Food Recipe Collections & Favorites 12 Easy Potato Recipes That Prove Why They're Comfort Food's Finest Vegetable As if potatoes couldn't get any better, we found recipes that will rock your world. By Betty Gold Betty Gold Betty Gold is the former senior digital food editor at Real Simple. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on July 23, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Jennifer Causey Whether you're roasting, mashing, melting (if you know, you know), frying, or tossing them on the grill, potatoes are an unfailingly simple ingredient to cook. They also pack plenty of serious health benefits, like potassium, vitamin C, and fiber. Whatever method of preparation you choose, potatoes continue to be the cornerstone of so many of our favorite crowd-pleasing comfort food dishes. This roundup of easy potato recipes covers all of the above. We've included the classics, like Scalloped Potatoes, Potato Salad, and Sweet Potato Casserole, plus plenty of fresh takes on potato dishes (think Smashed Red Potatoes With Miso and Roasted Garlic and Sweet Potato Polenta). The Easiest, Fastest Way to Microwave a Sweet Potato 01 of 12 Potato Tot Breakfast Casserole Greg DuPree The fluffy, tender-crisp tater tots in this breakfast casserole put a surprise spin on the standard breakfast casserole. And while there's certainly plenty of creamy, browned cheese topping, it's not so much that it overwhelms the potatoes. Add eegs, breakfast sausage, bell pepper, onion, and a hit of hot sauce, and you've got peak comfort food perfection. Serve this casserole at a holiday brunch, or enjoy some breakfast-for-dinner tonight (and eat the leftovers tomorrow morning). Get the recipe: Potato Tot Breakfast Casserole 02 of 12 Creamy One-Pot Mashed Potatoes Greg DuPree For these one-pot mashed potatoes, we use Yukon Gold potatoes to lower the starch content in the dish, which makes for a deliciously tender texture. What else makes them so luscious, you ask? Four cups of half and half and a stick of unsalted butter. Also, using a potato ricer transforms the baked potatoes into creamy, airy fluff rather than the gluey mashed potatoes you might be used to. Get the recipe: Creamy One-Pot Mashed Potatoes 03 of 12 Cheesy Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes With Black Beans and Avocado Victor Protasio Nothing's better than a plain baked potato (said no one, ever). Here, we kicked up the flavor and protein content with plenty of black beans, avocado slices, raw pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds), and grated pepper Jack cheese. Broiling your potato skins before packing them with the sweet potato mixture helps crisp them up so they can serve as a super sturdy base. Get the recipe: Cheesy Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes With Black Beans and Avocado 04 of 12 Fingerling Potatoes With Parsley-Pistachio Crumble Jennifer Causey Try this new take on roasted potatoes, no cooking skills required. Fresh parsley, crunchy pistachios, and zingy garlic get tossed with hot-out-of-the-oven roasted fingerling potatoes. A great potato dish for any night of the week, this recipe could also serve as a vibrant (and healthy!) holiday side. Get the recipe: Fingerling Potatoes With Parsley-Pistachio Crumble 05 of 12 Mini Twice Baked Loaded Potatoes Grace Elkus Kids and adults alike will love these pint-sized baked potatoes. After all, they're loaded with butter, sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives, and (yup) bacon. Though they're best fresh out of the oven, we still love munching on them long after they've cooled. Serve them as a party-starting app or as a side dish for dinner. Get the recipe: Mini Twice Baked Loaded Potatoes 06 of 12 Scalloped Potatoes Mikkel Vang Perfection in a dish = thin-sliced potatoes tucked between heaps of warm cream and fresh herbs with an ooey-gooey inside and golden-browned crust. If you want to really kick it up a notch, add a rich, salty cheese, like Gruyere or cheddar, on top before baking (like we did here). Get the recipe: Scalloped Potatoes 07 of 12 Roasted Garlic and Sweet Potato Polenta Jennifer Causey A creamy polenta recipe gets a major flavor upgrade with the addition of roasted sweet potatoes and garlic. A whole head of garlic roasts in an aluminum foil packet alongside sweet potatoes to yield a creamy garlic paste as smooth as butter. Stir both into instant polenta and top with crispy sage leaves for a winning potato polenta you'll want to make year after year. Get the recipe: Roasted Garlic and Sweet Potato Polenta 08 of 12 Smashed Red Potatoes With Miso Jennifer Causey We figured out the best way to cook red potatoes: boil them with onion for big flavor, then mash in a miso-scallion butter and lots of freshly ground black pepper for irresistible mashed potatoes made without milk or cream. Miso paste, a fermented condiment made from soybeans, is a gut-friendly ingredient that tastes delicious. Mashed potatoes without milk never tasted so good. Get the recipe: Smashed Red Potatoes With Miso 09 of 12 Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup Con Poulos This Colombian potato soup recipe is studded with chicken, corn, and plenty of toppings such as cilantro, avocado, capers, and lime wedges, which makes it as healthy and hearty as it is flavorful. Serve it as a starter, or let it stand on its own as a warming main dish. Get the recipe: Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup 10 of 12 Herb Potato Salad Anna Williams It's a summer staple for a reason. Potato salad is one of the best barbecue-slash-picnic side dishes, and forgetting to serve it—or worse, screwing up the recipe—is punishable by law (we wish). This rendition gets mixed in with fresh herbs, scallions, and grainy mustard for a perfect creamy-tangy side of spuds. Get the recipe: Herb Potato Salad 11 of 12 Slow Cooker BBQ Sweet Potato Bakers Max Kelly A game-day favorite fit for those who like to set-and-forget. These hearty baked potatoes get the slow cooker treatment, then you'll load them with shredded chicken, barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, and plenty of chopped chives and sour cream. Get the recipe: Slow Cooker BBQ Sweet Potato Bakers 12 of 12 Sweet Potato Pie With Candied Nut Cream Mikkel Vang Who says you can't have potatoes for dessert? Here, we use sweet potatoes as the filled for a top-notch holiday pie. Bake them, then puree the potatoes with sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and a pinch of salt until smooth. Pour the mixture into your homemade graham cracker crust and bake—you'll wow holiday guests for years to come. Get the recipe: Sweet Potato Pie With Candied Nut Cream Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit