All of the major supermarkets now have their own Gluten Free Mince Pies every Christmas, well apart from Morrisons who stock some made by another company, so they won't be included in my Minc Pie-off. Today's battle will be between two supermarkets who are supposedly posher than most, and both of which have an extensive range of Free From products.
M&S Made Without Wheat Gluten Free Mince Pies:
First up, these are not just any mince pies, they're Marks and Spencer's mince pies and they have pastry stars for lids instead of a regular lid. M&S certainly know how to do it with style!
The pies looked very attractive when I pulled the tray out, and the box looks pretty nifty too. These ones aren't dairy free, in fact they're all butter and to be honest this was the main factor that made them so tasty.
I did feel a bit shortchanged not having a full pastry lid, but they looked so nice I don't really mind. The pastry tasted lovely; buttery and melt in the mouth, and went perfectly with the sweet and spicy mincemeat filling. My only gripe is that there wasn't nearly enough of it..they felt like they were half filled! 8.5 out of 10.
Sainsbury's Deliciously Free From Mince Pies:
As well as being gluten free these mince pies from Sainsbury's are also dairy free. Unfortunately they're not egg free so aren't suitable for vegans.
Unlike the M&S mince pies these had a full pastry layer on top, and more filling inside too.
Unfortunately, they weren't tastier or better quality. The pastry is okay, it's not particularly light or crumbly but it does the job. The filling tastes a bit heavy and not very subtle, I can't put my finger on what it was exactly but I didn't particularly enjoy it. All in all, the pies just didn't taste right somehow. Initially I thought maybe it's because they're dairy free but I've had dairy free mince pies from Asda and Tesco that tasted far nicer so it's really not that. 7 out of 10.
Overall, there's a clear winner here: Marks and Spencer! Their mince pies looked attractive and tasted great and I would be happy to buy them again, even despite the lower amount of filling. Sainsbury's version didn't taste good enough to justify their price - I would recommend Asda or Tesco if you need a dairy free version.
Have you tried either of these Free From mince pies? If so what did you think? Let me know in the comments!
