And according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), potatoes are indeed pretty darn popular. In fact, the average American consumes close to 50 pounds of potatoes a year. Whoa! While the potato seems pretty straightforward, there’s quite a bit of debate around what type of food this superstar spud really is. Namely, is a potato a vegetable? Well, we’re here to settle things once and for all.
The History of the Potato
First, a brief history lesson: According to The Little Potato Company, potatoes have been around for thousands of years. These little tubers were first spotted in South America in 200 B.C. by the Incas in Peru before making their way to Europe and North America in the 1600s, where they’ve played a starring role in our diets ever since. As the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center reports, potatoes are now the fourth most important food crop in the world, with China being the world’s top potato producer.
Is a Potato a Vegetable?
As a refresher, a vegetable is the edible portion of a plant. Also known as solanum tuberosum, the potato is a tuber, the edible tip of a plant’s stem that grows underground and stores nutrients. So, does that mean a potato is a vegetable? Yep! More specifically, it’s what’s known as a starchy vegetable. Here’s the deal: The USDA classifies vegetables into five different subgroups based on their nutrient makeup: dark-green vegetables, beans and peas, starchy vegetables, red and orange vegetables and other vegetables. Potatoes fall into the USDA’s “starchy vegetables” subgroup.
OK…What Type of Vegetable Is a Potato, Exactly?
A potato is a starchy vegetable, because, well, it contains a whole lot of starch. Starch is a type of complex carbohydrate, made up of long chains of sugar molecules to help plants store energy. Starchy foods, like potatoes, are the main source of carbs in our diet. While carbs can sometimes get a bad rap, they actually play an important role in your health thanks to their ability to give you much-needed energy.
So, Is a Sweet Potato a Vegetable, Too?
Is a sweet potato a vegetable? You better believe it. All varieties of potatoes, including sweet potatoes, are considered starchy vegetables. In addition to potatoes, plantains, taro root and parsnips are other examples of starchy vegetables due to their high carb content. The more you know!
Potato Nutrition
Greasy French fries and loaded mashed potatoes might not be what we’d label as health foods—as much as we love them and totally encourage you to enjoy them! But on their own, potatoes are actually pretty good for you. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), potatoes and other starchy veggies are full of nutrients like potassium, fiber, calcium and vitamin C. How many potatoes should you eat to reap the nutritional benefits? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends eating a mix of vegetables from all five subgroups (dark-green, red and orange, legumes, starchy and other) every day. They say you should aim for up to five cups of starchy veggies a week if you consume 2,000 calories a day.
The Bottom Line on Potatoes
Now you know a potato is indeed a vegetable—a starchy vegetable, to be exact. While starchy vegetables differ from other vegetables in that they’re very high in carbs, that doesn’t mean they’re bad for you. Quite the contrary: When prepared simply, these tubers are high in much-needed nutrients. So grab a spud and get cooking! Next: 30 Tasty Potato Recipes
