Waxy potatoes have the least starch of any potato category. The most common low-starch varieties you’ll find at the grocery store are Red Bliss, fingerling potatoes, and new potatoes (any variety harvested young and small). These contain more moisture and less starch than their fluffy, starchy counterparts like russets, which means they hold their shape during cooking and have a firmer, slightly sweeter bite.
The Three Starch Categories
All potatoes fall into one of three groups: waxy (low starch), all-purpose (medium starch), or starchy (high starch). The differences aren’t subtle. A high-starch russet will crumble apart in a soup, while a low-starch Red Bliss will keep its shape through an hour of simmering. That’s entirely down to starch content and moisture levels working in opposite directions.
Waxy potatoes are low in starch and high in moisture. They have a firm, almost creamy texture when cooked and a slightly sweet flavor. Starchy potatoes are the inverse: high in starch, low in moisture, with a fluffy, dry interior and a neutral taste. All-purpose potatoes split the difference, with moderate starch and thin, edible skin that works in most recipes.
Low-Starch Varieties to Look For
Red Bliss potatoes are the best-known low-starch option and are widely available year-round. They have smooth red skin and waxy white flesh. Fingerling potatoes, the small, elongated varieties like French Fingerling and Russian Banana, are also firmly in the low-starch camp. New potatoes, which are simply any potato harvested before reaching full size, naturally contain less starch because they haven’t had time to convert their sugars.
Other waxy varieties include Charlotte, Nicola, and Red Gold. If you’re shopping at a farmers market or specialty store, you may also find La Ratte or Austrian Crescent fingerlings. The easiest rule of thumb: potatoes with thin, smooth skin and a waxy or glossy appearance tend to be lower in starch than those with thick, rough, matte skin like russets.
How Starch Affects Cooking
Low-starch potatoes hold their shape when boiled, braised, or simmered. That makes them ideal for potato salads, gratins, soups, stews, and anything grilled. They won’t fall apart on you. The tradeoff is that they make terrible mashed potatoes. Their low starch and high moisture produce a dense, gluey mash instead of the light, fluffy texture you’d get from a russet or Yukon Gold.
High-starch potatoes like russets and Idaho potatoes are the opposite. They break down easily during cooking, which is exactly what you want for baked potatoes, French fries (crisp outside, fluffy inside), and smooth mashed potatoes. But put them in a soup and they’ll disintegrate. Yukon Golds fall in the all-purpose middle ground, making them the safest bet if you’re not sure which type a recipe needs.
Low Starch and Blood Sugar
If you’re choosing low-starch potatoes for health reasons, variety does matter, though perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Glycemic index values vary significantly across potato types. The waxy variety Nicola has a GI of 59, while Marfona scores 56, both in the moderate range. Compare that to Maris Peer at 94 or Maris Piper at 85, which spike blood sugar much more dramatically. Charlotte, another waxy variety, lands at 66.
There’s also a specially bred potato called Carisma, developed from seeds originating in the Netherlands and grown by EarthFresh Farms in Ontario. It’s not genetically modified. A 150-gram serving of Carisma has roughly 70 calories and 15 grams of carbohydrates, compared to about 100 calories and 25 grams of carbs in a similarly sized yellow or russet potato. That’s a 40 percent reduction in carbs and a 20 percent lower glycemic response. Availability is limited, but it’s worth looking for if blood sugar management is your priority.
The Cooling Trick
One surprising finding: how you serve potatoes affects their starch profile more than which variety you choose. When cooked potatoes cool down, some of their digestible starch converts into resistant starch, a form that passes through your digestive system more like fiber. Research published in Food Chemistry found that resistant starch content was significantly affected by cooking method and serving temperature, but not by potato variety. Boiling potatoes and then refrigerating them before eating (as in a cold potato salad) increases their resistant starch content regardless of whether you’re using a waxy or starchy type.
This means that even a high-starch russet, cooked and cooled, will behave differently in your body than one eaten hot from the oven. If you’re trying to minimize the blood sugar impact of potatoes, combining a naturally low-starch variety with cooling after cooking gives you the best of both approaches.
Quick Comparison by Variety
- Lowest starch (waxy): Red Bliss, fingerlings, new potatoes, Nicola, Charlotte
- Medium starch (all-purpose): Yukon Gold, Marfona, white potatoes
- Highest starch: Russet, Idaho, Maris Piper, King Edward
- Lowest carbs overall: Carisma (bred specifically for reduced carbohydrate content)
At most grocery stores, you won’t see starch levels on the label. The visual shortcut works well: smooth, thin-skinned, and waxy-looking means less starch. Rough, thick-skinned, and large means more. When in doubt, red-skinned potatoes and fingerlings are reliably in the low-starch category.