Frozen sweet potato fries add something special to your burger and chips dinner, but our taste test found that not all supermarkets’ fries will leave you satisfied.
We compared frozen sweet potato fries from 11 brands and supermarkets, including McCain Crispy Sweet Potato Fries and Strong Roots Oven Baked Sweet Potato and own-brand fries from Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and more.
Our team of 62 tasters judged the fries in a blind taste test, rating them on their flavour, appearance, aroma and texture.
The best supermarket sweet potato fries came out a vibrant orange, with perfectly fluffy insides and a good amount of crunch. The worst fries were limp, soggy and bland, and left the panel disappointed.
Just one brand was judged good enough to be named a Which? Best Buy.
See which brands are best for your favourite side dish in our roundup of the best frozen sweet potato fries.
How we tested
- We chose 62 people who are representative of the UK population and regularly buy and eat sweet potato fries to try the offering from each brand.
- The panellists went to a private booth to try the fries and rate the taste, appearance, aroma and texture of each product.
- They didn’t know which brand they were tasting and the order was rotated to avoid any bias.
Are sweet potato fries healthy?
You may want to choose sweet potato fries as a healthy alternative to chips on burger night. They have more nutritional value than white potatoes, with more fibre on average, and count towards your 5 a day.
However, when it comes to calories we didn’t find much difference on average between the frozen sweet potato fries and the frozen oven chips we’ve also tested.
Not all the sweet potato fries we tested were the same when it came to calories, fat and saturates per 100g. The Sainsbury’s fries have the most (though they also have the most fibre and protein).
For the healthiest choice, choose M&S. Its fries have almost half the calories of the Sainsbury’s chips and the lowest amount of fat too.
Three sweet potato fries seasoning suggestions
Although our tasters found some brands of sweet potato fries better than others, none really blew them away when it came to flavour. With this in mind, you might want to make your own seasoning to add to the fries before cooking.
- Season with paprika, cayenne pepper or chipotle flakes for smoky or spicy flavours.
- Using honey or maple syrup will bring out the natural sweetness.
Onion and garlic powder can help you add a salty hit without extra salt. - Salt, pepper and olive oil are a match made in heaven for your sweet potato fries, and you may want to leave it there. If you did want extra seasoning though, they pair well with smoky, sweet and savoury flavours, so you can experiment to find your favourite blend.
It’s also worth checking which herbs and spices are already on your sweet potato fries, as well as their salt content. Aldi’s sweet potato fries had the most salt, so you may not want to add much more before you cook them.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/12/mccains-sweet-potato-fries-beaten-by-supermarket-own-brand-in-which-taste-test/