10 Different Pie Types You Have to Try
Pie is recognized as the ultimate comfort meal in our collective consciousness, regardless of whether it is eaten a la mode or a la…uh, not-mode. Take inspiration from this collection of 21 distinct pie flavors to try out new fruit fillings, crusts, toppings, and other ingredients.
Caramel Pie
Characteristics that Set It Apart: Pecans, corn syrup (or brown sugar, or both); Traditionally associated with the South, but available everywhere pies are found; a favorite dessert for Thanksgiving or Christmas, it faces fierce competition from pumpkin pie.
Great Place to Try It: Tee-Eva’s Old-Fashioned Pies and Pralines in New Orleans has been produced for five generations by the same family.
Caramel Pie
Distinguishing Features: Apples, sugar, and cinnamon; frequently served with vanilla ice cream on the side; sometimes lumped with hot dogs and baseball as a distinctly American image, the Great American Pie is actually a product of the English and Dutch, who have been baking pies with apples for generations.
Excellent Place to Try It: Located in Julian, California, the self-described “apple pie capital of the world,” Apple Alley Bakery serves a variety of apple pies.
Caramel Pie
Characteristics: Custard with a pumpkin taste, ginger, and nutmeg; a Thanksgiving tradition, partly because you can load it with your leftover Halloween jack-o’-lantern; pecan pie is a fierce competitor.
Excellent Spot to Try It: Houston’s Dessert Gallery Bakery & Cafe serves delicious homemade pumpkin pie for just three months of the year.
Key Lime Pie
Distinguishing Features: Lime juice (specifically one from a Key lime), meringue topping, and graham-cracker crust; naturally, the pie is heavily associate with the Florida Keys, and Key West holds a festival for the pie every 4th of July Weekend.
Great Place to Try It: Swiss Haus Bakery in Philadelphia has been concocting dozens of pastries for 90+ years, including a toasted coconut-topped key lime pie.
Cherry Pie
Distinguishing Features: Cherries, namely Montmorency cherries, which are tarter and more sour than your usual Bing cherry; a favorite during the 4th of July; namesake of the 1990 chart-topping hit from glam-rockers Warrant.
Great Place to Try It: Fancy Cakes & Confections in Norman, OK, offers a scrumptious cherry pie to nearby University of Oklahoma students.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Distinguishing Features: Lemon custard with a meringue topping; this is that pie with the puffy, enlarged top that looks so soft and inviting, you kinda want to use it as a pillow; it’s also grandma’s favorite pie, often.
Great Place to Try It: Supreme Bakery in West Orange, NJ, offers a miniature version of a lemon meringue pie that will leave you thinking about eating another.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Distinguishing Features: Lemon custard with a meringue topping; this is that pie with the puffy, enlarged top that looks so soft and inviting, you kinda want to use it as a pillow; it’s also grandma’s favorite pie, often.
Great Place to Try It: Supreme Bakery in West Orange, NJ, offers a miniature version of a lemon meringue pie that will leave you thinking about eating another.
Cheesecake
Distinguishing Features: First off—yes, this is a pie, since it uses a graham-cracker crust that’s synonymous with pies. The other main ingredient is cream cheese or ricotta, which can be combined with myriad other flavors (mocha, Oreos, peanut butter, etc.)
Great Place to Try It: Patisserie on Newbury in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood makes delectable cheesecake in-house.
Rhubarb Pie
Distinguishing Features: A whole lot of rhubarb, often paired with strawberries; one of the tartest pie flavors; a tempting treat for anyone on the “rhubarb diet” (yes, this is real).
Great Place to Try It: San Diego Chicken Pie Shop is (unsurprisingly) more famous for its chicken pie meals; but it also whips up a fantastic rhubarb pie that you can eat afterwards.
Sweet Potato Pie
Distinguishing Features: Sweet potato filling, often with a dollop of whipped cream on top, sometimes topped with a layer of marshmallows instead; a staple of Southern soul food, especially during the holidays.
Great Place to Try It: Snag a homemade Sweet Potato Pie in the Bay Area at Just Pies! By Tara.
