Mince Pie Fest 2026: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference

I wasn't looking forward to these...

The pastry is crispy and crunchy, and I'm not a fan, but at least it's not as sickly as in previous years. The filling is quite tasty, with pleasant spices and a strong citrus punch. Maybe it tastes more like Christmas cake than a mince pie, but it's quite nice! 2 out of 5. (Palm oil)

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No Less Obvious

Mince Pie Fest 2026: M&S Collection

These have a nice semi-firm texture to the pastry and a strong hit from the Cognac and brandy in the filling, but either the alcohol overpowers everything, or the filling is quite bland, as it ends up tasting a bit anonymous. 3 out of 5. (NO palm oil)

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Mince Pie Fest 2026: Asda Joyous

The pastry has a good texture, firm, with just the right amount of crumble, and not too sweet. The filling also has a good texture, a little bit chewy, which I like. There's not a lot of flavour in there though, and there's a weird, almost... fishy? aftertaste. 3 out of 5. (Palm oil)

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Mince Pie Fest 2026: Aldi

These have a firm, sweet pastry; a lovely texture, if a little dry. The filling is tasty, nice and fruity, although there's not much in the way of spice.

No, I don't know what the black bits are.

3 out of 5. (Palm oil)

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Mince Pie Fest 2026: Aldi Specially Selected

The pastry has a good balance between firm and soft, but the taste is a bit bland. The filling, on the other hand is full of VERY boozy and fruity flavours and is quite tasty. 3 out of 5. (Palm oil)

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Mince Pie Fest 2026: COOP

Oh dear.

These have a bland, mushy, claggy pastry. The filling borders on flavourless but there's plenty of it at least, and it has a nice chewy texture. Not great, especially in comparison to the Irresistible ones. 2 out of 5. (Palm oil, but COOP claims its is responsibly sourced.)

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Mince Pie Fest 2026: Sainsbury's

These have a very soft pastry, with no real bite to it, and too sweet. The filling has a pleasant taste, but it's a bit bland and there are no distinctive or punchy flavours, and the amount of filling is a bit stingy. 2 out of 5. (Palm oil)

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Mince Pie Fest 2026: COOP Irresistible

The best in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and a finalist in 2025, these have a big reputation to maintain...

The pastry is sweet, and the texture is balanced nicely between crumbly and firm. The filling has some BIG flavours! Very fruity, and there's a massive hit of booze. Perhaps too big as it almost overpowers everything else. 4 out of 5. (Palm oil, but COOP claims its is responsibly sourced)

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Mince Pie Fest 2026: Asda Exceptional Luxury

In the immortal words of M. Mario, "here we go!"

If this is new to you, what I'm doing here is reviewing the mince pies from most of the major UK shops. I started doing this a few years ago because I thought it would be fun, and I really like mince pies, so I was going to eat them anyway.

Which means I'm also going to buy them all anyway, but if you'd like to support my excessive festive calorie intake you can do so at Ko-fi.)



Right, onwards!

I'm sure these are smaller than last year. They are nice and deep though, so perhaps it balances out. The pastry is a bit too crumbly and dry for my liking, and doesn't have much flavour, but the filling is full of flavour. There's a dash of spice, a big punch of citrus, and a hint of booze. Not bad! 3 out of 5. (Palm oil)

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