I admit it. The first time I saw canned potatoes—you read that right—at the grocery store, the snob in me assumed they were a bad idea. Perhaps an early memory of trying canned asparagus and finding it inedible made me judge all canned vegetables. Who knows! It turns out that not all canned vegetables are bad. Some, like canned potatoes, are delicious.
Canned potatoes, really?
My friend Michael, who studied drama in London for a few years, encouraged me to try canned potatoes. According to Michael, the British love potatoes and have a tradition of eating pantry foods. It makes sense that people who survived World War II by stocking up on durable canned foods would keep that tradition alive.
Cooking in the pantry is a time-saving strategy that recalls the deprivations of war. In London, he discovers the cheap and quick genius of canned potatoes.
Of course, I needed to be convinced, so I asked Michael to show me his favorite way to serve them. He drains the potatoes, brushes them with butter, and roasts them over high heat. He flips them once the bottoms are golden brown to get a crispy crust. “Because they’re already cooked, they’re like fondant potatoes,” he says. One bite and I was hooked.
I now buy six boxes of whole potatoes every time I go to ALDI. Happy Harvest Whole Potatoes Canned potatoes are only $1.05 a can. There’s nothing like a ready-to-serve supply of peeled and cooked potatoes for an affordable comfort meal. By putting them in the cart, I’m paying tribute to the brave cooks who kept families alive while listening to Churchill on the radio.
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Endless uses, no peeling
Like Michael, I roast them and add herbs like thyme or rosemary. Here are some other ways to use canned potatoes:
- When it's too hot to turn on the oven, I like to crisp them in a pan of hot olive oil and stir in a handful of spinach salad before sprinkling with grated Parmesan.
- They make a great hack for patatas bravas: just brown them in olive oil and mix in paprika, cumin, crushed garlic and red wine vinegar to add to the hot pan and toss to coat.
- Make your favorite potato salad with canned potatoes and keep the kitchen cool. Make a creamy soup with a cooked vegetable and add a can of potatoes before mashing, then add a little milk or broth to thin.
- Buy a slow-cooked curry sauce, heat up the potatoes and add a can of chickpeas for a budget-friendly vegan meal.
- Heat the drained potatoes in a saucepan and mash them with plenty of butter and milk. You can serve them with sauce or make a shepherd's pie.
- Cook the split peas and add the quartered canned potatoes.
- You can even crush them into oiled muffin tins and top with egg and cheese for a gluten-free egg bite.
- If you are an air fryer lover, these fries are for you. Just make them crispy with a little oil.
Give canned potatoes a try; they might become a staple in your pantry.
