11 Chain Restaurants That Surprisingly Use Frozen Fries

What deep fried edible accessory is adaptable enough and delicious enough to pair well with a toasted sandwich, a burger, a milkshake, a bowl of mac and cheese, a corn dog ... or even a juicy steak? That would be the overwhelmingly popular sliced potato side dish, french fries. According to Tastewise, 52.67% of restaurants have fries listed on their menus — which just goes to show how beloved a salty plateful of steak-cut, curly, or shoestrings really is with consumers.

While we like to envision every mouthwatering french fry being sliced off a fresh potato in the back of the kitchen from which we are ordering, it turns out that this scenario is not the reality for many of the eateries we know and love. Frozen french fries have become an increasingly popular option not only for those of us in our kitchens at home ... but for restaurants as well. Here are some familiar chain restaurants that surprisingly use frozen fries.

The popular chain best known for its Frosty beverages and the unique square-shaped burgers with corners that stick out of the sides of their round buns is Wendy's. Given that the company itself proudly proclaims the meat used to craft its yummy beef patties is never frozen, it seems a bit of a surprise that the french fries on its menu wouldn't follow the same rule. But, alas, Wendy's fries — which are cut with some of the skin left on to ensure extra flavor and crunch — are frozen in advance, supplied by Simplot Foods.

Interestingly, Simplot is the same company that introduced the frozen-potato technique to McDonald's. Fries that were tossed in the freezer immediately after being cut, it insisted, would maintain their quality even when it was not potato season. Apparently Wendy's saw merit in this idea and went for it, no doubt finding that to be an easier way to preserve consistency in its fries all year long. Whether or not the end result is appreciated by consumers, however, is difficult to say. Some people seem to love Wendy's fries while others seem to hate them, but however you feel about them personally, the potato side remains a reliable and dependent staple on the restaurant chain's menu.

Since 1954, Burger King has been supplying the masses with burgers like its famous Whopper or Bacon King. It has also supplied both its American and international customers with loads of french fries, plopped down in handfuls next to its beefy creations as the perfect salty side dish. Along with its popular breaded chicken fries, Burger King is certainly a top contender in the consumer fry department, noted as the second largest fast food burger chain in the world behind only McDonald's.

However, multiple employees on various platforms have confirmed that the popular standard classic fries, as well as the chicken fries, do indeed come to Burger King's stores frozen in big plastic bags, ready to be dropped in the fryer and served up to hungry customers. "Burger King's fries go to the stores pre-made and frozen," said one user in Google groups. "Burger King thaws the fries to room temperature before frying." A Reddit employee under the company's subreddit explained that the chicken fries are dumped into the fryer right off the bat from frozen, and a TikTok video made by another employee confirms this. While information on suppliers or where the products are actually developed is not provided by the Burger King franchise, wherever they come from, the two pre-frozen fry styles ultimately end up in the bellies of many a consumer.

Nando's, a prominent chain in the U.K., is highly coveted for its PERi PERi chicken, a spicy grilled dish marinated in a mouthwatering sauce developed with full-bodied flavors like African bird's eye chili peppers. It's not hard to understand how the company's zesty menu has set it apart. Multiple European celebrities, Prince Harry included, have come out as being Nando's fans.

And what comes on the plate next to that steaming hot grilled chicken? That's right — a pile of PERi chips (or fries, as they are called in the U.S.). Seasoned right along with the main dish, the chain's potato side has been praised heavily for its delicious sprinkled spices ... which is perhaps why the company made such a splash in 2018, when it admitted to using McCain HomeChips — a standard frozen fry brand popular in the freezer aisles of European markets — as the basis for its coveted culinary creation. It seemed a bit of a blow for the restaurant's fanbase, who seemed to want to believe in a Nando's kitchen where the world's best chips were whipped into existence by magic — or, some old-fashioned slicing of potatoes. Still, there is a bit of an upside to the reality of the situation. Seeing as the basis for the spicy side is available at customers' favorite store, it only takes a quick trip to grab all the ingredients they need to recreate the delicious PERi chips right in the comfort of their own home.

Sonic, somewhat unique with its drive-in business model, has an extensive menu. When you pull up in your car and start scanning the menu full of hamburgers, popcorn chicken, mozzarella sticks, hot dogs, ice cream sundaes, and multiple flavored limeades, you might at first feel a little taken aback by all the choices. But when you see it — a faithful familiar listed among the sides — you feel instant, sodium-induced comfort. That's right, french fries, specifically, Sonic's natural-cut fries.

This newer recipe, which was introduced in 2013 to replace the company's original french fries, came along with a few changes. For one, the skin of the russet potatoes was left on during the slicing process to allow for extra crispness when fried. And secondly — you guessed it — the starchy, salty strings were frozen in preparation for shipment to waiting Sonic locations everywhere. Whether or not this straight-out-of-the-freezer technique has anything to do with the fact that the natural-cut fries don't seem to be a consumer favorite, we can't say. Many reviewers have negative things to say and name Sonic tots the superior choice for a potato side. We guess the only logical thing to do to settle the debate is to head out to your nearest Sonic location and order both. After the smiling Sonic carhop wheels your order out to your car, you'll have to decide for yourself.

The company that provides literal buckets of fried chicken may be better known for its poultry products than its potatoes, but the massively successful KFC does offer a few different spud-based side options. One, of course, would be the classic mashed potatoes and gravy, but another is a relatively newcomer to the menu. A few years ago, KFC replaced its potato wedges with a new product, Secret Recipe Fries. Once the shock of the switch wore off, they were pretty positively received overall by KFC clientele.

However, just as the wedges before them, KFC's newer potato side is fried from a previously frozen state. One employee on Reddit even suggested that it was the difficulty in getting the much-thicker wedges to cook all the way through without them still being frozen in the middle that prompted the change to the slimmer fry style. Regardless whether or not this is true, the revelation that the newer side comes as frozen as its predecessor really isn't surprising when you consider that the KFC Biscuits, mashed potatoes, and gravy have all been confirmed by restaurant workers as being either straight from the freezer, or nothing more than powdered mixes heated up in water. KFC will not be winning any awards for freshness with its sides, but seeing as it is the most searched fast food chain in the world, according to Business Financing, the fact doesn't seem to be deterring customers any.