Can You Eat Raw Potatoes Safely? What Our Test Kitchen Found

Many items in the produce aisle are A-OK to eat raw; some are even better that way rather than cooked. Case in point: Nearly every kind of pre-washed greens, crisp and clean cucumbers, and in most cases, watermelon. (Although we do enjoy the smoky quality that results after wedges of that juicy, ruby-red melon takes a short shift on the grill!).

Most fruits and vegetables can be enjoyed either way, raw or cooked, while a few should be cooked to be safe to consume. Understandably, it’s tough to know and remember where every fresh produce item falls on this spectrum.

We’ve had a few readers write in to ask us, “can you eat raw potatoes?” Let’s dig in with the help of our Test Kitchen.

The Benefits of Eating Raw Potatoes

In the amount that an average human might consume, raw potatoes are safe to eat, according to Idaho Potatoes.

“Raw potatoes are considerably higher in vitamin C than their cooked counterparts,” Sarah Brekke, M.S., former Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen brand manager. “Vitamin C is an important antioxidant that helps boost the immune system.”

Brekke adds that in their uncooked state, raw potatoes are also higher in resistant starch, a type of starch that cannot be broken down in the small intestine. This type of starch proceeds into the large intestine, where it feeds good gut bacteria. As a result, “resistant starch which has been linked to better digestive health, improved insulin sensitivity, and reduced blood sugar levels,” Brekke says.

Those latter two details are particularly beneficial for folks with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Other sources of resistant starch include lentils, white beans, green bananas, oats, barley, as well as cooked and cooled rice.

The Drawbacks of Eating Raw Potatoes

On the flip side, there are some serious reasons why you wouldn’t want to eat raw potatoes.

“There are some compounds in raw potatoes such as lectins and glycoalkaloids, that can actually interfere with the absorption of nutrients. These compounds don’t typically make much of an impact on a person with a well-balanced diet, but for people who already have a starch-heavy diet, this can have an effect on overall nutrition,” Brekke says.

Let’s break these down:

Lectins: This is a type of protein found in legumes, grains, and nightshades (a family of plants that includes potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplants, and more). Lectins are part of a plant’s natural defense system. If humans consume large quantities of lectins, they can trigger digestive distress and may lead to an upset stomach, vomiting, or diarrhea. However, cooking essentially “deactivates” these lectins, and the benefits of consuming the cooked form of these healthy foods (fiber, vitamins, minerals) far outweighs the risk.
Glycoalkaloids (Solanine and Chaconine): “Potatoes, especially ones with a greenish tint, contain compounds called glycoalkaloids,” Brekke explains. This poisonous compound is also part of the plant’s built-in “armor” and is found in some nightshades, including the green parts of bell peppers, tomatoes, and raw potatoes. (By the way, “we recommend discarding really green potatoes if peeling and trimming them doesn’t remove the green areas,” Brekke says.) When potatoes are subject to extreme heat or temperature shifts or a lot of sunlight, they produce much more of these compounds. In moderate quantities, solanine and chaconine can cause itchiness, drowsiness, headache, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, Brekke says. In very high amounts, solanine and chaconine poisoning may result in hallucinations, paralysis, jaundice, loss of sensation, and even death. An individual would have to eat a lot of raw potatoes—more than a dozen pounds—for them to be toxic. Again, cooking potatoes drastically reduces the amount of glycoalkaloids in potatoes.

One final con of consuming raw potatoes: Since spuds are grown in the ground, they will be covered with dirt, grime, and potentially, bacteria. Washing potatoes generally removes all of the above, but cooking to a safe temperature provides an extra layer of security that the bacteria have been eliminated.

Can You Eat Raw Potatoes?

Poison Control confirms that a bite or two shouldn’t cause you any trouble, but as a general rule, it’s wise to avoid eating raw potatoes.

Not only could they be dangerous, they also won’t be very enjoyable, Brekke says: “Raw potatoes are firm, starchy, and kind of bitter to most people. We do not recommend serving raw potatoes. In fact, we don’t have a single instance of a recipe using raw potatoes anywhere in our database of tens of thousands of recipes.”

Besides being safer, more tender, and less bitter, “potatoes that have been cooked go through a cool food science process called the ‘Maillard reaction.’ In this reaction, small sugar molecules found in the carb-rich potato react with amino acids in the presence of heat causing them to undergo a browning reaction resulting in desirable color, flavor, and texture changes,” Brekke explains.

Can You Eat Raw Sweet Potatoes?

Potatoes and sweet potatoes might sound like they’re siblings, but they’re not actually part of the same family. So you might be wondering, “can you eat raw sweet potatoes?”

Sweet potatoes and yams aren’t nightshades, and as a result, the glcoalkaloids aren’t an issue. Raw sweet potatoes may be tougher to digest than their cooked counterparts. They’re safe to eat—and many folks do in things like slaws and spiralized salads. Still, we prefer them cooked via one of these 6 foolproof ways.

Potato Recipes to Try Now That You Know They’re Best Cooked

When you’re shopping for or picking potatoes from your garden, look for tubers that are “firm, have relatively smooth skin with little bruising or blemishes, and should smell earthy. If the skins appear green, it’s best to pass on these potatoes,” Brekke says.

Once you’ve brought your spuds inside and have scrubbed them clean under running water, you’re all set to put them to good use in a potato casserole, potato soup, or baked potato bar. You can’t go wrong with spuds as a side dish, either; try them fried, mashed, boiled, or our new favorite way, Australian-Style Potato Scallops, which fans deem “restaurant-quality” and “delicious and surprisingly easy to make.”

How to Tell That Your Potatoes Are Cooked Enough

No matter how you cook your potatoes, we recommend watching for one of these signs of doneness which can alert you they’ve crossed the line from raw to ready to eat: