Can You Meal Prep Potatoes? Yes, Here’s How

Potatoes are loved, and their versatility makes them ideal for many dishes and recipes. Moreover, because they cook easily, you will love to try your hands at different potato recipes to determine which works best for you. However, can you meal prep potatoes? The answer to this question is nothing short of a resounding yes. This comprehensive recipe guide tells you why by exploring all the intricate details to teach you about America’s favorite tuber and how it can be prepared. 

So, whether you’re a busy professional, a fitness enthusiast, or just looking to simplify your kitchen routine, this guide is tailored for you. You will be learning safe meal-prepping practices, delicious recipes, storing, reheating, and things you never thought potatoes could do. 

This is a game-changer for anyone interested in adopting effective cooking processes. Nothing should stop you from enjoying homemade dishes prepared with a dredge of attention to detail and a sprinkle of finesse. If you have any questions, the FAQs at the end of the page will provide the answers you need. In the meantime, dig in to learn more about meal-prepping potatoes.

Tips On How To Meal Prep Potato Safely

Many cooking blogs believe meal prepping is the holy grail for saving time in the kitchen, and they couldn’t be far from right. As a person with a hectic schedule who wants to eat healthy on a limited budget, meal-prepping potatoes can be a lifesaver – not only time-saving. However, a lot more goes into meal-prepping than making your cooking convenient. It involves the following vital points:

• The right potato selection
• Cleaning and peeling
• The skill of cutting
• Blanching
• Proper storage
• Labeling

Choose The Right Potatoes

Potatoes come in different varieties, making it important to choose the ones that do well with meal-prepping. It’s interesting to note that there are 5000 potato varieties out there, giving you countless options to choose from. A few are as follows:

• Fingerling potatoes
• Russet
• Yukon Gold
• Kennebec
• Adirondack
• German Butterball

Although these varieties stem from thousands of years of selective breeding, the most important thing is discovering which ones are ideal for this very purpose. The first tip is to choose more starchy varieties like Yukon Gold and Russet. These types hold up very well during cooking and reheating, making them less likely to disintegrate or become mushy when ready to use. More starchy potato varieties maintain a desirable texture even after coming into contact with heat.

Another noteworthy point is the potato coloration and what that could mean. You may find tiny green spots on some parts of the potatoes, which could be the pigment from chlorophyll. However, it is advisable to throw out the potatoes if the green coloration is widespread because it is often a sign of solanine toxin caused by excessive sun exposure.

Proper Cleaning And Peeling

As with any food preparation, one of the first precautionary steps is washing and cleaning. Because these are tubers, washing them under clean running water is important to remove dirt and any contaminants. The last thing you want is to bite into sandy particles while enjoying mashed potatoes. Peel these tubers after thoroughly washing them, but there is a trick to getting your potatoes all smooth without the jagged cut appearance.

• Use a peeler if you have one, and glide the blade from the spud to the top in one motion.
• Remember to peel potatoes away from you and not towards you.
• Keep rotating the potato until it’s all done before moving to the next.

Here’s how to go about it if you’re using an old-fashioned kitchen knife:

• Cut one end of the potato to give it a stable and flat surface.
• Stand the cut end on a clean chopping board and skim the edges from top to bottom.
• Peel the skin off in single motions to create a smooth look when done.

Remember to place your freshly peeled potatoes in a bowl of cool water to slow down the oxidation process. The latter is responsible for the sudden discoloration you notice on freshly peeled potatoes.

Cut Uniform Slices

Your peeled potatoes will cook evenly when cut uniformly. Apart from the enhanced cooking, there is an aesthetic reason for cutting your potatoes uniformly. It all boils down to food presentation and the Michelin-star appearance of the potato dish. So, what are the various cutting styles that would make your dish look like it was photographed in a top food magazine?

• Cubes
• Wedges
• Julienne cuts
• Hasselback
• Slices
• Sticks

All these cut styles can be thick or thin depending on certain factors like:

• Storage duration
• Type of storage
• Cooking method to be used

Blanch Before Freezing

Blanching is a technique that involves cooking briefly in steam or hot water and then immediately pouring cold water over the content to halt the process. Avoid keeping the potatoes too long in cold water as that may result in nutrient loss. This cooking method is recommended before freezing your potatoes, and you’ll soon discover why this is so. 

Raw potatoes do not hold up too well when frozen, as they might get grainy or mushy when finally cooked. That happens because potatoes naturally have high water volume, which aids in freezing but get soft when thawed. Blanching stops this from occurring and consequently preserves the tuber’s texture, color, firmness, and nutrients. Make sure to properly drain the water from blanched potatoes before freezing them.

Store In Airtight Containers

Airtight containers maintain food freshness – this includes:

• Taste
• Texture
• Aroma
• Appearance

Another reason to use airtight containers is to keep your blanched potatoes from absorbing weird smells in the fridge or freezer. This way, you prevent your cooked potatoes from smelling like fresh fish or any other items in your freezer or fridge. 

Label And Date Containers

Proper labeling helps you keep track of your potatoes’ freshness. With your hectic schedule, you may have meal-prepped potatoes in separate airtight containers on different days. The right thing is to use them according to the oldest and not the opposite. Doing this helps you eat healthy and fresh foods without discarding them because they stay too long in the fridge or freezer.

How To Meal-Prep Potatoes?

It’s time to explore some mouth-watering potato recipes that will keep you coming back for more. Even better, these recipes are excellent for meal-prepping because they don’t affect the potatoes’ freshness in any way. 

As the saying goes, ‘To each, his own,’ –  in other words, you have a right to personal choices and preferences. In this case, your culinary preferences will differ from the next person, so having an idea of the various recipes will help you choose the one that best suits you. Here are some recipes worth your time.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This exciting recipe gets its powerful aromatic hit from roasted garlic. The dish has a characteristic savory taste that transforms regular mashed potatoes into a restaurant standard meal. It is creamy and indulgent and can easily become your go-to comfort food. Here’s how to prepare it.

Ingredients:

• Russet or Yukon Gold potato variety (remember these are the starchier varieties and hold up better when meal-prepped)
• Butter
• Milk
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic cloves

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Bring peeled potatoes to a boil and drain the water.
• Do not mash immediately to avoid getting it too starchy.
• Roast the garlic cloves in a butter-heated pan. Avoid over-browning, as that gives a bitter taste.
• After the boiled potatoes have cooled down a bit, mash them to a fluffy consistency.
• Add roasted garlic, butter, and milk.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Sweet Potato And Chickpea Buddha Bowl

This visually appealing recipe is packed with nutrients that make it worth a try. Sweet potatoes and chickpeas combine to create a hearty base for this dish. The sweet potato and chickpea buddha bowl is a delicious combination of tuber and legumes you cannot resist. Add spinach and quinoa to make it complete, although you can rely on another leafy vegetable and whole grain based on your preference.

Ingredients:

• Sweet potatoes
• Chickpeas
• Spinach
• Quinoa
• Olive oil
• Tahini
• Lemon

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Dice sweet potatoes and toss them in with the chickpeas to roast.
• Roast until both are crispy on the outside.
• Cook the quinoa, but refer to the package instructions to get it right.
• Arrange a bed of spinach in a clean bowl.
• Pour the crisp roasted sweet potatoes and chickpeas onto the spinach bed.
• Add a scoop of cooked quinoa after doing the above.
• The last stage is to drizzle a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon for enhanced flavor.
• Add tahini if you prefer a nutty taste to your sweet potato and chickpea buddha bowl.

Potato And Leek Soup

This recipe could easily pass as a comfort food because of its velvety and creamy appearance. This heartwarming bowl of goodness is served hot with crusty bread on the side, but the latter depends on you.

Ingredients:

• Yukon Gold potatoes
• Leeks
• Butter
• Cream
• Vegetable or chicken broth
• Salt and pepper

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Wash and chop leeks before sauteeing in heated butter.
• Sautee until soft and flavorful.
• Dice potatoes and add to the sauteed leeks
• Pour your preferred broth into the pot until the ingredients are submerged.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer until the potatoes are soft.
• The last

FAQs

Conclusion

Meal-prepping potatoes can be a breeze if you know how. With the information above, you can now conveniently prepare your potatoes and cook your favorite meals in minutes.