Chick-Fil-A Vs Popeyes: Which Chicken Chain Has The Best Fries?

Confession: I love french fries. Shoestring or steak, waffle or curly, I'm enjoying every crispy, salty bite. You might say that fries are my love language. However, when the immediate craving for this indulgent treat strikes, waiting around for a fancy serving of restaurant fries just won't do. My eyes are on the fast food fries. Burger chains tend to get all the attention, but I think that's because people aren't paying attention to the chicken chains whose fry offerings are just as impressive. And when it comes to fast food chicken, two of the best options are Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. Luckily, both have excellent options.

There are several elements that lead to the creation of the perfect fast food french fry — seasoning, texture, shape, and cooking method are all crucial — so let's break each one down. It's not just science — it's fry-ence.

Let's start with Chick-fil-A's waffle fries. Each order of waffle cut fries are cooked in canola oil until they are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, then sprinkled with sea salt. A simple, classic preparation. Popeye's cajun fries, on the other hand, paint a different picture. Popeyes uses a double frying method, resulting in a fry that is extra crisp on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. The hot fries are then tossed in a bold cajun seasoning that includes paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. But the question remains: Which fry is best?

To get the most accurate taste results, I made sure to try both fries when they were at their crispest by asking if I could wait until a fresh batch was ready, and both restaurants happily agreed. My first was Chick-fil-A. Crisp, salty, and not greasy, Chick-fil-A fries are an exercise in greatness. I credit that to the texture — the waffle cut makes each bite a crunchy one, leaving no room for soggy or greasy bits. And when they're hot from the fryer, that crunch is undeniable. The waffle cut also provides more surface area, meaning more room for sea salt to provide extra flavor. Chick-fil-A also has a great collection of sauces, which are the ideal accompaniment to a serving of hot fries. This is a perfect fry, in almost every sense of the word. Almost.

Chick-fil-A fries are delicious ... but they really don't hold a candle to the Popeyes cajun fry. That double-fry gives them an almost shatteringly crisp outside alongside a tender inside that makes each bite texturally invigorating. Sea salt provides plenty of flavor, but the spicy, bold, smoky cajun seasoning takes these fries to an entirely different level. The deeply umami-forward seasoning made me want to go back for bite after bite, at an almost unstoppable pace. You could dip these fries in ketchup, but it's entirely unnecessary. A Popeyes fry is perfect all on its own. In this fry-off, I tip my cap to Chick-fil-A for its valiant effort, but the Popeyes fry takes home the gold.