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There are many misnomers and myths about how to store potatoes, and where we should keep them in our kitchen pantries. Storing potatoes can be a confusing task, especially if you need to buy them in bulk.

How To Store Potatoes

If you’re a family like us, who shops on a tight budget and needs potatoes as a side or main dish weekly, you buy a lot of potatoes. We buy the 10 pound bag of potatoes from ALDI once every two weeks, during our ALDI shopping trips. The good part is we have lots of potatoes to use for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The bad part is that they may go bad before we use them. But, we’ve learned how to store potatoes, and keep them edible for a long time.

1. Keep them in a cool, dry, place. Put them in the lower part of your pantry, where it will be cooler. The prime temperature is between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which seems impossible to me when it comes to keeping them in a pantry, but try to find a spot that’s closest to that temperature.
2. Give them space. Don’t keep your potatoes in that plastic bag you get at the store. Take them out and put them in a large bowl (a large colander is awesome for this), or a big paper bag.
3. Keep away from florescent light. Have you ever seen your potatoes turn green? That means they are getting too much light, and are creating chlorophyll. Chlorophyll isn’t bad, but the other toxins the potato is creating are. If your potato turns green, don’t use it.
4. Keep them away from bananas, apples and onions. This was the biggest culprit for us. We always kept our potatoes near the onions because…they go together! Onions, apples, and bananas all accelerate the ripening (and rotting) of potatoes. Keep them solo, yo.
5. Keep them raw and dirty. OK, that sounds inappropriate, but potatoes do better when you don’t clean them before storing. Keep those raw potatoes in their earth coating, until you’re ready to cook them.
6. Use your garage and basement. Remember that cool, dry place I mentioned in tip number 1? Well, a garage or basement is a great place to hide your potatoes. This is a bonus tip, of sorts, because not everyone has a basement or garage. When we lived in our 2 bedroom apartment, this wasn’t an option for us. But, if you have either one of these places, place your potatoes in there.
7. Add potatoes to your weekly meal plan. Potatoes can’t go to waste if you’re using them, right? Be sure to add potatoes to a few of your meals when you make your weekly meal plan, so they don’t get forgotten.

I hope these tips sharing how to store potatoes have helped you in some way. Want to know how to cook your potatoes to make cheap meals? Check out our Cheap Eats: Potatoes and Onions article.

How do you store potatoes? Let us know your tips, tricks and hacks below.