The 10 Most Popular Potato Dishes Around the World

Popular Potato Dishes

Do you like potatoes? Among all fried foods, French fries are my favorite, and potatoes are one of the few things I could happily eat in place of rice. In fact, potatoes are high in carbohydrates—much like rice—so plenty of countries rely on them as a staple. As a result, while there aren’t many sweet-potato dishes out there, potato dishes are almost countless. There are plenty of well-established ones, and if you add in all the special homemade recipes, the number grows even further. This summer’s potato harvest was a good one, so I ended up with a whole box from my parents to work through. As much as I love them, the sheer quantity had me grinding out one potato dish after another—until I suddenly found myself wondering what the most popular potato dishes in the world might be. This isn’t an official ranking, so please read it just for fun. Here we go!

10. Germany — Kartoffelpuffer

Kartoffelpuffer, GERMANY

Coming in at number 10 among the world’s most popular potato dishes is Germany’s Kartoffelpuffer. At a glance it looks a lot like Korea’s gamjajeon (potato pancakes), and it’s classified as a pancake, a side dish, and street food all at once. You’ll commonly find it in German restaurants: raw potatoes are grated, coated in a flour-and-egg batter, and fried into crisp rounds. While Koreans often dip gamjajeon in soy sauce, in Germany Kartoffelpuffer is typically enjoyed with apple sauce, other fruit sauces, or sour cream.

9. Spain — Patatas Bravas

Patatas bravas, SPAIN

Patatas bravas is a Spanish tapas dish. Tapas refers to a traditional style of Spanish cooking—and the culture around it—that has been widely known since the 19th century, which tells you just how much history this potato dish carries. The traditional method is to peel and dice the potatoes, fry them, and top them with a sauce made from onion, garlic, chili powder, paprika, and tomato. It’s often eaten on its own, but just as often served as a late-night snack or as a topping alongside fried meat or fish!

8. Poland — Placki ziemniaczane

Placki ziemniaczane, POLAND

Number 8 among the world’s most popular potato dishes is Poland’s placki ziemniaczane. I searched several times to make sure I had the Korean spelling right, but since there’s no definitive pronunciation, I simply wrote it as it reads. Placki ziemniaczane is a type of draniki—a potato pancake commonly enjoyed across Eastern Europe, including Belarus. Whereas the German potato pancake mentioned above is made with julienned potato, the Polish version is finely grated and mixed with onion, egg, and flour. Depending on taste, spices such as garlic, parsley, green onion, or marjoram are sometimes added.

7. France — Tartiflette

Tartiflette, FRANCE

From France, the nation of fine dining, tartiflette is one of the most popular potato dishes in the Alps. Potatoes are cut into bite-sized pieces and baked in the oven with white wine, Reblochon cheese, onion, and smoked pork. Derived in the 1980s from an older potato dish called péla, the recipe was actually created in collaboration with Reblochon cheese makers as a way to boost cheese sales. Today it’s beloved not only in France but across Europe, including Italy and Switzerland.

6. India — Vada Pav

Vada pav, INDIA

India’s vada pav takes the number 6 spot among the world’s most popular potato dishes. Vada pav is one of Mumbai’s most beloved sandwiches, generously stuffed with mashed potato. It’s said to have originated with a street vendor named Ashok Vaidya, who worked near Dadar railway station in the 1960s and 1970s. True to that origin, Vaidya—who had working people in mind—set out to make something affordable that anyone could enjoy, and created the dish by mixing in chickpeas, a staple Indians eat often. Today vada pav can be found all across India, and its menu is remarkably varied—right up to spicy versions made with coconut, peanuts, garlic, tamarind, and chili.

5. Netherlands — Stamppot

Stamppot, NETHERLANDS

Stamppot is a potato dish whose name means “mashed pot.” As the name suggests, it’s made by combining mashed potato with kale, spinach, endive, turnip, and the like. Rather than being eaten on its own, it’s most often served like mashed potatoes alongside smoked sausage or meat. The recipe isn’t difficult and the ingredients are relatively simple, so it’s commonly enjoyed not only in restaurants and on the street but at home as well!

4. France — Gratin Dauphinois

Gratin dauphinois, FRANCE

Originating with the farmers of France’s Dauphiné region, gratin dauphinois is a gratin-style potato dish. Thinly sliced potatoes are layered in an oven dish with crème fraîche (cream with the fat skimmed from milk) and butter, then baked. It can be enjoyed on its own, but it’s also frequently served alongside salads or fish and meat dishes.

3. Netherlands — Kapsalon

Kapsalon, Netherlands

Number 3 among the world’s most popular potato dishes is the Netherlands’ kapsalon. Compared with other dishes that largely emerged in the 19th century, kapsalon’s history is relatively recent, dating to 2003. Its exact origin isn’t documented, but as the story goes, a barber in Rotterdam ordered French fries together with shawarma (the rotating spit-roasted meat you often see at kebab shops), and the dish was born. Kapsalon has a fairly simple recipe: fries topped with shawarma, salad greens, cheese, and various sauces. Simple to make it may be, but since you can pile on all sorts of ingredients to taste, it tends to be quite high in calories.

2. Spain — Tortilla de Patatas

Tortilla de patata, SPAIN

There’s also a potato dish that was born out of the need to make a filling meal from just a few ingredients: Spain’s tortilla de patatas. As the name suggests, it’s classified as a tortilla, and it’s said to have been created in 1817 by General Tomás de Zumalacárregui for his hungry soldiers. The dish is made by stacking thinly sliced potatoes and egg into a thick round, with sausage, zucchini, bell pepper, or mushroom sometimes added to taste. Since a piping-hot tortilla de patatas falls apart easily, most people let it cool before pairing it with red wine!

1. Canada — Poutine

Poutine, CANADA

Canada’s poutine ranks as the most popular potato dish in the world. Though it happens to share its name with a certain world leader, the name is the only unfamiliar thing about it—just think of it as French fries and it all makes sense. The twist is that instead of being dipped in ketchup like ordinary fries, it’s topped with gravy: a tangy, rich, brown sauce made from a beef (or chicken) base. Soft cheese curds are often added on top as well. Beloved consistently since the 1950s, poutine is popular not only across Canada but throughout the United States, and there’s even an annual Poutine Day.

So that’s the rundown of the world’s 10 most popular potato dishes. One thing I realized while researching is that potato dishes abroad aren’t necessarily anything elaborate. Perhaps because the potato is already so satisfying and delicious on its own, the recipes weren’t all that complicated. I also discovered that potatoes are eaten in far more places than I’d expected. I was a little sad that my scheme to somehow use up all my potatoes through this post didn’t pan out, but it was a fun experience all the same. I hope to bring you more enjoyable and interesting stories next time—until then, let’s get through this hot summer together with some fluffy potatoes!