8 Frozen Corn Dogs, Ranked Worst To Best

We're thinking of a food that's synonymous with fairs and carnivals. It's the one that feels wildly American, but borrows inspiration from other cuisines (in true American fashion). Our last hint is that it's the perfect walk-and-eat treat that speaks to both the sweet and savory side of your taste buds.

If your mind conjured up an image of a hot dog on a stick wrapped skillfully in a blanket of batter, then you're right on the money. We're indeed talking about corn dogs. The idea behind this diner-style delicacy is simple. Yet it's easily earned a seat at the table of American classics, alongside Southern fried chicken, meatloaf, and apple pie. We all know that a corn dog is at its best when it's dipped and deep-fried right before our eyes. But when warm summer nights at the fairgrounds are far from view, frozen alternatives are also there to feed our cravings.

There are probably more corn dog varieties waiting in your local grocery store freezer than you may think. I was certainly surprised by how many I found, with big-name brands and stores throwing their own private-label corn dogs into the mix. I recently picked up a total of eight different options (the standard kind on the stick rather than minis) on a mission to find the best based mostly on quality and taste, with a hint of nostalgia as well.

I had to give the plant protein corn dogs a chance — mostly to satisfy my own curiosity. If you're wondering what a meatless dog is made of, this one is mostly comprised of wheat gluten, soy protein, spices, and add-ins like carrageenan and xanthan gum to mimic that meaty texture. It's then wrapped in a fairly standard cornmeal-based breading, and voila, vegetarian corn dog.

I'll admit, Morning Star Farms comes really close to pulling off this meatless ruse. But there's something slightly off about its product. For starters, the dog inside is the color of raw salmon, and its texture isn't as springy as a real one would be. Not to mention, the stronger smoky flavor feels like an overcompensation. As for the breading, it comes out of the oven emitting a pleasant maple-like smell, but it's far less noticeable in the flavor itself. It also becomes mushy in spots, especially where it's budded up right next to the faux meat.

Even in a blind taste test, I think I easily would have been able to identify this as the plant-based option. Real meat or not, though, it still ranked as the most disappointing corn dog I tried.

A name like State Fair corn dogs comes with sky-high expectations. They'd better live up to that joy you feel in the glow of carnival lights surrounded by childlike amusement. That's what I was hoping for when I sampled this short and stout dog, and unfortunately, the brand let me down.

It sounds like a winning combo at first. Each dog in the box is made up of a chicken, turkey, and pork frank, cloaked in a batter sweetened with real honey. Based on this description, I was expecting the perfect savory meets sweet scenario, but that's not what I got. The breading presented the largest problem. The outside of it didn't crisp up at all in the oven and leaned too far into pancake territory, in my opinion. It was even a bit chewy, and the honey flavoring didn't do enough to make up for these textural shortcomings. 

Compared to that, the hot dog nucleus was an improvement. It was juicy and offered some bursts of umami. These more authentic flavors obviously come from the use of real meat here, which helped State Fair stand out against the Morning Star Farms corn dog. Yet, it still finished off with a strange, meaty aftertaste that I didn't like. From beginning to end, it didn't quite live up to that fresh-from-the-fryer, fair-style corn dog experience.

The generic store-brand corn dogs I bought from Walmart, Meijer, and Kroger all look practically identical. I had to be careful not to mix them up as I placed them on the same cookie sheet to bake in the oven. The shape of all three was small and stubby, and they all stuck with a standard ingredient list of chicken-based hot dogs and honey-infused batters.

Of course, I had to try the trio back to back to back to see which supermarket does it best. I can report that even though I respect the traditional take of all three — and would take any of them over Morning Star Farms or State Fair corn dogs — the Kroger recipe was the least enticing of the group. The pinkish-hued chicken dog was fairly standard and delivered a mild flavor. It's the kind that I could either take or leave at the cookout. 

But then, it's covered in a very dry and neutral-tasting breading. It tastes similar to an overcooked slice of cornbread with minimal sweetness. All I kept thinking was that I needed a side of ketchup or mustard to make it go down a bit easier. I was also happy that Kroger's corn dogs come in a smaller pack of six, since I don't see myself going back for them anytime soon.

Foster Farms specializes in poultry products, and you've most likely seen the name branded on packages of natural or organic chicken breasts, always raised without antibiotics or hormones. But then there's also the more comfort food side of the business, where you'll find frozen products like Take Out Crispy Wings (which make for a great addition to a DIY Chili's Triple Dipper) and all-chicken corn dogs.

On paper, Foster Farms has all the makings of a winning corn dog. The chicken frank is seasoned with a mix of spices and flavorings, and the coating is even labeled as "honey crunchy." I can confirm that the breading (a combination of cornmeal, corn flour, egg yolk, and other ingredients, all fried in vegetable oil) has a light honey flavor and the slightest hint of crunch around the edges. It almost tastes like a cross between corn bread and a pancake — the kind of pancake cooked in plenty of oil so you get those browned rings around the fringes.

But ironically, for a brand that's so focused on high-quality chicken, the frank inside is questionable to me. The grayish color was off-putting from the jump, and the texture seemed off — a bit too compact and strange. Altogether, it makes for a pretty mediocre corn dog that only beats Kroger's offering thanks to the tastier breading.

The Bar-S box touts that the corn dogs found inside are made with "America's #1 selling frank." Personally, I took this information with a grain of salt. Word on the street is that Ball Park took over this top-selling spot in 2025, meaning Bar-S' long hot dog reign may be over.

However, that's not to say its products are now irrelevant or even inferior. In fact, I found its corn dogs one of the better frozen options out there. They're extra long and skinny, which may be a downer for devout breading lovers, but I actually appreciated the more balanced ratio of corn to dog. The frank is also a high point, which makes all the difference. It's primarily chicken with pork added (beef is also on the 2% or less ingredient list). I think the brand's beef corn dog option would have been even better, but it's still a good frank with just enough juiciness and savoriness — thanks to the smoke flavoring that's piped in.

My only note is that the outer breading is not super crisp, and its extra-sweet flavor could be a turn-off for some people. With a honey batter, it veers from the classic corn dog path into vanilla cake territory. ​​That detour is what lands it behind some of the more traditional picks. But it's still far from a bad corn dog.

For generic store-brand corn dogs, these are pretty tasty. They start out as a Kroger lookalike, as I mentioned before. They share the same size and shape with a breading that's a touch lighter. They also present themselves as "honey batter wrapped chicken franks on a stick." Sounds familiar, right?

With so many similarities, I worried that the Meijer rendition would also share the same dryness issue that knocked Kroger's corn dogs down a few pegs. But that wasn't the case at all. There's great flavor and moisture in both the breading and the chicken-based hot dog. It shapes up to be a very by-the-books take on corn dogs with a good amount of lightly sweetened cornmeal flavor paired with saltiness from the meat. It doesn't deliver that satisfying crunch, but I like that it's not overly greasy.

Even though there is another brand that somehow spins up an even better version of an archetypal corn dog, I would indulge in this one again. The only thing I would note is that there is both beef and pork included in this recipe. Just something to be aware of that's not outwardly mentioned on the front of the box.

Great Value corn dogs from Walmart are the kind of corn dog that will transport you back in time to the simpler days of childhood. These are essentially a copy-and-paste version of Meijer's corn dogs — so alike that I wouldn't be surprised if they came from the same supplier. But if you take a closer look and really strain your taste buds, you'll start to notice the few key textural and taste differences that make Walmart's a smidge better.

In the Great Value corn dogs, you still have your chicken franks and batter coating. Honey is not blatantly mentioned on the front of the box, but dried honey is included in the ingredient list, tossed into the cornmeal mixture. It gives the thick corn bread casing a natural sweetness. Compared to Meijer's, I also found this one to be more satisfyingly crisp — a result of it being fried in vegetable oil, I'm sure. The frank here is also pumped full of more succulent flavor, and it's made up of pure chicken rather than hiding beef and pork in there as well.

They are one of the best corn dogs I tried, second only to one more unconventional recipe. And I think if I heated them in the air fryer rather than the oven next time, they'd come even closer to reaching their full potential.

Okay, I have to admit, these corn dogs had an unfair advantage from the beginning. They aren't your average hot dog dipped in cornmeal batter. No, these are Korean-style corn dogs and a very delectable version of Korean corn dogs, at that, and I didn't even know they sold a product like this at the grocery store.

The name is a bit of a misnomer. Let's get that out of the way first. The breading doesn't actually contain cornmeal at all, but rather whey powder, modified corn starch, and other ingredients. Even the "dog" itself is nonexistent. In its place sits a mozzarella cheese stick, and around the exterior, it's spotted with cubed potatoes. Unorthodox in the world of corn dogs? Yes, but it's also undeniably delicious. 

Fresh from the oven, the potato bits turned out crispy and just greasy enough — as though they were made by a tenured chef at your neighborhood diner. The flavor of savory spuds combines with the thick and fluffy batter layer underneath that's sweetened with a touch of sugar. Then, the mozzarella on the inside seals the deal with its fresh gooeyness. It's quite the wonderful array of tastes and textures. I consider myself a longtime lover of classic, meaty corn dogs. But the Korean-style Pulmuone pick came out on top this time around.

I am a corn dog stan. At festivals or fairs, it's the first food booth I make a beeline for, so understandably, I worried about how this would translate into a frozen product. However, I was pleasantly surprised by a good number of the store-bought corn dogs I tried, even if a few didn't quite live up to expectations.

I ranked primarily on attributes, including taste and texture of both the breading and the hot dog within. Quality meat was also paramount, and a few brands let me down in this department. I didn't mind if the hot dog was primarily chicken or included beef and pork, as long as it tasted good — and it's also helpful when this information is clearly disclosed. I didn't enjoy MorningStar Farms' fabricated meat.

As for the breading, I want it to have some crispness and just a smidge of natural sweetness to offset the salty, savory hot dog. For the most part, I looked for the most quintessential version of a classic corn dog that could stand on its own without condiment help. Then, there was the wildcard Korean-style corn dog, which trumped all others thanks to its unbeatable tastes and textures.