Chips remain an essential component of British cuisine, whether you’re peeling and cutting them yourself, purchasing pre-seasoned varieties, or grabbing a frozen bag for a convenient oven cook. Yet, homemade chips can sometimes leave you craving that distinctive chippy experience or the flavour of your go-to fast food joints like McDonald’s, KFC, or Five Guys.
However, while challenging myself to feed my family on a modest £20 Iceland shop, I stumbled upon a frozen chip product that exceeded all expectations. Keeping within budget, I picked up Aunt Bessie’s Skin On Homestyle Chips, which were part of Iceland’s 10 for £10 promotion.
My first trial came when preparing a toad in the hole dinner for the family, with vegetables and these chips as accompaniments. I popped them in the air fryer for 20 minutes, giving the basket a shake midway through.
The Aunt Bessie’s chips were crispy and fluffy(Image: Abigail Nicholson)
Once fully cooked, I must admit, the chips appeared fairly ordinary compared to other frozen potato products I’d sampled previously. However, I did observe that they left no greasy residue at the bottom of the air fryer post-cooking.
Yet, that first bite completely took me by surprise with how wonderfully crispy and perfectly seasoned they turned out. While many frozen chips contain added salt, these boasted a gorgeous paprika and turmeric seasoning that struck just the right balance. I can genuinely say this product ranks amongst the finest frozen chips I’ve sampled, and I’d argue they surpass even KFC’s offerings.
Iceland’s website describes the chips as “crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and made using our finest potatoes”.
They’ve also labelled them as ‘homestyle’ and ‘every bit as good as homemade’, though I’d have to challenge that claim – there’s no way I could achieve this level of crispiness and flavour in my own kitchen.
I’m far from alone in rating these chips highly, with hundreds of online reviews praising them, some even claiming they outshine McDonald’s.
One reviewer commented: “I’ve bought Aunt Bessie’s products before, but have never tried the homestyle chips with skin on. Mainly because the children prefer ‘ordinary chips’, but when served up for dinner, they were all eaten and enjoyed so much I’ve been asked to buy them again.
“The chips are fluffly and light, but chunky so they taste of proper potatoes you’ve done yourself. I did cook them slightly longer in the oven (than said on packaging), but did this to ensure they were as we like them.
“They do not disappoint, will definitely be added to my shopping list for the future as they’re a good addition to the freezer for handy meals.”
Another wrote: “These were the best chips I’ve tasted in a long time..”
One further reviewer said: “Actually really nice, not greasy, but still have a bit of a ‘homemade’ feel/taste/texture about them. Only gripe would be the price for the size but in fairness I think they’re still worth it anyway.”
The chips are currently part of Iceland’s latest 15 items for £15 deal, which can be found on their website.