The 10 Potato Side Dishes Our Readers Love Most

Name a more iconic starch. We’ll wait.

By
Leah Colins
A studio portrait of editor Leah Colins.
Leah Colins
Senior Culinary Editor

Leah is the Senior Culinary Editor at Serious Eats, and was previously a recipe developer and editor with America's Test Kitchen for almost 9 years. She has developed recipes for and edited over 20 cookbooks ranging in topic from bread baking to plant-based eating to outdoor grilling and so much more. While there, she also developed recipes and articles for Cooks Illustrated Magazine, Cooks Country Magazine, and ATK's digital platform.Before her life as a recipe developer, she cooked in 5-star and Michelin-starred fine dining establishments from coast to coast such as The Herbfarm and Aubergine Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel; she also treasures her time flipping burgers on flattops in her teenage years, and baking and boxing cookies and pies at a wonderful family-owned German bakery in her early professional life.

Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Published November 17, 2025
The best crispy roast potatoes ever in a bowl on a blue background.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

The humble potato wears many hats—mashed, fried, baked, smashed—and somehow always nails every role. Few ingredients are as versatile, comforting, or universally beloved.

Below are the potato recipes our readers return to again and again, whether they're looking for a crispy side dish, a creamy casserole, or a satisfying main. Some are French classics perfect for a festive gathering; others are weeknight staples. All are deeply savory, potato-forward, and incredibly popular. Here are our most-saved potato recipes, using MyRecipes, our free tool for saving and organizing recipes.

Love these recipes? Join MyRecipes to save them. It's so easy—and free!

  • Tartiflette

    A cast iron skillet full to the brim with melted and browned soft-rind cheese.
    [Image: Vicky Wasik].

    This recipe is the most-saved recipe on our site for the past few months and consistently ranks among the most popular. It’s easy to see why: This gooey, creamy baked casserole of potatoes, cream, cheese, bacon, and onions is true French mountain food—what’s not to love?

  • Pommes de Terre Fondantes (Fondant Potatoes)

    Closeup of a serving platter of fondant potatoes with a ramekin of flaky sea salt on the side.

    Vicky Wasik

    “What if we cooked potatoes like meat?” That’s the basic premise of pommes de terre fondantes, or melting potatoes—another classic of French spud cookery that combines elements of traditional French braising and butter-basting techniques. Unlike laborious and finicky dishes like pommes Anna or pommes dauphine, fondant potatoes are remarkably simple to make: Sear potatoes in fat until well browned, then simmer them with stock, aromatics, and plenty of butter until they’re creamy and spoon-tender. That’s it. It’s a side dish you can pull off without much fuss on a weeknight, but it’s also worthy of a holiday or special occasion.

  • Loaded Baked Potato Soup

    Overhead view of Baked Potato Soup

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This silky-smooth soup is loaded with baked potato flavor. Most loaded potato soup recipes follow a similar formula: Brown the bacon, drain off some of the fat, then cook the aromatics in the remaining fat before adding the milk and potatoes. The potatoes simmer in the milk until tender, then are blended and garnished with an assortment of toppings. This recipe uses some of those same techniques, but it also incorporates a few smart tricks to guarantee a silky-smooth soup.

  • The Best Roast Potatoes Ever

    The best crispy roast potatoes ever in a bowl on a blue background.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    This recipe needs no introduction—it’s the OG Serious Eats potato recipe. These are the most flavorful crispy roast potatoes you’ll ever make. And unlike many of the cream-laden dishes on this list, they just happen to be gluten-free and vegan (if you use oil), to boot.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below

  • Garlic Mashed Potatoes

    Overhead view of garlic mashed potatoes

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    What could be better than fluffy, buttery, rich mashed potatoes? Adding a lot of garlic to them—and we mean a lot. A full head of roasted garlic is mashed in to infuse them with sweet, mellow garlic flavor. Baking the potatoes alongside the garlic—instead of boiling them—ensures fluffier mashed potatoes.

  • Lyonnaise Potatoes

    finished lyonnaise potatoes

    Vicky Wasik

    A buttery union of crisp potatoes and meltingly tender onions. Pair these spuds with roasted sausage, a wedge of soft cheese, and a crusty baguette, and you have traditional French fare that can be pulled off on a weeknight—or let them be the starchy centerpiece for your next holiday gathering.

  • French Onion Melting Potatoes

    Plate of baked appetizers topped with breadcrumbs and a fork with a slice of bread on a table

    Serious Eats / Brittney Cottrell, Food Stylist: Tricia Stuedeman, Prop Stylist: Keoshia McGhee

    In this recipe, caramelized onions, melted cheese, and Yukon Golds are cooked in stock for a rich, comforting side dish. Serve these French onion melting potatoes as a crowd-pleasing appetizer, or pair them with roast chicken or seared steak and a crisp green salad, or as part of a holiday spread. Anyway you serve them, they're sure to steal the spotlight.

  • Hasselback Potato Gratin

    Browned hasselback potatoes in a blue stoneware baking dish on a linen tablecloth.
    Diana Chistruga

    All the creamy decadence of a classic potato gratin, but with more crispy edges. Need I say more? The final dish is nothing short of glorious. Every bite offers a combination of crisp yet moist upper potato ridges and rich, creamy layers beneath, with cheese underscoring the whole affair.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below

  • Boxty (Irish Potato Pancakes)

    stack of boxty pancakes with dollop on sourcream, and garnished with green onions on a green place on stone surface.

    Serious Eats / Two Bites

    Boxty check all of the boxes for what I’m looking for in great potato pancakes: They have crisp, lacy edges with a perfectly tender, fluffy interior; they're super simple to whip up; and their savory potato flavor pairs well with just about any toppings you can dream up. They are great served as part of a St. Patrick’s Day meal, but just as good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner any day of the week, year-round.

  • Classic Potato Salad

    Classic potato salad

    Serious Eats / Eric Kleinberg

    Judging by this recipe's popularity, we all apparently love a good, classic potato salad any time of year. Tangy, salty, and sweet, with a texture that's simultaneously creamy, crunchy, and fluffy in each bite, a perfect potato salad should taste feather-light—despite being made with potato and mayo, two of the heaviest ingredients around.

Explore more:

More Serious Eats Recipes