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How to label pies to sell

Pie legality splits down the middle of the filling: fruit pies are usually cottage-legal, while cream, custard, pumpkin, and meringue pies typically are not, because they require refrigeration.

What pies labels get wrong

  • Fruit pies are usually allowed under cottage laws; cream, custard, pumpkin, and meringue pies typically are not (refrigeration-required). Verify your exact filling with your state before selling.
  • The crust decides part of your allergen list: a butter crust declares milk, an all-lard crust does not, and vegetable shortening brings its own sub-ingredients to copy from the supplier label.
  • Fruit usually tops the ingredient list: in a classic apple pie the apples outweigh the flour by a wide margin.
  • Net weight covers the whole pie as sold; a hand pie or slice sold individually is its own package with its own net weight.

Serving size

Pies use a 125 g RACC, about 1/6 of an 8-inch pie. See the RACC lookup for how the FDA sets serving sizes.

Make your pies label

The builder below is loaded with the sample pies recipe. Swap in your own ingredients and amounts, pick your state, and export: the ingredient statement orders itself by weight, the Big-9 allergens are detected including the ones hiding in sub-ingredients, and your state's home-kitchen disclosure is added at the size it requires. Scaling into retail? The nutrition label maker computes the FDA panel from the same recipe for $9.

Edit this recipe below FDA Nutrition Facts panel ($9)

Make your pies label

Loaded with the sample recipe above. Change anything; the label on the right rebuilds as you type.

This is your statement of identity, so use the common name of the food (“Strawberry Rhubarb Jam”). A brand name alone only works when it is obvious what the food is (21 CFR 101.3(b)).

Auto-ordered by weight

Using a packaged product? Tap on its row to pull the sub-ingredients off the label automatically. Or type them yourself in parentheses, like “Chocolate Chips (Sugar, Cocoa, Cocoa Butter)”.

Auto-detected from your ingredients. Tap to add or remove. Always double-check.

This reads your ingredient list only. It cannot know what else your kitchen handles — a shared mixer, flour in the air, one fryer for two products. If an allergen you do not use could still reach this food, that is a “may contain” decision only you can make; it is voluntary, and it never substitutes for declaring an allergen you actually use.

Optional, but it sets how large the net weight has to print. 21 CFR 101.1 measures the principal display panel differently for each shape.

Live preview

Free
Your Product Name
INGREDIENTS: List your ingredients to auto-order them by weight.
Made in a home kitchen.
Label made with Panelry · getpanelry.com/label

Add product name, business name, business address, at least one ingredient, your state, net weight to export a complete label.

Need a Nutrition Facts panel too?

Most home makers are exempt from nutrition labeling under the FDA's small-seller exemption, but it holds only while the label, the listing and your ads carry no nutrition claim or nutrition information at all. One “low sugar” or “high protein” anywhere, including an online listing, and the food needs a full panel (21 CFR 101.9(j)(1)). Panelry builds one from this same recipe: your ingredients and weights carry over, and you match each to a USDA food.

Build your Nutrition Facts panel

Where this goes on the package

The name of the food and the net weight belong on the principal display panel — the face a shopper sees (21 CFR 101.3(a), 101.7(a)). The net weight goes in the bottom 30 percent of that face, unless the face is 5 square inches or smaller (21 CFR 101.7(f)).The ingredient list, allergen statement, your name and address and any nutrition panel may go on that same face or on the information panel — the part of the label immediately to the right of it as the buyer faces the package. If that part is unusable, such as a folded flap or a can end, use the next panel to the right; if the lid is the face, any adjacent panel works (21 CFR 101.2(a), (b)).Wherever they go, they have to appear in one place with nothing in between — no artwork, marketing copy or barcode running between the ingredient list and the address (21 CFR 101.2(e)).

Verify before selling

Cottage-food rules vary by state and change often. Confirm your label against your state's current requirements. Panelry is not legal advice.

Pies labeling FAQ

Do I need a nutrition label to sell pies?
For direct-to-consumer cottage sales with no claims, generally no: an ingredient list, allergen declaration, net weight, and your state's disclosure statement are the usual requirements. Selling to restaurants or retailers, or making nutrient claims, typically means a full Nutrition Facts panel.
Can I sell cream, custard, or pumpkin pies under cottage food law?
Usually not. Those fillings typically make the pie refrigeration-required (TCS), and most states limit cottage sales to shelf-stable foods like standard fruit pies. Verify your specific filling with your state before selling.

More product labeling guides

Verify before selling

Product rules vary by state (especially for pies) and change over time. Confirm with your state's program and official sources. Panelry is not affiliated with any government agency and does not provide legal advice. See our disclaimer.