Trader Joe’s Steak & Stout Pies Review

Trader Joe's Steak & Stout Pies

The Trader Joe’s Steak & Stout Pies are legendary in the world of frozen food. While it’s often considered one of the best items in Trader Joe’s entire lineup, it’s also one of the unhealthiest. What really caught our eye is just how much meat these things contain. Unlike Boomerang’s Steak & Potato Pie (which we really like despite our readers’ vehement disagreement), the Trader Joe’s Steak & Stout Pies don’t skimp on the protein.

But we really can’t talk too much about a food we’ve never actually eaten before, so today we’re diving into the Trader Joe’s Steak & Stout Pies to see what they’re all about. Obviously, our expectations were pretty high going into this little experiment.

Two pies come in a single pack, and each pie is tightly shrink-wrapped in plastic. Obviously, you’ll want to remove the shrink wrap before you cook one of these.

Trader Joe's Steak & Stout Pies

These stout pies come with both microwave instructions and oven instructions. We couldn’t imagine trying to cook one of these in the microwave — we have a feeling there’s a serious sog factor — so we decided to use the oven. You’ll want to preheat to 350 degrees fahrenheit, then stick one of the pies on a cookie sheet and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Yes, these have a major cook time, so they’re not great for those in a hurry.

The first thing we noticed was that these pies are actually smaller than we expected. The box makes each one look enormous — six inches or more in diameter — when in actuality a pie is roughly the size (and shape) of a large muffin.

The crust is dry and crispy, which is exactly how it should be (this is why we were hesitant to toss these pies into the microwave). This allows the crust to be flaky on the outside, yet soak up moisture on the inside. It’s a great consistency. The crust also tastes fantastic — this is some seriously mind-blowing crust.

Trader Joe's Steak & Stout Pies

These pies are no slouch in the steak department. Expect to find gigantic, meaty, juicy chunks of the stuff inside each pie. Of course, this isn’t the best steak in the world. It has a bit of a generic taste, and it’s very gristly. It’s also a bit too onion-y for us. Now, that latter bit is due to the fact that there are actual onions inside the stout gravy, and the steak tends to soak up their onion-y juices. Perhaps these would benefit from being a tad lighter on the onion content.

The steak is nestled between chunks of potatoes and carrots. You probably won’t notice the carrots much because there’s so much else going on inside these pies, but the potatoes fall right in line with the hearty feel of this frozen food.

The innards of the pie come soaked in stout gravy, and this gravy is fantastic. Besides our complaint about it being a little too onion-y, this gravy tastes amazing. Since it covers every ingredient inside the pie, its flavor becomes the centerpoint of the meal, and this is a very, very good thing. We’re blown away by how tasty this gravy is!

When it comes to calories, these meat pies aren’t messing around. One pie contains 800 calories (410 from fat), and there are two per package. We definitely don’t recommend eating a full package at once, but even if you just eat one pie, you’re in for a calorie overload. This is not a diet food. And the sodium is even worse. At 1,180 mg per pie, you’re looking to max out your daily sodium level with one of these things. There’s a reason why this meal can be frequently spotted on lists of Trader Joe’s unhealthiest foods.

The Trader Joe’s Steak & Stout Pie is a great-tasting pot pie for people who aren’t worried about calories or sodium. Every one of these pies is loaded with flavor. Eat these at your own risk, because — and we can’t state this enough — these are one of Trader Joe’s unhealthiest food items. But we can’t deny the great taste; these are some seriously craveable meat pies.

To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in these frozen steak pies, check out our package scans below.

Trader Joe's Steak & Stout Pies

Trader Joe's Steak & Stout Pies

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Natalie
Natalie
1 year ago

ABSOLUTE SLOP, the picture on the front of the box is not what is in the actual pie. You can try to make this sound great but it’s not. This was such a disappointment I wish I had taken a picture before it went in the trash, it would have been posted on fb with a crap review. Shame on you Trader Joe’s…false advertising.

Joslyn
Joslyn
1 year ago

I think the innards has changed since the orginal review. Less steak. I counted four pieces and only one was remotely satifying. It’s the herby smell that really gets me, but I think I’m done with these. Best stick with their soup dumplings for flavor and tang.

Abbie
Abbie
1 year ago

Ridiculously mis-represented. You will work very very hard at finding any steak or stout!! Full of sloppy potatoes. Horribly disappointing.

SarahQ
SarahQ
1 year ago

I tried these about a year ago. At this time they were as advertised and were fabulous. I haven’t been able to find them since then – I’m really hoping the quality hasn’t declined so drastically. I’ll try them again but I’m glad I saw these reviews so I can manage my expectations!

Ster
Ster
10 months ago

Whoever posted this article is so dumb. Read and do your research without spreading fake shit. 800 calories and 410 from fat for TWO stout pies. So 400 calories in one and 200 from fat. Still not amazing. But how do u even post this without fact checking. Confused lol.

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