7 Frozen Fish Fillets That Make The Best McDonald's Filet-O-Fish Copycat

Seafood options at fast food restaurants — like the Popeyes Flounder Fish Sandwich or Burger King's just-spicy-enough Fiery Fish Sandwich — are becoming increasingly common, but there's still nothing on the market quite like the old-school McDonald's Filet-O-Fish. Comprised of a steamed burger bun, tartar sauce, a breaded Alaskan pollock fillet, and a slice of American cheese, these few components add up to a sandwich that just hits different. 

For anyone looking to replicate a Filet-O-Fish at home, three of those four ingredients are easy enough to approximate. However, finding the right fish fillet for an at-home copycat sandwich isn't so straightforward. There are many reasons why a McDonald's Filet-O-Fish is so delicious, but a primary element is its fish fillet, which is crispy on the outside while tender and flaky on the inside, wholly lacking any trace of fishiness in its mildly rich flavor.

In order to figure out how to make the best possible McDonald's Filet-O-Fish copycat at home, I tried seven of the most suitable frozen fish fillets available at major grocery stores — Whole Foods, Walmart, and Smith's, in my case — and analyzed just what each of them brings to the table when combined with a Wonder Bread bun, a slice of Kraft American cheese, and some Kroger brand tartar sauce. Here's what I found out about each frozen fish product, in addition to my pick for the best option of them all for an at-home Filet-O-Fish. 

In my experience at supermarkets on and around the U.S. West Coast, I find that Gorton's breaded seafood products are among the most prominent items in the frozen-seafood aisles, offering the widest variety and taking up plenty of grocery-store real estate. Among the numerous Gorton's products are Fish Sandwich Breaded Fillets, made of breaded pollock and square-shaped, just like the fish patty on the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich.

In addition to those factors, the characteristic of Gorton's Fish Sandwich Breaded Fillets that most closely approximates the Filet-O-Fish is a satisfying crispiness, courtesy of a thicker-than-average breadcrumb coating. Where this particular product starts to fall short is its size, which seems more suitable for a slider bun than a standard hamburger bun. 

In the flavor department, Gorton's prepares its fish a little fattier and oilier than the McDonald's fillet, resulting in a richer, fuller character. Whereas the McDonald's fillet accentuates the tartar sauce and American cheese that accompany it, the Gorton's fillet starts to mask those key flavor components. All in all, Gorton's Fish Sandwich Breaded Fillets are a solid option for their crispy exterior and sandwich shape, but diverge somewhat in flavor and underwhelm in size. 

Competing directly with the Gorton's Fish Sandwich Breaded Fillets is this product by the similarly prominent Van de Kamp's frozen-seafood brand. Just like its competition, Van de Kamp's Sandwich Fillets are made of pollock — but instead of intact fillets, Van de Kamp's seafood patties utilize minced fish.

That minced pollock element is simultaneously a boon and a detriment. On the plus side — perhaps because it's easier to control the size of a minced-fish patty than filleted fish — the Van de Kamp's patties were nearly the largest of all the products I tried, coming in behind just one other frozen fish fillet option. This product also does a solid job of approximating the mildness of the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish. 

That said, this mildness isn't necessarily a factor of the fish itself, but due to the fact that each Van de Kamp's patty is heavy on breading and light on pollock. While that extra breading makes them even crispier than the Gorton's Fish Sandwich Breaded Fillets, each bite ends up containing significantly less fish than a typical Filet-O-Fish bite. Thus, sheer size and crispiness are the best things about the Van de Kamp's Sandwich Fillets, while a deficiency in fish content is the primary reason to opt for something else. 

The next variety of sandwich-sized fish fillets that I tried came from the Whole Foods 365 brand, albeit under the name Breaded Fish Squares, leaving room for non-sandwich applications of the product. While these fillets aren't quite as wide as the Van de Kamp's Sandwich Fillets, they're a little thicker, coming in at a solid size.

Like the McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, the 365 Breaded Fish Squares are made from pollock fillets. Crucially, they're not excessively oily like the Gorton's fillets, instead providing a mild and rich flavor that accentuates their complementary ingredients. Furthermore, these were among the highest quality of every product I tried. 

That said, these fillets border on being just a little too mild, perhaps an unintended consequence from that high standard of quality. The breading adds a solid crispiness, but lacks a pronounced breadcrumb character apparent on some crispier options. There's no single category that the 365 Breaded Fish Squares win outright, but they excel across the board all the same as one of the standouts in this experiment. 

Many supermarket shoppers are unaware of the untold truth of Stouffer's — but since the brand's inception as a dairy stand over a century ago, it's now a household name for its many frozen meal options. The Fish Filet Frozen Meal by Stouffer's is a unique option for an at-home Filet-O-Fish copycat because, as its name indicates, its fish fillet component is intended to be eaten as an entree rather than on a sandwich. Nevertheless, it's perfectly sandwich sized, hence its inclusion here among traditional frozen fish fillet products.

Notably, the Stouffer's fish fillet is a real breaded pollock fillet, just like the fish patty at McDonald's. The quality of the fish is, in fact, close to what McDonald's serves, balancing an all-important mildly rich character with fast food saltiness. It's also the single largest fillet of every brand I tried, excelling in both width and thickness. 

The sole quality that came up short was its breading, which was soft and just barely crispy — I prepared it in the oven rather than the microwave, but even then, this was likely a byproduct of the fact that it's part of a frozen meal package. Nevertheless, for its size and the flavor of its fish, the Stouffer's Fish Filet Frozen Meal is an unexpectedly excellent option for an at-home Filet-O-Fish. And not that it matters in this experiment, but the Stouffer's mac and cheese that it comes with is pretty solid, too. 

SeaPak is another popular frozen seafood brand available at major grocery stores, but lacking from its product lineup is any sort of pollock product. That said, SeaPak does produce Beer Battered Cod that may diverge somewhat from pollock in taste, but it still checks some key boxes for an at-home Filet-O-Fish.

The biggest differentiator between SeaPak's cod and pollock from McDonald's is that this particular cod is a little fattier, and even a little fishier. That latter quality is nothing distracting, but it's bolder overall. Also apparent is a sort of vinegary flavor. 

Where these fillets excel is their size, which is thick and square, and well-suited for a sandwich. However, the first SeaPak fillet I prepared came out a little cold, so for what it's worth, these seem to require more time in the oven than what is recommended on their packaging. While they may not be an exact approximation of the McDonald's fish fillet, anyone who prefers cod over pollock — or the airier beer batter that coats the fish — might find SeaPak Beer Battered Cod to be a nice alternative patty that can be ideal for a fish sandwich. 

As its name promises, Walmart's Great Value brand provides plenty of cost-conscious alternatives to popular products. In the frozen fish department, Great Value Crispy Battered Fish Fillets are made from pollock, albeit in a slightly awkward size and shape for a sandwich — they're sort of triangular. Nonetheless, two fillets pointing in opposite directions sit relatively nicely together on a standard burger bun.

As a result of that two-fillet requirement, the Great Value fillets end up being a bready sandwich option, containing less fish overall than single-fillet options. On the flip side, their smaller size leads to a nice crispy coating, despite an apparent thinness. Flavor-wise, the Great Value fillets don't taste like much, lacking even the flavor of the mild McDonald's fillet. They do, however, accentuate the tartar sauce and cheese that accompany them on a Filet-O-Fish copycat sandwich, just like the fish fillet on the real thing at McDonald's. 

The Great Value Crispy Battered Fish Fillets are a solid budget pick. They do their job adequately at a low price point — although it's worth noting that this lower price is ultimately negated if using two fillets per sandwich. 

Some frozen products are considered to rank among the best foods to buy at Whole Foods, and one of them might be the frozen battered fish from Starfish, a subsidiary of the Pacific Seafood company. Starfish is another brand that doesn't produce a pollock product, but they do offer crispy battered cod that's in the same ballpark.

This Starfish cod product is similar to SeaPak's battered cod in that they both feature yellow corn flour in the batter, as opposed to the breadcrumb coating on many pollock fillets. Starfish fillets differ most notably in size, requiring two fillets per sandwich like the Great Value pollock fillets. 

With that said, the quality of this Starfish product was even higher than the Whole Foods 365 brand Breaded Fish Squares — each fillet lacked even a trace of fishiness, and tasted light and buttery, almost approaching a lobster-like character. So, while Starfish Crispy Battered Cod isn't a perfect match for a McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, by excelling so significantly in the quality department, it makes for an appealing alternative. Altogether, it adds an elevated taste while still providing pleasantly mild breaded fish for the sandwich. 

First off, it's worth clarifying that virtually all of these products work well for a copycat Filet-O-Fish for one or more reasons. In particular, the 365 Breaded Fish Squares deserve an honorable mention as the bulk option best suited for making multiple Filet-O-Fish copycat sandwiches, checking every important box and lacking any major flaws.

However, the frozen fish fillet product that came out ahead in this experiment was the Stouffer's Fish Filet Frozen Meal. Simply put, while it may not be the highest-quality fish on the market, it most closely approximates the breaded fish that McDonald's uses. All in all, it tastes good, feels decadent like a copycat fast-food item should, and is larger in size than every other competitor. 

The sole mark against the Stouffer's Fish Filet Frozen Meal in this context is its cost, given that in order to obtain one fish fillet for a sandwich, you have to purchase it in this packaged meal with its side serving of mac and cheese — which can cost more than a box of 10 Great Value fillets from Walmart. For a more economical option, then, the 365 Breaded Fish Squares is the next best choice. But for the single most satisfying Filet-O-Fish copycat, the Stouffer's Fish Filet Frozen Meal is the leading product on the market. 

After purchasing all seven fish fillet products from Whole Foods, Walmart, and Smith's grocery stores, I brought them home and froze them for later, so they all started out on an even playing field. I assembled and ate every fish sandwich in one sitting, though that sitting lasted for a little over an hour due to differing cooking temperatures required for the products.

First, I heated up the Stouffer's meal, which required the lowest oven temperature. Then I prepared one fillet each from four of my seven products in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit, making sure to adhere to each fillet's particular cooking instructions. The final two fillets went into the oven after that at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Since each fillet came out at a different time, I was able to assemble each one into a sandwich with tartar sauce and American cheese slightly melted onto the bottom bun — a full slice, even if the Filet-O-Fish only comes with half a slice of cheese — as soon as it came out of the oven. 

I then tried each sandwich on the spot. I took notes of what I thought of every sandwich over the course of this extended meal. A couple days beforehand, I ordered a Filet-O-Fish from McDonald's to ensure that I had a fresh perspective on what each of these sandwiches was supposed to approximate. All of my thoughts are based solely on this experiment, and not from prior experience with any of the products involved.