If you’re anything like me, then you have probably been eating mince pies since they first appeared on the shelves again. I love mince pies because they are the ultimate Christmas snack! I do like to make my own, but I have been eating a lot of shop bought ones as well for convenience. You can buy cheap mince pies and expensive ones- I want to find out which ones are best.
Please remember, what I like might be completely different to what you like.
These mince pies from Lidl are such good value for money, especially as you receive 12 in a pack. Originally, I wanted to get Lidl’s top of the range pies, but they didn’t have any in stock. My disappointment was short lived though when I went in for the first bite. I don’t know if I got a bad pack, but the pastry is a bit on the brown side. Having said this, I do like the crisp pastry. The filling is plain and simple with no fancy ingredients or alcohol, making them ideal for children. They are a little bit on the small side, but they are ideal to have with a festive hot beverage. I like the design of them with the little holly leaves on the lid and a little sprinkle of sugar.
Sainsbury’s is my local supermarket, so I have tried all of their different mince pies apart from these ones. These pies remind me of homemade ones because of the star and dusting of sugar on the top. The pastry is very yummy and buttery tasting, but it is too thin for the amount of mincemeat inside. The filling has a good flavour, it’s just a bit too citrusy for me. I don’t like mince pies that have too much alcohol in them; these mince pies have a little bit brandy in them, but that suits me fine. There’s nothing particularly wrong with these pies, they just don’t ‘wow’ me.
These mince pies are the biggest out of the four I have here, they weigh in at 36g each. Tesco has a wide range of pies; I went with their finest and most expensive ones. Apart from the cute snowflake design in the top, the pastry is the only good thing I can say about these pies. The pastry is the correct thickness to encase the dense filling, and it is buttery tasting and crisp. The mincemeat filling has an unusual addition of mixed chopped nuts, this would be nice if the filling did taste so boozy. These pies contain two different alcohols, brandy and port. You might love these pies, but they taste too strongly of alcohol for me, personally.
Top of the range pack of 6 mince pies from Marks & Spencer. I haven’t had mince pies from M&S before, so I was really excited to try these and find out if they are worth the price tag. The first thing I noticed was the short best before date, so this suggests they are fresh. The all-butter pastry is perfect, especially after being in the oven for 10 minutes to heat up. They are filled with a unique fruity combination of vine fruits, cranberries, clementine, cherries and brandy. They are perfectly sized and have a dusting of icing sugar to complete them. In my opinion, these pies are the closest you’ll find to homemade ones.
I really enjoyed taste testing all of these mince pies, it was fun to do. However, I don’t recommend you don’t try this at home because having all of these pies around isn’t exactly healthy! I’m just lucky my boyfriend likes mince pies as much as me so he can help me eat them all. I’m not surprised that the M&S ones were my favourite because of the quality. The ones from Lidl came a close second; they are a good everyday pie and fantastic value for money. I was disappointed with the ones from Tesco and Sainsbury’s; I just felt like they were trying too hard with different flavours, and they are too boozy.
Have you tried any of these pies before? Have you got a favourite supermarket mince pie?
This is such a fun post, sure you had a lot of fun tasting all the different ones! I’ve never actually tried a mince pie, this is making me want to though xx
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Yes, you must try one! Thanks for stopping by 😄
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Great post Emma… yummy post😂 I personally like the mini Tesco finest ones, they have the perfect amount of crust and filling! Xx
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Thank you! Yes, I have seen the mini ones but I haven’t tried them before 😄
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They are the bomb.com!!!
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Over here in LA, Mince pies are not as popular as the Pumpkin or Apple Pie, but I love the flavor and this is a great look at options – nice job and thanks for sharing!
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That is interesting to know! Thanks for stopping by 😄
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So true! I used to live in LA and it’s non existent. 😃
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😋😍 craving a mince pie now. Such a fun post to read. Thank you! 🤗
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Thanks for dropping by 🙂
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I love this post idea! Sadly my boyfriend doesn’t like them, so I’d have to eat them all, or keep inviting people over! I really need to buy some mince pies! The only one I’ve had this year was at a John Lewis event – another good one to try if you feel like tasting any more 😉
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Thank you Kirsty :). More pies for you then ;). I haven’t tried any from John Lewis before
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I have never had a mince pie, but I’d love to try one! They all looked good!
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Never had a mince pie? You must try one 🙂
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I had no idea mince pies had alcohol and other stuffs in them, interesting!
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There are all sorts of difference flavours now 😀
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I love mince pies too! Every year mum and I used to do this and test all the pies from different brands! Due to my food intolerances I didn’t think I was going to get mince pies this year but thankfully Tesco and Sainsbury’s both make free from mince pies that are very yummy!
PaleGirlRambling xo
http://palegirlrambling.co.uk
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I have heard good things about supermarkets catering more for people with food intolerances- very good news for you so you don’t miss out 😀
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I actually never had these, like any of these. We don’t have these in Bosnia, but I hope I’ll try some one day. xx
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Lots of people are saying they haven’t tried mince pies before. What is traditional to eat in Bosnia?
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We have many sweets actually. Our most famous is “baklava” which is something like pie with walnut and some dressing. Also we have cherry, apple and plum pies and some other things. xx
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Nice memory as mince pies where one of my mother’s Christmas baking staples.
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Nice, you can’t beat homemade 🙂
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I’m going to really miss mince pies this Christmas as I’m in Belgium and they don’t really eat them here. The last 2 years I found that the regular Aldi ones were my favourite
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I have never had a mince pie. They aren’t exactly a thing in the US. Part of me wants to try them very badly, but the other part is not sure how I’d like it. But I’ll try anything once and I do like anything with the name pie. The US eats sweet pies.
Is a mince pie the same as mincemeat? I’m just not sure if I’d like sweetened meat. I hope I’m not getting anything wrong. Please explain if I have.
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I don’t know why it’s called mincemeat because there is no meat. Mincemeat is made from died fruits such as raisins, sultana’s and orange peel. It is usually spiced with cinnamon and little bit of brandy 🙂
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Seriously? Wow! Thanks for telling me, now I know for sure I want to try them.
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Love the photos never had mince pie but looks tasty !
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Thank you 🙂
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I can’t remember the last time I had a mince pie as I just think I wouldn’t like them. But I might give the M&S ones a go xx
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As long as you like pastry, dried fruit and spice you should do 😄. Please do, they are perfect if you heat them up in the oven 🙂
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I’m a big fan of Lidl mince pies!
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Me too :). I wanted to try the deluxe ones, but they didn’t have any
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Last year they had some called Snowy Lodge. They were amazing but I haven’t seen them this year.
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So quick disclaimer, I hate mince pies. I had to come on and read your round up though, knowing your a chef and know what your talking about lol. My family love them so I have to get them in for them x
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Thanks for stopping by even though you don’t like mince pies hehe 🙂
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I trust your judgement Emma haha xx
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I’ve never actually had mince pie before. I honestly didn’t even know what exactly they were until I looked them up. I always thought they were meat pies! Maybe I’ll have to try one this year!
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Lots have people have been saying they’ve never had one before! :O
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I love mince pies and usually make my own, however, I am a bit late this year! I quite fancy those Lidl ones though, I was going to get some last time I was in but will definitely pick some up now after your review. 🙂
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They are very yummy! Thanks for dropping by 🙂
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Cute post!
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Thank you 🙂
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I absolutely love mince pies! I will have to try the M&S ones sometime. My current favourites are the ones from Greggs!! 🎄
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I never even thought about getting mince pies from Greggs! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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