Chick-Fil-A Vs McDonald's: Who Makes The Better French Fries?

When it comes to french fries, I consider myself a major critic. They come in many shapes and sizes — crinkle cut, shoestring, waffle; the list goes on and on. As for fast food french fries specifically, I find that each one has a unique taste and texture that separates each from one another.  I've had just about every fast food version under the sun, but I've never specifically tasted them side by side in a comparison.

Today, I am going to put the Chick-fil-A and McDonald's french fries to the test. When comparing the two, I focused on a few key things: texture, ability to hold sauce, saltiness, overall flavor, and aftertaste. Now, not every person looks for the same qualities in french fries. For me, something that is a tad crispy, has a strong level of saltiness, is sturdy enough to hold sauce, and features a simple potato taste always ends up being my ideal type of fry. With all of that in mind, let's get tasting.

When taste-testing the McDonald's and Chick-fil-A french fries, I had to eat them side by side. To get the full experience of eating them, I would have a few from Chick-fil-A, take a sip of water, have a few from McDonald's, and repeat. When most people eat french fries, they eat multiple at a time, enjoying a whole container in one sitting (hey, it's hard not to) — so I wanted to recreate that scenario.

As I ate them, I took note of the texture while chewing, the level of saltiness, the presence of a clean potato flavor, and finally, the taste it left in my mouth once I was done with a bite. I also dipped both fries into a sauce (the Chick-fil-A sauce to be exact), seeing how it did with picking up the product from the container. Overall, the best french fry was the one that made me want to take bite after bite.

Most people have tasted McDonald's french fries at least once in their life — heck, there are over 40,000 locations scattered around the world. At this point, they're a classic. Now, when I taste-tested these, I made sure to really focus on the criteria that I was looking for, instead of just falling into the familiarity of a french fry that I know I already love.

First and foremost, the McDonald's french fries (which are the chain's top selling item) have a superior texture. Since they're sliced fairly thin, each bite gives you a great balance of the soft potato in the middle and the crunchy exterior. As for saltiness, I found that the McDonald's fries definitely leaned on the saltier side — and for me, that's what I like. I don't want an overkill of sodium, but a clear, noticeable amount is important.

When it came time for sauce, I noticed that dipping one singular fry into the container wasn't the best way to go. However, by clustering two or three, it created the perfect vehicle to scoop up a solid serving of sauce. Most of the fries (except a few soggy stragglers) were very sturdy, ideal for sauce. Flavor-wise, I think that the McDonald's fries have a clean potato flavor that is enhanced by the salt. To me, the McDonald's fry is practically perfect.

Chick-fil-A french fries are different than most fast food french fries, and that's because they come in the form of waffle fries. This means that each one has a much larger mouthful per bite. Directly compared to the McDonald's fries, the Chick-fil-A ones are a tad thicker as well. I've often heard people describe the Chick-fil-A fries to be a crispy, golden fry. In both my past and present experiences, however, I haven't found them to be particularly crispy. Instead, I think that the level of thickness of the fries creates an unbalanced feeling in overall texture.

The actual taste of the Chick-fil-A fries is the most enjoyable aspect. I enjoy how potato-forward they are, which makes them feel much more substantial than other types that I've had. However, I did think that there could be a touch more salt on each fry. They landed about a point or two below the McDonald's ones — which to me had the perfect level.

For those that are extremely into sauce, the Chick-fil-A fries might just be perfect for you. It's almost like they are built to pick up a large amount of sauce per bite. They're sturdy, large, and practically resemble the iconic versatility of a spork. This fact alone does get the Chick-fil-A fries some bonus points.

At the end of the taste test, I immediately reached for the container of McDonald's fries to finish off. There is something just uniquely compelling about them that makes them stand way above the Chick-fil-A fries. While I do think that both fries are enjoyable, it was no contest in declaring the McDonald's fries as the best. They are basically like Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way.

From the ideal crispiness, sturdy build, salty explosion, and even the ability to scoop sauce despite the smaller surface area — these fries could not offer a more enjoyable eating experience. Ultimately, this may because I simply wouldn't choose a waffle fry over a classic french fry, however when all types of french fries are compared to one another, a classic cut french fry will always be the best.