Potatoes: USDA Nutrition, Calories, Green Potatoes and Cooking Facts

Potatoes are one of the most familiar foods in the kitchen, and one of the most argued about. This guide uses USDA data to show potato nutrition for a baked potato, how potato calories change with boiling, baking and frying, what the skin adds, where potatoes sit in the Dietary Guidelines, what to do about green potatoes, what FDA says about acrylamide, and how to store and cook them.

Peptide Labs does not sell potatoes or other fresh foods. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

Potato nutrition: USDA numbers for a baked potato

The table shows USDA SR Legacy values (April 2018 release) for a plain baked potato with flesh and skin, cooked without salt, for USDA’s medium potato and per 100 grams. Percent Daily Values (%DV) use FDA reference amounts.

Most of a potato’s calories come from carbohydrate, mainly starch, and USDA lists almost no fat. The standout minerals and vitamins in the USDA entry are potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. A medium baked potato supplies 20% of the Daily Value for potassium in USDA data, which is why potatoes appear in our potassium food guide; our vitamin B6 food guide and vitamin C food guide compare it with other foods.

Potato calories and how cooking changes them

The way a potato is cooked matters more than the potato itself. The comparison below uses USDA SR Legacy entries per 100 grams, so the numbers line up even though portion sizes differ.

Baking raises calories per 100 grams mainly because water cooks off: USDA lists 74.9 grams of water per 100 grams of baked potato versus 79.3 grams raw, so the same nutrients are packed into fewer grams. Boiled potatoes stay close to raw. The big jumps come with fat: oven-heated frozen fries roughly double the calories per 100 grams of a baked potato in USDA data, and potato chips carry more than five times as many, because frying drives out water and adds oil. Our potato chip guide covers that end of the table.

USDA lists less vitamin C per 100 grams in its baked and boiled entries than in raw potato, and more in flesh boiled in its skin than in flesh boiled after peeling.

What the potato skin adds

The skin is where much of the fiber sits. In USDA data, 100 grams of baked potato skin provides 7.9 grams of fiber, 28% of the Daily Value, compared with 1.8 grams in 100 grams of boiled, peeled flesh. One baked skin, which USDA weighs at 58 grams, has 4.6 grams of fiber (16% DV).

Eating the skin is a matter of taste and texture, with one exception covered below: green or damaged skin is the part to cut away or throw out. The Dietary Guidelines 2025-2030 advise washing vegetables thoroughly before eating them raw or cooking them, so scrub potatoes well before cooking them in their skins.

Are potatoes healthy? Where they fit in the Dietary Guidelines

Are potatoes healthy? A plain potato is a vegetable with a useful amount of potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin C and fiber in USDA data, very little fat and almost no sodium. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 list white potatoes in the starchy vegetable subgroup, together with corn, cassava, plantains, taro and yam; our starchy vegetable guide explains the subgroups. The same edition notes that among young people, starchy vegetables such as white potatoes are often eaten fried or prepared with butter and salt, and more often than the other vegetable subgroups.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030 say to eat whole vegetables in their original form, and, in their advice on protein foods, to swap deep-fried cooking methods for baking, broiling, roasting, stir-frying or grilling. In practice, that points to the form of potato on the plate: a baked or boiled potato is a different food, nutritionally, from fries or chips. Toppings matter too, since butter, cheese, sour cream and bacon add fat and sodium that the potato itself does not have.

Potatoes are naturally low in sodium. FDA’s sodium-claim regulation, 21 CFR 101.61, even uses them as its example: a food that is very low in sodium without special processing must be labeled to refer to all foods of its type, as in potatoes, a very low-sodium food. Salt added in the kitchen or at the table changes that, which our lower-sodium eating guide covers.

Potatoes are often compared with other starchy roots. Sweet potatoes sit in the red and orange vegetable subgroup of the Dietary Guidelines 2020-2025; our sweet potato guide compares the two. Our celery root guide covers another root vegetable often mashed the same way, and our carbohydrate food guide puts potatoes next to grains and beans.

Green potatoes and glycoalkaloids

Potatoes make natural compounds called glycoalkaloids, mainly alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine, which Oregon State University Extension says account for more than 95% of the glycoalkaloids in cultivated potatoes. The extension bulletin explains that these compounds are toxic to humans if eaten in high concentrations and that potatoes build them up when exposed to light. Greening of the skin follows light exposure, and Oregon State Extension notes the highest concentrations sit in the skin, and even more around the eyes, injured areas and sprouts.

Oregon State Extension lists the effects of low levels as abdominal pain, diarrhea, sweating, vomiting and other stomach upset, and notes that higher levels make potatoes taste bitter. Cooking is not a fix: the bulletin says glycoalkaloids are heat stable and that boiling and microwaving have a negligible effect on them. Potatoes belong to the nightshade family, which our nightshade guide covers in more depth.

• Slightly green: Oregon State Extension says peeling slightly green potatoes reduces the glycoalkaloid content to a safer level.
• Very green or damaged: the same bulletin says potatoes with pronounced greening or damage must not be eaten.
• Bitter taste: Oregon State Extension links bitterness to higher glycoalkaloid levels, so a potato that tastes bitter is one to stop eating.
• Peel and cut late: Oregon State Extension advises keeping potatoes whole until just before cooking, because slicing and peeling trigger more glycoalkaloid formation over time.

Acrylamide: what FDA says about cooking potatoes

Acrylamide is a chemical that FDA says can form in some foods during high-temperature cooking such as frying, roasting and baking. FDA explains that it forms from natural sugars and the amino acid asparagine in the food and does not come from packaging or the environment. In laboratory studies, according to FDA, acrylamide caused cancer in animals, but at levels much higher than those seen in foods, and FDA is researching whether the much lower levels in food pose a health risk to people.

For potatoes specifically, FDA reports that frying causes the highest acrylamide formation, roasting potato pieces causes less, and baking whole potatoes less again. FDA says boiling potatoes, and microwaving whole potatoes with the skin on, does not produce acrylamide. Its other kitchen pointers:

• Soak slices before high-heat cooking: FDA says soaking raw potato slices in water for 15 to 30 minutes before frying or roasting helps reduce acrylamide formation; drain and blot them dry first to avoid splattering.
• Aim for golden, not brown: FDA advises cooking cut potato products such as frozen fries to a golden yellow color rather than brown, since brown areas tend to contain more acrylamide.
• Skip the refrigerator: FDA says storing potatoes in the refrigerator can increase acrylamide during cooking.

Storing and cooking potatoes

• Where to store them: FDA advises keeping potatoes outside the refrigerator, preferably in a dark, cool place such as a closet or pantry, to prevent sprouting.
• Choosing: pick firm potatoes without soft spots or cuts.
• Starchy vs waxy: floury, high-starch potatoes such as russets bake and mash into a fluffy texture; waxy red and yellow potatoes hold their shape in potato salad, soups and roasting pans.
• Lighter methods: boiling, steaming, baking and microwaving need no added fat; season with herbs, garlic, lemon or a little olive oil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; follow the label and ask a healthcare provider before starting a supplement, especially if you take medicines, are pregnant or have a food allergy. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Potato Chips: USDA Nutrition, Sodium, Label Claims and Acrylamide, Sweet Potato Nutrition: Calories, Vitamin A and Sweet Potato vs Potato, Starchy Vegetables: List, USDA Nutrition and Non-Starchy Swaps, Foods High in Potassium: USDA Table, Daily Value and Who Should Be Careful, Types of Potatoes: Russet, Red, White, Yellow and Fingerling.