For a long time, white potatoes were grown to fill the western world’s insatiable desire for chips and french fries, but they weren’t popular for much else.
Nowadays, with new cultivars and evolving flavor profiles, they’re becoming every bit as popular as their red, russet, and purple friends.
You can find white potatoes in a variety of textures that will make perfect mashed or roasted potatoes, and even those ideal for salads.
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White potatoes are those varieties that have thin, pale skins and pale flesh.
It’s not really clear where the first white potatoes originated, though the Irish are credited with some of the original heirlooms that contributed to our modern cultivars.
If you see an “Irish white potato” for sale, it could be any generic heirloom. That’s because the name is often just used as a generic name for any white potato.
In our guide to growing potatoes, we discuss how to cultivate these delicious root veggies in your garden.
This roundup will give you 19 of the tastiest white potatoes to choose from!
Here’s the lineup:
Best White Potato Varieties
Before we get started, if you’re not familiar with what early, mid, and late season mean when it comes to potatoes, check out our guide.
Now let’s have a look at 19 of the best white potatoes!
1. Allegany
Guess where this cultivar was bred. If you said Upstate New York, you win!
‘Allegany’ is a high-yielding, late-season cultivar that was released by the New York State Experiment Station in 1990 as a cross between ‘Wischip’ and an unnamed cultivar.
Perfect as both a table and a chipping potato, it features buff skin and pale yellow flesh, with a nutty flavor that is retained even after boiling or baking.
It’s highly resistant to golden nematode, early blight, and Verticillium wilt, with moderate resistance to pitted scab and late blight.
Watch out if you’re harvesting in cold weather. The tubers can be susceptible to bruising, and you don’t want to bruise these since you can store them for an extremely long time.
Its robust nature and high yields have made it an extremely popular option for breeding new cultivars, like ‘Pike.’
2. Atlantic
‘Atlantic’ is a good option for growers in warm climates. The medium-sized, round to oval tubers are ready for harvest in the mid-season.
While this cultivar is primarily grown for chipping, it’s also a smart choice for the home grower.
To start with, it’s moderately resistant to scab, Verticillium wilt, and pinkeye, and highly resistant to golden nematode, virus X, and tuber net necrosis.
Plus, it has high yields and works well for boiling, baking, or making fries.
Watch out, though. It’s susceptible to hollow heart and heat necrosis, and the tubers don’t store well.
‘Atlantic’ was released by the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA in collaboration with the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, the Virginia Truck and Ornamentals Research Station, the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station in July 1976.
It’s a cross between ‘Wauseon’ and ‘Lenape.’
3. Cascade
‘Cascade’ stores for a long time and produces high yields, with oblong tubers that are ready in the mid-season.
It’s moderately resistant to verticillium and slightly susceptible to late blight.
‘Cascade’ was named for the area in which it was bred. It was released in 1969 as a collaboration between the USDA, Washington State University, and the Washington State Potato Commission.
It was bred to be a french fry tater that could be used to fill the nation’s fryolators. But it has such a nice flavor and texture that it can used in both baking and boiling.
The firm, creamy flesh and thin skin combine with the earthy flavor to make it a tasty option for home fries, mashing, or hash browns.
4. Elba
‘Elba’ is considered an improved version of the familiar classic, ‘Kennebec.’
Developed by Cornell University, this cultivar is resistant to golden nematodes, verticillium, scab, early blight, and late blight. It can be susceptible to hollow heart in wet climates, though.
In growing trials in desert climates, ‘Elba’ was the highest yielding with impressive disease resistance.
The large tubers are ready to harvest in the late season.
The plant is drought-tolerant and the tubers are unbeatable for making mashed potatoes.
They store for a long time, so you don’t have to eat them all at once, though you’ll be tempted to.
You can find seed tubers in a variety of package sizes available from High Mowing Seeds.
5. Irish Cobbler
‘Irish Cobbler’ has been around for a long time. There are records of this cultivar as far back as 1876.
It’s not clear who bred this one, rumor has it that a cobbler from Ireland living in the northeast shared some exceptional taters from his garden with the neighbors and someone brought it to market.
With medium to large, oblong tubers ready very early in the growing season, ‘Irish Cobbler’ continues to be a super popular cultivar throughout the world.
It’s adaptable both in terms of growing environment and uses, thanks to its creamy flesh. Mashed potato lovers take note, it’s an exceptional option.
It’s immune to wart and resistant to mild mosaic.
The fact that it’s ready so early in the season means you can avoid problems like late blight entirely. It has deep eyes, so if you like to peel your taters, that can be a challenge.
It also bruises easily, so use caution when harvesting.
6. Ivory Crisp
‘Ivory Crisp’ was a collaboration facilitated by the USDA between university extension research stations in Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and North Dakota.
That’s a lot of smart breeders working to create the ideal white potato, and I’d say mission accomplished. They released their creation in 2002 and it has gained in popularity ever since.
It’s excellent as both a fresh and chipping potato, and the plants are high-yielding.
‘Ivory Crisp’ is resistant to growth cracks, secondary growth, hollow heart, and stem-end necrosis, though it’s susceptible to scab and pink rot.
The medium-sized tubers are ready in the mid- to late-season and store well.
7. Katahdin
‘Katahdin’ is drought tolerant, high-yielding, and adaptable to a variety of conditions.
This cultivar was bred by the USDA in 1932 to mature in the late-season and has resistance to mild mosaic, net necrosis, and brown rot.
The medium-sized, oblong tubers have delightfully creamy flesh with a rich flavor, that lend themselves nicely to boiling, baking, and frying.
They tend to fall apart after boiling, however, so pick something else for your potato salads.
You can find seed potatoes available in a variety of package sizes at True Leaf Market.
8. Kennebec
‘Kennebec’ was bred in association with the USDA in Maine in 1941 and is one of the most popular types grown in the state.
In part, that’s because this cultivar can tolerate cold and heat that other potatoes can’t.
It’s a vigorous grower, with moderate resistance to late blight, black leg, fusarium dry rot, phoma rot, and potato wart.
The tubers are medium to large and ready in the mid- to late-season. When they’re ready, the thin, light skin and low water content make them ideal for frying. Or mash them up and revel in the earthy, nutty flavor.
Pick up tubers for planting at True Leaf Market and you’ll be enjoying heaps and heaps of these all-purpose spuds in no time!
9. Lamoka
‘Lamoka’ produces medium to large, smooth, round tubers that mature late in the season and will store for a long time.
It was bred as a chipping type and it excels for this purpose, being the top choice for commercial chipping potato growers.
Bred in upstate New York by Dr. Walter De Jong at Cornell University, and released in 1998, ‘Lamoka’ has good resistance to common scab, golden nematodes, and bruising.
You can certainly grow ‘Lamoka’ for boiling and roasting, but they are best used for making chips or fries.
10. La Chipper
‘La Chipper’ was bred by the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station in 1962 to be the perfect chipping tater and it succeeds.
They crossed a ‘Green Mountain’ and ‘Cayuga’ to breed a mid-season type with high yields of oblong tubers with extremely white flesh.
It’s resistant to late blight, but don’t plant it anywhere where it will be exposed to a lot of pollution because this will make the plants defoliate.
This cultivar has deep eyes which makes peeling a challenge but the flavor of the medium-sized, elongated tubers with moderately creamy flesh is sweet and earthy.
11. Liberator
If your main priority is making French fries and chips, try ‘Liberator.’
The buff-colored skin of the medium to large tubers hides white flesh with a creamy, dense texture.
This mid-season variety was bred by Michigan State University and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station to have strong scab resistance.
When the plant is stressed, some of the tubers can grow misshapen, so make sure it has the water, sun, and care that it needs.
12. Monticello
‘Monticello’ was bred by the University of Maine and Cornell University using ‘Steuben’ and ‘Kanona,’ and was released in 2003.
It was bred to be used as a chipping potato, with a uniform shape and long storage capabilities.
This small to medium, mid-season type is a stellar option for baking or boiling at home, and has good common scab and golden nematode resistance.
The shallow eyes make it easy to peel, though the skin is nice and thin if you want to leave it in place.
13. Ontario
‘Ontario’ was created by the USDA and Cornell by crossing ‘Richter Jubel’ and an unnamed cultivar.
It’s a late maturing type that produces oblong tubers with creamy flesh.
The bright white flesh can darken a bit with cooking, but it’s not prone to becoming mealy and maintains its mild flavor even when cooked.
The plant is resistant to scab, late blight, and Fusarium wilt.
14. Salem
Unofficially released by Dr. Robert Plaisted, head of the Cornell Potato Breeding Program, in 1994, ‘Salem’ didn’t receive a name until 1997 when growers in Salem, New York suggested naming it after their town.
The round to oblong tubers are ready in the mid-season and you should be sure to harvest at this time, because they will keep growing and become massive and mealy.
The plant is extremely resistant to common scab and moderately resistant to golden nematode, hollow heart, and brown center. It’s highly susceptible to some strains of late blight, though not others.
‘Salem’ has an excellent flavor and creamy flesh. The skin fries up fantastically, so consider it a great option for fries and chips.
15. Sifra
Bred by Zuckerman Family Farms in Stockton, California, and brought to the market by HZPC, a major breeder based in the Netherlands in 2008, this round to oval potato was bred to be the white potato that converts those who aren’t fans of the type.
The bright, light yellow skin encloses cream flesh that has a soft, velvety texture.
It has low nitrogen requirements and produces large tubers in uniform sizes.
The plant is a late-season variety that produces high yields, so you will be enjoying heaps of some of the creamiest mashers, crispiest fries, and best au gratin dishes you’ve ever tried.
16. Snowden
We have Dr. Stan Peloquin, Mr. Donald Kichefski, and the University of Wisconsin to thank for the spectacular ‘Snowden’ white potato.
It was released in 1990 as a high-yielding, long-storing late-season tuber with a round shape. It was bred to be a good chipper, and it excels for that purpose.
And while you can use the medium-sized tubers as boilers or bakers, they really shine when making chips or fries.
It’s tolerant to hollow heart and doesn’t bruise easily.
17. White Pearl
Bred as a chipping white potato, ‘White Pearl’ tubers have a perfect oval-to-round shape with shallow eyes, making them just right for peeling and processing.
Even if you leave the skins on to make mashers, they’re such a pretty pale color that you’ll hardly notice they’re there.
The plants are somewhat resistant to scab and will tolerate hot temperatures, but are susceptible to early and late blight.
The medium-sized spuds store for a super long time after you harvest them in the mid to late season.
18. White Rose
Sometimes called ‘White Creamer’ or ‘Baby White,’ ‘White Rose’ produces medium to large tubers with irregular oblong shapes.
The creamy skin is so pale and thin that you can practically see through it into the flesh.
They are best grown as new potatoes and harvested young so you can enjoy them roasted, boiled, or mashed.
If you let them mature fully and harvest in the mid-to-late season, don’t allow the plants to become stressed or they will develop deep eyes.
‘White Rose’ was bred by Rachel Chapman in New York in 1893 out of a ‘Jackson’ parent and produces medium to high yields. It’s especially popular with growers on the West Coast.
19. Whitney
If scab is a common problem in your garden, you’re going to love ‘Whitney.’
This potato produces medium-sized tubers with white flesh and skin. It’s early maturing with uniform, oblong tubers on a plant that is highly resistant to scab.
Don’t overfertilize with nitrogen or the tubers will bulk up too quickly, causing internal spotting and lowering the quality.
Get Ready for the Freshest Chips and Fries
Fresh, homemade chips and fries are a wonder, but white potatoes can be used for so much more.
Plus, there are many cultivars that produce excellent yields and are highly disease resistant. Any home garden should have a plant or two.
Are you growing white potatoes? Which is your favorite? Did we miss one that you think should have been included? Let us know in the comments section below!
And for more information about growing potatoes in your vegetable garden, check out these guides next:
