Where to Get the Best Thanksgiving Pies in San Diego
We take Thanksgiving pie seriously at ThereSanDiego, and this list is what survived a lot of very dedicated tasting. These spots serve up everything from classic pumpkin to an apple pie cheesecake on a Biscoff crust, and a few that will happily cover the rest of the meal too.
Presale windows close and walk-in stock runs thin, so the move is to order now.
Pop Pie Co
Pop Pie Co. has its annual pie presale running right now, and if you want to skip the baking entirely, this is the easy call.
Four flavors this year: Pumpkin Cream Cheese, Salted Caramel Apple Crumble, Chocolate Pecan Chess, and Apple Cranberry Ginger Crumble, which is the vegan one. All are nine inches, serve six to eight, and run $40 each.
Ordering is online only, and pickup is in store at any of their six locations across San Diego, Carlsbad, and Costa Mesa. Walk-in stock exists, but it is thin and first come, first served, so the presale is the only way to actually guarantee a pie.
One note for vegan households: the Apple Cranberry Ginger Crumble is presale exclusive and cannot be ordered by phone or grabbed off the counter.
Frost Me Cafe & Bakery
Frost Me bakes small batch and from scratch out of their Little Italy cafe, which means holiday pies go in as orders rather than off a shelf.
Their seasonal pie and tart list shifts year to year, so the move here is to call the bakery or send an email and hear what they are baking this November. Ask about gluten free and vegan options while you have them, because they usually keep a few in rotation.
Pre-orders are now open. Get yours in before the week of Thanksgiving when everything good will already be spoken for.
📍 555 W Date St, San Diego
🎟️ To order, call 619-287-2253 or email audrey@frostme.com
Morena Provisions
Morena Provisions runs a full Thanksgiving to go menu, and the dessert half of it holds up on its own.
Two pies this year, both sized for a crowd. The brandied pumpkin pie is $52 and the apple berry crumble pie is $54, each serving eight to ten. Gluten free crust is available on both, which is rarer than it should be. Add whipped cream by the pint for $9.
The other reason to order here is logistics. You can pick up or have it delivered, and since the kitchen is already turning out turkey roulade, caramelized onion mashed potato, and parker house rolls, you can quietly outsource more than dessert if the week gets away from you.
📍 1122 Morena Blvd, San Diego
🎟️ Place your orders here
SusieCakes
SusieCakes treats Thanksgiving like their Super Bowl, and the range is the selling point. Pumpkin is $39.99, Pecan is $42.99 with whole Texas pecans instead of pieces, and Apple Crumble is $45.99 under Susie’s brown sugar and all butter crumble. All nine inches.
Want something richer? The Pumpkin Cheesecake is eight inches on a graham cracker crust with a sour cream topping for $55.99, or $6.99 by the slice. New this year is a Take and Bake Apple Crumble Pie you finish in your own oven, so the house ends up smelling like you did the work.
Not a pie person? The Cranberry Orange Cake is three layers frosted in orange buttercream, in six or nine inch.
Little Frenchie
Little Frenchie is not making a traditional Thanksgiving pie, and that is the whole appeal. Two options this year, both $65 and both serving seven to nine: an Apple Pie Cheesecake on a Biscoff base crust with Biscoff sauce and vanilla Chantilly, and a Pecan Pie built on a dark chocolate base with roasted pecan filling and chocolate mousse.
They will handle the front of the meal too. Cheese boards run $65 for four to six or $130 for eight to twelve, with charcuterie as an add on, and the Baked Brie en Croute serves eight for $85. Worth the drive over the bridge to Coronado.
📍 1166 Orange Avenue, Coronado
🎟️ Place your orders here
The Wise Ox
The Wise Ox is a butcher shop first, which is exactly why their pie list is short and the crust is interesting. Chef Brad Wise’s crew runs the counter, so nothing here tastes like it came off a bakery line.
Two pies, both $35. The Pumpkin Pie is Grandma Harville’s recipe, heavy on nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon, with a pork fat crust that gives it a depth you will not find anywhere else on this list.
The Apple Crumble Pie is a ten inch take and bake, with a flaky bottom crust, tightly packed cinnamon-spiced apples, and a golden crumble topping you finish in your own oven.
While you are in the cart, they are also selling Diestel Farms turkey and bone marrow mashed potatoes, so you can knock out more than dessert in one order.
📍 2855 El Cajon Blvd, Suite 1, San Diego | 7750 El Camino Real, Suite P, Carlsbad
🎟️ Place your orders here
Mama’s Pies
Mama’s Pies is San Diego’s largest annual bake sale, and it is the one on this list that does something past dessert. Local bakers and restaurants donate the pies, supporters sell them, and every pie funds ten meals that Mama’s Kitchen cooks and delivers to home-bound San Diegans living with serious illness.
Pies are $35 each: Dutch Apple, Traditional Apple, Pecan, Pumpkin, and a Mystery Pie for anyone who likes a surprise. If you are traveling and can’t carry one with you, the $35 Holiday Feast is a straight donation that funds the same ten meals.
Pickup sites run from Carlsbad and Encinitas down through Hillcrest, North Park, Point Loma, and Chula Vista, so there is almost certainly one near you.
📍 3960 Home Avenue, San Diego
🎟️ Place your orders here
Molly’s Pie Shoppe
Molly’s Pie Shoppe keeps the list short, which we respect.
The classic Pumpkin Pie is $22, the best value on this entire roundup, and the Basque Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake is $29 if you want something with a little more going on. Both are baked fresh in house.
Orders need to go in at least 48 hours ahead, so this is not a same-day rescue. It is an easy one to plan around, though, especially if you are already headed toward Mission Beach.
📍 3770 Mission Blvd, San Diego
🎟️ Place your orders here
We’ll Be Ordering Ahead – So Should You!
Whichever pie lands on your table, the move is the same: order early and plan your pickup. Almost everything on this list runs on pre-orders, and the best flavors go first. Your future self, fork in hand, will thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving, San Diego!
