8 Store-Bought Apple Pies Ranked From Worst to Best
Apple pie is one of those desserts Americans feel strongly about. The crust should be flaky, the apples should still taste like apples, and the cinnamon should be noticeable without making the whole thing taste like a candle.
The problem is that store-bought pies can vary wildly. Some come surprisingly close to bakery quality. Others deliver soft crust, syrupy filling, and apples that barely resemble fruit.
Recent professional taste tests also show why texture matters so much. A 2026 sensory study found that crispness, sweetness, and juiciness were among the apple qualities most strongly associated with consumer liking, while mealiness worked against it. Earlier consumer research involving hundreds of tasters similarly found that crunchiness and sweetness positively influenced apple acceptance.
With that in mind, and drawing on recent blind tastings, product information, and reviewer evaluations, here is how eight familiar store-bought apple pies stack up.
Banquet Apple Pie
Banquet lands at the bottom largely because it struggles with what separates a memorable apple pie from a forgettable one: convincing fruit flavor.
The brand still sells a 7-ounce individual apple pie through its foodservice line, making it much more of a personal convenience dessert than a centerpiece pie. Recent taste-test coverage has been especially hard on Banquet’s apple pie, with criticism centering on heavily processed sweetness and a filling that lacks the fresh apple character found higher on this list.
It may satisfy a quick pie craving, but if Grandma is coming over for Thanksgiving, keep looking.
Freshness Guaranteed Apple Pie from Walmart
Walmart’s bakery pie has one very important advantage: value.
The standard Freshness Guaranteed version is widely available in Walmart bakeries, including an 8-inch, 24-ounce pie. Walmart currently lists that size as having five servings, and shoppers have given it a respectable 4.4 out of 5 stars across more than 2,500 ratings.
That makes it clear that plenty of customers genuinely enjoy it.
Professional tastings, however, have been less enthusiastic. Southern Living’s blind comparison found Walmart’s version had a doughy crust, even though testers liked the firmness of the apples.
For the price, it is hardly a disaster. It simply lacks the crisp pastry and deeper apple flavor that push the better pies ahead.
Safeway Signature Select Apple Pie
Safeway’s Signature Select apple pie is the kind of dessert that can easily disappear after dinner without anyone complaining.
And that is also its problem.
It is serviceable rather than memorable. Safeway currently sells a 4-ounce individual Signature Select apple pie that is lightly glazed and ready to eat or warm briefly.
If convenience matters most, that is useful. But compared with full-size frozen pies that develop a browned crust and bubbling apple filling in the oven, the smaller format has less opportunity to deliver that fresh-baked experience.
Think lunchbox dessert, not Thanksgiving showstopper.
Related: 10 Irresistible Desserts You Need to Try for Your Sweet Cravings
Sara Lee Dutch Apple Pie
Sara Lee gets much more serious.
The 34-ounce Dutch Apple Pie combines apples with a traditional bottom crust and streusel topping. Current preparation instructions call for baking it at 400 degrees for roughly 60 to 65 minutes, which bakes the crust rather than merely reheating it.
The crust may actually be its strongest feature. In one comparison with Marie Callender’s, a Tasting Table reviewer found Sara Lee’s crust noticeably crisp and structurally stronger, producing a cleaner slice.
Other reviewers have been less impressed with its filling and texture, which explains why it settles in the middle here.
Still, if you believe pie is mostly an excuse to eat crust, Sara Lee could rank considerably higher on your personal list.
Mrs. Smith’s Dutch Apple Pie
Mrs. Smith’s is old-school supermarket freezer comfort.
Its Dutch Apple Pie combines apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar beneath a streusel topping and flaky crust.
More importantly, it has performed extremely well in blind tasting. Delish’s 2026 comparison named Mrs. Smith’s Dutch Apple Pie the winner among the frozen pies tested, praising its chunky filling, flaky crust, and crunchy streusel.
That result is worth noting because it shows how subjective these rankings can be. Depending on the tasting panel, Mrs. Smith’s can absolutely beat several pies ranked above it here.
For anyone who likes a traditional frozen pie with plenty of crumble, this is a very safe freezer-aisle choice.
Sprouts Apple Pie
Sprouts proves the grocery-store bakery case deserves just as much attention as the frozen aisle.
In an August 2026 comparison of seven grocery-store bakery apple pies, Tasting Table ranked the Sprouts version first overall.
That matters because bakery pies face a different challenge from frozen ones. They have to stay appealing after sitting fully baked in a display case, which can quickly soften a once-crisp bottom crust.
Sprouts’ balanced filling and solid pastry give it an edge over many mass-market bakery pies. If you want something you can grab on the way to dinner without turning on the oven, this is one of the best options.
Costco Kirkland Signature Apple Pie
Everything about Costco’s apple pie feels appropriately Costco-sized.
The warehouse pie has weighed more than four pounds in recent versions, making it considerably larger than the typical supermarket dessert. The Kitchn praised its substantial fresh-apple pieces and filling that avoids becoming excessively sweet.
Costco has also done exceptionally well in formal taste tests.
Southern Living blindly sampled six supermarket apple pies and named Kirkland Signature the clear winner, highlighting its balanced spice, filling, and crust. Delish likewise named Costco’s Lattice Apple Pie the best ready-to-eat pie in its 2026 comparison, noting its large apple slices and crisp golden pastry.
Its only real drawback may be the size. Buying one for two people is less “dessert tonight” and more “apple pie residency program.”
For a party, though, Costco is difficult to beat.
Marie Callender’s Dutch Apple Pie
If one pie has the strongest claim to the overall crown, it is Marie Callender’s Dutch Apple Pie.
The 38-ounce frozen pie uses cinnamon-spiced apples, a pastry base, and a separate brown sugar streusel topping. That separate topping matters. You add it near the end of baking, which helps preserve the contrast between soft filling and crunchy crumble.
Tasting Table ranked Marie Callender’s first in a five-pie comparison in late 2025, specifically praising the larger apple pieces, noticeable cinnamon, and contrast between the filling and streusel. A separate Tasting Table evaluation also selected the Dutch Apple Pie as its top frozen-pie choice.
It is not unbeatable. Delish preferred Mrs. Smith’s among frozen pies, while Costco and Sprouts have won other categories. But across multiple evaluations, Marie Callender’s repeatedly appears near the top.
That consistency earns it the No. 1 spot.
