Pies Tier List: Every Classic Pie Ranked
Twenty-four pies, sweet and savory, judged against each other with no mercy. We're talking the all-timers you'd fight someone over at Thanksgiving, the diner staples, and a couple of pies that only show up because someone's grandma swears by them.
This list covers fruit pies, cream pies, custard pies, and the two savory ringers that snuck in (pot pie and shepherd's pie, we see you). Rankings come from where fans and critics actually land when they argue about this stuff online, plus our own tiebreakers when the room splits. Disagree? Good. Make your own list.
The tier list
The community’s tier list fills in as members vote. It appears once 5 members have ranked or voted on these.
Think you can rank them better?
Make your own tier listFree account. Your ranking stays private unless you share it, and it counts toward the community tier list.Vote
SS Tier
Key Lime Pie
Tart, creamy, and impossible to mess with too much sugar because the lime won't let you. The graham crust is non-negotiable and the best versions skip the meringue swirl entirely and just let the filling shine.
About Key Lime Pie
A custard pie made with key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust. Associated with the Florida Keys.
- Origin region
- Florida Keys
- Crust
- Graham cracker
Pecan Pie
The sugar-bomb centerpiece of every holiday table for a reason. Get the filling right (not too much corn syrup, a little bourbon if you're feeling it) and it beats out pumpkin every single time, fight us.
About Pecan Pie
A Southern pie with a filling of pecans, eggs, sugar, and corn syrup or molasses baked in a single crust. Popular at Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings.
- Region
- Southern US
- Key ingredient
- Corn syrup or molasses
Apple Pie
The pie that gave America its whole personality. A good lattice top, cinnamon that doesn't overpower the fruit, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into the vents. There's no argument against this one, only arguments about which apples to use.
About Apple Pie
A fruit pie made with sliced apples, sugar, and cinnamon baked in a pastry crust, considered a defining American dessert. Variations include lattice-top, crumb-top, and double crust versions.
- Main fruit
- Apples
- Common crust
- Double or lattice
AA Tier
Chicken Pot Pie
The only savory pie that belongs anywhere near S tier conversation. Flaky crust over a filling of chicken, carrots, peas and gravy that tastes like a hug. Diners have kept this one alive for decades and it deserves it.
About Chicken Pot Pie
A savory pie with a filling of chicken, vegetables, and gravy, baked in or topped with a pastry crust.
- Type
- Savory pie
- Key filling
- Chicken and vegetables
Pumpkin Pie
Divisive mostly because people overspice it or serve it to guests who just don't like pumpkin. Done right, with real custard texture and not too much clove, it's a fall essential. The whipped cream on top isn't optional.
About Pumpkin Pie
A custard pie made with pumpkin puree, eggs, and warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, traditionally served at Thanksgiving in the US.
- Type
- Custard pie
- Associated holiday
- Thanksgiving
Lemon Meringue Pie
That toasted meringue peak is one of the most satisfying visuals in the whole dessert case. The lemon curd underneath needs to actually pucker, though, or the whole thing is just sugar and air.
About Lemon Meringue Pie
A pie with a tart lemon curd filling topped with baked, toasted meringue, popular since the 19th century.
- Type
- Custard pie with meringue
- Key flavor
- Lemon curd
French Silk Pie
Rich chocolate mousse filling that borders on too much, in the best way. This is the pie people request by name at diners, and the whipped cream and chocolate shavings on top are doing exactly what they should.
About French Silk Pie
French Silk Pie is an American cream pie made with a rich, airy chocolate filling whipped with eggs, sugar, and butter, poured into a pastry or cookie crust and chilled until set. It is typically topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings or curls. The pie originated in the United States and is especially associated with Midwestern home baking and restaurant dessert menus.
- Type
- No-bake chocolate cream pie
- Main ingredients
- Chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, pie crust
- Origin
- United States
- Serving style
- Chilled, topped with whipped cream
Cherry Pie
Gets slept on compared to apple, which is a mistake. Good sour cherries, a crust that holds its shape, and you've got something sharper and more interesting than most fruit pies on this list.
About Cherry Pie
A fruit pie typically made with tart (sour) cherries rather than sweet cherries, often topped with a lattice crust.
- Main fruit
- Sour cherries
- Common topping
- Lattice crust
Peach Pie
Only as good as the peaches, which means it's incredible in late summer and kind of sad the rest of the year. A ripe peach pie with a buttery crust is one of the best things a kitchen can produce.
About Peach Pie
A fruit pie filled with sliced peaches, sugar, and spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, best known in summer when peaches are in season.
- Main fruit
- Peaches
Chocolate Cream Pie
Silky pudding filling, a mountain of whipped cream, and chocolate curls on top. It's basically dessert as comfort food, and it never tries to be anything more complicated than that.
About Chocolate Cream Pie
A cream pie featuring a rich chocolate custard or pudding filling, topped with whipped cream and often chocolate shavings.
- Type
- Cream pie
BB Tier
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
The rhubarb brings a tartness that keeps this from being just another berry pie, which is its whole appeal. Get the sugar balance wrong and it swings hard into either sour or cloying, no middle ground.
About Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
A fruit pie combining sweet strawberries with tart rhubarb stalks, popular in spring and early summer.
- Main fruits
- Strawberry and rhubarb
Blueberry Pie
Solid, reliable, a little overshadowed by apple and cherry in the fruit pie hierarchy. The filling can go gluey if the thickener's off, but a good one with wild blueberries is genuinely great.
About Blueberry Pie
A fruit pie filled with blueberries, sugar, and a thickener, available in both fresh and baked filling styles.
- Main fruit
- Blueberries
Coconut Cream Pie
Toasted coconut on top is doing a lot of heavy lifting for this pie's reputation. The custard filling is good, sometimes great, but it lives a little in chocolate cream's shadow.
About Coconut Cream Pie
A cream pie made with coconut-infused custard and topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes.
- Type
- Cream pie
- Topping
- Toasted coconut
Banana Cream Pie
Classic diner pie, and the banana slices under the custard are the whole point. It just doesn't hold up more than a day before the bananas start turning, which keeps it from true greatness.
About Banana Cream Pie
A cream pie with layers of vanilla custard and sliced bananas, typically topped with whipped cream in a baked pastry or graham crust.
- Type
- Cream pie
- Key fruit
- Banana
Sweet Potato Pie
The pumpkin pie's Southern cousin, and plenty of people think it's actually better, smoother and less watery. We'd put it just a notch below pumpkin only because it's less of a cultural lightning rod at the national table.
About Sweet Potato Pie
A custard pie made with mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, and spices, a Southern US staple especially popular around the holidays.
- Region
- Southern US
- Type
- Custard pie
Boston Cream Pie
Technically a cake, we know, but it earned its spot on pie lists decades ago so it stays. Custard, chocolate glaze, sponge cake, it's genuinely delicious even if the name is a lie.
About Boston Cream Pie
Despite the name, a sponge cake filled with custard and topped with chocolate glaze, said to originate in Boston.
- Origin
- Boston
- Actually a
- Cake
Peanut Butter Pie
Dense, sweet, and a little one-note, but that note is peanut butter so most people aren't complaining. Works best with a chocolate crust to cut the richness.
About Peanut Butter Pie
A cream pie made with a sweetened peanut butter filling, often in a chocolate or graham crust, topped with whipped cream.
- Type
- Cream pie
- Key ingredient
- Peanut butter
Shepherd's Pie
Mashed potatoes over ground meat and vegetables, comfort food through and through. It's not really competing in the same category as the dessert pies here, but on its own terms it's a winter staple that earns its spot.
About Shepherd's Pie
A savory dish of seasoned ground meat and vegetables topped with mashed potatoes rather than a pastry crust, originally from the UK and Ireland.
- Origin
- UK/Ireland
- Topping
- Mashed potato
CC Tier
Mississippi Mud Pie
Chocolate on chocolate on chocolate, which sounds great until it just becomes a sugar wall. Fans love the density; critics think it's trying too hard to be decadent.
About Mississippi Mud Pie
A dense chocolate pie, often layered with chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and sometimes a crumb or cookie crust, from the American South.
- Region
- Mississippi / Southern US
- Key flavor
- Chocolate
Buttermilk Pie
A Southern custard pie that's tangier and less sweet than its cousins, which is either refreshing or underwhelming depending who you ask. It tends to fly under the radar outside the South, and that's roughly where it belongs nationally.
About Buttermilk Pie
A Southern custard pie made with buttermilk, eggs, sugar, and butter, giving it a tangy flavor compared to other custard pies.
- Region
- Southern US
- Type
- Custard pie
Chess Pie
Simple, sweet, a little mysterious in how it's made (cornmeal, vinegar, whatever's in the pantry). It's beloved in the South but doesn't have much to say to people who didn't grow up on it.
About Chess Pie
A simple Southern custard pie made with eggs, butter, sugar, and often a small amount of cornmeal or vinegar.
- Region
- Southern US
- Type
- Custard pie
Grasshopper Pie
Mint and chocolate in a cream pie that peaked in the 1960s and hasn't quite recovered its reputation since. Tastes like a thin mint had a baby with a milkshake, which some people love unreservedly.
About Grasshopper Pie
A cream pie flavored with crème de menthe and crème de cacao, giving it a mint-chocolate flavor, popular in mid-20th century America.
- Type
- Cream pie
- Key flavor
- Mint and chocolate
FF Tier
Shoofly Pie
Molasses pie that's basically a sugar and spice bomb with no acid or fruit to balance it out. Pennsylvania Dutch tradition runs deep here, but outside that context it's just too sweet for most people to finish a slice.
About Shoofly Pie
A molasses-based pie from Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, often with a crumb topping, known for its intense sweetness.
- Origin
- Pennsylvania Dutch
- Key ingredient
- Molasses
How we ranked them
We weighed how often a pie shows up on "best pie" lists, how fiercely people defend it, and whether it tastes as good as its reputation. Nostalgia counts for something, but a pie still has to deliver on texture and flavor, not just tradition. Savory pies got judged against other savory pies in spirit, then folded into the same ranks as everything else because a pie is a pie.
Think we got it wrong?
Drag all 23 pies into your own tier list, then download the image or share a link.
Rank these yourselfFAQ
What is the most popular pie in America?
Apple pie consistently tops surveys and polls as the most iconic and widely loved pie in the US, though pumpkin and pecan dominate the holiday season specifically.
Is Boston Cream Pie actually a pie?
No, it's technically a cake with custard filling and chocolate glaze, but it's been called a pie since the 1800s and the name stuck for good.
What's the difference between chess pie and buttermilk pie?
They're close cousins. Chess pie usually includes cornmeal and sometimes vinegar, while buttermilk pie leans on the tang of buttermilk for its flavor. Both are simple Southern custard pies.
Why is key lime pie ranked so high?
It balances sweet and tart better than almost any other pie on this list, and the graham cracker crust plus citrus filling combination has near-universal fan support.
Is shepherd's pie really a pie?
By tradition yes, even though it's got no crust, just a mashed potato topping over meat and vegetables. It's a savory outlier on a list dominated by dessert pies.
More rankings
Image credits
- Key Lime PiePhoto: Louiemantia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Pecan PiePhoto: Librarygroover, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Apple PiePhoto: Shisma, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Chicken Pot PiePhoto: @joefoodie, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Pumpkin PiePhoto: Evan-Amos, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Lemon Meringue PiePhoto: claralieu, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- French Silk PiePhoto: Corey Taratuta, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Cherry PiePhoto: Stephanie from Austin TX, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Peach PiePhoto: Vegan Feast Catering, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Chocolate Cream PiePhoto: David Berkowitz, CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Strawberry Rhubarb PiePhoto: Veganbaking.net from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Blueberry PiePhoto: Travis Wise, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Coconut Cream PiePhoto: Stacy Spensley from San Diego, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Banana Cream PiePhoto: Larry & Teddy (nee Schlueter) Page, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Sweet Potato PiePhoto: grabadonut, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Boston Cream PiePhoto: cara fealy choate, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Peanut Butter PiePhoto: Edsel Little, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Shepherd's PiePhoto: Abhinaba Basu from Redmond, United States, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Mississippi Mud PiePhoto: lilbitbeth, CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Buttermilk PiePhoto: Ralph Daily, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Chess PiePhoto: Stacy, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Grasshopper PiePhoto: JulesPayne1958, CC BY 2.0 (via Openverse) · License · Source
- Shoofly PiePhoto: Syounan Taji, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source