The convenience of a fast food pie is hard to beat. They're delicious, and often handheld!
So to help you locate the best of the best, we've ranked sweet and savory pies — beginning
with the worst pie and finishing with the best of the bunch.
Right after you purchase a Baked Apple Pie from your local McDonald's, this fast food
pie smells so good that you'll be convinced that you've made a wise selection. Tragically,
the truth of the matter is that everything will quickly go downhill.
While the Baked Apple Pie undeniably smells really good, once you pop it into your mouth,
the disappointment will soon be overwhelming. The McDonald's pie is soft and disgustingly
mushy, and you'll be shocked by just how flavorless you'll find the crust and the apple filling.
While it smells like cinnamon, you can barely taste it. Furthermore, the apples are oddly
jelly-like, as if this pie is not really made with apples.
What makes this whole situation even more depressing is the fact that the apple pies
at McDonald's used to be fantastic. What changed? Their pies used to be deep-fried, but these
days, as the name suggests, their apple pies are baked. The result is a dessert that smells
promising but will thoroughly disappoint your taste buds.
Do you remember the glorious cherry pie you used to be able to get at McDonald's? Sadly,
those pies were discontinued in 2013. If you're looking for a suitable replacement in the
world of fast food pies, you may turn to Arby's and order a Cherry Turnover. That decision
would prove to be a mistake.
While the Cherry Turnover from Arby's is made from real cherries, just like the cherry pie
from McDonald's used to be, that's where the similarities end. Arby's dessert is a letdown
of epic proportions. First of all, they only use a microscopic amount of cherry filling
in the turnover. Secondly, this pastry is annoyingly flaky. Each bite you take will
result in flakes getting stuck on the roof of your mouth and crumbs tumbling onto your
clothing. If you want a treat from Arby's, go with their Vanilla Shake.
In theory, the Chicken Pot Pie you can get at Church's is an amazing idea. It looks like
a Baked Apple Pie from McDonald's but it's filled with chicken, gravy, carrots, and everything
else that you'd find in a traditional chicken pot pie.
However, in practice, Church's Chicken Pot Pie doesn't live up to the fast food pie you're
imagining. Even if you eat it right away, it's overly soggy. Typically, the crust is
one of the best parts of a chicken pot pie, but that's just not the case with this Church's
menu item. The crust falls apart quickly and the texture is far from satisfying. The bits
of chicken are tasty but they are few and far between.
Popeyes recently added a new dessert option that they call their Raspberry Cheesecake
Pie. If you're a big fan of cheesecake, you're probably thinking about rushing over to the
nearest Popeyes and ordering one of these pies. But if you order this fast food pie-cheesecake
hybrid because you love cheesecake, you won't be thrilled with what you get.
When you bite into the Raspberry Cheesecake Pie, you'll taste a little bit of graham cracker
and a fair amount of raspberry filling. The graham cracker legitimately tastes like a
traditional graham cracker crust, but the raspberry filling tastes more like sugary
raspberry jam than fresh raspberries. However, the most unfortunate aspect of the entire
experience is that nothing in this pie actually tastes like cheesecake.
There's a white cream inside of the pie but it doesn't taste like cheesecake at all. Truth
be told, this Popeyes dessert tastes decent. But if you're buying it in order to get a
cheesecake fix, you will be sad.
"Here we are in the middle of a crisis and there's no cheesecake."
Even if you think you can't get enough chocolate in your life, the Double Chocolate Turnover
that's available at A&W is an overwhelming fast food pie. Inside of a chocolate crust
you'll find a flood of chocolate filling. The filling is like chocolate pudding but
even richer. Add it all together and don't be surprised if the overpowering chocolatey
nature of this treat causes you to call it quits halfway through the pie.
The good news about this dessert is it will fill you up. Even if you're starving, just
order one of these pies. If you're able to finish it, you'll be completely satiated until
your next meal.
Much like the McRib, the Holiday Pie from McDonald's isn't available all year long.
It's somewhat understandable that the McRib has a cult following because it's a unique
sandwich that tastes good and doesn't truly have an equal in the universe of fast food.
The Holiday Pie is beginning to acquire a cult following of its own — but its popularity
makes less sense. This fast food pie from McDonald's is unique, but it just doesn't
taste good enough to count down the days until it's back on the menu.
If you've never had the Holiday Pie, it has a glazed crust that's covered with rainbow
sprinkles. Inside of it lives a generous amount of vanilla custard. This dessert creation
looks pretty and if you like vanilla custard, it makes for an okay snack. But considering
the crust is nothing special and the vanilla custard tastes like pudding you can find on
the shelf of a grocery store, the Holiday Pie isn't something you should go out of your
way to get your hands on.
If you want an apple pie from a fast food window that's blessed with great-tasting apples,
get the Apple Turnover from Krystal. The crust, while enjoyably flaky, isn't memorable. The
apple filling, though, is really, really good. Krystal adds a blend of spices to their apples
and the result is oh so yummy. Additionally, each piece of apple has a subtle yet recognizable
crunch, which adds a pleasurable texture that is completely lacking in McDonald's version,
for example.
You may be stunned to learn that Long John Silver's has a pie on their menu that is actually
quite good. This fast food restaurant brings to mind seafood, not sweet treats.
"I noticed this is a, uh, fishing village. Is there a Long John Silver's on the island?"
However, the next time you visit Long John Silver's, don't leave without ordering the
Chocolate Cream Pie. This beauty is an actual slice of pie. And while it's chocolatey, the
chocolate cream is light, fluffy, and enjoyable until the last bite. Add in a chocolate crust
and the chocolate syrup drizzled and it's safe to say that a lover of chocolate won't
feel short-changed if they order this dessert. The pie also comes topped with whipped cream.
KFC's Pot Pie has been around a lot longer than the aforementioned version sold by Church's,
and it shows. While Church's handheld pie is an interesting idea, this Pot Pie from
KFC is what you should order if you want something serious that's worthy of your hard-earned
money. If you like microwavable chicken pot pies, you'll absolutely adore this menu item.
You won't be surprised that the chicken in the Pot Pie tastes really good because KFC
is primarily known for their delicious chicken. You'll also be a big fan of the carrots, peas,
and the gravy. But what really steals the show is the golden crust. It has the perfect
texture and it tastes like heaven. By the time you're done eating, you'll agree that
this is one of the best entrees KFC has to offer.
If you used to visit McDonald's to scarf down their deep-fried apple pies by the bushel,
go to Hardee's to relive the good ol' days. You'll be ecstatic to learn that Hardee's
Apple Turnover is deep-fried to perfection. While it might not be quite as good as McDonald's
discontinued dessert, it's a worthwhile knockoff.
One thing that you should keep in mind is that the Apple Turnover from Hardee's is best
when it's hot. If you let this fast food pie cool off, it actually gets kind of gross.
The apple filling turns into a jelly-like substance and the crust gets too hard. Reheating
it in your microwave will help, but it won't completely restore the Apple Turnover to its
original state.
If you want the best pie McDonald's has to offer, opt for the Strawberry & Crème Pie.
Everything about this fast food pie is wonderful. On the outside, you'll find a crust that is
coated with a liberal amount of sugar. The crust has a much better texture than the crust
on their Baked Apple Pie, and the addition of the sugar makes it that much more enjoyable.
Beneath the crust is a strip of strawberries and a strip of vanilla cream. The strawberry
filling tastes surprisingly fresh, while the vanilla cream is bursting with flavor. While
you can eat the strips separately and essentially split this dessert into two separate pies,
it's best to mix the strawberries and the vanilla cream together. The combination will
cause your taste buds to jump for joy.
While McDonald's has auditioned many types of pies over the years, these days their most
popular pies are the Baked Apple Pie and the Strawberry & Crème Pie. While the apple pie
should be avoided, this one is a winner.
If you want the best chocolate pie you can find at a fast food restaurant, go to Burger
King and order their Hershey's Sundae Pie. This pie is similar to the Chocolate Cream
Pie from Long John Silver's, but it's unquestionably better. It's also more filling and packs a
more flavorful punch. The first sign that this is going to be a great fast food pie
is in the name. When it comes to chocolate, Hershey's definitely knows a thing or two.
"Because Hershey's is the Great American, Great American, chocolate bar."
This pie uses Hershey's chocolate chips in its recipe and the result is stupendous. From
the chocolate crust to the chocolate filling, and from the chocolate syrup to whipped cream,
the Hershey's Sundae Pie is a delight. The next time you grab a Whopper, be sure to add
this pie to your order.
The ultimate apple pie is available at Popeyes. It's so good you might find yourself going
to Popeyes just to stuff your face with another fast food pie. The Cinnamon Apple Pie doesn't
look special but once you put it in your mouth, you'll soon realize that you've made an outstanding
decision. The crust is perfectly crispy. While other handheld apple pies can get squishy,
that's never a problem with the Cinnamon Apple Pie from Popeyes. Even if you allow it to
cool off, the texture of the crust remains flawless.
From there, things only get better. The apples in this pie taste fresh. To kick things up
a notch, Popeyes uses quite a bit of cinnamon and sugar in both the crust and the apple
filling. The balance of the cinnamon and sugar is dependably perfect so all you're left to
do is sit back, relax, and enjoy this immaculate apple pie. It's so good that if you close
your eyes, you might be able to convince yourself that you're eating your grandmother's homemade
apple pie.
When it comes to fast food pies, there's one pie that clearly deserves the top spot. The
Peach Mango Pie from Jollibee isn't just the best fast food pie, it's one of the very best
fast food desserts in all the land. In fact, if there's ever a hall of fame for fast food
desserts, the first two inductees should be Wendy's Frosty and Jollibee's Peach Mango
Pie.
If you've never tried this pie, you need to change that — even if it requires you to
travel many miles. The slices of fruit combine to create a flavor explosion with each bite.
The awesomeness of this pie doesn't stop at the peaches and mangoes, as the delectable
crust is equally as good as the scrumptious fruit filling. This deep-fried dessert by
Jollibee will blow your expectations out of the water, even if you're prepared for excellence.
Give it a whirl and you too will agree that this is the best fast food pie in existence.
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