Yes, Potatoes Can Be Part Of A Healthy Diet: 25 Delicious But Virtuous Recipes Slideshow

Many Indian entrées feature potatoes because it can replace meat at the center of a vegetarian dish. Aloo matar uses spices like cloves and cardamom to give this curry a bright and aromatic punch. 

For the Aloo Matar recipe, click here.

Mixing simple mashed potatoes with another type of vegetable, like butternut squash, diversifies the nutritional content, color, and taste of the dish. This particular recipe uses store-bought mashed potatoes for convenience, but you can easily make your own. 

For the Butternut-Sage Mashed Potatoes recipe, click here.

This recipe is brilliant because it combines two side dishes into one. The baked potato can be a little bland on its own, but jazz it up with basil and sundried tomato, and it suddenly takes on a new form.

For the Caprese Baked Potato recipe, click here.

Adding sweet, caramelized onions significantly improves on the simple mashed potato. Olive oil is used in place of butter to eliminate saturated fat. 

For the Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes recipe, click here.

Why buy potato chips when you easily make your own? These homemade potato chips are baked in the oven, not fried, and then laid out on a paper towel to absorb any access moisture, assuring their crispiness.

For the Fresh Potato Chips recipe, click here.

Crispy on the outside and creamy in the middle, these garlic potato kale cakes are a simple yet sophisticated side dish. This recipe's use of almond milk and vegan margarine makes the dish completely dairy-free.

For the Garlic-Potato Kale Cake recipe, click here.

This German potato salad is loaded with vinegar and capers, giving it a nice acidic bite. Feel free to leave off the bacon bits — the omission won't detract from the salad's overall taste.

For the German Potato Salad recipe, click here.

These gluten-free gnocchi in spicy tomato sauce are light and flavorful. They're made gluten-free by switching out flour for potato starch.

For the Gluten-Free Gnocchi With Spicy Tomato Sauce recipe, click here.

Although the latkes are lightly fried, the inclusion of the potato skins and zucchini adds nutrients and fiber to this classic Jewish holiday staple. Switch out the egg for chia gel, and the butter for olive oil, to make this dish completely vegan.

For the Gluten-Free Zucchini Potato Latkes recipe, click here.

Note here: Potatoes must be boiled before they can be grilled, or else you'll end up with very burned, and very raw, potato salad. When done properly, grilling adds another level of smoky flavor to salad. There's a lot going on in this potato salad — jalapeños, honey, vinegar, blue cheese, and basil — but the flavors certainly complement one another.

For the Grilled Potato Salad With Basil and Blue Cheese recipe, click here.

If it's true that we eat with our eyes, then these elaborate Hasselback potatoes are sure to be delicious. The slits in the potato add a crispy texture to the potato: It's like chips and a baked potato all in one.

For the Hasselback Baked Potato recipe, click here.

Potato hash doesn't need to be a greasy side dish. This fresh interpretation of a hash uses healthy ingredients like spinach, chickpeas, and mushrooms to give the dish some bulk. The potatoes are baked first to eliminate the need to fry them on the stove.

For the Healthy Potato, Spinach, and Pumpkin Seed Hash recipe, click here.

Waxy potatoes are used in this potato salad instead of starchy white potatoes because the former scores lower on the glycemic index and are less likely to spike your blood sugar.

For the Heart Healthy Potato Salad recipe, click here.

This recipe for Greek-style lemon potatoes will change dinner forever. These potatoes are a healthy side dish because they don't come loaded with cheese or butter. Their flavor is derived from a tangy hit of citrus and a sprinkling of oregano. 

For the Lemon Potatoes recipe, click here.

A couple tablespoons of maple syrup elevate this recipe from "eh" to "ah." This dish can even sneak Brussels sprouts and cauliflower onto even the pickiest eater's plate.

For the Maple Roasted Vegetable Medley recipe, click here.

Parsnips are a sweet and spicy root vegetable that blend excellently with potatoes. Both parsnips and potatoes cook at a similar rate, making this recipe a simple one-pot affair. The potato's inherent starchiness naturally makes the dish creamy, so you can avoid adding sticks of butter.  

For the Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips recipe, click here.

Potatoes don't always have to be the star of every dish. This salad uses the creamy texture of the potato to contrast the crunch of the green beans and celery. 

For the Mostly Not Potato Salad recipe, click here.

Potato chips don't have to be deep fried in oil. These baked Parmesan and chive potato chips are easy, flavorful, and more nutritious than chips from the bag.

For the Parmesan and Chive Potato Chips recipe, click here.

These potato flatbreads are a great dinner party appetizer. The flavors of these thin slices of potato are amplified by a sprinkle of rosemary and a twist of freshly cracked black pepper.

For the Potato Flatbread recipe, click here.

Swapping mayonnaise out for Greek yogurt is an easy way to eliminate unhealthy saturated fats while also adding probiotics into your diet. This recipe can be the base for a number of healthy potato salads, so let your creativity run wild.

For the Potato Salad With Greek Yogurt recipe, click here.

Purple potatoes have a similar nutritional composition to Russet potatoes, but their striking shade of purple can add an exciting pop of color to any dish. This recipe uses rosemary and red onion, instead of fatty meat, to flavor the potatoes.

For the Roasted Purple Potatoes With Red Onion recipe, click here.

The four cups of roasted vegetables balance out the half cup of cream. These potato skins are much healthier than anything out of the freezer.

For the Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Potato Skins recipe, click here.

Fingerling potatoes are tenderer than Russets or Idaho Potatoes. Check out your closest farmers market for anyone selling locally grown potatoes. The simple seasonings of rosemary and black pepper put the spot light on the potato.

For the Rosemary Roasted Fingerling Potatoes recipe, click here.

This recipe is great to whip up just before you leave the house in the morning. Simply dice up some small, new red potatoes, and toss them into the slow-cooker.

For the Slow-Roasted Potatoes recipe, click here.

This recipe uses the Turkish spice baharat to bring a different flavor to ordinary roasted potatoes.

For the Turkish Chickpea and Potatoes recipe, click here.