We Brits eat £1 billion worth of every year, so it's no wonder we have a whole week dedicated to them.
The classic dish is always a firm favourite in any household; tucking into a hearty pie, whether it's a steak and ale, chicken and mushroom or packed with roasted , you always know you're going to be satisfied. But with pretty much every supermarket offering up their own take on the traditional British loved dish, it's only right to put a few to the test and see which offers up the best classic pie.
has treated shoppers to a dine-in range in light of National Pie Week, with two pies and three sides for £10—and there is an extensive range on offer. The value-for-money meal deal has gone down a treat, so it was only right we put M&S to the test alongside a number of other big-name supermarket pies to see if they can beat their offering.
Comparing steak and ale pies from , , Lidl and , I rated them on price, appearance, value for money, amount of filling and pastry flakiness. So which one came out on top?
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M&S Classic Steak & Ale pie - £3
I had high expectations for this pie as it was M&S, and I wasn't disappointed. It was rich and there was a nice hint of ale in the aftertaste. However it was lacking with the amount of filling. Overall I was impressed with the pie as a whole. There was a generous amount of pastry and lashed in gravy, this would impress for any mealtime.
3/5
Tesco Tender Steak & Ale pie - £4
Just from the packaging, this pie looks luxurious, but that's as good as it gets. The rich meaty taste from the slow-cooked beef chunks was delicious, and they melted in my mouth. Unfortunately, there was very little filling, which is a shame as it was delicious. The pastry was golden and flaky, and it had a sage and onion sprinkling on the top, which was a nice addition, but it lacked the amount of filling.
2/5
Sainsbury's Ultimate Steak pie - £4
I was seriously impressed with this pie. It was extremely flaky and had a decent amount of filling. It had bacon in as well as a tasty red wine gravy, which brought out the rich flavours of the steak well. I’m not sure it really needed the bacon, but it was still delicious. The steak chunks were generous and well cooked, and I really like the red wine gravy as an alternative to ale—overall, it was a very good pie for the price. With all this in mind, it was a clear winner.
5/5
Lidl Steak & Gravy pie - £1.55
As the cheapest option, I had my reservations, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. The price point is very low, yet it was just as good as any. Perhaps it was a little drier than others, but Lidl absolutely nailed their version of the classic steak pie. It was a generous-sized pie, the onion gravy was rich, and there was a deep filling, but the chunks were rather small. This option was a great budget buy.
4/5
Overall, it's safe to say that there are some pretty good pies on the supermarket shelves. They all promised quality, and delivered with a truly hearty taste. However the Sainsbury's pie stood out to me the most as it ticked every box, and the red wine gravy really set it apart from the rest, but you can't go wrong with any of these.
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