Worth the money: We tried and rated pumpkin pies from Costco, Trader Joe's and more—the winner was clear

Putting together a Thanksgiving feast can be an ordeal.

Cooking the perfect turkey is hard enough on its own without worrying about stuffing, cranberry sauce, casseroles and mashed potatoes.

By the time dessert rolls around, the thought of making pie dough, blending a pumpkin pie filling and baking it to perfection can feel like a bridge too far.

But if you want to outsource dessert to a supermarket near you, you’ll need to choose from countless options.

CNBC Make It tried a quintet of pies from a variety of national and regional chains to determine the best store-bought option. Staffers were asked to sample pie from the following five chains and select their favorite.

  • Trader Joe’s
  • BJ’s Wholesale Club
  • Wegman’s
  • Costco
  • Walmart

Each pie was removed from its packaging ahead of the taste test, and staffers were only informed of which pie was from which store after voting was complete.

The winner, however, was clear.

(Clockwise from top left) Pumpkin pies from Trader Joe's, Walmart, BJ's, Costco and Wegman's.

Aditi Shrikant(Clockwise from top left) Pumpkin pies from Trader Joe’s, Walmart, BJ’s, Costco and Wegman’s.

5. Trader Joe’s

Votes: 1

Price: $6.99

Despite its reputation for great pre-packaged goods, Trader Joe’s pumpkin pie was considered the worst of the batch. “I nearly spit it out,” one tester said. “The flavor tasted fake and not like pumpkin at all.”

4. Wegman’s

Votes: 2

Price: $11.00

The priciest pie of the bunch, Wegman’s didn’t stand out from the competition. It was the least visually appealing of all the options, but one person said “it made up for that by tasting pretty good.”

3. Walmart

Votes: 2

Price: $4.42

One of the most divisive pies on the menu, testers had strong feelings about Walmart’s pie. While two testers thought it was the best of the five options, another remarked “If I was served that at an actual Thanksgiving, I would politely eat a few bites, but not finish the slice.”

2. BJ’s Wholesale Club

Votes: 3

Price: $5.99

The pie from the wholesale club with locations across the Midwest and eastern United States landed in second place thanks to its spice-forward flavor profile. Though the flavor was too much for some testers, it helped the pie stand out from the pack for others.

1. Costco

Votes: 5

Price: $5.99

Costco’s pumpkin pie is one of the retailer’s most popular products during the Thanksgiving season, and CNBC Make It’s testers agreed. It was the pie that was most visited for seconds and leftovers, with a “nice and creamy” consistency as well as “a good balance of spice and pumpkin.”
CNBC Make It independently determines what we cover and recommend in the “Worth the Money” section. Opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

DON’T MISS: Want to be smarter and more successful with your money, work & life? Sign up for our new newsletter!

Get CNBC’s free Warren Buffett Guide to Investing, which distills the billionaire’s No. 1 best piece of advice for regular investors, do’s and don’ts, and three key investing principles into a clear and simple guidebook.

News Related

OTHER NEWS

Man held for offering $1.4m bounty to assassinate Malaysia’s PM Anwar and Cabinet

KUALA LUMPUR – A 34-year-old man has been detained for threatening Malaysia’s Prime Minister via social media. Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said the man was detained on ... Read more »

Pig hunters deny drug trafficking theory on missing man

A member of a pig hunting group that was in remote Queensland when Jeremiah Rivers went missing has denied trafficking cannabis, in testimony given by video as there is a ... Read more »

Dutton gives Christmas 'gift' of running Lego gauntlet

Christmas is a time for giving, and for Peter Dutton that means sharing one of life's most excruciating pains. The opposition leader is donating some of his much-loved Lego to ... Read more »

Lawsuit seeks $16 million against Maryland county over death of pet dog shot by police

A department investigator accused two of the officers of “conduct unbecoming an officer” for entering the apartment without a warrant, but the third officer was cleared of wrongdoing, the suit says. Read more »

Heidi Klum shares rare photo of all 4 of her and Seal's kids

Heidi Klum posted a rare picture with husband Tom Kaulitz and her four kids: Leni, 19, Henry, 18, Johan, 17, and Lou, 14, having some quality family time. Read more »

European stocks head for flat open as markets struggle to find momentum

This is CNBC’s live blog covering European markets. European markets are heading for a flat open Tuesday, continuing lackluster sentiment seen at the start of the week in the region ... Read more »

How Qatar mediators helped save shaky Israel-Hamas truce

The deal seemed on the verge of unravelling. Hamas had accused Israel of failing to keep its side of the bargain and Israel was threatening to resume its lethal onslaught ... Read more »
Top List in the World