Roots Farm Fresh Fries, Ranked

If you're anything like me, one freezer staple that you're never without is a bag of frozen french fries. I'm always grateful to have the classic comfort food on hand at a moment's notice, whether I just need a quick snack or want a starchy side to go with whatever protein I'm having for dinner. Well, a new brand just hit my radar, and I was immediately attracted to its health-conscious branding.

Roots Farm Fresh sells organic fries made without seed oils. Instead, all of its fries are made with avocado oil, and most of them only have two ingredients: avocado oil and potatoes (the sweet potato fries have a few additional ingredients). I'm a sucker for minimal-ingredient snacks, which made Roots' fries instantly appealing, so I figured I had to put them to the test. The following is a ranking of Roots Farm Fresh fry varieties, based on the crispness of the exterior and the fluffiness and flavor of the interior. All of Roots' fries come unseasoned, and I sprinkled a touch of pink Himalayan salt on each before air frying them. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Part of the reason that Roots' Classic Cut Fries took the bottom spot was their no-frills design — but that's also what consumers who favor this bag will like about them. They're your standard french fries, albeit a bit skinny, and their ingredients are simple: organic potatoes and organic avocado oil — an ingredient everyone should have in their pantry. 

I did dock a few points due to the size of the fries, which impacted their texture. Because they were a little skinnier than your average fry, there wasn't much of a fluffy potato filling. In terms of flavor, though, I gave them good marks. The avocado oil adds a subtle richness, and all they need by way of seasoning is a pinch of your favorite salt. I do appreciate that the fries are sturdy, though, as they'd make a really good base for whatever loaded fries concoction you've been dying to whip up. 

Up next, we have Roots Farm Fresh's Crinkle Cut Fries: the company's organic twist on everyone's childhood favorite starchy side. There's no denying the nostalgic appeal that crinkle-cut fries have, and if you prefer them to their straight-laced brethren, there's a gastronomical reason why: Crinkle-cut fries have more surface area, thus providing maximum crunch factor.

Indeed, that's the reason I ranked Roots' Crinkle Cut Fries one spot above its Classic Cut Fries. The former were ultra-crispy, offering a satisfying munch that could easily satiate a craving. Still, I didn't find the interior to be particularly soft or pillowy, as the fries were once again too skinny to give that nice textural contrast between the inside and outside of the fry. That wasn't a huge deterrent in the grand scheme of things, but in a ranking where the competition is particularly tight, it did knock these fries down a spot or two. Their flavor was still spot-on, though, despite being unseasoned (aside from my pinch of salt). 

How does one compare a sweet potato fry to a regular fry? It's like comparing apples to oranges, in my opinion, and your preference will largely depend on how much you like or dislike sweet potatoes. Personally, I love them; homemade sweet potato casserole is a holiday must-have in my house, and I always make my breakfast skillets with sweet potatoes. So I had a feeling I'd probably like these more than their regular counterparts, and I ended up being correct. 

These sweet potato fries were obviously more flavorful than the regular fries, but again, apples to oranges — meaning they had a bit of an unfair advantage. Still, I won't deny them their right to the No. 3 spot here. Aside from their superb flavor, I thought they had a better textural balance than the lower-ranked fries. There was a little more "meat" in the fries so to speak, and I liked the contrast between the pillowy interior and the crispy exterior more. I also thought these fries were pretty versatile. While they were good with just ketchup, if I ever wanted a sweet-salty snack, I'd be tempted to whip up a warm honey butter sauce to dip them in.

Sitting squarely in second place, we have Roots Farm Fresh's Potato Wedges, which took me a little by surprise. I have fairly polarizing opinions on potato wedges. When they're done very well, I think they're incredible, but anything less than a superb potato wedge falls totally flat. Fortunately, these didn't fall into subpar territory. They didn't quite match up to my beloved Pacific Northwest jojos, but for a standard potato wedge, they were pretty darn good. 

These potato wedges were exactly what they should be: a thick fry with a crispy exterior and a pillowy, enviable interior. Their size was part of what compelled me to give them a second-place ranking, as I appreciated that they were a little more filling than their aforementioned counterparts. And, like the Crinkle Cut Sweet Potato Fries, they only need a hint of salt to amp up their already stellar flavor. If you typically go for wedges, these would be a great buy, and I'd recommend giving them a shot even if wedges aren't your go-to. 

Finally, I have to give major props to Roots for crafting a stellar sweet potato fry that has a 100% chance of staying in stock in my freezer. We already know I love sweet potato fries, and these were really darn good (I may have already had more than my fair share ... time to go grab another bag). These fries hit all the marks in terms of both flavor and texture, making them very well deserving of the top spot on this list. 

The fries were thick, the interior was so soft and pillowy that it was almost juicy, and there was a perfectly light crisp on the outside of the fry. In terms of their taste, the sweet potato flavor was decadent and came through in droves. I honestly don't think they necessarily needed the touch of salt I sprinkled on them. For a sweet potato fry fan, these were easily the best fry selection Roots had to offer, and they've already become a daily snack in my house. 

At the time of publication, Roots has five frozen french fry offerings, all of which were sampled for this piece. I made each one in my air fryer according to the package instructions, and because they're unseasoned, I added some pink Himalayan salt before air-frying them. When tasting them, I tried them both plain and with ketchup.

To develop the ranking, I paid attention to the flavor and texture of each fry variety. I was looking for fries that shone with just the simple addition of salt. This was certainly the case with my top pick, as I hardly thought it needed the salt that I put on it. Texturally, I wanted fries with a crisp exterior and a soft, fluffy interior, which I found in my top two picks.