Best Crinkle Cut Fries for an At-Home School Lunch

The best crinkle cut fries are a trip back to the school cafeteria. They’re a childhood classic, best served alongside a rectangular piece of pizza or an overcooked cheeseburger that may or may not be made of actual beef. Many of us were reared on these things, but as french fries go, crinkle cut fries can be controversial. People think of them as being too potatoey; and when they aren’t cooked properly (sorry, lunch lady), they can be downright limp. But when they’re good, they’re good. Crispy. Greasy. Fluffy and potatoey in a good way. 

I’m always stoked when I go to a sports bar or burger place and crinkle cut fries are the default, but I rarely buy frozen crinkle cut fries to make at home. That changes today! We tasted a lot of crinkle cut fries that were great and a lot of crinkle cut fries that were mediocre at worst. If you happen to be nostalgic for these things or just want to take a new potato shape for a spin, these are the best frozen crinkle cut fries you can buy. (Also, please listen to “Mr. Krinkle” while you read this! For me. Primus fan.)

Best Crispy

Lamb Weston Super Crispy Crinkle Cut Fries

Instacart

When it comes to fried, frozen potatoes, Lamb Weston is always one of our favorite brands. Their hand-cut fries topped our ranking of the best frozen french fries and they make the best waffle fries we tasted, too. They don’t make the best frozen crinkle cut fries—can’t win ‘em all, dudes—but they do make the crispiest crinkle cut fries we tasted. To achieve maximum crunch, Lamb Weston coats their crinkles in a batter made of potato starch. It works beautifully. They also leave some skin on their crinkles, which is a nice touch and reminds you that these weird little squiggles began their lives as potatoes.

Related: Best Frozen Waffle Fries

Credit: Merc / Instacart  

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Seasoned

Great Value Seasoned Crinkle Cut Fries

Walmart

If you love seasoned fries, you’re going to love these. They taste like seasoned curly fries, minus that thick coating. These aren’t really coated, but they have that same seasoned salt sort of flavor (it reminds me of fries sprinkled with Lawry’s) and just a little bit of heat. My favorite thing, though, is that these are super creamy inside. The potatoes were nice and cooked before they were fried. Important info: These are dramatically better than Great Value’s plain crinkle cut fries. Buy these, not those. 

Related: 2-Ingredient Fry Sauces

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Kroger Crinkle Cut French Fried Potatoes

Ralphs

Kroger did it. They made the best frozen crinkle cut fries. Because they’re fat, some crinkle cut fries can be the grainy sort of potatoey, but these are super potatoey and extremely creamy. Crinkle cut fries shouldn’t taste like uncooked potatoes! These cook up golden brown and don’t rely on a batter or coating for crunch and flavor—they have just a little bit of salt to complement their bold potato flavor. Give me a side of ranch and a side of ketchup and please leave me alone with my crinkles. 

Related: Best Ketchup

Credit: Merc / Ralphs

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other products we tried: Ore-Ida Golden Crinkles, Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Seasoned Crinkles, Simple Truth Crinkle Cut Potato Fries, Great Value Crinkle Cut French Fried Potatoes