There’s only one I’d buy again.
This is because homemade, though always better, takes time and effort.
Those who frequently make pie dough at home turn up their noses against store-bought.
Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
But you don’t have the feel bad about buying instead of making it from scratch!
The good news is that there are lots of options out there.
Within a 15-minute radius of my house, I found nine different frozen and refrigerated pie crusts.
Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn
Are they as good as homemade?
I had to find out for myself by blindly taste-testing them.
What Is the Ideal Store-Bought Pie Crust?
Simply Recipes / Sarah Crowder
It should taste goodbuttery, well-salted, and a little sweet.
It shouldn’t taste greasy, stale, and artificial.
It should be tender, flaky, and smooth, not chalky, sandy, or tough.
Simply Recipes / Myo Quinn
Some came in an aluminum tin pan and others rolled up in a box.
All of them came with two crusts.
I baked each crust following package instructions, without any fillings or pie weights.
Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas
The good news is that it’s easy to fix.
Don’t peel off the plastic layers.
Unroll the pie crust onto the counter, still between the plastic.
I could see the flaky layers in the crust, which melted in my mouth.
It tastes great though more savory than sweet with no butter flavor.
I could see the flaky layers in the crust.
However, it cracked in a few spots as it baked.
The crust is light and flaky, though didn’t taste like anything other than salt.
This is the only pie crust that came in a tin pan and didn’t crack while baking.
This one had the sweetest crust of all.
Kroger Unroll and Bake Pie CrustsThis pie crust comes rolled up in a box.
It’s very hard to unroll because it stuck to itself.
This was also the only crust that stuck to the pie pan when baked.
Whatever I could scrape off did taste good.
I guess the crimping is pretty, but not enough to make up for the texture.
Wholly Gluten Free Pie ShellsThe crust is really dry and has a sand-like texture.
It felt and tasted like what I imagine chalk does.
Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas
