Banquet Vs Marie Callender's: Which Frozen Pot Pie Is The Hands-Down Best?

Life is full of perplexing questions such as: Can an all-powerful being create an object too heavy for even it to lift? Or why do your feet smell but your nose runs? We can't help with those queries, but we are able to provide clarity to the equally confounding puzzle of who makes the ultimate chicken pot pie — Banquet or Marie Callender's?

To tackle this, we submitted the two pies to a grueling head-to-head matchup. We considered everything from the nutritional profile to the overall flavor. We wanted to know which crust was flakier, which filling was creamier, and which pie deserves a spot in your freezer. To prepare them, we followed the package directions without using any of the easy tricks to upgrade a store-bought pot pie. While both pies could be prepared in the microwave, we opted to use a conventional oven.

Marie Callender's directions specified wrapping the edge of the crust in foil, which is a way to use a pantry staple to keep pot pie from burning. Since Banquet didn't provide the same directions, we didn't use that trick on its pie — and it showed in the results. It was a close competition, but after a comprehensive comparison, we feel confident naming one the hands-down best.

We started the comparison before we left the grocery store by learning what we could without opening the box. Specifically, we compared prices and nutritional information. The pies were different sizes, so it wasn't a true apples-to-apples comparison, but the numbers still told a story. Both packages highlighted different strengths. Banquet's box had "flaky crust made from scratch" printed on it, while Marie Callender's packaging advertised "tender white meat chicken." They were both claims we would test later, and it was interesting to see how the brands seemingly perceived their own strengths.

Marie Callender's pie was $2.97 at our local H-E-B (which also has an incredible line of store brand products). A 10-ounce pie contained 610 calories and 46% of the daily recommended value of fat. There were 17 grams of protein and 55 grams of carbohydrates. It was a hearty meal at a fair price, but it still came in second in a two-pie race.

As far as price goes, it's hard to beat the Banquet pot pie — it was $1.00 flat. A seven-ounce (single pie) serving contained 370 calories and 27% of the daily recommended value of total fat along with 11 grams of protein and 34 grams of carbohydrates. Being roughly a third of the price gave Banquet a significant advantage in this category, and pairing that with a lower amount of fat pushed it over the edge. The Banquet chicken pot pie wasn't as hearty as Marie Callender's, but it provided a solid bang for the buck.

A pot pie is an appealing meal to eat. Cutting through the flaky crust is like unwrapping a present, and getting a whole pie to yourself feels decadent. For the full experience, the pie needs to look as good as it tastes. In the visual appeal category, Marie Callender's was the clear winner.

The three extra ounces of heft gave Marie Callender's an advantage in the comparison, but that wasn't the deciding factor. The pie had a consistent golden brown crust with a soft dome. The pie cracked open slightly while baking, but none of the filling spilled out. The braiding on the crusty edges begged to be broken off and eaten like a breadstick.

The Banquet pie showed what happens if the edge of the crust isn't wrapped in foil. The crust wasn't cooked evenly; it was brown and crispy along the edges and golden in the center. Instead of domed, it was slightly concave. The cooking directions had us cut a slit in the crust while baking. There was a slight amount of additional splitting near the end of our cut, but the rest of the crust wasn't disturbed. It looked like a one-dollar chicken pot pie, and that was a step below Marie Callender's.

The packaging on Banquet's pot pie advertised a flaky, homemade crust, so we anticipated this would be a strong point, but in the end we ranked it below Marie Callender's. The flavor was good — buttery and flaky. The toasty texture wasn't visually appealing, but the crunch was pleasant. What hurt the ranking was the volume of crust. The crispy edge pieces were nice, but it was hard to break off pieces of the crust since there wasn't much of it. The top and bottom layers were thin and got lost in the filling. If there were more of it, this would have been a good crust, but there wasn't enough of it to win this category.

Marie Callender's crust was thicker and doughier. It was easy to break long wafers from the edges and enjoy the crust by itself. It was softer than Banquet's crust, with a fairly neutral flavor that was more savory than sweet. The top layer was thick enough to add texture to the soupy filling, and the bottom layer soaked in the last of the flavor of the gravy. Marie Callender's has been selling pies since they used to be delivered by bicycle in the 1940s, and that experience likely contributed to it getting the flavor and crust-to-filling ratio correct with its frozen chicken pot pie.

This was the most difficult category to judge. There seem to be endless ways to make the filling. Ree Drummond adds white wine to chicken pot pie to give it a complex flavor with tannins and acidity. Neither of these recipes used wine, but the pies each had their own merits. Declaring a tie wasn't a copout. The positives canceled each other out and neither had glaring negatives.

Marie Callender's had a thick, creamy gravy filling with substantial chunks of white meat chicken, rounds of carrot, and peas. There was a "realness" to the meat and vegetables that felt more homemade than what is often found in frozen foods. The viscosity of the gravy was a positive for us, even if the flavor was on the bland side. The thick sauce scooped nicely into a spoon and cushioned the meat and vegetables.

Banquet's pot pie filling was thinner than Marie Callender's, but had a more robust and salty flavor. Rather than being overly creamy, the sauce was more reminiscent of brown gravy. The chicken and vegetables were not as visually appealing as the ones in Marie Callender's — the carrots and chicken were both cube shaped like you see in a schoolhouse cafeteria — but the taste was comparable. Both pies had positive attributes. Banquet scored points for being more flavorful, while Marie Callender's did well with texture and heft. In our book, that's a tie.

This was a tough matchup with each pie claiming victories in different categories. At just one dollar, it's difficult to argue against Banquet's value. However, Marie Callender's wasn't expensive enough for the price difference to be a substantial factor. While both pies had positive qualities, there was one clear winner. Taking the edge in visual appeal and crust, and then tying in filling, was enough to push Marie Callender's into the top position.

The biggest advantages for Marie Callender's were the buttery crust and the homemade-style meat and vegetables. The biggest weakness was that the flavor was on the bland side, but that provides a blank canvas to work with. For our preferences, a bit of kosher salt and a couple of dashes of hot sauce were a welcome addition. The thick, creamy filling and chunky vegetables make for a comforting meal perfect for a cozy night in.

The methodology employed in this comparison was a simple head-to-head matchup. The pies were compared on price, nutritional profile, visual appeal, quality of the crust, and quality of the filling. When judging the quality of the crust and the filling, both flavor and texture were evaluated. Both pies were prepared following the directions on the package and were cooked in a conventional oven.