6 Store-Bought Frozen Cherry Pies, Ranked Worst To Best

A classic cherry pie covers all the bases of a delicious, balanced dessert — when made well, that is. The filling should be sweet and gently sour, with plump, whole cherries suspended in a thickened gel that just holds its shape enough to create beautiful slices. And we all understand the serious skill involved in perfecting pie dough: the top crust should be light, crisp, flaky, and seasoned with just a hint of salt, while the bottom crust should be stiff, hearty, and well-baked enough to support the weight of the filling without going soggy.

Obviously, though, with so many complex factors involved in crafting the perfect cherry pie, few of us have the free time, the know-how, or the endurance to make one completely from scratch. Choosing a cherry pie from the grocery store freezer aisle saves you the trouble of toiling through the tougher prep steps like deep cleaning fresh cherries and rolling pie dough by hand. 

To make things even easier, in this review, I'll also save you the trouble of determining which frozen cherry pie, out of the many options, you should buy and enjoy at home. I taste-tested six different store-bought frozen cherry pies and ranked them worst to best. While I was disheartened across the board by the lack of cherries in each pie's filling, I still found some truly tasty winners among the soggy bottoms, gluey gels, and sour fruits.

Wanting to give a gluten-free option a fighting chance in this review, I decided to include the Katz Gluten-Free Cherry Pie, which is also free of dairy, nuts, and soy. Crossing my fingers that there could be some potential for this choice, especially after being encouraged by Katz's marketing promise on the back of the box that "no one will ever guess the pies are gluten and dairy free," I submitted it for ranking alongside bigger names like Marie Callender and Sara Lee. Unfortunately, it still didn't stand a chance.

Due to the gluten-free flour blend, made with tapioca starch, white rice flour, sorghum flour, and corn starch, the pie crust had a gritty and mealy texture. The dough didn't have any flakiness after baking, and it tasted more like an oddly fluffy bread/shortbread fusion, rather than a crisp pie crust.

The filling was also problematic, since it had little pieces of whole fruit and the thickest and gummiest texture out of all of the contenders. While this pie takes last place, I'm still an optimist for high-quality gluten-free cooking and baking, often turning to Chowhound's collection of homemade gluten-free recipes rather than putting my faith in store-bought disappointments.

Sara Lee's Cherry Pie is a cute and classic selection, with a double crust and pristine fluting around the edges. There's a little more work involved with this pie compared to the others, which was a small frustration that clashed with my desire to do minimal prep. Following the instructions provided, you first need to heat a baking sheet in the oven, which is supposed to help get the bottom crust drier and crispier. You also need to make slits in the top crust before baking to allow for airflow.

The slits are definitely necessary, but I found that the hot baking sheet pan didn't help cook the bottom crust at all, as it was still slightly underbaked. The problem was that the dough was on the thicker side, so it remained fairly soft even after heating the pie beyond the recommended maximum bake time of 60 minutes. The crust on top was nice and crisp around the edges, but it lacked the flakiness that the other higher-ranking pies had. The filling's texture wasn't too gluey, and held its shape well with each slice. However, this dessert was the most unpleasantly sour out of all the pies, and the few cherries present were on the waxier side.

If Marie Callender's Lattice Cherry Pie was graduating high school along with its fellow pie peers, it would be voted "Best Dressed" in its class. The clean lattice crust design on top provides a lovely aesthetic that is impressive to behold, made even more attractive since there's no work for you involved in creating the intricate design. And because the lattice already has multiple holes in it, there's no need to cut any slits in the pastry for airflow. My main complaint with this pie was that there was way too much dough. 

Pretty as it was, the excessive amount of pastry was incredibly thick on both the top and bottom, and it was definitely still underbaked after the recommended 60-minute cooking time. Despite an additional 15 or so minutes in the oven, the dough remained incredibly dense.

The filling underneath the pretty exterior was enjoyable, with one predictable flaw. I know I sound like a broken record, but it's a complaint I won't get tired of repeating: I just wish there were more cherries. The filling was made with tart red fruit suspended in a nice gel made from water, sugar, cornstarch, cherry juice concentrate, salt, and citric acid. The cherries were not excessively sour, though, and had a plump and juicy texture.

The only single-serving dessert option on this list, Banquet Cherry Berry Pie is an indulgent option for a cozy solo night when sharing with anyone else is out of the question. And at less than $2 a pie, it's a steal that's absolutely worth sacrificing a bit of your hard-earned cash to purchase. I like the quick convenience of being able to cook it in a microwave oven in less than 5 minutes, but it can also be baked in a conventional oven for about half the time compared to all the other traditionally sized pies on the list.

I also fell in love with the impressively deep, rich berry flavor — call it a low-key cheat, but Banquet uses a mix of blueberries and cherries in the filling. I'm allowing it. There's also cherry juice concentrate, as well as both white sugar and brown sugar — other ingredients that contribute additional depth of flavor. 

The pie dough also has an interesting twist: there's lard in it, a rarity among the store-bought frozen pies. The mellow, slightly sweet flavor and buttery consistency of the pastry created a tender crust on both the top and bottom. It wasn't as flaky as I was hoping for, and there still was a lack of whole berries, but the flavor was an intensely fruit-forward experience and was a memorable deviation from the other competitors. Like I said, you'll definitely want to keep this one all to yourself.

Mrs. Smith's Cherry Pie definitely wasn't pretty, but it sure tasted delicious. Similar to Sara Lee's pie, I needed to cut four slits into the top crust of the frozen (not defrosted) pie directly before baking it. But unlike Sara Lee's pie, as soon as I cut the first slit, the frozen dough immediately cracked, causing quite a few micro-cracks to appear around the main one. Some of the fruit filling oozed and bubbled out of these cracks during baking and burnt onto the baking sheet. Other than that small misfortune, the pie still heated up well despite the uglier, more messy appearance on top. My advice for all of you is to learn from my fumble and dip the tip of your knife into warm water before creating the slits. That way, the dough will gently soften instead of cracking under the pressure of a cold knife.

This was the only pie that contained butter in the crust, rather than hydrogenated oils or shortenings (although it does also contain palm oil). I definitely was able to taste the difference, since there was a notably fresh and buttery flavor and a light, flaky texture. As for the filling, it was another winner. I liked how deep and rich the cherry flavor was, and I was happy with how well the gel set without being too gloopy or gluey. A little xanthan gum as an ingredient in the filling helped with that. Would I have liked more cherries? Of course. Based on all the other frozen pies, should I be surprised that they were lacking? Of course not.

It was easy for Marie Callender's Cherry Crunch Pie to stand out from the crowd. As the only option with a streusel topping, as opposed to another thick, heavy layer of pie dough, I knew it was the unique choice that I was craving after trying — and being disappointed by — everything else. It succeeded where the others all failed, which was to offer a balanced dessert. 

Taking my first bite of the crisp, spiced, lightly salted streusel, combined with the nicely set filling of plump (yet sadly scarce) sweet-tart cherries and flaky, golden crust, was an eye-opening, palate-pleasing delight. Even though it was the exact same filling as the previously ranked Marie Callender's Lattice Cherry Pie, the streusel made it seem like an entirely new dessert with a unique personality of its own.

The spiced streusel topping comes pre-mixed and in a separate bag. (Despite my belief that you should be adding nuts to the streusel, this one is delicious without them.) After baking the pie for 40 minutes, evenly sprinkle the streusel mix over the top and continue to heat for another 15 minutes until the pie is cooked thoroughly and the streusel becomes browned and crunchy. The warm brown sugar and spicy cinnamon smelled intoxicating in the oven, so it shouldn't be a shock when I say that it was the first pie that actually made my mouth water. While the crumbly streusel did make it difficult to cut clean pieces, the thoughtful combination of flavors and textures made the mess easy to ignore. My serving was gobbled up within seconds. Mess? What mess?

There were multiple components that I knew were important to consider when testing and judging frozen store-bought cherry pies. I analyzed the ease of instructions for preparing and baking each pie, paying close attention to every step. I also closely studied the ingredient list, knowing how influential certain ingredients (types of fats, types of stabilizers, types of sugars, etc.) are to the taste and texture of both filling and crust. 

Since different sections of a pie have a range of tastes and textures, I took multiple bites from different parts and analyzed them individually. My expectations for a perfect cherry pie included a flaky and golden-brown top crust, a sturdy and well-baked bottom crust, a sweet-tart filling that wasn't too thick or gummy, and a bountiful number of whole cherries. While I missed having a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on the side, I thought it was best not to introduce any accompaniments.

I baked all of the pies according to the instructions as specified by the brand. All of the brands recommended baking the pies on a baking sheet pan in the center of the oven. Most brands also suggested covering the exposed crust with a ring of aluminum foil if the edges were browning too quickly — I had to do this for most of them about midway through the baking process. So that I wouldn't compromise the airflow or temperature of the oven, I baked only one pie at a time.