The short answer to this question is – yes. Potatoes in their raw form are gluten free. But, there are many common potato preparations you need to watch out for to make sure no gluten sneaks its way in.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a naturally occurring protein found in some grains. It helps food maintain its structure and elasticity so things like dough maintain their shape. The most common grains that contain gluten are:

• Rye
• Barley
• Malt
• Wheat starch
• Brewer’s yeast

The good and the bad.

For those who are tolerant to gluten, it is considered part of a healthy, whole grain diet.

For those who are gluten-sensitive, gluten-intolerant, have wheat allergies or those with celiac disease, it can trigger adverse inflammatory and autoimmune reactions and gastro-intestinal issues. This is where a gluten-free diet can become necessary and learning what foods and preparations contain gluten is important.

Know what goes in.

The most common ways potatoes are prepared often add ingredients that are not gluten-free. Especially when they’re prepared at restaurants. Many restaurants can have cross-contamination with other non gluten-free foods, whether it’s oil from the same fryer, using the same oven rack, or using the same water for boiling. Here are a few recipe preparations to watch out for.

• Mashed Potatoes – many recipes are dusted with flour or add dairy, which many gluten-free people also have a hard time tolerating
• French Fries – if the deep fryer is used to prepare other ingredients that contain gluten, cross-contamination can occur
• Potato Chips – check the label to see if any flavor additives contain gluten like wheat starch or maltodextrin
• Baked Potatoes – many toppings contain gluten and sometimes restaurants brush the outside with butter and flour before baking to make them crispy
• Au-Gratin – flour is often used to thicken the sauce and most are topped with dairy

Make it yourself.

Potatoes can be a wonderful part of a healthy diet. The best way to ensure your potatoes stay gluten-free is to prepare them yourself at home. That way you can monitor every ingredient you add to ensure nothing incompatible is added. 

Tip: Use potato flour as a gluten-free alternative to most flours.

Potatoes, most definitely, are vegetables. They are in the root vegetable category and are more specifically “tubers” because they are underground stems. 

It can actually be confusing as to what is truly a fruit or a vegetable but there’s one simple rule of thumb to know the difference – it’s in the seeds.

What is a vegetable?

A vegetable is the part of a plant that can be consumed for food such as the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, or bulbs. Common types of vegetables include:

• Leafy greens such as lettuce and spinach
• Cruciferous plants like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli
• Marrows, which include pumpkin, cucumber and zucchini
• Root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and beets
• Edible plant stems like celery and asparagus
• Alliums, which include onions, garlic and shallots

Most vegetables can be eaten raw or prepared in many ways, usually for savory dishes.

What is a fruit?

The most common way to tell fruits from vegetables is that fruits are often vessels for their own seeds. Think apples, oranges, tomatoes, pomegranates and cucumbers. Other fruits like bananas and pineapples do not contain their seeds, but are from the seed-bearing structure of a flowering plant. To make it a little more confusing – nuts and acorns are also technically fruits. But, from a culinary standpoint, fruits usually refer to the sweet-tasting produce of a plant.

More potato/veggie facts:

• The potato plant produces flowers and berries that are actually poisonous. Eating them causes headaches and nausea.
• Although they seem solid, potatoes are actually 80% water
• Sweet potatoes are not potatoes – they are from different plant families. Sweet potatoes are “morning glories” and potatoes are “nightshades”
• Potatoes were first cultivated in Peru around 8,000 BC to 5,000 BC – not Ireland like many people assume

Potatoes belong to the carbohydrate group, making them “carbs.” What does that mean for you and your diet? Let’s dig in.

What are carbs?

Carbohydrates are essential food nutrients – consisting of fiber, starches and sugars – that give you energy to function. Your digestive system breaks down carbs into glucose or blood sugar. Your bloodstream absorbs glucose and uses it as energy to fuel your body. Many athletes will load up on carbs before performing to give their body plenty of energy.

The amount of carbs you consume affects your blood sugar. If you take in too many, it can cause high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). If you don’t consume enough, you can have low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). 

Potato carb content.

Potatoes, more specifically, are starchy carbs. Other starchy foods include pasta, rice, bread and cereal. They all provide the slow and steady release of energy. 

Potatoes have a reputation of being “bad” carbs, but they actually provide plenty of healthy minerals and vitamins. They are high in fiber (when including the skin) and are low in calories. They’re also fat, cholesterol and sodium free. 

A medium, 5.2 ounce potato with the skin contains 26 grams of carbs and has about as much potassium as a banana. It provides about half of the recommended daily value of vitamin C and a significant amount of vitamin B6. 

Like anything you eat, moderation is key. Potatoes have health benefits, but you should always monitor your daily intake of carbs. One bonus of potatoes is they have a high satiety index, meaning they help you feel full without overeating.

You can freeze potatoes in any form, but should you? The answer relies on how cooked they are.

Don’t freeze them raw.

Technically you can freeze raw potatoes, however doing so can make them turn black. Even worse, during the thawing process they can become mushy and grainy from the large amount of water and enzymes inside.

Partially cooked potatoes

If you want to prep potatoes for faster cooking later, you can par-cook and freeze them. These steps will help you get the best results:

• Peel them – even though you can freeze the peel, blanching works better without it
• Cut them up – chop them into cubes or wedges, julienne, or grate them. Whatever your recipe requires
• Blanch them – this means boil them until they are crisp-tender, about 2-5 minutes, then immediately transfer them in a bowl of ice water
• Dry them – remove the excess moisture with a towel
• Freeze them – use an airtight container because potatoes can turn brown when exposed to air once they are peeled

Fully cooked potatoes

If you’ve already prepared your potatoes, such as roasting, baking, frying, or making mashed potatoes, they can be frozen after. These cooked potatoes will last about a year in the freezer versus four to five days in the refrigerator.

How to cook frozen potatoes

If you’ve already fully cooked your potatoes, you just need to thaw and reheat them. But if you’ve done the par-prep step above, there are a few ways to use them.

• Let them fully thaw. Most preparations require them to be room temp before cooking, but make sure they don’t turn dark from the air. Keep them in their airtight container.
• In their frozen form, you can drop them into soups, stews and casseroles. Just make sure you’re using the right kind of potatoes for the recipe by checking out our blog on types of potatoes. 
• French fries are actually better once they’ve been fried, then frozen, then given a second fry in their frozen state. Most restaurants prepare fries in this way as it makes them a lot crispier.

Is freezing even necessary?

Potatoes generally last a long time when stored correctly in a cool, dry place (not in a refrigerator). The main reasons you may want to freeze them are for easier preparation at a later date, or to save fully cooked potatoes for leftovers.

Wondering what’s the best way to store potatoes? Check out our latest blog on the best way to keep potatoes fresh.

Improving your gut health is a great way to boost overall wellness and longevity. One way to achieve this is to eat foods that support beneficial gut microbiota. 

Lucky for us our favorite superfood, potatoes, are a quality source of resistant starch. This type of carbohydrate acts as a prebiotic fiber that has several benefits for the gut.

What is Resistant Starch? 

Most carbohydrates are considered starches. And although starches sometimes get a bad rep, they are critical to certain bodily functions.

Many types of starches are broken down by the digestive system. On the other hand, resistant starches are broken down in the large intestine by good bacteria.

What are Prebiotic Foods?

You’ve probably heard of probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that contribute to gut health. However, prebiotics are the food that helps these bacteria thrive.

When gut-friendly bacteria feed on resistant starch, the process produces short-chain fatty acids, including Butyrate.

Improved Colon Health

Butyrate acts as fuel for cells in your colon and reduces inflammation. Plus, whatever the colon doesn’t use travels through the body for additional health benefits to other organs.

And reducing inflammation in our bodies can help with chronic disease prevention and general quality of life improvements:

• Arthritis symptoms
• inflammatory bowel syndrome, 
• lupus, and other autoimmune disorders. 

As well as a decreased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, depression, cancer, and other diseases.

How to Boost Your Potato

One way to make your superfood even more powerful is to eat your potato after it’s cooled or refrigerated overnight. This is because cooled potatoes go through starch retrogradation, a process that increases resistant starch content.

Even if you prefer your potatoes hot, reheating them won’t significantly reduce the resistant starch content.

Try our potato salad recipe for a tasty way to help you get more prebiotic fiber in your diet.

Versatile, tasty and great for your mind — spuds are gaining more recognition for their benefits in improving overall brain health.

When it comes to brain-boosting nutrients, potatoes are a powerhouse. Vitamins and minerals found in tubers contribute to a wide-range of essential brain functions thanks to their amounts of B6, C, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, phosphorus, and potassium.  

Stress-reducing Properties

Spuds may be known for their carbohydrate content, but you probably didn’t realize that carbohydrates trigger insulin, allowing the amino acid tryptophan to get to work in the brain.

The body uses tryptophan to make melatonin and serotonin. Melatonin helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle while serotonin is thought to help regulate appetite, sleep, mood, and pain. Both have been shown to help ward off anxiety and promote better quality sleep.

More Potassium than a Banana

Potassium, another key player in brain function, is found in high amounts in potatoes. This mineral is an electrolyte that allows brain cells to communicate with each other effectively.  

Potassium also has other roles in the body that positively affect brain health; i.e. it encourages blood vessels to widen, making it easier for blood to flow to the brain and also acts as a natural muscle relaxer.

Assist Brain Function

Potatoes also contain fatty acids and amino acids that are critical for brain health. Alpha-lipoic acid, or ALA, another fatty acid found in potatoes, has been shown to boost cognitive health and improve memory. 

Potatoes are a versatile staple food packed with many essential nutrients that the brain needs for optimum health. It’s also a bonus that our favorite superfood is usually easy to find at any grocery store. 

Considering adding more potatoes to your diet? Check out our delicious recipes page.