We Tried 13 Store-Bought Pie Crusts and the Winner Is Ina Garten-Approved

Welcome to November, which is the unofficial month of pie. And no matter your pie preference—whether it's a traditional pumpkin, a sticky pecan or even a savory pot pie, a crust can make or break your creation. And while homemade pie crust is wonderful, it can also be time-consuming and stressful, which is where store-bought pie crust comes in.

For a while, there weren't that many store-bought pie crust options available, but that has definitely changed. These days, there are boxes and pre-made shells all over the freezer case. So what's the best pie crust you can buy? Is the more expensive one really better? Is shortening, butter or lard the way to go? We tried and tested out 13 different store-bought pie crusts so you can fill, bake and eat your very best pie this holiday season with total confidence—no guesswork involved. Read on for our ranking of 13 popular pie crusts, ranked from worst to best.

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How We Tested These Pie Crusts

Before I get into the nitty gritty of our taste test, let me introduce you to my panel (along with their favorite holiday pie flavors): Maddie (blueberry), Cherie (peach), Jen (pecan) and Samantha (caramel apple). None of my friends are bakers (as Jen put it: "I do not and have not attempted to make pie in my life") but I wasn't taking their apologies when they walked through my door; the fact that they aren't bakers actually worked out for the best. After all, who better to judge pie crusts than pie lovers with no ulterior baking agenda?

The taste test was blind so I numbered samples and had everyone rate and comment without knowing which brand they were tasting. (I later revealed the brands and we went in for a second taste). We rated on taste, texture, and mouthfeel, discussing if each one was fit for a sweet pie or a savory one. All data was put into a Google Form (it's the teacher in me) which then spit out a spreadsheet of results, making ranking them as easy as...well, you know.

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I shopped at nearly every major grocery store in Chicago—Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Jewel-Osco, Meijer, Aldi, Mariano's, Target and Walmart (phew!)—and picked up as many brands as I could find. I ended up with 13 ranging in price from $1.95 to $11.99, brought them home and promptly ran out of freezer space (big shoutout to my friend Matt for letting me store crusts in his freezer!).

I first divided the pie crusts into two categories: the ones that baked at 400° for about 15 minutes and the ones that baked at 450° for 15 minutes (there was also a rouge pie crust that baked at 375°, but more on that one later). I baked the shells that came in aluminum pie tins whole and placed the boxed ones on a cookie sheet or in a pie dish, after unrolling them. I rotated all of them halfway through their baking times to ensure that each baked evenly. I served them warm, broken up into pieces, with each tester having the opportunity to go back for seconds.

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Like any taste test I've done (especially a temperature-sensitive one such as this), coordinating numbered samples fresh out of the oven while simultaneously tasting myself, taking notes and running the oven at two different temperatures proved challenging, but I made it work. I even doubled back later that evening to taste again when I wasn't entertaining because I wanted to be sure which was the best. And thankfully, there wasn't a lot of discrepancy as to which ones were the winners.

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13 Store-Bought Pie Crusts, Ranked Worst to Best

It's time for the great pie crust reveal. We wouldn't steer you wrong, so happy pie baking this season!

13. Sweet Loren's Pie Crust

Let me start by saying that this was the only vegan and gluten-free crust that we tasted. I was excited to give it a try because I'm a big fan of Sweet Loren's cookies. Sadly, their pie crust, which you can find at Whole Foods, wasn't a win for me. In fact, I was shocked at how poorly it turned out. I made this one twice, just to be sure the results were consistent.

The crust itself is made with corn starch, rice flour, pea flour and buckwheat flour, as well as a blend of plant fibers, palm and rapeseed oil. "I imagine it could be used for a meat pie/pocket," Jen noted with Maddie agreeing: "Would be perfect for tikka masala." We all agreed that visually, it looked like naan or pita bread coming out of the oven and taste-wise, it was a pretty decent cracker fit for a charcuterie board or topped with chutney, but as a pie crust? We'll pass.

12. Marie Callender's Deep Dish Pastry Pie Shells

Here's the thing about Marie Callender's pie crusts: they're aesthetically pleasing with a neat crimp and thick edges, they're available pretty widely at major grocery stores (Kroger, Meijer) and they're also super strong, withholding a serious tumble from the freezer to the floor and not even sustaining one little crack. But the taste? Oh, Marie. We can do better. The main ingredients here are enriched flour, soybean oil and hydrogenated soybean oil. "Doughy and dry," "greasy," and "lingers in your mouth and not in a good way," were the comments on this one.

11. Pillsbury Premade Refrigerated Pie Crusts

Despite being a classic (and despite being made with lard) this crust was in the bottom three for most of us, leaving a literal bad taste in our mouths. "Doughy, soft, airy," noted Jen, and "Dry, sticks to the top of your mouth. Salty, but not great flavor. Grainy," noted Samantha, and "flavorless" said Maddie. Note: this one uses lard as the primary fat (along with a bit of palm kernel oil), which usually isn't as flavorful as crusts made with butter.

10. Signature Select Pie Crust

This crust, found at Jewel-Osco, my local grocery store, is the house brand of Albertsons Companies, Inc. which includes grocers Safeway, Vons, Shaw’s and Albertsons, depending on the area of the country you live in. The Signature Select crust landed at the bottom but it wasn't as bad as some of the others. "Tastes like a buttery cracker," noted Cherie, with Jen and Samantha mentioning a semi-nostalgic taste, akin to a classic Pillsbury crust. I was the only one who noted that it was a workout to chew this one and I felt it was oily and bland (another one made with lard). There's a "love it or it's on us" seal on the package...maybe I can get my money back.

9. Bake House Creations Pie Crust

This was the cheapest of all 13, ringing in at a mere $1.95 from Aldi. And honestly, it wasn't all that bad. We found it to be kind of dry and cracker-like, but not as bland as the other ones made with lard. If you're making a savory pie on a budget, this would do just fine. "Buttery and soft, heavy on the flour, more savory than sweet," said Maddie and "Crumbly," concluded Cherie.

8. Pillsbury Deep Dish Pie Crusts

Another middle-of-the-road pick, the Pillsbury deep dish pie crust has almost the same ingredients as the boxed version, but it tasted very different to us. The difference in ingredients is that this one doesn't include palm kernel oil but does include sugar as well as artificial food coloring, which we weren't nuts about. "Dry and doesn't have a lot of taste," said Jen, "[but] a shortbread flavor." "Sweet, bland, dry, crumbly and gritty," said Samantha.

7. Trader Joe's Pie Crusts

Our first pie crust made with a little bit of butter, finally! Trader Joe's uses butter and palm oil for their crusts and we could taste the difference. "Delicious. Savory, flaky and buttery. Melt in your mouth. Very versatile—could be for savory or sweet fillings," said Samantha and "Falls apart easily but nice taste. Very buttery, on the drier side," said Cherie.

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6. 365 By Whole Foods Market Pre-Rolled Pie Crusts

Another solid crust, this one didn't give us a sludgy mouthfeel and held up pretty well without crumbling. It was a tad sweeter than the others but not as flaky as we had hoped. The fat combo in this one is a palm fat and canola oil blend. "Reminds me of Pillsbury," noted Maddie. "Almost flaky but not quite. Less buttery and not much flavor. Sweet," said Samantha.

5. Dufour Pastry Kitchens Classic Ready-to-Bake Pie Crusts

My second grab from Whole Foods was this super light and flaky crust from Dufour. Made with organic wheat flour and palm oil, we thought this one had potential even though it didn't make our top three. "Light and flaky," I noted, with Maddie agreeing: "Fluffy yet firm, it melts in your mouth." Almost all of us agreed that it was a tiny bit bland, which is how it landed in the number five spot. For the whopping $11.99 price tag, it's also an investment.

4. Kroger Ready-To-Bake Pie Crusts

This store brand found at grocery stores including Kroger, Dillons, King Soopers, Harris Teeter and Mariano's, among others, was one of our top picks for its value, flavor and versatility. "Tastes like a pastry, I really liked this one," noted Cherie, "it has a good butter flavor, and holds together well." This one was definitely in our top five, although the ingredient list was a mile long. Made with lard and hydrogenated lard, we noticed how well-rounded this one was, even when it was a little bit overdone. "Really good flavor. Sturdy. Good for more liquid fillings," said Samantha.

3. Belmont Deep Dish Pie Crust

Three out of five of us picked this one as one of our top crusts, which is pretty amazing because this Aldi find is a mere $2.75 for two crusts. One reason why this may have been one of our favorites is because of the ingredients list. This vegan crust is made with straight vegetable shortening and has no added artificial colors. There's also a touch of sugar, which makes it less bland than some of the others. "I actually wouldn't mind eating the crust on this one," I noted. "Crumbly. Really flavorful—one of my favorites," said Samantha.

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2. Great Value Deep Dish Pie Crusts

Our runner-up is Walmart's Great Value pie crust. This classic pie shell didn't leave a slick feeling in your mouth and had a homemade, almost floury taste to it (although not unpleasant at all). "More flour-y, but tasty. Nice flaky/crumbly ratio," noted Cherie. Another super inexpensive vegan crust made with vegetable shortening (are you noticing a trend?) although this one didn't have sugar as a main ingredient.

1. Wholly Wholesome Organic Traditional Pie Shells

This 100% organic pie crust was our number one pick. Made with palm fruit shortening along with flour, sea salt and a touch of cane sugar, I knew this one immediately because my mom has been making pies with their crusts for the last 20 years. We concluded that this one was buttery but not oily, flaky and had the perfect level of sweetness and crumble. (The funny part was that half of the group could have sworn this one was Marie Callender's.) And better yet? This is the pie shell that Ina Garten recommends for her Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie—I knew we had good taste!

If you're looking to pick up one, I found mine at The Fresh Market, but I have also seen them at Whole Foods and ShopRite. They're also available via Fresh Direct and Thrive Market. To search for availability by your zip code, go to the product locator on the Wholly Wholesome site.

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