Best Potato Flakes Substitute Here’s What We Know
Potato flakes are a popular food ingredient that is dearest to almost all kitchens. An all-purpose food item, being a panacea to every type of cooking.
It is a highly versatile and flavorful ingredient that has become a hot favourite or a must-have thing in your pantry.
However, if you ever run out of potato flakes, then what to do?
Fortunately, we have found some best alternatives to potato flakes, so keep scrolling down.
11 Best Potato flakes Substitutes
The substitutes of potato flakes can be sunder into five categories:
Starches
Flours
Crumbs
Plant Derivatives
Mashed Potatoes
Let us explore one by one.
Starches
While substituting potato flakes, a couple of starches having similar properties and compositions are a good alternative.
Cornstarch
You should substitute cornstarch with a 1:1 ratio to potato flakes, especially while making yeast recipes.
The flavour of cornstarch is a bit bland, and so you need to adjust the taste by proper seasonings.
Potato Starch
Having a closer taste to potato flakes, this ingredient can also be substituted for various recipes.
As starches are known as thickening envoys, potato starch is also the best substitute to thicken delicious soups and gravies.
Flours
A primary known ingredient in cooking is flour. Few flours hold similar properties as potato flakes. They do act like starch but also contain gluten.
Rice Flour
Flours are also good thickeners, and hence rice flour can also be used as a substitute for recipes calling for a thick consistency.
To get the same texture and flavour as potato flakes, rice flour should be added double to the number of potato flakes.
You just need to add the flour in hot or cold water, stir properly to avoid lumps, and pour the mixture into your dish. It is also widely known for making a roux (using flour and fat to thicken sauces).
Tapioca Flour
A gluten-free substitute for potato flakes is Tapioca flour. It is extracted from the roots of cassava vegetables and is also known as Sabudana flour. It is a hero of the thickening process as it can give you a much thicker consistency than potato starch.
Substitute Tapioca four in a 1:1 ratio compared to potato flakes. The flavour and other compositions are different from potato flakes but give a similar result.
This flour is much more ground and fine making it a suitable variant for fluffy and light thickening bread.
Crumbs
You can surely use crumbs as a coating for deep frying your dish by substituting potato flakes. It will enhance the texture by making them crisper. The following are a few forms of crumbs used for frying:
Panko/ bread crumbs – derived from crumbling the bread.
Cornmeal – Obtained from grinding dried corn finely.
Masa – A maize dough that is extracted from nixtamalized corn.
Nut or grain flours – Derived by reducing the size of grains or nuts.
All the above alternatives act almost in the same manner. But one thing you need to consider here is that cornmeal and nut flours can bloat your stomach. So, the quantity that your dish fills would also be impacted.
Plant Derivatives
Ever wondered plant derivatives could also be a good substitute for potato flakes? Well, there are a few.
However, you need to know about their properties as they may vary in quantity, ability, taste and texture.
Xanthan Gum
This plant derivative is extracted from sugar. This sugar can be from various sources like corn, wheat, soy, dairy.
It is a very superior thickening agent and thus should be used in half the quantity of potato flakes. This thickening plant derivative is used in making toothpaste, medicines and much more.
Arrowroot Starch
Arrowroot starch is extracted from tropical plants like maranta arundinacea and Florida arrowroot. Being a starch, it can be a good alternative for potato flakes.
It has a meagre amount of gluten and thus can also be used by people who are gluten resistant.
As an essential property of arrowroot starch that it does not blend with dairy products, this should be considered while using it as a substitute for your dish.
You can use arrowroot starch as a 1:1 ratio and don’t expose it to much heat.
Freshly cooked, instant mashed potatoes.
Freshly mashed potatoes can be a great alternative as it gives the closest texture and taste as the potato flakes.
Instant cooked potatoes can be sticky because they have high moisture content. Although they have a very close resemblance, the high moisture content can change the overall structure of the dish.
Thus, before opting for it as a substitute, make sure what your dish calls for.
Are Potato Flakes Real Potatoes?
They are the same. Although, potato flakes are mashed potatoes that are dehydrated and placed on a huge sheet to cut down into flakes. There is as such no loss of nutrients except the loss of Vitamin C while the breakdown.
A lot of chemical preservatives are added to the flakes to make them last longer.
Are Potato Flakes and Instant Mashed Potatoes Same?
Both are the same. In fact, the only difference is that instant mashed potatoes contain moisture which is dried and cut into flakes to form potato flakes.
Hence, instant mashed potatoes are the closest alternative to potato flakes in terms of taste and properties.
Conclusion
Potato flakes, as we saw, have so many substitutes for each type of cooking. Although, all these substitutes depend on the kind of recipe you are going to follow.
Ensure you know everything about your dish, that is, the desired texture, consistency and flavour. According to that, you can add in any of the aforementioned substitutes and make a delightful dish for yourself!!
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