National French Fry Day 2023: Get free food or deals at McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's

National French Fry Day is upon us. And this fictitious food holiday is so special, you can celebrate it over two days – or more.

For years, National French Fry Day was observed on July 13. But last year, fast-food chains Checkers & Rally’s gathered online petition signatures asking the arbiter of “fun, unusual, and unique” national days, the National Day Calendar, to move National French Fry Day to the second Friday in July. That way, the day would always fall on a Fry-day (get it?).

National Day Calendar founder Marlo Anderson agreed. “I, in good conscience, cannot ignore the voice of the people, who simply want to ‘fry-ght’ a wrong that’s been in place for far too long,” he said at the time. “National Fry Day, you are and will forevermore be on a Friday.”

That means this year, National French Fry Day falls on Friday, July 14. But not all French fry purveyors have bought into the change. Some, including McDonald’s and Smashburger, are offering deals on Thursday, July 13. And a few such as Checkers and Rally’s, Fatburger and Wendy’s have giveaways that last beyond Friday.

How were we lucky enough to get French fries? Here’s the history

There’s some debate on whether French fries are truly French. France may have the first recorded mention of French fries in a Parisian book in 1775 and the equivalent of a modern day French fry found in a 1795 French cookbook, suggests Belgian food historian Pierre Leqluercq, according to the History Collective.

But Belgium has been attempting to get UNESCO to give its fries status for historic significance. The Belgian claim comes from 17th century villagers who ate fried potatoes when they could not fish after the river froze over. When U.S. soldiers had the dish in World War I, they called them “French” fries, but that’s because French is the dominant language in southern Belgium, according to National Geographic.

Leclercq questions that Belgian origin story because potatoes weren’t introduced into the region until 1735, the BBC reported. And even then, cooking fat was a luxury and wouldn’t likely be used to cook potatoes, he said.

Potatoes became commonplace in 18th Century France and Thomas Jefferson, who was the American minister to France from 1784 to 1789, is credited with introducing French fries to the U.S., National Geographic reported. But many credit the origin of the French fry with deep-fried potatoes sold by pushcart vendors on the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris, according to the BBC.

“The inventor of the fried potato will probably always remain anonymous,” Leclercq said, according to the BBC. “But we can guess his job: peddler. We can also guess his origin: Parisian.”

Take advantage of these deals on fries before they are history. There may be other deals locally, too:

Burger King’s free fries deal for National French Fry Day

In honor of National French Fry Day, members of Burger King’s Royal Perks loyalty program on Friday can get a free order of fries of any size – small, medium or large – with any purchase via the app or BK.com.

More reasons to join the Royal Perks program:

More free fries. Royal Perks members also get one free order of fries each week through the end of the year, with a purchase (at participating locations; not valid on delivery orders).
Cash prizes. Burger King is letting Royal Perks members who have made a purchase within the last seven days exchange 50 “crowns,” or points, in the app for a chance to win a daily prize of $3,000 the chain is giving out through September 1 (maximum three entries per day). Details on how Royal Perks members can enter for free, without making a purchase, can be found in the official rules. Each day members participate, they get one badge representing one of the nine Whopper ingredients. Collect all nine badges and get 750 crowns, which is equivalent to a free Whopper sandwich.

Checkers & Rally’s free fries deal through Sunday and $1 later this month

Checkers & Rally’s, will give all rewards app members a free extra large order of Famous Seasoned Fries Friday through Sunday. You can get the app online in the App Store and Google Play) From July 24 to August 6, you can also get an order of fries, any size, for just $1 at participating locations and in the Checkers & Rally’s rewards app.

Del Taco deals include free medium fried with any $3 purchase

Through Sunday, Del Taco has several deals – including free medium fries with any $3 purchase – offered through its Del Yeah! Rewards loyalty program. Other deals include a free beer battered crispy fish taco with any purchase or buy-one-get-one-free stuffed quesadilla tacos. Deals are only available on orders placed or scanned with the app or at deltaco.com. Limit one offer per guest per day; each offer valid for one time use only.

Fatburger: Get a free order of Fat or Skinny fries through Sunday

You can get one free order of Fat or Skinny Fries starting Thursday through Sunday, July 16, with any purchase made in-store or online at Fatburger.com. Just mention the promotion in-store or use code FrenchFryDay23 when buying online.

Heinz and UberEats’ deal for free delivered French fries

Heinz and UberEats on Thursday are giving customers $5.70 off on orders that include French fries at participating restaurants nationwide. Among those participating: Arby’s Buffalo Wild Wings, BurgerFi, Carl’s Jr., Checkers, Chili’s, Freddy’s, Hardee’s, IHOP, and MOOYAH Burgers, Fries and Shakes. You can also find a participating restaurant in an email UberEats is sending to users or look at your favorite restaurants’ pages to see if they are participating. Fill your cart with your items including an order of fries. When you place your order, you will automatically get $5.70 off the total to cover cost of the fries.

Jack in the Box free fries deal

You can get a free medium order of fries with your next order when you sign up for texts on the Jack in the Box website.

McDonald’s free fries giveaway for National French Fry Day on Thursday

McDonald’s is giving away free fries of any size on Thursday through the McDonald’s App, with no purchase necessary at participating locations.

By the way, when you join MyMcDonald’s Rewards in the app, you also get a free large order of fries with $1 minimum purchase.

Smashburger

Smashburger on Thursday is giving customers free Smash fries, French fries or Sweet Potato fries with any purchase in-store or on the website or app (use the code: FRIES). No minimum purchase required.

Wendy’s: National French Fry Day deals include free fries and a free Frosty

From Thursday to Sunday, Wendy’s is giving customers a free order of fries, any size, with any purchase made using the Wendy’s app (one order per person). You can even redeem the deal for an order of free seasoned potatoes – Wendy’s breakfast fries. Just apply the offer to your mobile order or scan in-restaurant or at the drive-thru.