What to Make with Every Type of Potato
Updated: Feb. 27, 2024
From red to russet, learn how to use up every type of potato you find at the store.
Yukon Gold Potato
Large and in charge, Yukon Gold potatoes always pack a punch into any dish you serve. Their rich and buttery taste melts right in your mouth.
With a waxy and firm texture, Yukon Gold’s superpower is their ability to hold shape in soups and stews like this creamy potato soup or a hearty Irish beef stew. They’re also perfect for potato salads and served scalloped style.
Red Potato
Red potatoes are a great choice to pair as a side with your favorite dishes. Bake ’em up alongside pan-roasted veggies and chicken, grill em’ on skewers with steak or let them shine in smashed potato form. Either way, you’ll be savoring each and every bite.
Though they differ in size, red potatoes and Yukon Golds are more similar than you think. Both are the same potato type: waxy. Like the Yukons, we recommend throwing red potatoes into soups and stews, too.
Russet Potato
Russet potatoes, otherwise known as Idaho or baking potatoes, are one of the most loved potato types. This American classic is one of the most versatile potatoes, too. Russets can be baked, fried, mashed, or prepared as potato pancakes. Russet’s only limitation? Soups and stews. Leave that for the Yukon Golds and reds.
Psst! Russets are ideal for any of these baked potato recipes, too. And if baked potatoes are your thing, also try Ina Garten’s baked potatoes and her delightful potato salad.
Fingerling Potato
Known for their unique shape, fingerlings always add a peak of visual interest to any dish you serve. Their shape is long and stubby, just like (you guessed it), a finger. The crazy part is, their small size is the way they grow naturally at full harvest. Who couldn’t love these little guys?
Because of their small shape and delicate skin, fingerlings are fantastic to roast as a side dish like these rosemary roasted fingerlings or tossing into a potato salad like this Italian potato salad recipe.
Sweet Potato
Just as the name implies, sweet potatoes can satisfy any sweet tooth (including mine). Try something new like a sweet potato doughnut or if you’re feeling nostalgic, whip up a classic sweet potato pie. If your tastebuds love everything savory, no worries. Sweet potatoes add a twist to dishes like these garlic hasselback sweet potatoes or this roasted sweet potato and chickpea pita.
Next: try your hand at sweet potato casserole, a perfect side for the holidays.
Wondering how to cook potatoes the right way? Here are the best ways to cook potatoes in the oven, on the stovetop, in an air fryer and more.
Originally Published: January 03, 2020
