies for Thanksgiving
I'll be honest with you: Our little trio was not impressed by this pie! While it didn't look so bad — the crust had decent browning, and Dan wrote that it was "uniform in bake" — the taste was another story.
The filling, which was a bit runny upon slicing, was not very spice-forward, a little too tart and somewhat one-note, in my opinion. Chelsea and Dan had harsher critiques: "Kind of goopy with a slightly bitter aftertaste," noted Dan. "Small pieces of apple." "No apples?" asked Chelsea, who could only detect goo and not much else. The crust might have been the worst offender, however. "Thin, crumbly, not structured," was how Chelsea described it, and I went as far as to say it was downright dry. It probably comes as no surprise that this is one pie we'd suggest skipping — sorry, Sara! (Our family does use her frozen pound cake for trifles, though.)
We were split when it came to judging the appearance of this pie. Dan found the pale color "the least attractive," saying it looked "underbaked" — and I agreed. I also noticed that the filling oozed out, making for a sloppy-looking slice, and the crust actually broke when I tried lifting a slice out of the pan. Chelsea, on the other hand, thought it looked the "most apple-pie-like," and revealed that she prefers a lighter crust. Just goes to show how subjective taste can be!
We were somewhat more aligned when discussing the taste; Dan said he was "pleasantly surprised by how large the apple slices were," and I felt that the crust had a nice, buttery flavor — probably the best of all the pies. However, I noticed a strange, somewhat-sour aftertaste when trying a bite of the filling on its own, which brought the score of this pie down a bit.
Looks can be deceiving, but not in this case. We were all wowed by the elevated appearance the lattice crust gave this pie, which Dan said "showcased the filling." I commented on the crust's appealing medium-brown color, and noted that everything stayed intact post-slicing.
If you like a filling that's heavy on the goo, this pie's got your name on it. Chelsea observed that the apple slices were on the thinner side, adding, "Tasted a lot of gooey filling and crust." I enjoyed the balance of sweetness and tartness in the filling, and thought the flaky crust was just crispy enough without being too hard. All in all, we thought it was the best frozen pie of the bunch — Chelsea even brought some leftovers to her restaurant colleagues, who gave it high praise!
Just to have a non-frozen pie to compare the others to, I picked up a fresh apple pie from Whole Foods Market. We thought it was just slightly tastier than the Marie Callender's apple pie, and is a fab option if you want a ready-to-eat dessert.
I liked this pie's golden color, and Dan agreed, commenting on its "nice gradient." Something else I appreciated? It held its shape when sliced. That said, Chelsea wrote that the "center looks nice, edge not so nice," as this pie didn't have any sort of special crimping. It definitely had a more rustic, "homemade" vibe.
As far as flavor is concerned, we all gave this pie high marks. "Tastes the most like an old-school apple pie," said Chelsea. Dan added that the filling had dimension: "I taste cinnamon in addition to apple ... it tastes the freshest." In my opinion? It was sweet but not too sweet, the apple pieces were the perfect size and I noticed a hint of spice. The crust was tender, though I didn't feel it had a ton of flavor. And this pie was definitely the easiest to prepare!
My must-have pie-baking tools
Store-bought apple pies are super low-maintenance, but there are a few tools you'll need for baking and slicing 'em up. Here's what I used:
I always bake my pies on these top-rated trays, for several reasons. First, because I can preheat the tray in the oven before I pop my pie in, which gives the crust a quick zap of heat right away. Plus, pies can be drippy, so the tray is there to catch any filling that oozes out. It's much easier to clean the tray than the bottom of my oven!
I constantly reach for my instant-read thermometer to test the doneness of my desserts, and on Thanksgiving, it's what we use to ensure both the turkey and pies are thoroughly cooked. (Of course we clean it in between uses!) It gives you a reading in seconds and takes the guesswork out of preparing foods that are the perfect texture and safe to eat.
Many pie servers have a serrated edge — this one has serrated edges, meaning it's comfortable for both righties and lefties to use. Use it to cut out and serve a slice of pie, or cake, or quiche, or ... you get the idea.
And if you'd like to try your hand at a from-scratch pie...
I understand the appeal of a ceramic pie dish (so lovely to serve from!) or a glass pie dish (it lets you see how your crust looks). But I choose a metal pie pan like this one every time. Why? For starters, aluminum conducts heat more quickly than glass or ceramic, which I find contributes to a flakier crust. And on the flip side, it cools more quickly, meaning your pie is less likely to over-bake once it's out of the oven.
Because I freeze my pie crusts before baking (you want that butter to be cold!), I never worry that my metal pie pan will shatter in the oven. Glass, and sometimes ceramic, can break when experiencing sudden changes in temperature, and that's something I'd rather avoid.
Ina Garten and I have the same feelings about rolling pins. In her book Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?, Garten says, "I prefer a French rolling pin because I can really feel the dough while I'm rolling it out." I'm inclined to agree; when you use a rolling pin with handles, you're (literally) more removed from the roller itself, which can make it more difficult to gauge things like the thickness of your dough.
With that in mind, a tapered design allows for better maneuverability, allowing you to shift the weight of your hands and the position of the roller as necessary. I find it easier (and more effective) to roll dough starting from the center and pushing out — since French rolling pins are thicker in the middle, more pressure is applied to the center of the dough, which can help prevent the edges from becoming too thin.
Another plus? French rolling pins are made of one piece of wood (solid rubberwood, in the case of this one), making them easier to clean — rolling pins with handles have more crannies that bits of food can get trapped in. Tapered rolling pins are also lighter than bulkier handled rollers, generally speaking, meaning less arm fatigue.
Rather than mixing butter into my pie dough with my hands, I cut it into my flour using this trusty tool. This way, the heat from my hands won't make the butter too soft — butter needs to be cold if you're after a flaky crust. Once my crust has been rolled out, I slide my bench scraper underneath to cleanly lift it from the rolling surface and into my pie dish. It's so much easier than trying to pry it up with my hands!
