Substitutes for Yukon Gold Potatoes | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

FAQs

What can I use instead of Yukon Gold potatoes? ›

Substitutes for Yukon Gold Potatoes. Russet Potatoes. Red Potatoes. Fingerling Potatoes.

The Yukon Gold potato, though yellow fleshed, is a cross between a yellow and a white potato and is usually labeled as such. A “yellow” or “gold” potato is not a Yukon Gold potato, but all three potatoes have similar starch contents and flavors and can be used interchangeably in recipes.

The simple answer is that Yukon Gold potatoes are not a popular variety with potato growers due to their susceptibility to a number of diseases. While still grown by some farmers, a vast majority have turned to other yellow colored potatoes that are easier to produce and profit from.

Russets or all-purpose baking potatoes are high in starch and low in moisture. In soups, they will soak up the liquid and lose their shape. This makes them the ideal choice for making creamy soups or thickening a runny soup. Try using Russet potatoes to create the perfect Loaded Potato Soup.

When looking for a substitute for Yukon Golds, choose another waxy potato such as Red Bliss or another red potato. Baby or Fingerling potatoes are also good options. Try to stay away from starchy potatoes such as Russets for potato salad as they will not hold up.

Like Yukon Golds, russets have a high starch content. Some prefer russets because they'll give you a fluffier mash, but they are rather flavorless compared to Yukon Golds, and will need some additional ingredients to zhuzh them up.

All potatoes can fit into a healthy diet, but purple potatoes, red potatoes, and sweet potatoes—which are often grouped with potatoes—stand out due to their high amounts of protective plant compounds and essential nutrients.

Russet potatoes are arguably the best potatoes for baking, although they are also great for mashing and frying. The main reason thick-skinned Russet potatoes are perfect for baking and more is because they contain significant amounts of starch.

Fingerling Potatoes

The Russian Banana and French are two of the more common types available, and a quick chop will reveal a waxy yellow flesh; the French, however, can sometimes show a streak of red. How to cook them: Considered waxy potatoes like Yukon golds, fingerlings are great for roasting and boiling.

They have a creamy texture and an almost-buttery flavor. In terms of texture, Yukon Golds fall between the starchy russet and the waxy red potato, which makes them a great all-purpose option that's well-suited to a number of culinary applications, including making melting potatoes.

What potatoes are best for mashed potatoes? ›

The best potatoes for mashed potatoes are a starchy varieties like russet, Idaho or Yukon gold. Starchy potatoes are best for mashed potatoes because they have a fluffy, almost airy texture that breaks down easily.

Yukon Gold potatoes are in season through summer and fall, but they're one of the easiest potatoes to find and should be available for purchase all year round, wherever you buy fresh vegetables.

Both Yukon Golds and russets are all-purpose potatoes with good reason, but stacked up against one another, they both have certain preparations where they each shine a little more. While russets mash well, Yukon Golds' more buttery flavor and creamy texture often make them the best choice for mashing over any potato.

In the kitchen, yellow potatoes and Yukon gold potatoes are the basically the same. (Yukon gold is considered a type of yellow potato, after all.) In the genetics lab, though, there are some differences.

Best type of potatoes for diabetes

Sweet potatoes are one of the best types of potato for people with diabetes, as they are low-GI and contain more fiber than white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of calcium and vitamin A. Carisma potatoes, a variety of white potato, are another lower-GI option.

Cauliflower is probably the most common substitute for potatoes. Many people singing the praises of cauliflower mash and even cauliflower rice. It's easy to fry and roast cauliflower or throw into soups and stews. And it's the one vegetable that's most likely to pass as potatoes.

As Martha mentions in her caption, Yukon gold potatoes aren't typically used to make baked potatoes. Instead, because of their thin, flavorful skin and low starch content, they're more often used for crispy roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, or the popular crash hot potatoes.

That being said, any small potato will work in a recipe that calls for new potatoes, but red and fingerlings share the most similar characteristics with new ones. They become creamy if you boil them and are delicious when drizzled with an herb-infused olive oil.

If you compare the antioxidant activity of white potatoes, yellow potatoes, and purple potatoes, Yukon gold have about twice the antioxidant power as white, but purple has twenty times the antioxidants, comparable to what you might see in berries.