Well, it's official. The Good Housekeeping Institute has found the best mince pie you can buy this Christmas, and the best part is that you don't need to spend a fortune to get your hands on it.
After testing 42 classic, flavoured and gluten-free mince pies, our expert taste testers (yes, the literal dream job, we know), have crowned Aldi's Specially Selected Mince Pies the best for 2026, scoring a very impressive score of 86/100. And if that wasn't enough excitement, they're also the cheapest mince pies that were tested, costing £1.75 for a pack of six, making this year's winner a real triumph in so many ways.
The annual Good Housekeeping Christmas taste test is one of our biggest food tests of the year, with the team working their way through hundreds of festive products all the way from June, to find the items genuinely worth buying. This year, more than 660 Christmas products from over 80 brands and retailers were tested across 36 categories, so getting to the top of any category is no small achievement.
And mince pies are arguably one of the most important categories of then all. After all, what really signals the start of Christmas better than opening the first box and immediately wondering whether you've chosen the right ones?
Aldi takes this year's top spot for being rich, fruity and gently spiced, with testers comparing the pie’s festive aroma to a glass of mulled wine. The filling was the star, packed with juicy vine fruit, a mouthwatering hit of orange, and a warming hint of alcohol. It looks the part too, finished with a classic snowflake topping.
The 2026 test also found some strong contenders for those who prefer something a little different. Tesco's Finest Amaretto Mince Pies topped the flavoured category with 85/100, while Waitrose's Free From Milk & Gluten Free Mince Pies were the highest-scoring gluten-free option, with 84/100. But for the classic mince pie, Aldi has taken the crown – and at this price, we'd suggest stocking up.
Mel is the Senior Food & Drink Writer for Good Housekeeping UK, covering all the delicious new product launches that come her way, writing about food and drink topics, and curating gift guides for the best foodie products to buy. Alongside that, she can be found developing and creating cocktails for GH and holds her WSET Level 2 in Wine and Spirits. She was part of the Good Housekeeping Institute food testing team for over four years before moving over to the digital side, so knows a thing or two about great food products. You'll find her scouring the supermarket shelves in her spare time for new and exciting ingredients to experiment with in her kitchen.