We Tried 9 Different Frozen French Fries — And the $4 Winner Was a Total Upset

The origins of the humble french fry are murky. Some say it originated in 1600s Belgium when it was believed that villagers would fry potatoes as a substitute for fish in the winter while the river was frozen. Other historians believe it was invented by street vendors in France during the 18th century.  Potato potahto. Wherever its origins may be, we’re forever thankful for the golden-fried sticks of deliciousness. 

Sure, few things beat a side of fries at a restaurant, but we’re not eating out every day. Better yet, there’s a plethora of affordably priced frozen french fries available today. Take a walk down the freezer aisle and you’ll see for yourself just how many bags there are to choose from.

With so many brands lining the shelves, we set out to find the very best. For the purposes of this test, we focused on classic and homestyle-cut fries and selected the brands based on availability, popularity, and price. They ranged in price from $4 all the way up to $8, though most were around $5 at the time of this tasting. We also requested input from our editorial team to round out the list of nine competitors.

After a long yet delicious, afternoon of tasting, one french fry stood out for its “ideal crunchy exterior” and “smooth, savory filling.” 

At first glance, the Grown in Idaho Hand Cut Style Fries wowed our group of testers with its “ golden-brown color,” wrote Mara, our director of groceries & shopping. Even more than aesthetics, these fries were “perfectly salted and wonderfully crispy with a smooth, creamy filling,” according to Ali, our associate groceries editor.

These are the crème de la crème of store-bought french fries. All eight of our testers had good things to say about them, including Maria, our associate art director, who raved that they were “delicious” and had the “ideal crunchy exterior with a soft inside.” 

What’s So Great

• Golden-brown
• Delicious
• “Ideal crunchy exterior”

Good to Know

• N/A

Buy: Grown in Idaho Hand Cut-Style Fries, $3.89 (on sale) for 28 ounces at Amazon

It clearly wasn’t a fluke that Grown in Idaho secured first place for its Hand Cut-Style Fries. The brand makes really great fries because its Super Crispy Shoestring Fries also clinched the runner-up position. It earned rave reviews from our testers, including Sarah, our home projects editor, who described this fry as one word: “CLASSIC,” noting its “really delicious taste” that “rivals the ones from McDonald’s.”

Anna, our executive creative director, was also a fan: It “has a great crunch factor.” The reason this didn’t win the test, though, was because a few folks, like Ali, felt like it could’ve had a bit more salt to really make them shine. (You could easily add some!)

What’s So Great

• “Classic”
• Tastes even better than McDonald’s

Good to Know

• For some, could use more salt

Buy: Grown in Idaho Super Crispy Shoestring Fries, $3.89 (on sale!) for 28 ounces at Amazon

Alexia House Cut Fries were praised by multiple testers like Phil, our chief financial officer, for their “delicious potato flavor,” (he went on to rank them in his top two!). Quinn, our senior lifestyle editor, was also a fan of their  “great size,” which gave them a “great bite.” 

The reason this bag of frozen fries didn’t land a higher spot? We found them to be a bit too dry.

What’s So Great

• Strong potato flavor
• “Great size”

Good to Know

• A bit dry, to some

Buy: Alexia House Cut Fries, $6.99 for 28 ounces at Instacart

Ali gave these Costco store-brand frozen fries “five stars” for their “rustic potato fry look and crispy, savory flavor” that kept her going back for seconds … and thirds. (She also ranked this one her favorite). Maria was also a fan, and even compared the potato filling to “creamy and buttery mashed potatoes.” 

Other testers, like Phil, weren’t as impressed and felt the signature spuds could use a little more crisping. (Maybe a short stint in an air fryer could do the trick?) The Kirkland fries sell for under $8 for 5 pounds, which makes them the most cost-effective bag of the bunch (just 10 cents an ounce). It’s worth adding a bag to your cart on your next Costco run.

What’s So Great

• Buttery flavor
• “Five stars”
• Rustic look

Good to Know

• Bulk buy
• Not crispy enough, for some

Buy: Kirkland Signature Crispy French Fries, $7.94 for 5 pounds at Costco 

For this taste test, we focused mostly on classic, lightly salted fries but made a special exception for Checkers Famous Seasoned Fries (they’re famous after all). As the name so clearly states, these fries featured a mix of seasoning — one that our group of testers absolutely loved. We’re not exactly sure which spices are included in the blend. The packaging just lists “spices.” 

We did taste a mix of spices like dried cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder, all of which added up to a “really flavorful” fried potato, according to Ali. Bonus: These fries are “super crunchy,” notes Maria, earning them a well-deserved wildcard shout-out.

What’s So Great

• “Super crunchy”

Good to Know

• Seasoned

Buy: Checkers Famous Seasoned Fries, $4.99 for 28 ounces at Target 

We recruited eight staff members to randomly taste nine different types of store-bought frozen french fries. Ahead of the tasting Vicky, our studio director, and Ola, our culinary associate, prepared each french fry according to its bag directions in the oven and assigned each brand a letter — A through I — to conceal the brands’ identities. We also had ketchup for (optional) dipping and water as a palate cleanser on hand during the tasting.

Tasters were encouraged to sample the french fry brands in random order (to avoid giving any particular brand an advantage) before writing down their thoughts. Our team then rated each one on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = No, thanks; 2 = Meh; 3 = Pretty good; 4 = Really like; 5 = Yes, Please!) across four criteria — look, smell, texture, and flavor — and included any specific observations, tasting notes, and general opinions worth mentioning. They were also asked to answer, arguably, the most important question of all: Would you buy these frozen french fries?

To decide which frozen french fries are worth buying, we recruited eight volunteer testers who work at Apartment Therapy Media (our parent company) to evaluate nine different french fries based on texture, look, smell, desire to repurchase, and, of course, flavor. 

Tasters were unaware of the brands involved and sampled each one randomly. Each taster independently filled out a score sheet, scoring and ranking each fry without larger discussion or influence from the group throughout the entirety of the test. It was only after all evaluations were completed that we tallied the scores to determine the winners.

Did your favorite french fry brand make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: We Tried 9 Different Frozen French Fries — And the $4 Winner Was a Total Upset