Mince Pie Fest 2026: Sainsbury's

A surprise entry!

I found this in the warm food compartment in Sainsbos' "food to go" section. I am reminded of the disappointing McDonald's effort from 2021. There is lots of pastry, with a good texture and it's not at all oily. It's sweet and has a hint of festive spice, but the pastry's flavour overpowers the filling, in part because there's not much of the latter. A pleasantly surprising 3 out of 5. (Palm oil)

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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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