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Jump start your next side dish by learning how to blanch potatoes! The process is quick and easy, and it makes a real difference to the finished dish. Whether you’re making French fries or potato chips, trying to get dinner on the table faster, or just planning to freeze your potatoes for later, this simple technique ensures success every single time.

Overhead view of a silver pot of chopped, blanched potatoes on a table.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

Knowing how to blanch potatoes may not necessarily be a kitchen skill you tap into daily but it’s definitely one you’ll be glad to have in your back pocket. Blanching is essentially precooking the potatoes, but you don’t fully cook them. You just jump start the process. Once you blanch the potatoes, then you can go on to use them for fries, chips, roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, whipped potatoes… endless possibilities! Potatoes that were blanched first will cook much faster than raw potatoes.
If you’re wanting to freeze potatoes, blanching them first is an absolute MUST. Potatoes contain a lot of water, and when you freeze and then thaw them, their texture can change. But since you know how to blanch potatoes, that won’t happen to you! Blanching prevents that by stopping the enzymes that cause the loss of not only texture but also flavor and color.

Chef’s Tips

When you chop the potatoes, any size and shape will work fine. It just depends on how you plan to use them later. For fries, cut them into wedges or sticks. For chips, discs just make sense. If you just want blanched potatoes on hand to use whenever, or if you plan to roast or mash them later, then chop them up into 2-inch cubes. Just don’t chop them too small. The smaller they are, the faster they cook, and you risk overcooking them. For naturally small potatoes, like baby potatoes, you can blanch them whole.
When you boil potatoes for a recipe, you cook them in hot, boiling water until the tines of a fork can pierce the potatoes easily. Not the case for blanched potatoes. With blanched potatoes, you never want to boil the water – only simmer. You also only want to cook the potatoes until the tines of the fork can just barely pierce the potatoes. You want to get a little resistance when you try to stab them. If the fork pushes through easily, you’ve officially crossed over to boiled potatoes.
If you’re not planning to use the blanched potatoes immediately after blanching them, dunk them in an ice bath to stop any residual cooking. Let them chill 5 minutes or so, then drain them again, dry them with paper towels, and transfer them to an airtight container until you’re ready to use them. If you want to freeze them, spread them out on a baking sheet first so they’re not overlapping and freeze them on the pan for at least 2 hours. After that you can transfer them to a freezer bag. Blanched potatoes can be refrigerated up to 3 days and frozen up to 3 months.

A blanched piece of potato at the end of the tines of a fork, being held above a pot of blanched potatoes.

Other Great How To’s You Should Know

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How to Blanch Potatoes (Step-By-Step with Photos and Video)

Prep: 15

Cook: 10

Total: 25

Learn how to blanch potatoes in a few simple steps. A must-know technique for any potato lover!

Sam Guarnieri

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8 servings

Ingredients

▢ 3 pounds whole potatoes any variety
▢ room-temperature water
▢ 1 big pinch salt more or less to taste

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Equipment

vegetable scrub brush or dish towel
potato peeler see Notes
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Large pot no lid needed
Fork
Colander

Instructions

Regardless of potato type, begin by washing potatoes well under running water and scrubbing potatoes with scrub brush, dish towel, or hands to remove any dirt.
Peel potatoes completely, then chop potatoes into pieces of any size or any shape. For general use, chop potatoes into small chunks or 2-inch cubes as pictured. For fries, cut potatoes into wedges.
Place potatoes in large pot. Sprinkle salt over potatoes then fill pot with enough water that waterline sits approximately 1 inch above tops of potatoes.
Heat pot over high heat. Once water begins to simmer, immediately reduce heat to medium-low and maintain simmer. Do not boil water.
Simmer potatoes 8 minutes, then test potatoes with fork. Continue simmering up to 12 minutes, testing potatoes often, until tines of fork can pierce potatoes with some resistance. Note: if fork can easily pierce potatoes, potatoes are overcooked.
When desired doneness is achieved, immediately pour water and potatoes into colander. Drain potatoes well, then use as desired. Note: if not using potatoes immediately, transfer potatoes to large bowl filled with ice and water. Let potatoes rest in ice bath 5 minutes, then drain water, dry potatoes with paper towels, and transfer to airtight container.

Notes

Peeling Potatoes: You can leave the skins on the potatoes if you prefer, but that will make the blanching process take a little longer. Totally up to you! If you leave the skins on, be sure they’re washed well.
Draining: If the pot is too heavy for you to comfortably pour the water into a colander, use a slotted spoon to move the blanched potatoes from the pot to the colander.

Nutrition Information

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

How To Blanch Potatoes (Step-By-Step with Photos and Video)

What Makes This Recipe So Good

Chef’s Tips

Other Great How To’s You Should Know