We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
The best pork pies for the Christmas season
A boxing day fail-safe, but should you stay with the traditional options or branch out to inventive flavours? We tried 16, from original to cranberry topped and everything in between, to find which was the best tasting.
The pork pie is a quintessentially British treat that just happens to be a no-fuss main, too. Perfect for when you’re fed up from all the Christmas day cooking but still need a something delicious.
The festive season has inspired innovation from retailers, with some bringing out exciting flavours including fiery jalapeno and stilton stuffed offerings. Find out which one was worth sharing...
M&S Festive Turkey, Chestnut & Bacon Pork Pie
Score 82/100
Thick pastry with a great crunch. Our winning pork pie is filled with chunky and moist meat. Well-seasoned, the balanced salt and pepper bring out the richness of the pork and turkey, while the sage deliveries a Christmassy note to both smell and taste. We loved the buttery pastry with a melt-in-the-mouth texture that compliments the gelatinous layer. The golden pie is topped with an embossed holly leaf for a classically festive look.
BUY NOW M&S, £10.00
(Range not available to buy online from all locations, please also check in store)
Waitrose 1 Pork, Bacon & Cranberry Domed Pie
Score: 78/100
Classic Christmas dinner flavours all wrapped up in rustic pie. Testers thought the baked colour and dome-shape of the pie were appealing, and liked the holly leaf on top for a simple festive touch. It was aromatically fruity and herbaceous. Sweet and tangy cranberry sauce worked well with the herby sage, thyme and pepper and the meaty pork. While the meat was premium tasting, the pastry was too bready with an unfortuntely soft texture.
In-store only, £7.49
Lidl Cranberry Topped Pork Pies
Score: 75/100
Encased in a crisp, buttery pastry, this pork pie is filed with melt-in-the-mouth meat and topped with large, plump, vibrant cranberries that burst in the mouth. Lovely tarte cranberries cut through the sweet sauce and go well with the peppery pork for a balanced flavour. However, some found the cranberries too sharp on their own.
In-store only, £2.99
Co-op Irresistible Apricot & Cranberry Topped Pork Pie
Score: 74/100
Topped with whole sticky cranberries surrounding a bright, golden apricot. Well browned hot water crust pastry is deeply filled with chunky, soft meat. We enjoyed the sharp zing of the cranberries against the fruitiness of the jelly top, but felt the meat was under seasoned.
In store only, £5.00
Aldi Exquisite Fruit Topped Turkey, Pork & Stuffing Pork Pie
Score: 73/100
A real celebratory looking pie. Well defined layers of turkey, stuffing and pork sit beneath a golden fruit topping. Teeming with cranberries, apricot and vine fruit, the golden crusted pie is appetising, and testers were drawn in by the herbaceous, spiced sent. Most loved the variety of meat, finding it well spiced with a nice peppery kick, and the mix of sticky-sweet fruit and savoury meat. However, some felt there was too many competing flavours. The pastry has a great crunch, but is a little too dry.
In-store only, £14.99
Waitrose Succulent Melton Mowbray pork pie
Score: 72/100
Most testers loved the crunch of the golden pasty against the moist meat, but sound some areas a little too gristly. The pastry is buttery, but subtly so, and although it was well-seasoned with black pepper for slightly spicy kick it lacked any other flavour.
BUY NOW Waitrose, £2.70
Sainsburys TTD Fruit Topped Layered Chicken & Stuffing Pork Pie
Score: 72/100
Overloaded with delicious candied fruit, the glossy apricots and cranberries add a juicy, sticky-sweet texture to the pie. It still has a strong savoury flavour, with sage stuffing and chicken reminding testers of a Christmas dinner in one mouthful. Though buttery, many found the pastry too bland and missed the porky flavour. We enjoyed the chunky filling and the crunchiness of the pastry, but some found it too dry.
BUY NOW Sainsbury's, £12.00
Morrisons The Best Festive Pie
Score: 72/100
Seasonally decadent, testers loved the look of this crown-topped pork pie. A thick layer of bright-red currant jelly is encased in a well-baked, crunchy pastry shell. The herby meat smell was enticing, but we were disappointed by the overly sweet flavour of the jelly and found the bouncy, firm texture interfered with the otherwise pleasant taste of well-seasoned meat, herby thyme, and nutty chestnuts.
BUY NOW Morrisons, £10.00
Roots & Wings Hand Made Pork Pie
Score: 68/100
Simply designed, this homemade, rustic-looking pie has neatly crimped edges. Though slightly over baked in areas, it was a lovely golden colour overall. The peppered meat was liked by our panel of testers, but many found it too salty. The pastry was too tough, and tasted slightly burnt in those over baked places. Some also found the meat a little too smooth.
BUY NOW Ocado, £6.19
Gills Green Jalapeno Topped Pork Pie
Score: 67/100
Definitely one for those who like heat. Topped with fresh tasting green jalapenos for a fiery kick, they enliven the salty, peppery pork for a balanced flavour. A rich and buttery pastry would have made the pie much better, as it was too thick and bready for our liking.
BUY NOW Ocado, £5.00
We also tested...
Gills Red Jalapeno Topped Pork Pie, 64/100 £5.00
Tesco Large Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, 63/100 £2.50
Waitrose 1 Layered Three Bird Pork Pie, 63/100 £15.00
Sainsbury's Large Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, 61/100 £2.50
Adams & Harlow Pork & Stilton Pie, 60/100 £6.00
Gills Hand Finished Pork Pie, 54/100 £1.80
Janet Leigh is the acting food testing manager at the GHI. From Easter in January to Christmas in July (and all that falls in-between), she leads the taste test team as they munch their way through sample after sample trying to find you the best products on the market. Whether it’s the latest trending foods or your cupboard staples, she covers it all. She now writes for Digital Spy
17 best Christmas hampers to gift this year
10 best Proseccos for celebrating this Christmas
The best turkey crowns for Christmas 2026, tested
The best champagne for every celebration in 2026
