The 34 Most Delicious Things You Can Do To Potatoes
The potato is humble, but it is also mighty.
1. Get some oven fries drunk on beer and cover them with chili and cheese.
2. Bake potato slices and tuck them into the middle of a glorious grilled cheese sandwich.
3. Mash potatoes into creamy, buttery perfection.
Recipe: Swirly Creamy Mashed Potatoes
It truly does not get better than this.
4. You might not have realized this, but you can do exactly the same thing to potato slices that you do to fried chicken.
Recipe: Chicken Fried Potatoes
CHICKEN-FRY EVERYTHING. THERE ARE NO RULES.
5. Put secret lamb stew inside a potato to make baby shepherd's pies.
Recipe: Shepherd's Pie Twice-Baked Potatoes
Serve these at a dinner party and watch in horror as your guests die of exposure to excessive cuteness.
6. Boil 'em, smash 'em, bake 'em on a sheet.
Recipe: Crash Hot Potatoes
Maximizing your crispy crags and crannies is ESSENTIAL to the greatest roasted potato experience.
7. Fry battered mashed potato rings into dunkable golden perfection.
Recipe: Potato Rings with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch
You know that agonizing moment when you have to choose between fries and onion rings? NEVER AGAIN. The technique here is pretty involved, but the payoff is great.
8. Slice 'em thin and bury them with tons of gooey cheese.
Recipe: Cheesy Skillet Scalloped Potatoes
If I were a potato, this is how I would want to die.
9. Wrap chunks of potato in cozy bacon blankets to make one-bite appetizers.
Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites
Is the party at my house or yours?
10. Turn baked potatoes into ship-shape little pizza boats.
Recipe: Pizza Baked Potatoes
Are those mini pepperonis freaking adorable or what?
11. DIY your own tater tots.
Recipe: Homemade Tater Tots
GOTTA HAVE YOUR TOTS.
12. Mix the insides of a baked potato with cheddar and Sriracha, then bake it again.
13. Fry a mountain of your own fresh and delicious potato chips.
14. Bake hash browns into adorable individual portions.
Recipe: Baked Parmesan Hash Brown Cups
Make sure to wring out as much of that water as you can from your grated potatoes to get maximum crispiness.
15. Sneak some bacon into a creamy potato gratin.
16. Fry up a million crispy, delicious latkes.
Recipe: Adam & Maxine's Famous Latkes
If you're only making latkes for Hanukah, you're not making enough latkes.
17. Turn leftover mashed potatoes into cheddar waffles.
Recipe: Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Waffles
This might be the ultimate post-Thanksgiving brunch.
18. You can also go for the real gold by combining latkes AND waffles.
Recipe: Latke Waffles
19. Get into the tapas spirit with some crispy-creamy croquetas.
Recipe: Chorizo Croquetas
Spain knows its way around a fried ball of potato, my friend.
20. Take out your aggression on waxy potatoes by smashing them into garlicky oblivion.
Recipe: Garlicky Smashed Potatoes
21. Turn grated potatoes into the latke's glorious, brunchy cousin: hash browns.
Recipe: Classic Hash Browns
Make sure your oil is nice and hot so they come out crispy, not soggy.
22. Show off your knife skills with fancy "hasselback" potatoes.
Recipe: Loaded Hasselback Potatoes
Plus bacon and sour cream, for good measure.
23. Whip up a creamy, tangy old-fashioned potato salad.
Recipe: Eggy Potato Salad with Pickles
Best enjoyed on a picnic on a beautiful day.
24. Or, if mayo isn't your thing, try an elegant vinaigrette-based potato salad.
Recipe: German Potato Salad with Dill
Say no to slime.
25. Channel Canada with a mountain of fries, cheese curds, and gravy.
Recipe: Authentic Canadian Poutine
Looks pretty good, eh?
26. Give mashed potatoes the baked mac and cheese treatment.
27. Blend up some potatoes to make a creamy, comforting soup.
28. Make your own potato gnocchi with some flour and a little fancy handwork.
Recipe: Basic Italian Gnocchi
The instructions in this blog post are in charmingly Italian-ish English, but the step-by-step photos are very clear and helpful for anyone who's tried gnocchi before and been burned.
29. Slice Russet potatoes into matchsticks and bake golden garlic fries.
Recipe: Baked Garlic Matchstick Fries
McDonald's better watch out.
30. Leftover mashed potatoes can actually make for killer chocolate cake.
Recipe: Chocolate-Mashed Potato Cake with Ganache
To be clear, please don't use mashed potatoes that involve anything other than cream, butter, and salt.
31. And truffles...
32. ...and fudge!
Recipe: Mashed Potato Fudge
The carby goodness makes it creamy and a little less insanely sweet.
33. Toss 'em with a little ranch seasoning and roast.
34. When in doubt: Just bake it.
Recipe: Perfect Baked Potato
There are SO FEW things on this earth more delicious than a perfectly baked potato with butter melting into its hot, fluffy crevices. Remember that.