MINCE pies are a Christmas staple – but which supermarket brands taste the best?
We’ve compared supermarket own-brand mince pies from Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl with Mr Kipling’s deep filled mince pies.
And for the first time this year, we’ve also added Amazon’s “By Amazon” mince pies into our comparison.
We gave each product a score out of ten for taste and a score out of ten for value, based on the price per pie and the overall mincemeat content – so, brands which skimped on the filling got a lower value score.
Here’s how all the mince pies scored out of 20…
Mr Kipling Deep Filled Mince Pies, £2.50 for 6
10
At 42p per pie, the Mr Kipling mince pies were nearly the most expensive ones we tested. But they also contained the least mincemeat filling – just 45% of the total pie.
Although the filling was full of Christmas spice, it had a slightly burnt aftertaste that wasn’t very enjoyable, and the pastry was so crumbly it seemed dry and powdery.
Overall, these didn’t seem worth the premium price tag for the brand name.
Taste: 6/10
Value: 3/10
Total: 9/20
Tesco Mince Pies, £1.50 for 6
10
Tesco’s mince pies had lots of filling with plenty of Christmas spice – although the taste was a bit synthetic and the pastry was a little stodgy.
At 25p per pie, these were middle-of-the-range for supermarket prices, but had an above-average taste compared to some of their peers. Not a bad buy.
Taste: 7/10
Value: 6/10
Total: 13/20
Asda Mince Pies, £1.35 for 6
10
The pastry of the Asda mince pies was really stodgy and looked uncooked in the middle.
They contained 49% mincemeat (the same as Tesco and Lidl, higher than Mr Kipling), but we thought the filling tasted like cardboard.
Although these were one of the cheapest, at just 23p per pie, they weren’t very enjoyable to eat, so we’d probably opt to pay a bit more for a nicer treat.
Taste: 5/10
Value: 7/10
Total: 12/20
Morrisons Mince Pies, £1.45 for 6
10
There was a real taste of Christmassy spices to the filling of these Morrisons mince pies, with plenty of fruit inside. However, the pastry was so crumbly it disintegrated into grit when you bit into it.
We weren’t impressed that Morrisons was the only supermarket not to declare the mincemeat content on the packaging – but at 24p per pie, these were still a bargain compared to Mr Kipling.
Taste: 6/10
Value: 7/10
Total: 13/20
10
WINNER
Sainsbury’s Mince Pies, £1.70 for 6
10
The Sainsbury’s mince pies had a great tasting filling, with lots of citrus and fruit flavours – plus a hint of booze. But there wasn’t much of it, as these pies contained only 46% mincemeat, which was the lowest of all the brands we tested apart from Mr Kipling.
At 28p per pie, these were the priciest of the supermarket brands but we thought they were worth the extra pennies – and they were still over a third cheaper than Mr Kipling.
Taste: 8/10
Value: 6/10
Total: 14/20
By Amazon Our Selection 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies. £2.90 for 6
10
The “by Amazon” mince pies were delivered through the letterbox, so were a bit squashed and broken before they reached the table.
This didn’t take away from the fact they were full of filling, though, containing a generous 50% mincemeat. But, although, the filling was heavily spiced, it contained more aniseed flavours than traditional Christmas spices – which didn’t feel right at all.
Unfortunately, these were also more expensive than Mr Kipling, at 48p per pie, and they had the highest sugar content of all the brands we tested.
They wouldn’t be my pick of the lot.
Taste: 4/10
Value: 4/10
Total: 8/20
Aldi Holly Lane Mince Pies, £1.25 for 6
10
The Aldi pies also contained 50% mincemeat, but the pies tasted pretty bland and were lacking in fruit.
At just 21p per pie, these were one of the cheapest brands we tried – but they weren’t as good as the Tesco or Sainsbury’s versions costing just a few pennies more.
Taste: 5/10
Value: 8/10
Total: 13/20
Lidl Favorina Mince Pies, £1.25 for 6
10
We didn’t enjoy the Lidl mince pies, which had gluey, stodgy pastry and a thin filling containing hard gritty bits of dried fruit.
At just 21p per pie, these were one of the cheapest options available, on par with Aldi. But the Aldi ones contained more mincemeat and less sugar – so we’d choose those over these Lidl versions on a tight budget.
Taste: 3/10
Value: 7/10
Total: 10/20