8 Grocery Store Pecan Pies, Ranked Worst To Best

No matter how many other items you have on your holiday dessert table, the collection is incomplete if there isn't a pecan pie in the lineup. You don't even need to know how to make one of these gooey, crunchy bakes, not with a treasury of store-bought pecan pies that set you up for sweet success. There's no easy pecan pie recipe that's easier than buying a pie someone else made.

I took a swing at seeing if the pecan pies on store shelves are most worthwhile for your festive occasions and which might be less than ideal. There's no question that every selection served up a sweet combination of traditional filling topped with a layer of toasted pecans. But some recipes hit a little closer to home-baked than others, which is really the benchmark for spending your holiday food money properly.

These store-bought pies all offer tasty bites, but they stack up in a particular order from pretty okay to thoroughly mouthwatering. Whether you tell your friends and family you didn't make them yourself is entirely up to you. Just make sure you throw away the box before they arrive.

Found in the Albertsons bakery section, Jessie Lord pecan pie is one of those subtle brands that doesn't shout about how good it is. It simply sits on the rack next to the other offerings looking its best, hoping pie lovers will discover how incredible an option they've found once they take a chance. But for a pie that rings up at $9.99, this one leaves a lot to be desired. 

The crust has a distinct taste of vegetable oil and flour, which isn't terribly dazzling, especially in comparison to some of the other pies. It was unrefrigerated, but when I went to cut a slice for myself it was so soft and sticky, it was impossible to cut a pretty slice without scooping parts of it out. The interior has strong notes of vanilla and brown sugar, which is a nice distinction. But function and form are as important as flavor and a pie like this, and unfortunately, Jessie Lord doesn't hold it together.

Ardent Albertsons shoppers may not have other options if they're looking for fresh pies. If you have another store nearby, you might want to investigate the possibilities and leave this pie where it lies.

As part of the Kroger family, Fry's carries Bakery Fresh pecan pie that comes in an unassuming white box. You might pass it over in the bakery section while searching for flashier fare, but the chain does a commendable job giving you an alternative to learning how to bake your own pecan pie without snatching away all your Christmas shopping money.

But once I sliced into the surface, I realized the interior was a little un-sticky and loose. The gel filling was sweet and nothing more, while the crust was tender, yet flavorless. The pecans themselves had a beautiful roast and were the perfect texture, not being sunk too far into the filling to turn to mush. Unfortunately, a pecan pie has to offer more than the pecans to be a hit.

This being a $10.99 pie, I would have expected it to be much more robust and hold together much better than it did. I'd keep it in mind as a last resort if I ever happen to be at the grocery store in search of whatever dessert was on hand, but it wouldn't be my preferred pick by any means.

You'll find Edwards Georgia Style pecan pie in the freezer section with the other frozen desserts. The brand usually features cream pies in its catalog, but come holiday time, this beauty shows up to make the moment merrier. The template for a pecan pie twists the Edwards blueprint into enticing new shapes, though it may not be the most inspired move the company has ever made.

The crust might be the best part of this pie. It has a generous dash of vanilla that makes it feel like it's not simply a pastry shell cradling the pie's contents, but a featured player in the whole arrangement. The pecans are densely packed on top and properly textured for a crisp yet chewable bite. The least impressive part of this pie is the filling, which turns a little loose when thawed for serving. It felt more like custard than traditional pecan pie. Maybe this is the Georgia style referenced on the cover of the box, but the photograph makes it look like there should be more adhesion in this sloppy substance.

Edwards Georgia Style pecan pie is a thaw-and-eat that lets you conjure up a dessert without turning on the oven. But it's not one of the better choices out there. I wouldn't refuse a slice of this pie if it was served to me, but it would not be my primary choice for setting on my own table.

Walmart's premium bakery brand Marketside comes up with some pretty high quality items, especially if you're looking for economical desserts. Among the selections is a perfectly serviceable pecan pie priced under $7. I've reviewed this pie previously and was struck by how well it performed. But that was before I laid it beside the other pecan pie possibilities to see that it's a little less remarkable than I thought it was.

Marketside gives this pecan pie a non-descript crust, one that tastes suspiciously shortening instead of butter — which is exactly what's used — or a blend of palm and soybean oils, to be specific. It comes across as thoroughly unimpressive. The filling is a different story. This rich, caramel-like glaze has a bit of zing that lifts and brightens the flavor of the whole pie. The pecans are serviceable, and altogether you get a perfect mid-level pecan dessert that just might impress your guests.

On its own or compared against the best and worst Walmart pies, Marketside is a pretty stellar choice. Even with all its considerable charms, when bumped up against the other grocery store pecan pies, it can only rise to the middle of the list.

One of the best-kept secrets of the Walmart bakery is the mini-pie collection, which includes a three-bite pecan pie. It's available year-round, which gives Freshness Guaranteed at Walmart a distinct advantage over the holiday-only contestants. At under $1, it's also a modest buy that satisfies your sweet tooth without requiring you to invest in a larger pastry. Snack time has never had it so sweet.

There's nothing you can't love about this miniature sweet; it has the crust of a much more expensive creation, with the chewy, gooey center and crunchy pecan pieces you know and love. The fact that it pops right out of the pan without sticking is a bonus that lets you get under the crust and right to the heart of the matter. You can't always say that about a full-sized pecan pie.

No, it's not always the best dessert for Thanksgiving or Christmas — that much is obvious. But if you're peckish for a pie that reminds you of warm moments with your favorite people, this tiny treat has your name all over it.

Southern Roasted pecan mini tarts may be just the right amount of sweetness for anyone who loves pie but won't be entertaining enough guests to warrant a full-sized pastry. Rather than offering a full-size pie that needs to be sliced in order to serve multiple guests, Private Selection provides a four-pack of miniature roasted pecan tarts that make ideal serving sizes for a smaller dinner party. They're served in their own pans, each tart a little smaller than the individually-boxed small pies, but they're still a decent sized bite on their own.

The smaller surface area means all the ingredients are present and accounted for, from one edge of the pie to the other. The roasted pecans are chopped into smaller pieces so they don't take up the whole face of each tart, which also makes them easier to chew. The filling is closer to custard than gel, with an egg vanilla flavor that was a sweet surprise. The crust is nothing to brag about.

In addition to being a modestly tempting space saver on your dessert table, Private Selection Southern roasted pecan tarts are also a bit of a budget saver. For $6, you get this quaint quartet that won't leave you scrambling to finish leftovers days after your meal is over.

Stashed in the freezer section to keep things nice and cold until you need it, Marie Callender's brings the restaurant's top-tier pecan pie to the grocery sphere for those who don't have an eatery in their area. If you're familiar with the chain's signature pies, you probably already know what you're getting when you load one of these decadent treats into your cart. And if you haven't tried one yet, you might want to get in on the action this holiday season.

The buttery crust here is commendable, though it feels like I could use just a bit more salt. The pecans are generously distributed on top and overlap one another, meaning there's plenty of goodness to go around. And the caramel surrounding the nuts feels more like actual caramel than just the filling in the homemade versions I've had.

If you aren't already in the know, the truth about Marie Callender's is that the company produces a spectacular pecan pie. Prices are dropping as the holiday approaches; I paid $6 at Walmart, but I've seen it on sale for $5 at Kroger stores as a pre-Thanksgiving special. Affordability, flavor, and the fact that it doesn't have to be heated at all — just thawed and served — make it a bona fide winner.

Make sure you have plenty of space in your fridge or freezer for this baked behemoth. It always seems to be larger than you remember, possibly due to the hypnotic spiraling pattern of pecan halves that makes the finished product appear suspiciously hand-made. Clearly, it was made by someone's hands, even if they weren't yours. No matter. You have a successfully-baked pie for around $17 that's bound to serve your whole household, and then some. The granddaddy of all pecan pies, Costco's baked behemoth is always a spectacle, arriving in the warehouse to a flurry of wide-eyed autumn shoppers. It can be found right next to the colossal pumpkin pie that members love to rant and rave about.

Everything about this first-rate pie is stunning. The crust tastes like a cookie; the filling tastes rich and caramel-like with a consistency that lands right in the sweet spot of not too gooey and not too chewy. And the pecans are exceptional, all uniformly soft somehow, so that no matter who gets what slice, everyone gets the right piece of pie. And it appears to be brushed with a final coating of syrup that gives the whole bake an enticing shimmer that makes it feel decorative and special.

The price may be a little more than the other pies on the list, but you're paying for both quantity and quality here. It's worth shifting your budget a bit to make room for one of the best Costco holiday pies.

I geared up for my pie tasting by clearing my eating schedule for the day, knowing the amount of corn syrup I'd be consuming would be more than enough calories. It would have been wiser to spread the experience over several days, but I wanted a side-by-side comparison to be fresh on my taste buds. The only way to do it was to taste them one right after the other, with a little water to clear my palate between samplings.

I kept track of the taste and texture of the crust; any pie with a more buttery flavor gained an automatic advantage. I also took note of how tender the pecans were, since too much crunch can make a pie difficult to chew. Finally, I gauged the smoothness and sweetness of the caramel-like filling, favoring a chewier consistency and mellower flavor.

It may not seem like it, but it turns out the distinction among pies made with the same ingredients is pretty clear once you taste them all in sequence. Though none of these pies are actually bad, there are bound to be one or two that more accurately fit your concept of the perfect pecan pie.