Alternatives to potato based sides (2024)

FAQs

Alternatives to potato based sides? ›

Use a whole grain such as quinoa, bulgur, couscous or brown rice in place of your potato. You can also add a whole grain roll where your potato would normally be.

Try this option for a fall salad: cut sweet potatoes into chunks and then steam them until fork-tender. Add a small chopped red onion, chopped celery, dried cranberries, Dijon-style mustard, apple cider vinegar and mashed avocado (optional). This is a great alternative to potato salad, and it doesn't contain mayo.

Barley and quinoa are both low-GI foods, and quinoa is also a source of protein and fibre, and works particularly well in salads. The sweeter taste and creamy texture of sweet potatoes can make an interesting change from potatoes – they're particularly delicious baked. Or, you might want to try a new variation on rice.

Creamy pureed cauliflower tastes just like mashed potatoes, but is so much healthier for you. Plus, cauliflower boils until tender much faster than potatoes, and you can even swap fresh florets for frozen riced cauliflower to save even more time.

Studies show that people who eat cabbage and other brassica vegetables have significantly lower risk of certain cancers. Cup for cup, coleslaw also typically has fewer calories (94 versus 357) and less sodium than potato salad.

Overall, potatoes are better for nutrient. They have higher percentages of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Potatoes also contain less calorie, carbohydrates, and fats. Potato contains higher amounts of fiber, vitamin B, magnesium, phosphate, potassium, iron, copper, and calcium than white rice.

Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and cereals are all examples of starchy foods and should make up just over a third of the food you eat, as shown by the Eatwell Guide(external link opens in a new window / tab) . These foods contain fewer than half the calories of fat.

The jicama root comes from the nightshade family and is the closest vegetable to a potato, per San Francisco Gate. Jicamas are brown, large, and can weigh up to 50 pounds. It has a thin skin and a starchy texture with a flavor that is said to be close to that of apples without being sweet, per Web MD.

The most economically important genus of the family is Solanum, which contains the potato (S. tuberosum, in fact, another common name of the family is the "potato family"), the tomato (S. lycopersicum), and the eggplant or aubergine (S. melongena).

Sweet potatoes on the other hand are even healthier than the standard potato, containing as much as twice the high amounts of vitamin! Overall, potatoes contain more vitamins and nutrients than rice.