The Best Mince Pies This Year, Tried & Tested

Though they seem to be creeping into supermarkets earlier each year – we spotted our first in October – ‘tis now truly the season for mince pies. But where to start? Our handy guide to the best festive treats are tried-and-tested by the C&TH team. From gluten-free gems to indulgent, rich and fruity bites, we’ve been gluttonous in the pursuit of the perfect pie. We looked for taste, texture, novelty and whether we’d buy them again; we asked the team to feedback on each bite they took. Get the cream ready: here are the best mince pies for 2024, tried and tested.

Our Top Mince Pies At A Glance

• Overall: St John’s Bakery
• Luxury: The Dorchester Collection
• Novelty: Pophams Bakery x King’s Ginger
• Traditional: Pump Street Bakery
• Budget: Riverford Organic

The Best Mince Pies For Christmas 2024, Taste-Tested

Riverford Organic

Rating: 4/5

At just under £1 a pop, Riverford Organic’s mince pies offer bang for their buck. The mince pies are uber-fruity, sloshed through with brandy, and then finished in a wood-fired oven. While they don’t receive points for novelty, they feel reliably traditional. They look and feel homemade, so you could absolutely pass them off as your own. £5.95 for six, riverford.co.uk

DukesHill

Rating: 4/5

These are an easy classic: buttery, not too pastry-heavy, and filled generously with fruity goodness. Each of these mince pies are hand cut, and you can tell – not that they’re wonky, exactly, but they feel personal. Not overly decorated, either (which, in a world full of over-fusty mince pies, is light relief). £13.50 for six, dukeshill.co.uk

Pophams Bakery x King’s Ginger

Rating: 2/5 or 5/5 depending on who you ask

These proved very divisive. Popham’s take on the mince pie is truly original – based on the flaky pastry of a croissant, mincemeat piped in after soaking for months in spicy King’s Ginger, and then finished with a dash of clotted cream. It was this latter inclusion that riled some traditionalists on the team. But try them and you’ll find they’re light, sweet and super tasty. Add in that they’re beautifully presented in a box with bow and stamp, and this is a sure winner. As long as you’re open to change. £20 for six, pophams.slerp.com

Cartwright & Butler

Rating: 3/5

Boy are these boozy. At £8 for six, Cartwright & Butler’s luxury mince pies felt more indulgent than its price might suggest. They’re made up of butter shortcrust pastries, topped with a crumbly disc, and piped with a filling that leans more dried fruit (and raisin) than peel. We think that the ratio of fruit to peel led it to taste slightly bitter but generally speaking the team enjoyed the depth of flavour this lent. The structure on the mince pies were very good, and the pies weren’t super crumbly. A good mid-priced pie to satisfy Santa on Christmas eve. £8, cartwrightandbutler.co.uk

Toklas Bakery

Rating: 5/5

‘No frills in the best way,’ said one of the team of Toklas Bakery’s spin on the mince pie. ‘It felt home-made, well baked and super dark inside.’ The pastry on this mince pie is more suet-like in quality but that means it holds a rich sultana filling well. There’s a beautiful caramelisation to the outside. And unfortunately you’ll need to head in-person to the Strand bakery for this perfectly textured pie. £3.20, toklaslondon.com

Hobbs House Bakery x Abel & Cole (Gluten-Free)

Rating: 4/5

Our gluten-free colleagues enjoyed Hobbs House Bakery’s gluten-free mince pies – although they advised that these would be best served with a cream side as they can tend on the dry side. The Hobbs House Bakery’s sweet, citrusy mincemeat is encompassed in a lovingly made gluten-free shortcrust pastry, topped with a festive star. Not hugely original, but classic, festive and the perfect way to include all your guests. £6.95 for six, abelandcole.co.uk

Cook

Rating: 4/5

Although these mince pies are made by Cook (best described as a posh sort of Iceland), they don’t arrive frozen. While they can be eaten straight away, cold, we’d recommend that they are much tastier after a stint in the oven. The pastry is soft, crumbly and generously filled with fruit, peels and spices, so these are easy eating. They’re not super indulgent – don’t expect any gimmicks – but they’re to-the-book traditional shortcrust pies. To boot, they’re vegan – and exceptionally well priced. £3.95 for six, cookfood.net

Twelve Triangles

Rating: 5/5

Say it in one breath: these mince pies from Edinburgh-based bakery Twelve Triangles are made with sherry-soaked plums, cherries, cranberries, sultanas, and then topped with a walnut and brown butter sourdough frangipane. If that doesn’t have you drooling, then none of these mince pies will tickle your tastebuds. This rich combination is a joy in a pastry that held onto its form, enjoyed a nice crumb, and felt deeply luxurious. £18 for four mince pies, twelve-triangles.myshopify.com

Bread Ahead

Rating: 3/5

The Bread Ahead mince pies are warming, traditional and indulgently boozy. The pastries have a crunch and are best suited for those with strong sweet teeth – these are very sugary. If you find yourself falling in love with the texture of these, the bake chain offers a mince pie workshop at its Borough shop, although these are mostly sold out for this year. Put it on next year’s Christmas list? £3 for one, or £15 for six, breadahead.com

Fitzbillies

Rating: 3/5

The shortcrust on Fitzbillies’ mince pies taste like a very light shortbread, and these flat little bites are joyfully sugary, gleefully buttery, and invariably easy to pop. These mince pies will in particular be a total hit with old cantabs – who’ll invariably bore you with tales of queueing at the Cambridge bakery – but will satisfy any treat seekers. You’ll like them even more when finding out the price. £19 for twelve, fitzbillies.com

The Dorcester Collection

Rating: 5/5

These are on the pricier side, but what a luxury treat. The shortcrust pastry is filled with rich – but never overwhelming – mincemeat, and orange cuts through as the dominant flavour. These are then topped with cut cutout stars, and then popped into a regal blue cardboard box ready to be presented to awed guests at any festive party this season. An elegant mince pie. £18 for six, dorchestercollection.com

Caffé Nero

Rating: 3/5

Caffé Nero’s luxury amaretto mince pies are filled to the brim with (shocker) amaretto-soaked mincemeat, and they feel lively thanks to a hefty help of orange peel. It’s probably, according to the team, ‘not for crust-lovers’ – it’s an open-topped pie – ‘but it doesn’t scrimp on the filling.’ The team overwhelmingly said they enjoyed the novelty of the mince pies, which are topped with toasted almonds and more mixed peel, and that they’d be stopped by for some in the coffee chain during their Christmas shopping. From £2.95, caffenero.com

Pump Street Bakery

Rating: 5/5

These super boozy, sugar-crusted mince pies ultimately add nothing new to the festive canon, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook them. ‘Traditional, but without the stodge,’ said one taste-tester. They’re made by Suffolk based bakery and made in pastel de nata moulds meaning they’re deep filled with apples, currants, lemon and orange peel, plus lots of brandy and spicing. A word of warning, though, these mince pies made Daily Mail headlines for being among the most expensive in Britain. Annoyingly, they’re worth it – and, currently, out of stock. £25 for six, pumpstreetchocolate.com

Birley Bakery

Rating: 4/5

These mini bites from Birley Bakery were a hit, not least because they’re indulgent but small enough to pop in the mouth in one go, guilt-free. As such, you’ll need to pace yourself; it’s easy to overdo it. This said, not all are created equally, some have more brown on the outside than others, but this adds to feeling like you’re eating something homemade. The bakery says it has a secret recipe ‘boasting a luxurious filling of rich mincemeat’, and we’d love to be in the know about what makes these just so special. £2 per mincepie, birleybakery.com

St John Bakery

When these first appeared in the office, we wondered if there’d been a mix up – St John’s Bakery mince pies look more the spit of a pork pie. But one bite dispels that – buttery, rich pastry encases an almost savoury mix of fruit, nuts and brandy, that has sour cherry notes (although it does not contain this). This suet pastry is a treat from the powerhouse bakery. These were the C&TH top choice of all the mince pies; for balance, we asked a colleague who doesn’t like mince pies to try them: ‘too fruity, too spicy.’ So while it won’t convert everyone, this is a surefire winner for those craving a mince pie this season. £21 for six, stjohnrestaurant.com