- Chick-fil-a’s beloved fries have faced scrutiny over the past few years due to a percieved change in taste.
- Regulars at the fast food spot identified the inclusion of pea starch to be the culprit for the change.
- Now, Chick-fil-a has removed pea starch from its fries and customers have a lot to say.
Practically since its inception, fast food chain Chick-fil-a has hooked customers with their subtly crisped and perfectly salted waffle fries. And over the years the staple side has consistently received high praise, that is until about 2024.
In November of 2024, Chick-fil-a introduced pea starch to the Waffle Potato Fries recipe. And franchise regulars were quick to pick up on the change. In a December 2024 post to Instagram from Chick-fil-a’s official account, multiple customers made comments about the taste of the new fries.
“These new fries are terrible!! Why???😢😢,” one person commented. “I stopped going because of the nasty tasting fries!!! Please bring back the original fries. They were so good!!!,” another added.
At the time, the addition of the new pea ingredient was reported to help the fries stay crispy instead of becoming soggy after some time, a spokesperson told Fox News. But recently, Chick-fil-a shared that the fry recipe no longer contains pea starch.
Under an FAQ section on the website, the restaurant has the question “Does your Waffle Fry recipe contain Pea Starch?,” to which it simply answers “No.”
Redditors also seemed to confirm the updated recipe, sharing a screenshot of a Food Allergy Research & Education organization Facebook post that thanks the chain, sharing that “guests with a pea allergy can now enjoy Waffle Potato Fries.”
“Legitimately had CFA for lunch this week and said, hey, the fries are really good today,” one person shared. “The fries sucked when they added pea starch. I started eating soup instead,” another person commented. “I think they did [remove pea starch] because my fries are perfectly addicting and floppy again lol,” a third person added.
It seems the go-to Chick-fil-a side has been restored to its glory days. Though, you may want to pick up your own for a proper taste test.
Cameron (she/her) is a staff writer for Good Housekeeping, where she covers everything from holidays to food. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she received a B.A. in magazine journalism. In her spare-time she can be found scrolling TikTok for the latest cleaning hacks and restaurant openings, binge-watching seasons of Project Runway or online shopping.
