The Grocery Store Apple Pie That Belongs In Your Shopping Cart
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The phrase "easy as pie" is certainly misleading. Pie is easy to eat, of course, but it's not always so easy to make. There are lots of ways to mess up an apple pie, which is perhaps why so many home cooks don't even try. Luckily, various brands of readymade pies sit all prettied up and ready for the taking at grocery stores everywhere. To figure out which among them were good enough to take home and serve to your loved ones, Food Republic tried and ranked seven grocery store apple pies. Even our taste tester was surprised to discover that the cream of the crop hailed from the Walmart bakery, beating out even Marie Callender's.
It turns out Marketside Apple Caramel Pie is not only one of the best Walmart fall bakery items, but it's the very best among all its apple pie peers. Our taste tester found the structure of the pie to be reminiscent of a homemade version, and it had a tasty caramel flavor, thanks to a nice sauce drizzle on the top. This pie tasted as good as it looked, making it a perfect candidate to pick up on your way home when you don't have the time, skill, or inclination to make one from scratch.
It's no wonder this pie is so sweetly tasty as it doesn't skimp on the filling. After all, apples are the first ingredient, meaning they make the bulk of the pie. The creators of the dessert definitely didn't skimp on giving it its top-ranking taste — a dash of cinnamon and a burst of lemon juice add depth and brightness to this filling. Available in 8-inch and 10-inch sizes, the pie is ready to serve straight out of the box, or it can be warmed for a fresh-from-the-oven effect.
Origins are unclear, but the quality is very apparent
Similar to Costco's always-affordable Kirkland Signature brand, Marketside is a Walmart private label brand. As such, the products are reportedly not produced by Walmart but, rather, by third-party suppliers. Though it's not spelled out, third-party creation is implied in the language on the product page for the Marketside Apple Caramel Pie, which reads that Marketside items are "guaranteed by Walmart, working in partnership with farmers, bakers[,] and chefs." Self-identified Walmart employees on Reddit say the chain's bakery items arrive premade and frozen — though it's not clear whether this is true of the Marketside Apple Caramel Pie specifically. Odds are, though, that it's made outside the store.
Wherever the apple pie is made, it's being done right. Attention to quality is a focus behind the Marketside brand, and it's evidenced in the crumbly-topped, apple-filled pie that extra care was taken to ensure it both looks appealing and tastes great. The crust is flaky, the apples are sliced thin for consistency and optimal baked tenderness, and the sweet, crumbly top and caramel drizzle add a final, tasty bite.
Priced at $6.24 for the 8-inch pie and $7.63 for the 10-inch, the Marketside product is not only delicious but also an affordable option. Its cost is significantly lower than Costco's Kirkland Signature Apple Pie, which sells for $14.74 (but weighs almost five pounds) and ranked below the Walmart pastry in Food Republic's taste test. Inexpensive, tasty, ready to serve, and readily available are very attractive qualities that, combined, put the Walmart treat over the top. Now, all you need is an available Walmart store and a few shopping minutes in order to enjoy top-notch apple pie whenever you want.