I Tried And Ranked 7 Store-Bought Pumpkin Pies

Thanksgiving meals are full of seasonal treats, from roasted turkey to stuffing, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. But perhaps the most delicious part of any large holiday meal is the dessert you may or may not have saved room for at the end. Your feast just doesn't feel complete without it. And when it comes to Thanksgiving dessert, there's nothing more iconic than pumpkin pie. 

While the turkey and its sides get most of the shine, pumpkin pie has the ability to steal the show. Baking isn't for everyone, though, and with so much food to prepare, opting for a store-bought pie is an easy way to save a bit of time and hassle. But just because you're buying a premade pie doesn't mean you want to skimp on flavor, texture, or any of the other qualities that make this dessert great. So how do you decide on a pie to buy?

Well, reader, you're in luck — I have taken the legwork out of your selection process and tried every pumpkin pie I could get my hands on at local grocery stores. Through this tasting, I was able to assess which pumpkin pies would make the best addition to your Thanksgiving meal, and surely forever crown you as the designated pumpkin pie bringer. You can even try a few simple tricks to make you store-bought pie look homemade, too, but we can worry about that later — let's get to tasting.

As a private label from Walmart, I haven't found many offerings from Freshness Guaranteed that have been better than other brands. Unfortunately, the pumpkin pie follows the same pattern. Of the pies I tried, it was easily my least favorite, and it really all came down to texture.

A pumpkin pie is a fine balance between all of those tasty pumpkin pie flavorings and a texture that is firm-but-not-too-firm — in other words, you want it to have plenty of give. This crust had a very stale taste to it, but the texture of the filling was really the issue. Its texture resembled something like Play-Doh meets canned pumpkin. The flavor itself wasn't anything like what I hope for or expect from pumpkin pie — it was very blah. In essence, the pie seemed as though it was full of a straight-from-the-can pie filling that was cooked up and pushed out to shelves. I can't recommend the Freshness Guaranteed pie — in fact, I sincerely recommend staying away from it.

Three of the pumpkin pies I sampled called for actual baking time, and if I'm being honest, my hopes were highest for the Marie Callender's variety. I've had several Marie Callender's pies in the past, and in general have found them to be pretty good, but this certainly didn't meet that expectation. The pie had a slight pre-frozen taste that you sometimes get in frozen meals. I've not typically experienced that with baked goods, so I didn't expect to see it here, but it was undeniably there.

Neither the flavor nor texture was particularly strong here. The pie tasted as if it needed far more seasoning and spice, smacking more of simple plain pumpkin than anything else. While the texture of the top of the filling was too firm, underneath that initial layer I found it to be too squishy. And that's before mentioning that it came out funny looking and uneven after its stint in the oven. I can't imagine bringing this pie to a Thanksgiving gathering and feeling proud of it. I was disappointed in the way Marie Callender's performed, and even in the frozen food aisle, you'll find a better option.

It turns out Walmart has another private label pumpkin pie available in its frozen aisle, and unlike the Freshness Guarantee brand, Great Value's pumpkin pie needed to be cooked. You might imagine this would lead to a fresher, better tasting pie, but I didn't find that to be the case.

The cooking time for this pie was listed as 55 to 65 minutes; I found it was nowhere near set after 55 minutes and needed the full time in the oven. The cooked pie wasn't as smooth as I had hoped for, as it came out thoroughly pocked and didn't look terribly appetizing — though the texture inside was a little better and certainly much smoother. However, the real downfall of this pie was the flavor, which was nearly nonexistent. While the texture was ultimately enjoyable, it couldn't make up for the abject lack of flavor. It reminded me of the kind of dessert you might pull out of a vending machine — even if it looks tasty, your hopes are quickly dashed with a single bite. While the pie wasn't disgusting by any means, it just wasn't as good as it should be. I placed this one slightly higher than the Marie Callender's offering because it didn't necessarily taste pre-frozen, but it didn't do very much to separate itself, either.

Just like when I reviewed grocery store apple pies, I wasn't able to find any Favorite Day pumpkin pies sitting out in a bakery area at Target. I wound up having to ask staff behind the counter, and thankfully they quickly prepared one for me. I made sure to ask how to prepare the pie, since it was frozen when they handed it to me, and the crew member stated that it was shelf-stable and just needed to defrost on the counter. This was pretty unique compared to other pies I was planning to try, so I was curious if that would impact the flavor at all.

Like some of the other pies toward the bottom of this list, I found the texture of Favorite Day's version to be too firm and the flavor was too boring. In fact, the texture at the bottom was ultra firm, making it feel and taste like the prepackaged, shelf-stable good that it was. Nothing about this pumpkin pie screamed freshly made, and it tasted that way. If you're planning on slathering your pumpkin pie in a hefty layer of Cool Whip, this one should be able to get by just fine, but it didn't impress me very much at all. Favorite Day's pie was about as basic as it gets, and for that reason, it finds itself near the middle of my ranking.

Thankfully, not every store-bought pumpkin pie I tried was a letdown. Of the three pies I had to bake before sampling, Mrs. Smith's was easily my favorite. It cooked up quite nicely and looked very appetizing. Once it was finished, it had a very smooth top that was nice to look at and as appetizing as you'd want your pumpkin pie to be.

The texture of the pie itself was a little softer than I'd like, but not overly soft. As you've probably gleaned from my other taste tests, I definitely prefer my pumpkin pie to be softer than firm, and this pie found that middle ground quite nicely. I was impressed by the flavoring in the pie, even noticing visible flecks of seasoning within the custard mix. After having sampled so many boring pies, it was a nice change of pace. Mrs. Smith's is an easy brand to get your hands on — many grocery stores across the country carry it, so if you aren't able to get your hands on the top two pies below, this is definitely a solid alternative. Please note that you'll want to cook it until the middle is set and passes the pumpkin pie wiggle test, and I found this to be the full amount of time noted on the box, just as I did with the Great Value offering.

Publix has one of the best grocery store bakeries around, so it tracks that its "limited edition" premade pumpkin pie is quite good. The box also has a nice design on it, making it one that will definitely play well when you bring it to your Thanksgiving gathering and set it on the dessert table.

I was a bit concerned about this pie before I sampled it because it looked a little dry. Thankfully, after one forkful, my concerns were put to bed. The pie is perfectly soft without being overly gooey. The crust on the back of the pie and at the bottom also had a nice texture, and Publix did a solid job balancing the sweetness and pumpkin flavor to land right in the middle of what you want from your pumpkin pie. The only reason I didn't rank this pie in my top spot is because the No. 1 is truly a cut above the rest. However, if you happen to have a Publix nearby, its pumpkin pie is a worthy pick for your table.

Before tasting, I figured Costco's pumpkin pie had a good chance to land amongst my favorites. It wasn't until I started sampling that I realized how much of an undersell that would turn out to be. The very first thing you'll notice about a Costco pumpkin pie is that it is absolutely huge. At $5.99, it's one of the least expensive pies I tried, and was definitely the best by a wide margin. Unlike other pumpkin pies that I sampled, this one is not shelf stable, so you'll need to pick it up closer to your Thanksgiving meal to have it in its freshest state for dessert. In other words, be sure to make room in your refrigerator, because you'll need to store it there, and it needs quite a bit of space!

Like Publix's pumpkin pie, Costco handled the balance of pumpkin flavor and the extra seasonings that go with it masterfully. It tasted very fresh and had a homemade quality to it that none of the other pies were able to get close to, let alone achieve. The texture of the filling itself was a little squishier than some of the other pies, but by the end of my tasting, I certainly preferred this texture to any of the others. The only downside here (if you can truly call it a "downside") is that you need access to a Costco membership to get your hands on this pie — but if you've got one, you won't find a better store-bought pumpkin pie anywhere.

To find the best store-bought pumpkin pie, I sampled all the pumpkin pies at my local stores. This made for a collection of private labels, fresh baked goods, and even frozen pies. After preparing each pie according to the package directions (which ranged from simply taking it out of the refrigerator to baking it for an hour or so), I cut out a slice and tried it with a dollop of whipped cream on top. 

When tasting, I compared and ranked the pies based on the texture and flavor of the crust and pumpkin filling. Pies that had an enjoyable pumpkin pie texture, were well-flavored without being overly sweet, and had crusts that held the pie comfortably while adding a nice texture and flavor to the overall experience performed well. In general, I found that almost all of the pumpkin pies needed a little more flavor, so those that showed promise in this area were ultimately some of my favorites.