Why We Made Our Organic Fries Seed Oil Free!
Consumers are paying closer attention to ingredient lists, including the types of oils used in the foods they buy. Seed oils have become a particularly visible part of that conversation, leading some shoppers to look for alternatives in everyday foods — including frozen fries.
That is why we recently reformulated our Organic Straight Cut Fries and Organic Crinkle Cut Fries to be completely seed oil free.
Instead of canola, soybean or sunflower oil, both are made with Organic Olive Oil and a short list of familiar ingredients.
The idea was simple: make a great frozen fry, using ingredients that are easy to understand.
What Does “Seed Oil Free” Mean?
Seed oils are cooking oils extracted from the seeds of plants. Common examples include:
Canola oil
Soybean oil
Sunflower oil
Safflower oil
Grapeseed oil
Corn oil
A product described as Seed Oil Free does not contain these oils.
There is an ongoing conversation about seed oils, nutrition and food processing, and consumers have different reasons for choosing or avoiding them. At Wholly Veggie, we are not interested in turning an ingredient preference into a health scare.
Instead, we see our role more simply: if you are looking for frozen fries made without seed oils, we want to give you a straightforward option.
Our Organic Straight Cut and Organic Crinkle Cut Fries are made with Organic Olive Oil instead.
Why Olive Oil?
Olive oil is an ingredient many people already use and recognize in their own kitchens.
When developing the new recipe, we wanted to maintain everything people expect from a good frozen fry — a crisp exterior, fluffy potato interior and easy preparation — while using a short, recognizable ingredient list.
Both varieties contain:
Organic potatoes, Organic Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Organic Sugars (Oorganic Concentrated Apple Juice) and Citric Acid.
For us, that simplicity is important.
Wholly Veggie has always been built around making vegetables easier to enjoy. That does not require making food more complicated. In many cases, it means doing the opposite: starting with good ingredients and letting them do their job.
Two Cuts, Same Simple Approach
We currently offer our seed oil free organic fries in two cuts:
| Organic Straight Cut Fries | Organic Crinkle Cut Fries | |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | Organic potatoes | Organic potatoes |
| Cooking oil | Organic olive oil | Organic olive oil |
| Seed oil free | Yes | Yes |
| Gluten-free | Yes | Yes |
| Vegan | Yes | Yes |
| Oven preparation | Yes | Yes |
| Air fryer preparation | Yes | Yes |
You can explore the full Organic Fries & Hash Browns range here. Organic Fries & Hash Browns
For individual product details:
Designed for the Way People Actually Cook
Ingredient choice matters, but convenience still matters too.
Both varieties can be prepared directly from frozen in the oven or air fryer. For the air fryer, the recommended preparation is 380°F for approximately 8–10 minutes, shaking halfway through cooking.
That makes them an easy freezer staple for weeknight dinners, burgers, sandwiches, bowls or as the starting point for loaded fries and poutine.
Frozen food also has an important practical advantage: it is there when you need it. There is no washing, peeling or cutting potatoes, and there is much less concern about fresh ingredients spoiling before you get around to using them.
That type of everyday convenience is central to what we want Wholly Veggie products to deliver.
A More Straightforward Frozen Fry
We did not set out to make seed oil free fries because we believe food needs another complicated set of rules.
We made them because some consumers are looking for foods made without seed oils, and we believed we could make an excellent fry using organic olive oil instead.
The result is a product that is easy to understand:
Organic potatoes. Organic Olive Oil. A short ingredient list. No seed oils.
And, most importantly, a fry that still has to deliver on the reason you bought it in the first place: it tastes good.
You can find Wholly Veggie Organic Straight Cut and Crinkle Cut Fries at select retailers across Canada and the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions:
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We wanted to make our fries with an oil that is familiar, widely used in home cooking and consistent with the simple ingredient list we were trying to create.
Instead of commonly used seed oils such as canola, soybean or sunflower oil, our Organic Fries are made with organic olive oil.
The result is straightforward: organic potatoes cooked with organic olive oil, with the same crispy exterior and fluffy potato texture you expect from a great frozen fry.
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There is a common misconception that olive oil should only be used at low temperatures. In reality, the temperature at which an olive oil begins to smoke varies depending on its grade, quality and freshness. UC Davis reports smoke points for olive oils ranging from approximately 347°F to 464°F (175°C to 240°C) and notes that olive oil has good cooking properties and thermal stability.
As with any cooking oil, temperature and cooking time matter. Our fries have been specifically formulated and tested for preparation from frozen using the cooking instructions on the package.
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Citric acid is commonly used in potato processing to help maintain colour and product quality.
Once a potato is cut, natural enzymes can cause the surface to darken. Research on fresh-cut potatoes has shown that citric acid can help inhibit this browning.
In a frozen fry, a small amount of citric acid can therefore help the potato maintain a more consistent appearance through processing and storage.
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This one is particularly interesting because it sounds stranger on an ingredient list than it actually is.
During the production of frozen fries, potatoes are typically blanched before being cooked and frozen. Blanching can remove some of the potato's naturally occurring sugars. In commercial fry production, a small, controlled amount of sugar may then be used to help the fries develop a consistent golden colour during cooking.
FDA guidance specifically notes that frozen-fry processors may use a controlled sugar treatment after blanching to replace sugars removed during processing and create more uniform colour.
Our ingredient list uses organic concentrated apple juice as the source of sugar, rather than simply adding conventional dextrose.
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No. It is present in a small amount and is not there to make the fries taste like apple juice.
Its role is to provide a controlled source of sugar during processing, helping the fries develop their characteristic golden colour when cooked.