National French Fry Day 2025 officially falls on Friday, July 11, and with it comes a golden celebration of America’s favorite side dish. Fast-food restaurants around the nation are preparing with decadent deals and giveaways to ring in this golden event.
The most-anticipated “Fry-Day” that’s actually on Friday
National French Fry Day’s history is peculiar when it comes to timing. It originally was celebrated on July 13 every year, but the date was changed officially in 2022 when Checkers & Rally’s launched a winning petition. The fast food chain restaurant initiated a campaign requesting that the National Day Calendar shift the holiday to the second Friday of July so that “Fry Day” would coincide on a specific Friday. The petition attracted over 33,000 signatures and was endorsed officially, thereby putting the celebration of 2025 on July 11.
Major chain promotions and offers
- McDonald’s Free Fries Friday: McDonald’s takes the lead on the celebrations with its “Free Fries Friday” offer, which it gives every Friday through December 26, 2025. The offer is a free medium fries with any purchase of $1 or more placed through its mobile app. To celebrate National French Fry Day, McDonald’s is adding an extra layer: a second free medium fries to be redeemed through Sunday, July 13.
- Burger King’s Royal Treatment: Burger King is rewarding Royal Perks members with free fries of any size with a minimum $1 purchase. It’s not only good on National French Fry Day, because customers can redeem the offer once a week for a limited time using their app or website. DoorDash customers who are also DashPass members receive a buy-one-get-one-free offer on Burger King chicken fries.
- Wendy’s Friday Fry-Day: Wendy’s is pairing the extra specialness of Fridays with complimentary Hot & Crispy Fries of any quantity with every purchase on July 11 and extending the offer to all other Fridays throughout 2025. The offer does not extend to specialty items such as Topped Fries and Fuego Fries but to their standard crispy variety.
- Shake Shack’s Simple Offer: Shake Shack enthusiasts can get a free side of fries with any order by using code “FREEFRY” through the Shack App, at shakeshack.com, or at in-store kiosk.
Regional and specialty chain deals
- Checkers & Rally’s Competitive Edge: The chain behind the shift in National French Fry Day to Friday is offering something unique: patrons can bring a receipt they recently bought fries somewhere else and receive a complimentary large order of their Famous Seasoned Fries with no other purchase required. They are promoting the deal on July 11 and demonstrate their confidence in the quality of their product.
- Arby’s Extended Promotion: Arby’s is celebrating with a month-long promotion, where they sell any size fries for $1 to members of their Arby’s Rewards program throughout July. Fans who buy an Arby’s cheesesteak through delivery or online pickup also receive an order of fries on the way back.
- Taco Bell’s Unconventional Approach: Taco Bell is bringing back their Nacho Fries Lover’s Pass for $10, which provides free Nacho Fries every day for 30 consecutive days. The pass is available July 9-15 and includes a pack of six different sauces.
Regional and small chain offers
- Fatburger’s Weekend Deal: Through the end of Sunday, July 13, Fatburger customers can get free Fat or Skinny Fries with the purchase of any sandwich or burger online with the code “FryDay25.”
- Hardee’s Year-Long Pass: Hardee’s has one of the best longer-term offers: Spend $5 on July 11 as a member of Rewards and be eligible to earn a “Fry Pass” starting July 12 and rewarding a free fries of any size once a day the remainder of the year.
- Jack in the Box Friday Fries: Jack Pack rewards members are eligible for free fries on any online, in-app, or in-restaurant purchase made on Friday, July 11.
- Sonic’s Summer Special: App users of Sonic can receive free medium fries or tots with any app purchase on July 11.
Other standout deals
- Smashburger’s Code Deal: Smashburger is giving away free fries with any $1+ purchase on July 11 by using the code “FRYDAY25” on in-store, online, and app orders.
- Whataburger’s Timed Special: Whataburger rewards members can buy medium fries for 75 cents on July 11 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time with no other purchase necessary.
- Carl’s Jr. Member Benefits: Carl’s Jr. rewards members who can get any size natural-cut or waffle fries for free with the same purchase of any other menu item through their app or in-restaurant.
The cultural impact of French Fries
French fries hold a special place in American cuisine, with Americans consuming approximately 30 pounds of French fries per person annually. According to YouGov’s rankings, French fries share the top spot with hamburgers among America’s most popular dishes, both earning an impressive 86% approval rating from adults nationwide.
The celebration extends beyond just fast food, with French fries being consumed in nearly every country worldwide, taking various forms from Belgian frites and Canadian poutine to American curly fries and Indian masala varieties. The versatility of fries in cuts and flavors—including shoestring, waffle, crinkle, sweet potato, and seasoned varieties—adds to their universal appeal.
