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One of my all time favorite summer desserts is a slice of warm pie - be it apple, peach, or strawberry - topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It doesn't need to be homemade either. Turns out, there are some pretty delicious pies hanging out in grocery stores.
To find the retailers with the absolute best pies, I turned to the pros. I asked pastry chefs where they shop for pies when they're not making them from scratch. These are their top three picks.
The 3 Best Grocery Store Chain Pies, According to Pastry Chefs
1. Costco
If you're feeding a large crowd, you really can't go wrong with Costco - and its pies are no exception. Maria Arenas, pastry chef at Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona, considers them top tier: "Most are a decent size, big enough to serve a large group, and, for a grocery store, the pies taste fresh."
Her favorite flavor? The legendary pumpkin pie. "It's large in size, inexpensive, and everyone waits all year to buy it for Thanksgiving," said Arenas. (She's not the only one. Ali, our associate groceries editor, wrote about her mom's annual pumpkin pie tradition two years ago.) Arenas loves to serve hers with "a maple whipped cream [to] really take it to the next level."
2. Whole Foods
Whole Foods' bakery section is my all-time favorite, and Stella Wright, pastry chef at The Ritz-Carlton in Denver agrees it "consistently takes the crown for grocery store pies." Wright added, "The first thing I look at is the crust. Many chains rely on shortening or hydrogenated oils, but Whole Foods often uses butter, resulting in a flaky, tender, and genuinely flavorful crust."
Her glazing didn't stop there, noting the "fillings also strike the perfect balance," tasting like actual macerated fruit "rather than a cloyingly sweet, gelatinous starch paste."
Her top pick is Whole Foods' apple pie, calling it "an absolute standout." What makes it so good? "The apples retain a pleasant, tender, crisp bite instead of turning to mush, and the warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg are perfectly balanced without overpowering the natural brightness of the fruit. Plus, the top crust always has a beautiful, golden sugar dusted finish," Wright said.
To replicate that fresh-out-the-bakery taste and texture, Wright said, "Tent the pie with foil and warm it in a 350°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes. It remobilizes the fats in the crust, making it incredibly flaky again, while warming the center evenly."
3. Harris Teeter
Harris Teeter, a popular Southern grocery chain, was the top pick for Chris McLaurin, chef and owner of Lutra Cafe & Bakery in Durham, North Carolina. "They have some great pies," he said, "simple and traditional but hit the spot."
His favorite is also - you guessed it - apple pie. "The apples are firm, the crust is flakey, and there's a nice balance of sweet and tartness."
Like Wright, he also sends his pie on a quick trip to the oven, but adds something extra to elevate it even further: "I like to put a little melted butter into the bottom of an oven-safe dish and then add my slice of apple pie. From there, 10 or so minutes in a 300°F oven does the trick. The crust gets nice and crispy, the apples warm through - and when you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of caramel, and a pinch of Maldon salt - all you'll know is that it's delicious."
A Few Tips for Buying Grocery Store Pies
Not all pies are created equal, so if you want to get the absolute best your store has to offer, follow these tips from the pastry chefs.
- Check the crust. Wright suggests, "Look for a deep, golden-brown crust. If the pie looks pale, it is likely underbaked, which almost guarantees a sad, soggy bottom once you cut into it."
- Choose ones you can easily reheat or keep chilled. Some grocery store pies are baked ahead, so they're ready to go. To keep them tasting as fresh as possible, "I tend to go for ones I can put back in the oven to recrisp, or chilled ones like a key lime pie!" said McLaurin.
- Look for ingredients you'd find in your own kitchen. "Fruit, flour, and butter or sugar should be the very first ingredients listed. If high-fructose corn syrup or modified food starch dominates the top of the list, put it back," Wright said.
- Give the pie a very gentle nudge. "If the filling sloshes around like soup, it hasn't set properly. You want a filling that looks stable and jammy, not watery," Wright said.
