Battle of the Homebrand Meat Pies—Coles, Woolworths, IGA, & ALDI
- Replies 45
Is there anything more Aussie than a good meat pie?
Whether you eat it with a knife and fork, take the lid off to add sauce or eat it straight from the bakery bag, we all appreciate good value for money and golden pastry. But which supermarket offers the best homebrand meat pie? They’re not all created equal, and member @Staffordshire Whippet embarked on a quest to find the cream of the crop.
But first, let’s meet the reviewer.
Meet member @Staffordshire Whippet
I am known to you all as @Staffordshire Whippet, having been in Facebook Gulag too many times under my official account for saying what I was actually thinking.
Sixty-seven years on this planet in this incarnation, happily retired from legal/paralegal employment in Far North Queensland—although, in a previous life, I must have been South Australian as I love Pie Floaters, Coffin Bay Oysters and Southwark Bitter in that order of availability.
Grandfather of one boy who lives in Canberra, thereby presenting the challenges (or opportunities!) of doing several long road trips each year.
Without further ado, here is member @Staffordshire Whippet’s supermarket meat pie review!
'Round up the Usual Suspects'
All look much of a muchness so far, but what's with the 4-pack from Coles? A bit cheeky!
Once out of the packs, there’s not much visual difference between the Black&Gold and the Woolies. The Coles pie is noticeably bigger and heavier; it looks better constructed, too.
Left to right on both plates: Coles, Black&Gold, Woolworths, with a few of my favourite additives. I’ve set these two plates up for a blind taste test with my wife.
Result of my wife’s taste test:
Note: The identifying flags were not there while she sampled. The numbers are my wife’s ranking of the pies.
1st (Coles): She said, ‘So good, I didn’t even think of tomato sauce!’
2nd (Woolies): She didn’t like the much harder crust at the edges but liked the back flavour (possibly a trace of nutmeg or mace).
3rd (Black&Gold): She didn’t like much at all—a bit too fatty.
My taste test:
I started off sampling each without any additives (sauce or mushy peas), and for the first time in probably twenty-five years, I agreed with my wife’s verdict.
I found the Woolies (2nd) product difficult to cut, and the pastry joint was simultaneously hard and imperfect, but the flavour was enjoyable.
The Black&Gold (3rd) was just within my definition of acceptable, if a bit fatty—it tasted a bit ‘Gravox—it might just work in an Adelaide-style Pie Floater, especially if it softens the crust. It definitely benefited from the Worcestershire sauce.
The Coles pie (1st) was easily the best of the three.
All three pies, of course, tasted much better on the second sample with my ‘Quickie Mushy Peas’, but then that’s just me….
General review of all three products:
I am surprised at the differences between the Woolworths and Black&Gold products. At first sight, they looked interchangeable. I always thought they were made by the same manufacturer… Maybe they are, but to slightly different specifications for each retailer, or different results for different batches according to who’s working on the day? But taste-wise, they definitely aren’t the same.
I’m prepared to forgive Coles for the 4-pack vs. 6-pack difference. Their pies are by far the better offering. It looks like I’ll be driving to Coles a bit more often…
The Numbers:
Coles Frozen Meat Pies 4 Pack | 700g
Price: $5.50 — Link to purchase
Affordability: 5 stars ($5.50 for the 4-pack, plus a 70 km round-trip to the nearest Coles!) (Still, that’s better than a 2200 km round-trip to ALDI in Rockhampton….)
Quality: 5 stars No argument!
Woolworths Meat Pies 6 Pack (900g)
Price: $5.70 — Link to purchase
Affordability: 5 stars, $5.70 for 6
Quality: 3 stars
Black and Gold Pie Meat 6pk 900gm
Price: $5.70 at my local Supa IGA in Atherton (might vary store-to-store) — Link to purchase
Affordability: 5 stars
Quality: 2.5 stars (Lower than a 3)
Is it worth it?
On a purely cost-basis, all three products are worth their price; it’s just that the usages I would recommend are different.
The ‘worst’ option (B&G) would still work well in a Pie Floater. The middle one (Woolies) tastes pleasant once you get past the hard crust.
Notwithstanding the fewer pies/heavier individual pie trade-off, the Coles offering is the best value for me, in pure munchability terms. It’s comparable to some of the ‘Name’ brands and streets ahead of Balfours or Mrs Macs.
BONUS: ALDI's Elmsbury Beef Pies
Price: Around $4
Note from Editor: It would have been a 2200 km round-trip to ALDI, so this was not included in the taste test on the day. As a meat pie connoisseur, member @Staffordshire Whippet made some notes based on his experiences with ALDI pies.
Affordability: 5 stars
Quality: 3 stars
General review:
It’s been a long time since I’ve had these, but if memory serves me correctly, they went OK in a Pie Floater. I remember my wife wasn’t overly excited about them; she used a lot of tomato sauce.
With all the other good convenience foods at ALDI, truthfully, that’s something I’ve never really considered with respect to their pies. They’re OK, I suppose; what I’d really like to see (and would happily pay twice their price for!) would be for ALDI to sell a Specialty Range, like Steak & Kidney. There is definitely a market niche there, especially for us old dinosaurs who fondly remember Lambs’ Fry & Bacon and such things, and it would certainly be something to look forward to on our long road trips south.
Which is the winner?
The winner is Coles, by a length to Woolworths in second and bringing up the rear is Black&Gold (IGA).
From the Editor:
A round of applause for this fantastic review and thorough taste testing by member @Staffordshire Whippet and his wife! Do you agree with this review What would you rate each pie? Let us know in the comments below or leave a kind word for member @Staffordshire Whippet if you enjoyed the review as much as we did!
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at under 20 cents per day.
Whether you eat it with a knife and fork, take the lid off to add sauce or eat it straight from the bakery bag, we all appreciate good value for money and golden pastry. But which supermarket offers the best homebrand meat pie? They’re not all created equal, and member @Staffordshire Whippet embarked on a quest to find the cream of the crop.
But first, let’s meet the reviewer.
Meet member @Staffordshire Whippet
I am known to you all as @Staffordshire Whippet, having been in Facebook Gulag too many times under my official account for saying what I was actually thinking.
Sixty-seven years on this planet in this incarnation, happily retired from legal/paralegal employment in Far North Queensland—although, in a previous life, I must have been South Australian as I love Pie Floaters, Coffin Bay Oysters and Southwark Bitter in that order of availability.
Grandfather of one boy who lives in Canberra, thereby presenting the challenges (or opportunities!) of doing several long road trips each year.
Without further ado, here is member @Staffordshire Whippet’s supermarket meat pie review!
'Round up the Usual Suspects'
All look much of a muchness so far, but what's with the 4-pack from Coles? A bit cheeky!
Once out of the packs, there’s not much visual difference between the Black&Gold and the Woolies. The Coles pie is noticeably bigger and heavier; it looks better constructed, too.
(Left to right) Coles, IGA and Woolworths. Pies cut in half. Image Credit: SDC/@Staffordshire Whippet
Left to right on both plates: Coles, Black&Gold, Woolworths, with a few of my favourite additives. I’ve set these two plates up for a blind taste test with my wife.
Result of my wife’s taste test:
Note: The identifying flags were not there while she sampled. The numbers are my wife’s ranking of the pies.
1st (Coles): She said, ‘So good, I didn’t even think of tomato sauce!’
2nd (Woolies): She didn’t like the much harder crust at the edges but liked the back flavour (possibly a trace of nutmeg or mace).
3rd (Black&Gold): She didn’t like much at all—a bit too fatty.
My taste test:
I started off sampling each without any additives (sauce or mushy peas), and for the first time in probably twenty-five years, I agreed with my wife’s verdict.
I found the Woolies (2nd) product difficult to cut, and the pastry joint was simultaneously hard and imperfect, but the flavour was enjoyable.
The Black&Gold (3rd) was just within my definition of acceptable, if a bit fatty—it tasted a bit ‘Gravox—it might just work in an Adelaide-style Pie Floater, especially if it softens the crust. It definitely benefited from the Worcestershire sauce.
The Coles pie (1st) was easily the best of the three.
All three pies, of course, tasted much better on the second sample with my ‘Quickie Mushy Peas’, but then that’s just me….
General review of all three products:
I am surprised at the differences between the Woolworths and Black&Gold products. At first sight, they looked interchangeable. I always thought they were made by the same manufacturer… Maybe they are, but to slightly different specifications for each retailer, or different results for different batches according to who’s working on the day? But taste-wise, they definitely aren’t the same.
I’m prepared to forgive Coles for the 4-pack vs. 6-pack difference. Their pies are by far the better offering. It looks like I’ll be driving to Coles a bit more often…
The Numbers:
Coles Frozen Meat Pies 4 Pack | 700g
Image Credit: Coles
Price: $5.50 — Link to purchase
Affordability: 5 stars ($5.50 for the 4-pack, plus a 70 km round-trip to the nearest Coles!) (Still, that’s better than a 2200 km round-trip to ALDI in Rockhampton….)
Quality: 5 stars No argument!
Woolworths Meat Pies 6 Pack (900g)
Image Credit: Woolworths
Price: $5.70 — Link to purchase
Affordability: 5 stars, $5.70 for 6
Quality: 3 stars
Black and Gold Pie Meat 6pk 900gm
Image Credit: IGA
Price: $5.70 at my local Supa IGA in Atherton (might vary store-to-store) — Link to purchase
Affordability: 5 stars
Quality: 2.5 stars (Lower than a 3)
Is it worth it?
On a purely cost-basis, all three products are worth their price; it’s just that the usages I would recommend are different.
The ‘worst’ option (B&G) would still work well in a Pie Floater. The middle one (Woolies) tastes pleasant once you get past the hard crust.
Notwithstanding the fewer pies/heavier individual pie trade-off, the Coles offering is the best value for me, in pure munchability terms. It’s comparable to some of the ‘Name’ brands and streets ahead of Balfours or Mrs Macs.
BONUS: ALDI's Elmsbury Beef Pies
Price: Around $4
Note from Editor: It would have been a 2200 km round-trip to ALDI, so this was not included in the taste test on the day. As a meat pie connoisseur, member @Staffordshire Whippet made some notes based on his experiences with ALDI pies.
Affordability: 5 stars
Quality: 3 stars
General review:
It’s been a long time since I’ve had these, but if memory serves me correctly, they went OK in a Pie Floater. I remember my wife wasn’t overly excited about them; she used a lot of tomato sauce.
With all the other good convenience foods at ALDI, truthfully, that’s something I’ve never really considered with respect to their pies. They’re OK, I suppose; what I’d really like to see (and would happily pay twice their price for!) would be for ALDI to sell a Specialty Range, like Steak & Kidney. There is definitely a market niche there, especially for us old dinosaurs who fondly remember Lambs’ Fry & Bacon and such things, and it would certainly be something to look forward to on our long road trips south.
The results are in... Image Credit: SDC
Which is the winner?
The winner is Coles, by a length to Woolworths in second and bringing up the rear is Black&Gold (IGA).
From the Editor:
A round of applause for this fantastic review and thorough taste testing by member @Staffordshire Whippet and his wife! Do you agree with this review What would you rate each pie? Let us know in the comments below or leave a kind word for member @Staffordshire Whippet if you enjoyed the review as much as we did!
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at under 20 cents per day.
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are made at Patties factory 
as I've brought both from the factory at Pakenham when they have specials also party pies 
