Our Test Kitchen Found the Best Frozen French Fries. See Our Favorite Brand.
Updated: Nov. 30, 2023
In a test for the best french fries, our expert panel found three brands that you'll want to fill your freezer with.
About Best Loved Brands
In efforts to find the best kitchen staples—everything from bacon to brownies, pancake mix to potato chips—Taste of Home put 100+ products to the test. Each offering was tested blindly by an expert panel of culinary and editorial staff, all of whom are avid home cooks and bakers. After undergoing a thorough review, our Best Loved Brands emerged. Find out which brands you should be shopping for.
Finding the Best French Fries
Looking in your grocer’s frozen section, you’ll likely be overwhelmed by the number of frozen french fries out there. However, when you’re looking to make an indulgent dish like our Test Kitchen’s favorite short rib poutine, you’ll want to be sure you’re choosing the very best vehicle to mop up heaps of gravy, tender short rib and cheese curds. To find the very best fry on the market, our Test Kitchen decided to stick with the most common option: the classic crinkle cut. Five brands were put to the test, and our culinary and editorial teams kept these three standards in mind while tasting.
- Flavor
- Texture
- Appearance
It’s important to remember that a crisp fry with the just-right potato flavor can really bring delicious recipes, to life. Limp, soggy fries will not cut it! With our delicious poutine and countless weeknight dinners in mind (fries are the perfect accompaniment to these 55 quick recipes), our expert panel tried to suss out the best crinkle cuts. See our favorites below.
First Place: Roundy’s
Envision the perfect fry. It’s crisp on the outside, soft, fluffy even on the inside, and chances are it’s golden brown with impeccable crinkles. That fry is Roundy’s. This store brand provided the panel with the perfect combination of crinkle and crunch, soft and salty. We had positively no complaints about this frozen fry.
$1.99 for a 32-oz. bag; available at Copps, Mariano’s, Metro Market, Pick ‘n Save and Roundy’s stores.
Second Place: Ore-Ida
Up next came the biggest name in potatoes: Ore-Ida. These fries got high marks for their crispy exterior and satisfying crunch. Inside we got great potato flavor, though the interior was a bit denser than our first place pick. A potato with a bit more heft, though, is exactly what some recipes need, like this loaded baked potato dip.
$2.96 for a 32-oz. bag; available at grocers nationwide.
Third Place: Great Value
For folks that prefer fluffy, airy fries, Walmart’s Great Value brand delivered. These fries had a great soft texture that made many panelists think of a baked potato, another one of our favorite spuddy sides. These crinkle cuts did lack a bit of crispness but were overall lauded for their taste.
$1.78 for a 32-oz. bag; available exclusively at Walmart.
What to Make with Frozen French Fries
Most folks think of frozen fries as a complete product, something to serve up alongside classic dinners like burgers and hot dogs. Of course, that’s a great way to enjoy these crispy, crinkle cut spuds, but to make these taters stand out, use them as an ingredient in comforting recipes like poutine. Or treat these french fries the way you would a tortilla chip and use them as a base for nachos (here are some great flavor combos to consider) or load them up with chili, cheese and all your favorite toppings. You can also try making animal style fries like In-N-Out. You can’t go wrong! Try these 24 delicious things to make with frozen french fries.
Whether you keep it simple and serve them up with your next fish fry or make them into something totally unique like that short rib poutine, our best-loved french fry brands are sure to deliver some satisfying eats. Just look at this!
Be sure to check out our other Best Loved Brands and stock your kitchen with our favorites.
Originally Published: August 16, 2018
