An Updated List of the Best Frozen French Fries

The best frozen french fries are (almost) restaurant quality, whether you cook them in the air fryer or the oven. Honestly, fresh cut fries are hard to get right and frozen fries are a lot less hassle to make at home. As a bonus, frozen fries tend to have a wonderful texture; most companies add starch, like potato or corn, to create an extra crispy coating.

Over the course of multiple taste tests, we ran the gamut of fry styles to find the best frozen fries in several categories. We found the best steak fries, the best crinkle cut fries, the best waffle fries, and even the best sweet potato fries. We looked for texture, flavor, and seasoning that befits the style, but in general, the best french fries are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, whether you cook them in the air fryer or in the oven (we cooked ours in the oven, but we imagine the best frozen fries for the oven are the best frozen french fries for the air fryer, too. No matter what sort of fried potato product you have a hankering for (unless you want frozen tater tots; we ranked those separately), there’s something for you on this list.


best herb frozen french fries

Best Herbed

Alexia Crispy Rosemary Fries with Sea Salt

The seasoning on these Alexia frozen french fries is really lovely. The rosemary adds an extra dimension of flavor, and the salt factor is nice, too. Alexia’s Crispy Rosemary Fries give off fancy, gastropub vibes but without any overpriced gastropub pretension. Sometimes you want a fancy fry. One of my favorite things to do at a nice restaurant is sit down at the bar and order a cold beer and some french fries with aioli. Pair these with some good mayo, and you can experience a little decadence right at home. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

best sweet potato fries

Best Sweet Potato

Roots Organic Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries are great when you want a fried potato side that counts as a vegetable, complete with vitamins. These Roots Organic sweet potato fries are the best frozen sweet potato fries we tasted, largely because they taste the most like something you’d get at a restaurant, even if they don’t have the rustic, hand-cut look you’ll see pictured on the bag they come in. They’re flavorful and fresh tasting, and while they were good in the oven, they’ll be great in the air fryer. Frozen sweet potato fries should always be air fryer french fries to avoid limpness. —Gwynedd Stuart

Read the full ranking of the best sweet potato fries

Credit: Liv Averett / Ralphs

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

best fast food fries

Best Fast Food

Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Fast Food Fries

Ore-Ida is a steady, trusted grocery store brand for fries. I’ve prepared them many times at home, and they never disappoint. These fries get really crispy, and they’re also really greasy—that’s a good thing. I think of them as the McDonald’s fries of frozen grocery store fries. I’ll say it again: crispy exterior, creamy interior. That’s the goal, and these nail it. While they rank sixth, they’re still damn good. If you have a hankering for fast food fries, these are the best frozen french fries out there. —Danny Palumbo

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

best crinkle cut fries

Best Crinkle Cut

Kroger Crinkle Cut French Fried Potatoes

Crinkle cut fries can be controversial—some people really don’t love them—but I’m a huge fan, especially when they have a luscious, creamy interior and a nice, crispy exterior. Set me up with a heaping pile of crinkle cut fries and a big ol’ dish of ranch dressing and I’m in my happy place. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that Kroger makes some of the best frozen french fries you can buy if you’re similarly into crinkles. These cook up golden brown in the oven and have a potatoey interior that’s creamy rather than grainy. The potatoes taste like they were soaked in salt water, so they aren’t at all bland. If you ever need to satisfy a craving for school lunch fare, these are the best frozen fries you can buy. —Gwynedd Stuart

Read the full ranking of the best crinkle cut fries

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

best frozen steak fries

Best Steak Fries

Red Robin Seasoned Steak Fries

If you avoid steak fries because they’re too potatoey and bland, these seasoned steak fries inspired by Red Robin’s restaurant fries are the way to go. They are creamy inside, and the seasoning is salty and a little bit zesty, kind of like Lawry’s seasoning salt. The seasoned coating really flavors the whole fry. Sadly, these come in bags—not bottomless baskets like they do at the restaurant. —Gwynedd Stuart

Read the full ranking of the best steak fries

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

best curly fries

Best Curly

Arby’s Seasoned Curly Fries

These frozen french fries are nearly as good as actual Arby’s fries. They taste deep fried even when you cook them in the oven or air fryer. They are already saturated with delicious fryer oil. That greasiness is what we love about fast food fries, and Arby’s keeps that intact. These curly fries are well seasoned with onion, garlic, and a mix of other spices. These store bought frozen french fries are virtually the same product as what you get at an Arby’s restaurant, in my opinion. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

best frozen waffle fries

Best Waffle

Grown in Idaho Super Crispy Waffle Fries

If you like a lot of dip on your fries—ranch or ketchup or some other french fry dip entirely—waffle fries are the way to go. But these waffle fries are also tasty enough to eat all on their own. We cooked these in the oven and they crisped up beautifully, but they would be great air fryer french fries, too. Other brands we tried relied on a starchy coating for crunch, but these don’t even need it. They’re earthy and potato forward and even have a little bit of skin around their edges. Take a big scoop of your favorite fry condiment with these suckers. —Gwynedd Stuart

Read the full ranking of the best waffle fries

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

best frozen french fries

Best of the Best

Grown in Idaho Hand Cut Style Fries

Grown in Idaho is the king of frozen french fries. This is the brand my restaurant pals and chef friends swear by, and I completely understand why. Their fries are golden and delicious, well seasoned, crispy, and fatty. They use modified food starch (potato, corn, and tapioca) to achieve an extra layer of crust. The texture is also amazing—creamy on the inside, crispy on the outside. That’s how a good frozen french fry hits the mark. I’m also willing to bet these have been soaked and blanched, too. I can’t say enough good things about these perfectly executed fries. They’re the best frozen french fries at the grocery store. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks


Other products we tried: Ore-Ida Steak Fries, Checkers Famous Fries, Kroger Shoestring Fries, Kroger French Fries, Grown in Idaho Shoestring Fries, Whole Foods 365 Golden Crinkle Cut, Great Value Seasoned, Great Value Crinkle Cut, Market Pantry Thin Cut,  McCain Quick Cook Waffle Fries, Great Value Waffle Cut Potatoes, Ore-Ida Golden Steak Fries, Great Value Steak Fries, Kroger Steak Fries, Season’s Choice Steak Fries, Ore-Ida Golden Crinkles, Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Seasoned Crinkles, Simple Truth Crinkle Cut Potato Fries, Great Value Crinkle Cut French Fried Potatoes

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About the Author

Sporked Staff

The Sporked Staff tastes everything and anything. They are obsessive about groceries and finding the best of any type of food or drink, from frozen fried shrimp to Dijon mustard to gummy candy. And they're always on a hunt for the best new products. When they aren't eating professionally, they're eating recreationally. And often they're browsing grocery store aisles, just for fun.

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  • I am surprised that the Great Value Seasoned Fries did not make the list, but I haven’t had the Alexia ones yet. From the sounds of it, they’re next level tasty. So, I’m excited to try them out!

    Reply
    • What’s funny is most of the fries and such are made at Lamb Weston but packaged for the other company’s

      Reply
  • Love that target generic brands finally made a good showing. Usually not a favorite on the main episodes

    Reply
  • It would be helpful to add to the story how the fries were cooked. Were they all done in the oven? Convection oven? Air Fryer? Deep fried?

    Reply
    • Hey Catt! All of the fries were cooked in the oven. We’ll be sure to mention cooking method in future frozen food rankings.

      Reply
      • Would you recommend air frying or baking?

  • I wish we had some of these brands in Mexico, I make do with wedges from McCain’s

    Reply
  • I am a big fan of Nathan’s jumbo crinkle-cut fries but I know they don’t come out that crispy out of the regular oven and I don’t have an air fryer yet. I just love the size and taste of Nathan’s fries.

    Reply
  • Looking forward to trying some of these. While I have fried them before, I usually stick to the “air fryer” these days (less work, less cleanup, etc.). Especially looking forward to trying the Rosemary fries, they sound great.

    My own personal preference in the frozen section has been the Rally’s/Checkers seasoned fries. Not a single location around me, but their fries are at Wal-Mart, and they’ve completely taken over for fries at home.

    Reply