Trader Joe’s sells pre-made pie crusts in their frozen section. These pie crusts come in packs of two and are priced at just $3.99.
That means you’re only paying about two bucks per pie crust, which is pretty great when you consider how much time this can save while baking.
Contents
What’s In Trader Joe’s Pie Crust?
Traditional all-butter pie crusts are made with either four or five ingredients: flour, water, butter, salt, and sometimes sugar. But let’s see how TJ’s pie crust recipe measures up against grandma’s.
The ingredients in TJ’s frozen pie crust include unbleached enriched flour, palm oil, water, unsalted butter, sugar, and sea salt.
With the exception of palm oil, these pie crusts are simple, nearly traditional, and don’t contain any mysterious ingredients or preservatives.
A huge bonus is that they’re actually made with real butter. Many store bought crusts are made with vegetable shortening which just isn’t as good!
Trader Joe’s Pie Crust Nutrition Facts
The nutrition information for TJ’s pie crusts are broken down into 1/8th sections to give you an idea of what you’ll be consuming crust-wise when you eat a slice of pie.
In each slice of pie made with a TJ’s pie crust, you will be consuming 190 calories, 13 grams of fat, 5 mg of cholesterol, 40 mg of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. (Remember that this does not include whatever filling you’ll be eating along with the crust.)
Before your jaw drops at the fat and calorie content in this pie crust, just remember that other crusts aren’t likely to be much different. With such high oil and butter content (which is standard for traditional crust), lots of fat and calories are inevitable.
How To Make Trader Joe’s Pie Crust
How you prepare your pie crust will vary depending on which pie recipe you’re using to bake with.
For some recipes, your pie crust will need to be “blind baked.” Blind baking is the process of baking a pie crust in the oven on its own (without filling) for a few minutes to prevent underbaking once the filling gets added.
That said, some recipes won’t require blind baking. Just make sure you pay attention to the steps in your recipe!
And if you’re looking for some pie recipe inspiration, keep reading!
Recipes You Can Make With Trader Joe’s Pie Crust
My personal favorite kind of pie is blackberry. Every summer in July or August when the blackberries are ripe, I love picking a basketful and making a fresh pie in my own kitchen.
If you’d like to try baking your own blackberry pie with Trader Joe’s Pie Crust, check out this recipe from Marilyn Batali featured in Food and Wine Magazine.
If you’re more of a chocolate pie person, try this mouth-watering 5-star recipe, also from Food and Wine Magazine.
And, of course, we can’t leave out the most classic American pie of all, apple pie. But many apple pie recipes feature a lattice top, meaning that you would need to make your own crust dough. So, we found an open top apple pie recipe from food52.com that looks amazing!
Trader Joe’s Pie Crust Reviews
The reviews for Trader Joe’s Pie Crust give a pretty different impression depending on where you look.
Simply Recipes calls Trader Joe’s Pie Crust their second favorite store-bought pie crust, next to one from a company called Wholly Wholesome.
The reason they didn’t give TJ’s the #1 spot is because some customers have noticed an issue with the crust sticking together and being difficult to work with when unrolling. Here’s what they had to say about the issue:
But better yet, Epicurious calls the TJ’s pie crust the all-time best store bought pie crust.
Unfortunately, the reviews we found from Reddit users aren’t quite as glowing:
Apparently, the complaint that leads many customers to avoid these crusts is that they’re very “short,” meaning that they crumble instead of flaking. Some users have theorized that this is because of the presence of palm oil in the recipe.
If you’re not a fan of short crust, then you might want to search elsewhere for your store-bought pie crusts.
FAQs
Is Trader Joe’s pie crust vegan?
No. Trader Joe’s frozen pie crusts are made with real butter.
Does Trader Joe’s have gluten-free pie crust?
Yes! Although we weren’t able to find it at our local store, Trader Joe’s does sell a gluten-free pie crust made from rice flour, tapioca flour, and cornstarch
Does Trader Joe’s pie crust have lard in it?
No. The fat content in TJ’s pie crust comes from butter and palm oil.
Should you pre-bake a store-bought pie crust?
Pre-baking is always a good idea when baking a heavy pie to prevent an underbaked crust. Refer to the recipe you’re using to see if it recommends pre-baking or “blind baking.” When in doubt, pre-baking is usually a good idea. Check out this tutorial from King Arthur Baking on how to blind bake a pie crust.
What is the expiration date of Trader Joe’s pie crust?
When you purchase your Trader Joe’s pie crust, it will be marked with a unique expiration date based on when it was made. Butter pie crust in general can stay fresh for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Conclusion
Trader Joe’s pie crust is affordable and convenient. It’s gotten great reviews from several culinary sources, but it’s gotten mixed reviews from customers. You’re more likely to be a fan of TJ’s pie crust if you like a short, crumbly crust texture (think shortbread over puff pastry). Overall, TJ’s pie crusts should certainly be a contender if you’re in a pinch and need to bake a pie fast!
