We Tried 6 Pumpkin Pies, And There's Only One We'd Buy Again

Pumpkin pie is a mandatory part of many families' Thanksgiving meals, but not everyone has the time or desire to bake one from scratch. There's often so much other cooking going on that having to bake a pie on top of it all can be overwhelming.

Buying a premade pie is an obvious solution, and while it probably won't beat the flavor of homemade, some pies come closer than others. So the editors at Southern Living decided to do a taste test to determine which store-bought pumpkin pie is best.

The team sampled pies from six national grocery chains and considered all the details, from the thickness of the pumpkin custard to the flakiness of the crust. One pie ultimately came out on top. Can you guess which we picked as the best store-bought pumpkin pie?

How We Tested

Eleven of our editors did a taste test of six different store-bought pumpkin pies to determine which pie was our favorite. Each pie was sliced, plated, and numbered, so nobody knew which was which while tasting.

Every editor tasted and then ranked each pie on a scale of 1 to 5, recording their impressions of each based on flavor, appearance, and texture. After sampling all of the pies, every editor selected an overall favorite. We tallied up all the overall favorites to find which brand came out on top.

The Contenders

We visited the bakery department of six major grocery stores to sample their holiday pies. These are the competitors:

• Costco: Kirkland Fresh Baked Pumpkin Pie
• Fresh Market: Pumpkin Pie
• Walmart: Freshness Guaranteed 8" Pumpkin Pie
• Sam's Club: Member's Mark Pumpkin Pie
• Publix: Publix Bakery Pumpkin Pie
• Aldi: Bake Shop Bakery Pumpkin Pie
  

How Each Brand Scored

Tasting pumpkin pie requires you to both like and appreciate pumpkin pie and its nuances of flavor and texture—the differences can be significant, and comparing one pie to another may require more effort than a focus on flavor alone.

Some pies had better crusts with buttery, crispy finishes. Other pies had robustly flavored pumpkin pie filling but it might overwhelm the typical expectations for this Thanksgiving favorite.

Despite many good options, our editors identified a very clear winner that came out on top.

Costco | Kirkland Fresh Baked Pumpkin Pie

Costco's pumpkin pie is a behemoth on several registers. It weighs a whopping 58 ounces, or slightly over 3.5 pounds. It's also an unbeatable bargain; one pie costs about $6. (The one we bought in our Birmingham, Alabama, warehouse club was $5.99.) And in taste, editors gave it glowing reviews, too. One said, "It tastes very pumpkin-y," and added "the more I come back to this one, the more I like it." The crust also got high praise from editors, with one writing, "The crust is tasty and buttery, although it crumbles under the fork." However, a few editors noted it lacked the tell-tale signs of pumpkin spice, with one editors saying it "was a classic flavor but nearly neutral." We'll let you decide if that's bad or good.

Fresh Market | Pumpkin Pie

Editors really noted the spices in this pie, saying "I can definitely taste the clove and pumpkin. It's not what I'd call classic, but I like it." Another taster called this out for a great crust-to-filling ratio as this pie had a much thicker crust than others. Also, the pie we tasted was a smaller version of their standard pie so the larger pie's ratio may be different and wouldn't get the same ranking.

Walmart | Freshness Guaranteed 8" Pumpkin Pie

This pie was also noted for having a great level of spice (some pies seemed to barely have any), so one editor wrote, "The flavor isn't overwhelmingly pungent, and it's definitely one of the best textures of the pies." Three editors picked it as their favorite. "I loved [this pie]! I feel like it is well seasoned and had a great texture; it wasn't too thick or thin but firm. The crust also tasted well-balanced." A second editor who picked it as the top said, "It has the most classic flavor, but truthfully it's not enough spice for me."

Sam's Club | Member's Mark Pumpkin Pie

This warehouse club pie didn't garner as much praise from editors, but the ones who did like it said the filling was "sweet but pleasantly spiced." Another said, "The crust wasn't as thick as some others and it held its shape nicely when sliced."

Publix | Publix Bakery Pumpkin Pie

The Florida-based chain is beloved for their Key lime pie, so could another pie win us over? They gave it their all, but no editors picked this as their favorite store-bought pumpkin pie. Still it had some positive over all praise. One editor said, "It's not too sweet," and another said, "The crust is good, sturdy even." An editor summed it up with, "I think this is bake nicely and is best for people who don't like spiced pumpkin pie."

Aldi | Bake Shop Bakery Pumpkin Pie

This pie also did not get any first-place votes, but a few editors called out this pie for having a very creamy filling. Overall, however, most editors found it too sweet and thick to be the best pie you can buy.

The Results

Walmart had the second most first-place votes, but editors preferred the flavor and texture of Costco's pumpkin pie, making it the clear winner. From crust to crimp, the pie had everything they were looking for: a silky smooth custard filling that balanced spice and pumpkin flavor, as well as a crust that was crisp on the bottom, flaky, and buttery. On taste alone, the editors thought it was the best store-bought pie, but its excellent price point and extra large size are added bonuses.