8 Ways to Lean Into Potatoes This Winter

Winter is not subtle, and when the sun sets at 4:17 p.m., neither is our appetite. In other words, it’s cold, it’s dark and it’s time to eat an aggressive amount of potatoes.

This is not the season for restraint or daintily assembled salads. No, it’s the season for letting potatoes do the heavy lifting, emotionally and culinarily speaking. We’re talking wedges roasted until shatteringly crisp, Yukon Golds mashed into something deeply creamy and German potatoes that steal the spotlight every weekend.

The point is, potatoes deserve far more credit than they get. They’re affordable, adaptable and endlessly forgiving, which is more than can be said for most winter hobbies come February. So instead of fighting it, we’re leaning in. Hard. This is the season for starch with confidence.

1. Creamiest-Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

If mashed potatoes are going to show up this winter, they should do so with authority. That means giving them what they truly want, which is a comical amount of dairy. In this case, that looks like an entire block of cream cheese and a full stick of butter. While plenty of old-school recipes swear by russets, here we reach for Yukon Golds. They’re lower in starch, which means they whip into impossibly creamy potatoes that stay smooth and lush, never gluey.

2. Crispy Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes

When in doubt, do potatoes like they do in the U.K., where Sunday “roasties” are something akin to religion. In practice, that means boiling the potatoes first so they’re tender all the way through, then tossing them in a generous mixture of duck fat and oil before roasting them until deeply crisp. Garlic and rosemary perfume every bite and make the kitchen smell like something important is happening. Don’t skip the step of roughing up the potatoes after boiling. Those craggy edges turn into shatteringly crisp corners once roasted.

3. HexClassic Potatoes Au Gratin

If there were a power ranking of foods that belong together, cheese and potatoes would be at the top of the list. In our take on potatoes au gratin, a full three-quarters of a pound of Gruyère and Pecorino blanket russets bathed in a garlicky cream sauce. It’s divine.

4. German Pan-Fried Potatoes with Bacon & Onions

The Germans know exactly what to do with a potato, and they do not hold back. In this take on the popular side dish Bratkartoffeln, coins of boiled waxy potatoes like Yukon Golds are sautéed in bacon fat and clarified butter—yes, you read that right—then paired with soft, golden onions. If you want to take this dish in a brunchy direction, simply add fried eggs.

5. Vada Pav

If you’re looking to pursue your potato passion as a bit of a project, opt for these potato-based sliders, a popular Indian street food snack. The patties are heavily spiced, then deep-fried until crisp before being topped with a red peanut chutney. Serve them on a soft, pillowy bread like Hawaiian rolls, which are the perfect contrast to the crunchy filling.

6. One-Pot Red Skin Mashed Potatoes

For the committed potato addict who can’t bear using more than one pot, we offer these heavily buttered red-skinned potatoes. A dollop of horseradish cuts through the richness, while a shower of chopped chives adds a savory finish. These are unfussy mashed potatoes with real personality, built to earn their keep through the long winter months.

7. Roasted Pepper & Potato Tortilla Española

Take a stroll down the streets of Spanish towns at lunchtime and you’re likely to see platters of this potato-studded frittata, beckoning in customers. It’s the kind of dish that works as well for lunch on the go as a casual dinner at home. Our version adds roasted red peppers for extra oomph.

8. Mashed Potato–Stuffed Schnitzel

If loving potatoes means pushing things a little further than usual, this stuffed schnitzel is the logical next step. It starts with a simple olive oil mash, which gets sandwiched between two thin chicken cutlets. The whole thing is breaded and fried until golden and crisp, resulting in a cutlet with crunch on the outside and mashed potatoes on the inside.

Winter asks a lot of us. Potatoes give a little life back.