If you ask us, potatoes should be their own food group! After all, we could have them at every meal. In the mornings, potatoes are the key ingredient in a hearty breakfast hash, while in the afternoon, they transform into tasty potato chips or potato salad. And for dinner, we can have potatoes any which way—mashed, roasted, baked, or turned into French fries. In fact, it wouldn’t be a steak dinner with potatoes by its side. But some potatoes are better suited for making potato skins versus creamy mashed potatoes. So how do you know which types of potatoes to use? We're breaking it all down with this list of common types of potatoes!
Potatoes are generally classified based on their texture: either waxy, starchy or all-purpose. Waxy potatoes are lower in starch and higher in moisture. While they have a softer texture, they tend to hold their shape pretty well, which makes them great for roasting. Starchy potatoes are high in starch but lower in moisture, which gives them a more crumbly texture—they're ideal for baked potatoes with toppings. Lastly, all-purpose potatoes can do a little bit of everything. They have a good balance of both starch and moisture, and you can use them for just about any potato recipe you have in mind. Read on for a list of 18 different types of potatoes. And no matter what kind you choose, be sure to store them properly with our potato storage guide!
New Potatoes
New potatoes, as their name implies, are harvested at an earlier point during the growing season; they have a smaller size and thinner skin than other potatoes. New potatoes hold their shape well when cooked. Ree Drummond's Crash Hot Potatoes are a great example of why new potatoes are so beloved!
Creamer Potatoes
These potatoes are quite small and can usually be found in different shades. They're not necessarily harvested earlier in the growing process—they're actually meant to be tiny! Creamer potatoes are a great choice for a simple roasted potato side dish for a weeknight dinner. Bonus: You don't have to bother peeling them!
Russian Banana Fingerling
These finger-shaped potatoes are smaller and more oblong in shape. They have a waxy texture and an almost golden flesh on the inside. Since they hold their shape pretty well, you could try cooking them on the grill like these Poblano-Potato Bundles.
Laratte Fingerling
These potatoes originate from France and are similar in appearance to the Russian Banana Fingerling. They have a more golden hue, especially when you slice into them. They have a lovely nutty flavor.
Red Thumb Fingerling
Though these potatoes are similar in shape to the Laratte, they tend to be a bit smaller overall. The most noticeable characteristic, however, is the bright red color. These potatoes not only hold their shape well after roasting, but they're great for when you want a colorful side dish for dinner. Try using a mix of different fingerlings!
French Fingerling
French fingerlings are not as elongated in shape as your typical fingerling, but they have a dark red outer skin, similar to the Red Thumb. If you slice into a French fingerling potato, you can often see some reddish streaks throughout the flesh.
Rose Finn Apple
The Rose Finn Apple is a variety of fingerling potato with a light reddish or pink color. Similar to the Russian Banana, the Rose Finn Apple has a more golden color on the inside; its high moisture content makes for a great smooth texture.
Russet
The russet potato is arguably the most most well-known type of potatoes in the United States. Russets have a brownish color and a sandy outer layer. The inside is white and crumbly when cooked, making them ideal for recipes like these Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Potatoes.
Jewel Yam
The Pioneer Woman Frontier Collection 2-Piece Potato Peeler
The Pioneer Woman Frontier Collection 2-Piece Potato Peeler
This is the kind of sweet potato you will most likely find at the grocery store (technically a true yam is a starchy root that looks completely different from a sweet potato!). The jewel yam is larger in size than other potatoes and has a dark reddish-orange color on the outside.
Hannah Sweet Potato
Hannah sweet potatoes have a shape and size similar to that of your average sweet potato, but they have more of a light brown outer layer. The most distinctive quality of the Hannah sweet potato is that it has white flesh on the inside.
Japanese Sweet Potato
The Japanese sweet potato has a dark red color and, similar to the Hannah sweet potato, white flesh on the inside. These starchy sweet potatoes are great for baking and roasting with some of your favorite toppings.
All-Purpose Potatoes
Vitelotte
Originally from Peru but brought to France in the 1800s, you can find these small, bright purple spuds at specialty markets. They'll stay vibrant and colorful even after cooking so they’re fun for making vibrant side dishes, potato chips, or fries.
Yukon Gold Potato
The Yukon gold potato stands beside the russet as one of the most popular types of potatoes in the kitchen, and for good reason! As their "all-purpose" categorization indicates, Yukon golds are great for just about anything: baking, roasting, boiling, grilling, frying and especially mashing. They have a bright golden color on the inside and a smooth texture when cooked. If there's one place to get started when using Yukon golds, it's a classic mashed potato, like these creamy mashed potatoes from Ree Drummond.
All Blue Potato
The name says it all! These beautiful heirloom potatoes are all blue—both inside and out. They're great for baking or boiling, and you can even use the leftover cooking water to dye your Easter eggs blue!
Kennebec Potato
These potatoes look more like russets on the outside, but are shaped more like Yukon golds. They make for a great all-purpose option in the kitchen. They have a brownish outer layer and white flesh on the inside.
Purple Majesty Potato
The Purple Majesty is a medium-sized and oval-shaped potato with an instantly recognizable dark purple hue and a blueish purple interior. Try switching things up with your cookout sides and make a perfect potato salad with a bright purple potato!
Red Gold Potato
The Red Gold potato has an ashy red color on the outside and a more golden hue on the inside. Try using some to make Ree's Best Breakfast Potatoes.
Red Norland Potato
These potatoes also have a sandy reddish color but a more white flesh. They're medium to large in size. Use some of these in a potato salad or you could shred some to make homemade hash browns.
