Gwynedd Stuart
The best frozen country fried steak isn’t a huge departure from what you get at your local Cracker Barrel or Huddle House (a deep cut for my Southerners out there). I can’t say for sure that a lot of chain restaurants are serving frozen country fried steak patties, but I’d be pret-ty surprised if some of these places were pounding chop steaks, dredging them in flour, and breading or battering them by hand. Point is: The best country fried steak (almost) rivals what you’d pay a lot more for out and about.
How we picked and prepared the frozen country fried steaks for our taste test
To be honest, there weren’t a lot of frozen country fried steak options at our local grocery stores, so we went ahead and expanded our search to include the best chicken fried chicken and the best country fried pork, too. We tried meals (which we prepared in the microwave), as well as some frozen country fried steak patties that come with a gravy packet, but you add the sides.
What we wanted from the best frozen country fried steak (and pork and chicken)
If the country fried steak (or pork or chicken) in question came as a meal with sides, we did take the quality of the sides into account. We wanted creamy, rich mashed potatoes, corn that tastes like corn instead of sad yellow air, and gravy with a rich, salty, peppery flavor. And even though country fried steak is all about the breading and the gravy, we still took the quality of the meat into account. In short, frozen country fried steak should still taste like meat. We found four options we think are worth buying the next time a craving hits and you simply don’t have a Huddle House nearby (but hot damn, look how good this looks).
- Marie Callender’s Country Fried Pork & Gravy
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The mashed potatoes in this frozen dinner are slop. Well, the whole thing is slop, but the meat is actually pretty good! The loose mashed potatoes form a sort of slurry with the gravy, but it’s salty and peppery and helps moisten the meat. And we’re pleased to report that the meat actually tastes like meat. It’s pretty juicy and decently flavorful. And the breading is nice—it’s lighter and airier than the thick, dense breading on a lot of “country fried” meats. It’s more like chicken batter. As my colleague Justine Sterling suggested, you could make a much nicer meal out of this by cracking open a can of corn and dumping it in the bowl to create more of a KFC bowl situation.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Marie Callender’s Country Fried Chicken & Gravy
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Omg—they actually seasoned this food! What a revelation! The mashed potatoes are the correct consistency—creamy instead of loose and mealy. The corn is sweet and flavorful and it isn’t watery for a change. And we really liked the flavor of the chicken—it’s juicy and good. As honorary taste tester Emily Fleming said, “This is a meal I’d feel good about,” but adding something green like canned green beans wouldn’t hurt.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Tyson Country Fried Steaks
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These frozen country fried steak patties were my personal favorite. The patties (which they call “fritters”) cook in the air fryer in just seven minutes because they’re soooo nice and thin. AND the bag comes with a packet of country gravy mix that you only need water and a pot to make. This is obviously more work than an all-in-one microwavable meal, but to me, it’s worth it. The mashed potatoes and sides in most of the frozen meals suck! Open a can of corn and make a packet of instant mashed potatoes and you’ll be better off, promise! If you have time to actually prepare a meal, Tyson makes the best frozen country fried steak.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Dolly Parton’s Country Fried Steak
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Did you know Dolly Parton makes frozen meals now? Well, surprise! She does and we decided she makes the best country fried steak because this meal has so many little perks. The steak is thick—like almost burger thick. Is that good? Well, it’s not bad! I personally prefer a very thinly pounded country fried steak, but this is good if you like something more substantial. We really liked the green beans in this meal. They remind me of green beans in the cafeteria at school in the South—they taste like they have bacon in them, but they’re not greasy. They’re definitely saltier and more flavorful than the green beans in frozen meals usually are. The mashed potatoes aren’t excellent, but all in all, this is a satisfying meal.
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
Best Country Fried Pork
Best Chicken Fried Chicken
Best Stand-Alone Option
Best of the Best
Other frozen country fried steaks we tried
Boston Market, Blakes, Banquet, Banquet Mega Bowls
Ariana Losch
Danny Palumbo
Justine Sterling
