11 Ways To Upgrade Canned Potatoes

We'll admit that canned potatoes might not exactly be the stuff of gourmet dreams. These spuds are more likely to be the kind of ingredient that you'll find lurking in the back of your pantry years after you bought them. They've gotten a bad rap over the years, as many people think they're mushy, flavorless, and nothing like fresh potatoes. But canned potatoes are the answer to stress-free meals — and with a little know-how, you can transform them into something delicious.

Opening a can of potatoes might not give you the same thrill as digging up fresh ones from your garden. But not everyone has the time or energy for that farm-to-table experience. That's where these pre-cooked, ready-to-go potatoes come in handy. Even better, there are plenty of ways to jazz them up and make them taste good. Actually, scratch that — make them taste great.

Think of canned potatoes as a jumping off point. They're cooked and ready to go, but they don't taste as good as possible yet, so you need to put in some work. With some clever techniques, plus other ingredients, you can turn them into creamy gratin, crispy roasties, or flavorful salads. Now it's time to learn game-changing ways to upgrade canned potatoes. Perhaps you're a busy parent without much time or a college student on a budget. Maybe you just want to make the most of your pantry. Whatever your deal, we can help you take your potatoes to the next level.

The texture of canned potatoes isn't always at its best. They can be firm and overly waxy — firmer than you'd probably cook them from fresh, to keep them from falling apart in the can. When you simply simmer them to heat through, both their taste and texture can be lacking. But there's a simple cooking method to upgrade them in both respects: pan frying.

To start with, drain and rinse the canned potatoes to remove excess starch. Pat them dry with a paper towel or clean dish towel. Then, cut them into 1/4-inch slices if they haven't been pre-sliced already. Next, heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan or skillet, enough to just cover the bottom of the pan. Once heated, add the potatoes in a single layer (you may need to cook in batches if you have a lot of spuds) and cook until one side has browned and become crispy. Flip and repeat.

At the very least, you should add a decent amount of salt and pepper, but you can reach for any seasonings you see fit. The resulting potatoes are crisp on the outside but soft on the inside, something that can be hard to achieve with raw potatoes.

Want crispy potatoes but don't want to stand over a hot stove? You can get similar results to frying by roasting canned potatoes but with less active cooking time. You just chuck them in a pan and let the oven do the rest of the work. However, there's a slight catch, as this method takes a little longer than frying. But if you aren't in a hurry to get a meal on the table, it's a great option.

For the best results, you should use whole canned potatoes. If they're small, you can roast these puds whole. Otherwise, halve or quarter them. Toss the canned potato pieces in oil or melted butter along with seasonings of your choice and cook them in an oven-safe dish or pan at about 400 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit until they're browned and crispy. Because they're already cooked when they go into the oven, canned potatoes take way less time to become ready than raw potatoes. This also means you can easily get a crunchy exterior and tender interior. 

The starch of canned potatoes can help with the crispiness, so no need to rinse them as with other cooking methods, but you should pat them dry after draining to keep them from turning soggy.

While we're on the crispy potato train, let's talk air frying. It's especially great because cooking canned potatoes in an air fryer gets them crunchy in no time. Meanwhile, you can easily season them however you want.

To get started, cut your potatoes into chunks of whatever size you like best. Then, toss them with a small amount of oil. That's the beauty of air frying — you don't have to use much to get tasty results. Spread the seasoned potatoes in a single layer in your air fryer basket, making sure not to overcrowd them.

Cook the potatoes at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through so that they come out evenly golden. The exact time may vary depending on your air fryer model and the size of the potato pieces, so keep an eye on them so that you get the crispiness you're after.

This method helps remove excess moisture, so the texture's on-point. The high-heat circulation gives you a golden-brown exterior while maintaining a soft interior, giving you a result that has the texture of roasted potatoes without the need to preheat an oven and heat up your house.

Sometimes you want your potatoes creamy and indulgent. Normally, you might think of these kinds of rich dishes as something you have to make totally from scratch, but you can absolutely take a shortcut with canned potatoes. Even better, it's a perfect way to upgrade this seemingly humble ingredient. Once you're done, they'll be nothing like the bland, somewhat unappealing lumps that come straight from the can.

While this might not be as orthodox as making it with raw potatoes, it can help you overcome a common issue. One complaint people often have with making potatoes au gratin is that it'll look browned and perfectly cooked on top, but the potatoes in the center of the dish are still undercooked and somewhat crunchy. Because canned potatoes are already cooked, this isn't an issue. Once the top looks done, the rest of the dish should be good to go.

Choose your favorite potatoes au gratin recipe and simply switch out the raw potatoes for canned potatoes. Everything else can stay the same. You might not need to cook it for as long, but you can check and adjust as you go. It's fine to use cans of sliced potatoes to save time, but you can also slice whole canned spuds if you want more control over the thickness of the slices.

Canned potatoes are often best enjoyed with something rich and creamy to improve both flavor and texture. Hollandaise sauce is the perfect upgrade for canned veggies — and potatoes are no exception. This flavorful sauce gives this pantry staple the boost it needs to go from basic to a memorable meal. If you already have a favorite hollandaise sauce recipe, you're good to go. But if you're new to making it, you might need to learn a little about it first. It's basically an emulsion of egg yolks and melted butter, with mustard and lemon juice often added to bring extra flavor to the proceedings. It's rich, buttery, and just what boring canned potatoes need to transform them.

Once you've whipped up the sauce, simply drizzle it over the potatoes to give them some oomph. However, you still won't want to serve those spuds straight from the can. You should at the very least simmer them to warm them up. Better yet, roast or fry them before adding the hollandaise.

If hollandaise isn't your style, there are all kinds of sauces you could use to level up your canned potatoes. Serve them with pesto, chipotle mayo, cashew crema, salsa, or basically anything else that's wetter than potatoes!

Potatoes from a can are great for making classic potato salad this because of their firm, waxy texture. Starchy potatoes that are crumbly or fall apart aren't the right choice for a potato salad, unless you want them to disintegrate into a sort of potato-mayo dip.

You can take any classic potato salad recipe and adapt it for canned potatoes by simply skipping the cooking step. This makes it far quicker and easier to make potato salad. It's perfect for taking to a barbeque or potluck — and nobody will likely ever guess the main ingredient came from a can.

While recipes vary, most classic American-style potato salads involve mixing chunks of potato with mayonnaise, though lighter vinegar-based salads are also an option. These are usually extra ingredients in the dressing for added flavor, such as vinegar or lemon juice, mustard, pickle relish, and sour cream. Many versions also include finely diced veggies, like onions, celery, carrots, and green peppers. Some have herbs such as dill and chives added. Whatever the nuances of your chosen recipe, you can be sure it's quick and delicious by using canned potatoes.

We know that canned potatoes aren't the most exciting of foods, but you can absolutely upgrade them with the right spices. Roasting and pan frying might bring texture and flavor from the oil or butter used for cooking, but potatoes cooked in this way can still be lacking without the right seasoning.

This is where spices come into play. You can choose to focus on a single spice, mix several together, or use a store-bought spice blend. A classic option is a mix of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper. While the paprika and black pepper might technically be the only spices on that list, the garlic powder and onion powder really elevate things and, of course, salt is a must. This is a perfect blend for roasted potatoes, but you can also simmer spuds straight from the can with some of the canning liquid, plus butter, paprika, salt, and pepper for a quick yet tasty side dish.

Fans of Indian food can experiment with curry powder or garam masala, either of which bring warmth and complexity. For those who enjoy heat, a Cajun-style seasoning with cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder is spicy, smoky, and hard to resist.

Herbs might effectively be leaves, but they're tasty ones that can elevate canned spuds into something worth serving to guests. Fresh herbs have a nearly magical ability to instantly make any dish seem fancier — not to mention, they taste great. Most fresh herbs work brilliantly with potatoes. Sprinkle chopped parsley over pan-fried canned potatoes just before serving. The herb is fresh and peppery, while adding gorgeous color to the dish. Chives bring a mild onion-like flavor that works well over warm potatoes.

You can also use dried herbs if that's what you have on hand. Add them while your potatoes are roasting, frying, or simmering so their flavors infuse more thoroughly into the dish. Dried rosemary and thyme are excellent choices that impart a woodsy, aromatic quality that's delicious paired with potatoes.

Confident home cooks might want to use their culinary know-how to try various herb combinations. For a Mediterranean-inspired dish, combine dry oregano and basil with canned potatoes, perhaps roasting them in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil. For a French twist, herbes de Provence — a blend of thyme, basil, rosemary, and oregano — are nice when sprinkled over potatoes before roasting or sautéing.

One minute, it's a simple canned spud; the next, it's a deliciously crispy hash brown. Yup, that's right, you can grate canned potatoes to turn them into hash browns. Not only does this save you the time and effort it would take to clean and peel potatoes, but they might be done slightly quicker. Plus, you won't experience the disappointment of tucking into hash browns that look perfectly cooked and crispy on the outside, while remaining undercooked inside.

Follow your favorite hash brown recipe, but replace the raw potatoes with canned ones. Of course, you'll need to use whole potatoes here, because you can't easily grate ones that come pre-sliced. Grate some onion for flavor and use a binder, such as egg and flour, to get everything to stick together. After a quick fry, they're ready to eat.

Hash browns are a super versatile food that works well with age-old breakfast classics, like bacon and eggs. They also pair just as nicely with less conventional offerings, such as tofu scramble or wilted kale. Use a similar technique to make dishes such as rostis and latkes.

One simple way to take your canned potatoes to the next level is to add fat. Butter and oil carry flavor and can make your potatoes pop. If you sauté garlic, onions, or other aromatics in oil or butter, those can more easily coat your spuds when you toss them in the fat. Of course, butter and certain oils have their own delicious flavors that they bring with them.

Butter and baby potatoes is a classic combination. If you can get your hands on some canned new potatoes, simply warm them through and add butter, stirring until it melts. Add fresh herbs such as mint and dill at the last minute to impart more flavor. Take it a step further and brown the butter to add even more flavor. Dressing the cooked potatoes in oil is also an option. It's best to use a flavorful oil, such as an extra virgin olive oil or toasted sesame oil.

You can upgrade your canned potatoes by combining them with other veggies. If the vegetables that you combine them with are fresh, rather than canned, it can elevate the flavor. There are plenty of options for combining potatoes with other veggies. For instance, you can bring together cooked potatoes and parsnips to make a mash. The parsnips add some sweetness, which brings a new dimension to the flavor.

Colcannon is always an option, too. If you're wondering what colcannon is and what it tastes like, it's an Irish dish made by combining mashed potatoes and greens, such as cabbage or kale. It has a creamy, buttery flavor from the mash, along with freshness and slight bitterness from the leafy greens.

You can also make saag aloo, a traditional Indian dish consisting of potatoes and spinach. But, these options are just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many more ways to combine potatoes and other vegetables to elevate them.