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In our house, we keep a bag of French fries stashed in the freezer at all times. Frozen fries are our go-to late-night snack and the foundation of our favorite weeknight dinner: nachos fries. We’ve been stocking the same fries in our freezer for as long as I can remember simply because they’re the ones we always buy. Turns out, we’d been settling for meh fries.
The freezer aisle has a lot more to offer. But with so many french fry brands vying for your attention in the frozen section, it’s hard to know which ones are actually worth buying. So I took it upon myself to eat all of the fries and figure out which ones are the absolute best frozen French fries.
The Tasters
I recruited my wife — and fellow French fry enthusiast — to join me on this starchy journey. As two people who have spent a considerable amount of time judging the quality of the fries at each and every restaurant we go to (and choosing restaurants based on the quality of their fries), we deemed ourselves highly qualified for this mission as we moved our deliberations into our own kitchen.
The Methodology
To find out which spuds were superior, we tasted 13 varieties of frozen French fries in all shapes and sizes, including classic, curly, crinkle-cut, steak, and waffle. I baked them in the oven according to the package directions, using an oven thermometer to ensure accuracy, and judged them on factors like flavor, texture, seasoning, and overall quality. We tasted them hot out of the oven and restrained ourselves from dipping them in ketchup before we had tasted them plain. With this criteria in place, clear winners emerged — and one claimed the title of the best frozen French fry.
The Results
Best Fries Overall: Lamb Weston Grown In Idaho Hand Cut Style Fries
Hands down, these were the best frozen French fries we tasted. The interior was soft and fluffy, the exterior was golden and crisp, and they were the perfect size, a happy medium between a steak fry and a shoestring. The salt level was on point; they tasted like potatoes. We had to hold back from eating more of these to save room for tasting the others.
Best Waffle Fries: Alexia Seasoned Waffle Cut Fries
Alexia’s waffle fries gave us everything we hoped for. They had the right amount of seasoning — a balanced mix of sea salt, black pepper, onion, garlic, and chili powder — plus a solid, structurally sound exterior that gives way to a tender interior. And instead of becoming soggy ten minutes after pulling them out of the oven like most of the other waffle fries we tasted, these waffle fries maintained their crispness even after we had our fill.
Best Curly Fries: Arby’s Seasoned Curly Fries
Not all frozen restaurant foods measure up to the real thing, but Arby’s curly fries do. They look exactly like what you would get from an Arby’s, and actually taste deep fried even when cooked in the oven. Because no two curly fries are the same, the crispiness can vary; the tight spirals can be a bit softer, while the loose curls can get very crunchy. But that’s not enough to deter us from buying these again and again.
Best Thin-Cut Fries: Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Fast Food Fries
Several varieties of Ore-Ida frozen French fries were chosen for this official taste test and this specific bag outshone them all. These thin-cut fries are on the saltier side but deliciously so. They crisped up nicely in the oven and remained creamy on the inside despite their thin cut. If you have a hankering for fast-food fries, these fries promise to satisfy your cravings without a trip to the drive-thru.
PHOTO CREDIT:
Photographer: Paul Quitoriano
Food Stylist: Brett Statman
Art Director: Sarah Ceniceros Gomez
