Gluten Free Mince Pies: The Taste Test

Every year all the main supermarkets in the UK do gluten free mince pies and every year I say I am going to try them all and see who does the best ones, after 8 years I finally got round to doing just that!

So, we have M&S, Morrisons, Waitrose, Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco, Lidl, Co-op and Aldi mince pies all pitted against each other. In my opinion, some were good, some were...not! I also asked a couple of non-Coeliac friends to help me out too, none of my family like mince pies so to help with the taste test I dragged a couple of unsuspecting people in to gorge on mince pies. Kim and Jen both gave their honest opinion on the gluten free mince pies, I think its good to see what a none coeliac thinks of them, if they think they are good compared to full gluten versions then they must be winners!

7 of the 9 lots of mince pies tried have been on sale since September or October, however both Waitrose and Lidl took ages to get them in, finally last week though I manged to get hold of both so they could join the fight.

So, results are tallied, in reverse order of average score, lets find out what the best free from mince pies are on the market!

Aldi
Average rating - 1.5/5
Ok, don't shoot me down. I know Aldi is other peoples favourite but for me and Kim, neither of us liked it much at all and sadly it did come bottom for us, but only just. Both of us found the pastry quite hard and more biscuity than like pastry. The filling had a strange almost bitter after taste and it wasn't as spicy as some of the others. At £1.35 a pack they are a good price working out at just 34p a pie. If you want a cheap one they'd win on that front but for me in terms of taste they aren't good.
My rating 2/5, Kims rating 1/5

Lidl
Average rating - 2/5
At £1.35 they are certainly one of the cheaper options, just 34p per pie that works out at. However...they aren't the best. Personally I found the pastry really hard and bland and the filling didn't have much flavour and also they had a rather strange aftertaste too it, so I wasn't a fan at all. Jen again found the mincemeat to not have much flavour but she did like the pastry (must just be me and my sweet tooth finding it bland). Considering this one and Aldi ones are very similar in terms of the filling taste and the firmness of the pastry it makes me wonder if they are the same manufacturer.
For me just 1/5 rating. Jen's rating 2.5/5

Asda
Average rating - 2.5/5
Asda's free from mince pie I found didn't have a great lot of taste to the filling and the pastry again is really firm. Kim found the filling and pastry a bit dry, so overall not the best but not the worst. At £1.55 a pack they work out at just 39p each so for a cheap option they aren't bad.
My rating 2/5, Kims rating 3/5

Tesco
Average rating - 2.5/5
So unfortunately I didn't manage to get hold of the regular mince pie and its always out of stock when I go so I had to do the icing topped one for this one, may mean this is slightly unfair to Tesco, if I do get hold of the regular one I will update this.

With this one I found the pastry quite hard and the icing overpowers the taste of the mincemeat and makes it very sweet. Jen found the pastry crunchy and the filling good but the icing took away the flavour which I do agree with. At £2.50 a pack, 63p a pie, I personally don't think they are worth it, there are better pies for the same price or cheaper.
My rating 2.5/5, Jens rating 3/5

Sainsburys
Average rating - 3.5/5
4th place is joint and first up we have Sainsburys, the pastry is nice and crunchy but not too hard unlike some of the others. Kim said the pastry was a bit crumbly for her but the filling was very good which bumped her score up. I do agree the filling was nice in these ones too. These ones were just £1.75 a pack, 44p a pie, for all the ones under £2 these are definitely your winner.
My rating 3.5/5, Kims rating 3.5/5

Waitrose
Average rating - 3.5/5
For £2.50 we have Waitroses in joint 4th with Sainsburys (and it was joint not just on average but our individual score toos!). The filling had a lovely amount of spice and Kim agreed also adding there is plenty of it too. The pastry a tad to crispy for both mine and Kims liking. At 63p a pie they are a decent one to choose but are the top end of the price spectrum.
My rating 3.5/5, Kims rating 3.5/5

Morrisons
Average rating - 4/5
In third place is Morrisons. For me again, like the majority so far, the pastry is a bit to hard for my liking however Jen liked the crunchiness of it. We both agree the filling is lovely and flavoursome and also moist, definitely a worthy 3rd place pie! Like Waitrose these are £2.50 so 63p a pie, top end price but I'd say ok for the cost.
My rating 3.5/5, Jens rating 4.5/5

Co-op
Average rating - 4/5
In second (ok well I suppose it's joint second with Morrisons when it goes to average rating!) we have Co-op. For £2 a pack, this one is a firm contender for top spot, 50p a pie is pretty much middle of the range when it comes to price and I think for the "cheaper" pie this is the firm winner. The pastry is lovely and light but not too crumbly and also that little dusting of icing sugar really adds to the taste. Kim agreed on the pastry, it certainly is a good one, and the filling we both said it had a good flavour to it and plenty of it too.
We both rated this one at 4/5.

M&S
Average rating - 4.5/5
The top dog though is M&S, it is a top priced pie at £2.50, 63p per pie but it outshone all the others. Theoretically it should be 5/5 but I couldn't let a pie score full marks could I so I had to be tight and knock 0.5 off...not sure where I've knocked it off from though, I rated 4.5/5 though to be mean! The pastry is lovely, it is light but with a slight crunch and buttery flavour too it. Beautiful filling and I think the star on top rather than full covering helps as it doesn't overpower the filling with all the pastry. Both Kim and Jen tried this one and they both scored 5/5, Jen even went as far to say "it's tastes as good as a gluten one"

So overall the winner is M&S however if you want a more budget pie I'd say go Co-op or even Sainsburys. If you like a hard pastry you may rate some of them higher, or maybe you don't like a lot of spice in a pie, you may rate these different but for me, co-op and M&S are definitely the stand out two to go for!