In cooking, you may find recipes that only state how many pounds of potatoes are needed. For example: “5 lbs.” But how many potatoes do you need for 5 pounds? How can we figure out the number of potatoes to use in our recipe when only given pounds?
When you don’t have a kitchen scale, having a rough idea of how many potatoes are in a pound can be very helpful. I have tried to count it some times and I will answer the question “how many potatoes is 5 lbs” in this blog.
Inside, I also discuss weighing and measuring potatoes at your home or store and things to consider before purchase. So, come along on this journey to learn all you need to know about the weight of potatoes!
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Types Of Potatoes
There are seven types of potatoes: Petite, Red, Russet, Fingerling, Purple/Blue, Yellow, and White. Among these, there are 5000 varieties and 200 different wild species and subspecies.
Here are seven known potato types and their best uses:
Petite
Petite, also knowed as baby, marble-size, and pearl are bite-size potatoes. Their skin and flesh color is light-brown and has an intense flavor.
- Use: Salads, frying, steaming, roasting, and baking.
Red
Red potatoes have small-medium size, and round appearance. These round, small, red thin-skinned potatoes have a white and waxy flesh that is creamy when cooked. And there is a nice sweetness in flavor.
- Use: Salads, roasting/baking, steaming, grilling, mashing, and soups/stews.
Russet
Russet or also known as Idaho in the United States are a family of potatoes sharing russet-colored, netted skin. They have a medium-large, oval appearance with white or pale-yellow flesh. Russets have a fluffy texture with a mild flavor.
- Use: Mashing, baking, frying, roasting.
Fingerling
They are two-four inches long, finger-shaped potatoes. Their skin colors include purple, orange, white, and red. In contrast, the colors of the inner flesh include yellow, purple, white, red-orange. Fingerlings have a waxy texture with a buttery flavor.
- Use: Salads, roasting, pan-frying.
Purple/Blue
These are small-medium, oblong potatoes. Their skin has a purple or blue hue, and flesh has several colors, including pink, purple-lavender, blue, and white. Their texture is moist and firm with a butter-like nutty flavor.
- Use: Baking, roasting, salads, grilling.
Yellow
They are marble-large, round potatoes with tan-golden skin and yellow-golden flesh. Yellow potatoes have a velvety texture with a subtle-sweet. They are prized for their creamy golden flesh, which has a buttery flavor.
- Use: Roasting, mashing, salads, grilling.
White
White potatoes are small-medium sized potatoes with a long, round appearance. Their skin and flesh are white/tan.
- Use: Mashing, frying, steaming/boiling, salads.
Potatoes In Pounds
How Many Medium Potatoes In A Pound?
In a pound, It may have only 2-3 Russet potatoes. But you may need three or four Yukon Gold, and eight or ten fingerlings to reach a pound. The number of potatoes per pound will vary depending on the type you select.
How Many Red Potatoes In A Pound?
Typically, three to four medium Red potatoes and six to nine small Red potatoes are equal to a pound.
How Many Large Potatoes In A Pound?
If you make a recipe that needs one pound of large potatoes, then use around 1 to 1 ⅕ large potatoes.
However, it is best if you use medium-sized potatoes of any type in a recipe. Compared to small and large potatoes, their fresh taste is more delicate.
How Many Potatoes Is 5 Lbs
The number of Potatoes In 5 Pounds obviously depends on the size of the potatoes, eight small-sized potatoes should make a pound. Likewise, 16 medium-sized potatoes should fit in a 5-pound bag.
The number of potatoes necessary to weigh five pounds could be as few as five large Russets, 15 Reds, or as many as 30 Fingerlings.
Things To Consider When Buying Potatoes
Before picking out potatoes, consider these variables:
- Freshness – For peak freshness, buy potatoes during the main harvest season, which runs from August through the end of October.
- Flavor and texture – Size “C” potatoes are very tender and an excellent choice for roasting, while the slightly sweet Red potato with its waxy skin is perfect for boiling for use in potato salads or hash browns. Russets have a fluffy interior texture ideal for making french fries or baking whole, while Yukon Gold makes incredible mashed potatoes with their light buttery taste.
- Appearance – Choose damage-free, dry, and firm potatoes that look clean and are uniform in color. Never buy a potato with a greenish tint to the skin since it indicates a high level of solanine, which is toxic. Avoid sprouting potatoes, as well, since the spud is past it’s prime.
Some Other Related Question
Which potatoes are healthiest?
When considering nutrition, all potatoes have health benefits and are a great choice for any meal. They contain a moderate amount of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fiber, and calories.
However, potatoes with dark flesh such as Yukon Gold, Purple Viking, and Ruby Crescent are the healthiest.
What is the best all-purpose potato?
White and yellow potatoes have a medium-level starch level, making them the best all-purpose type of potatoes. You can use white and yellow potatoes for grilling, mashing, roasting, and boiling,
What potatoes are best for mashing
Yukon Gold potatoes are perfect for mashing. In addition to this, they would still do just as well when roasted. It’s because these gold potatoes have a nice dense flesh that makes them stand out from other potato types and ideal for mashed.
Gold potatoes have a lower glycemic index than russets. This means that diabetic patients can eat them without the worry of too high a glucose spike and anyone looking to keep their calorie count low can enjoy them guilt-free.
Additional benefits include Vitamins B-6 and C, protein, and a healthy dose of potassium. These potatoes can play a more nutritious role in the diet of heart patients for their potassium content.
Conclusion
Figuring out how many potatoes you will need can be a daunting task. I hope the information below helps clear up any confusion and/or frustrations you might have with this often confusing process so you can select the perfect variety to suit your needs.
Now that you have a better understanding of how many potatoes are in 5 pounds, you can always buy the perfect amount of potatoes to create a multitude of tasty dishes for your family and friends!
I am Paula D. Gonzales. As a Product Designer, I have worked with companies like AMC Culinary Cookware, counting over 6 years of professional experience in the cookwares field.
In this blog, I will review various cookware products such as cookware benefits, non-stick safety, healthy cookware, taste, durability, PFOA free, and induction cookware. My goal is to build a rigorous evaluation of various cookware products so that you and I can better understand the differences in the products and their relative benefits.