I love my grains, but I also love my non-grains. Being a Celiac and just a crazy foodie (one that loves potatoes and plantains like no other), I live for all the grain-free starches and carbohydrates out there. For dinner, I am 90% of the time having a non-grain starch. Growing up, I really only ever had potatoes and sweet potatoes as my non-grains, but once I started diving into my passion for cooking and finding every fun way to make gluten-free (allergy-free) living amazing, I began trying everything I could get my hands on.
I’d never turn down a potato. If I could live on them, I would. I consider myself a potato snob connoisseur. It makes me so angry when people don’t know the difference between a Purple Sweet Potato and an Okinawan Sweet Potato. But I’m not here to talk only about potatoes today. I’ve compiled a list of all the best grain-free (gluten-free and paleo…so I’m not including beans here) starches and carbohydrates! There are so many, but they may just be my favorite category of food!
Grain-Free Starches and Carbohydrates
1. Potatoes
Starting with the obvious, but I’ll break this down a bit further. The varieties of potatoes you can have are:
Russet Potatoes (baking, frying, mashing, roasting)
Red Potatoes (roasting, mashing, soups, salads)
White Potatoes (mashing, steam/boil, frying, salads)
Yellow Potatoes (grilling, roasting, mashing, salads)
Purple/Blue Potatoes (roasting, grilling, salads, baking)
Fingerling Potatoes (frying, roasting, salads)
Petite Potatoes (frying, roasting, salads)
2. Sweet Potatoes
Yams are not very common actually which is a misconception when buying them. Yams are a starchy root while sweet potatoes have a sweet lighter texture with much thinner skin. Sweet potatoes are in the family of flowering vines while normal potatoes (talked about in #1) are related to tomatoes, pepper, and eggplants! <— knowledge!
Speckled Purple Sweet Potatoes – purple/magenta skin with speckled magenta flesh (boiled, frying, roasting)
Envy Sweet Potatoes – pale orange skin and flesh (roasting, baking, casseroles)
Beauregard Sweet Potatoes – rusty red skin with orange flesh (baking, roasting, mashing, frying)
Hannah Sweet Potatoes – tan skin with cream colored flesh (mashing)
Creamsicle Sweet Potatoes – cream-colored skin with bright orange flesh (frying, boiling)
Jewel Sweet Potatoes – copper skin with deep orange flesh (baking, roasting, casseroles)
Covington Sweet Potatoes – rose skin with orange flesh (baking, roasting, pies, sweet casseroles)
Nugget Sweet Potatoes – rose skin with orange flesh (roasting, baking, glazing)
Garnet Sweet Potatoes – red/purple skin with orange flesh (baking, roasting, pies)
Amish Bush Sweet Potatoes – rose skin with orange flesh (baking, roasting, mashing)
Korean Sweet Potatoes – purple skin with white flesh (baking, boiling, roasting)
O’Henry Sweet Potatoes – cream-colored skin and flesh (baking, roasting)
Willowleaf Sweet Potatoes – orange/red skin with orange flesh (baking, roasting)
Okinawan Sweet Potatoes – tan skin with purple/magenta flesh (baking, roasting, boiling, steaming, scalloped)
Purple Sweet Potatoes – light purple skin with light purple flesh (baking, roasting)
Stokes Purple Sweet Potatoes – dark purple skin and flesh (baking, roasting)
3. Plantains
The glorious plantain! Eaten while still having green skin (not sweet and good for frying, roasting, or grilling) or eaten when the skin is yellow and the plantain is more ripe and sweet (perfect for baking or roasting, but also for mashing and blending for baking up sweets and breads!). These babies are delicious no matter when you cook them up! Just slices a knife down the skin, remove the peel and cut your plantain how you like!
4. Squashes
There are tons of squashes and the Fall and Winter and squash season! From baking, roasting, soups, salads, pies, breads, and casseroles, the possibilities are truly endless!
Buttercup Squash
Kambocha Squash (also a Red Kambocha variety)
Carnival Squash
Sweet Dumpling Squash
Blue Hubbard Squash
Delicata Squash
Red Kuri Squash
Calabaza Squash
Eightball Squash
Bonbon Squash
5. Yucca/Cassava
These are a really thick dark brown “bark-like” skin that must be peeled before use. Most commonly used for fries and baked. You need to boil the yucca root first before roasting!
6. Parsnips
Perfect for soups, purees, or baked and roasted! Light and “airy” with a very distinct flavor!
7. Turnips/Rutabagas
Pretty common for boiling, mashing, roasting, soups, and casseroles. Peeling is optional!
8. Celeriac Root (Celery Root)
This funny “ugly” looking root is surprisingly really tasty! It’s perfect for (peeling first) then boiling and mashing. A great swap for white potatoes! You can actually eat it raw in salads too or blended into a creamy soup!
9. Lotus Root
This pretty little thing is actually the steam of the lotus flower. It looks like a flower when you slice it and see the holes going around in a circle. Commonly used in Asian dishes, it is great for soups, fried, stir-fried, steamed, and boiled.
10. Taro
This yellow fleshed root with dark brown thick skin is much more starchy than a potato. It must be cooked (dangerous when raw) by either boiling, steaming, mashing. You can blend it then into veggie burgers, soups, or breads.
11. Honorable Mentions: Carrots and Beets
These guys are way more veggie to me, but they are a great addition to some baked non-grains! Slice and roast, boil and puree, they are still both great roots and sources of carbohydrates!
There are so many options that you can never be bored with non-grains! Healthy whole foods from nature, packing in lasting energy. The possibilities for utilizing them all are endless as well. You can never go wrong with roasting, but getting creative and making things like breads, pancakes, and noodles just take non-grains to a whole new level! Before I go, I can a side-by-side comparison of a Stokes Purple Sweet Potato and an Okinawan Sweet Potato. I just need to clear this up once and for all! The left is the Stokes and the right is the Okinawan.
Different…very different. The inside of a Stokes is dark deep purple. The inside of an Okinawan is purple with white flecks, kinda tye-dyed!
So tell me:
+ What is your favorite non-grain starch/carb? Sweet potatoes (all the varieties), but Stokes will always be my #1!
+ Have you ever been completely grain-free? No and I don’t plan on it!
Nandji says
Great list!!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks!
Sherry says
You’re a good source of information!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks!
Sharon Rowe says
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness Link Party 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks!
Rachel says
I couldn’t imagine my husband being able to go without his fresh cooked bread or is potatoes cooked in various ways. Great information. I would have to say Squash would be at the top of my list. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Squash is always a winner 😉
Cydnee says
Great information! I learned a lot! Thank you for joining us at #purebloglove. We enjoy having you every Thursday night on Thursday night at 8PM, EST through Sunday night. ~Cydnee
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks!
Deborah Davis says
Hi Rebecca,
This is such a comprehensive overview of grain-free starches and carbohydrates! I am so delighted that you shared this valuable resource with us at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop! I’m pinning and sharing!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks Deb!
Ali the Skinny GF Chef says
Awesome post! I’m crazy about butternut and delicata. Love beets in cakes and now working on using plantains!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
All so good! Plantains are simply amazing!
Kathleen says
That is quite a list there, plenty of variety to give up grains.
Thanks, very helpful visiting from Inspire me Monday
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
No, never give up grains! Just add a variety of wonderful starches!
All that's Jas says
Love potatoes in any shape or form. Thanks for linking up at Thursday Favorite Things, can’t wait to see what you’ll share next week!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Nothing better!
Marla says
Hi Rebecca,
Great post and very informative. I love sweet potatoes and eat them frequently. It amazing how many different varieties there are of sweet potatoes. I had never tried the yucca, actually I don’t know that I have ever seen it at my health food store. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & twitted!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Yucca is fabulous! So great roasted into fries…with ketchup!
kimmythevegan says
Holy crow! I didn’t realise there were so many varieties of sweet potato… my grocery stores certainly don’t carry a whole heck of a lot ;p
Sweet potato is my favourite. I had taro once in Hawaii and LOVED it, but don’t tend to see it here. Plantains are fairly new to me and are amazing (I have a recipe coming up in the near future you would love!).
Love this gluten-free list of goodies!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Plantains are an every day staple here 😉
I want to try Taro so bad!
Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness says
Whoa, I did NOT know that there are so many different kinds of sweet potatoes!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
There’s still more than that!
evi@thehealthycook says
great post Rebecca!!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks!
Robin @ The Golden Rule Kids says
All great grain free starches! Potatoes are my favorite and love them in so many ways! Thanks for sharing!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Potatoes in any form are amazing!
Alyssa @ Simply Quinoa says
This is awesome! I do like my grains, but I can often feel my body needing a break if I overeat them. I’ll definitely be pinning this so I can come back to it later 🙂 And ps totally need those plaintain donuts….like WHAAAAT!? awesomeness.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Haha, I have two great recipes now waiting to be posted! They’re killer 😉
Ariana says
How delicious!! Thanks for all the suggestions. I never knew there were so many different varieties of sweet potatoes! While nothing beats a baked potato loaded with bacon, butter, and salt in my mind 😉 I love sweet potatoes for their versatility!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Nothing beats a sweet loaded with coconut butter and cinnamon for me 😉
Patty @ Reach Your Peak says
Whoa who knew there were so many kinds of potatoes! This is very informative – thanks for sharing what you can do with each one cooking wise!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks Patty!
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf says
This is such an awesome resource. There are so many varieties of grain-free starches out there. My faves are purple sweet potatoes and plantains!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thanks! My kinda girl 😉
Ally says
My favorite grain is carrots. I put shredded carrots on everything. 🙂
Wow this is a wonderful guide to potatoes! I honestly never really got to know about potatoes and this really opened my eyes. Thank you 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Carrots are a great starchy veggie! I love just eating them raw!
Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel says
sweet potatoes and yams are my favorites!!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Any specific type? 😉
genevieve @ gratitude & greens says
I LOVE purple sweet potatoes! Taro is also one of my favourite root veggies ever, although I see it less in North America. It’s very popular in Chinese cuisine- we use it in both savoury and sweet dishes. Japanese sweet potatoes are also delicious and especially sweet. I’ve only seen them a few times in Whole Foods but they are such a treat! My mom used to bake them for my after-school snack.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O, I guess I’m lucky then! We always have Japanese sweets in my grocery here in NJ! (The potato selection in DC is rather sad!), but any time I see a good new variety of sweet potato, you know I am so stocking up!
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says
Hi there! I love grains, and hopefully won’t ever have to give them up, but that doesn’t mean I don’t also love some of these grain-free carbs. I keep seeing so many delicious plantains as sides to meals and I need to get on that. Thanks for the reminder! 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
You’ve never had one?! Yes! Please get on that ASAP!
Colorado Gal says
Oddly enough, I got food poisoning from an acorn squash once (weird, right?!) and haven’t been able to touch those since. Otherwise, squashes are my friend!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O no! Haha, I can see why you’d have the aversion then 😛
Sam @ PancakeWarriors says
OMG love love love this!! I just love the purple sweet potatoes with the white flesh. Omg heaven when roasted!! I didn’t know about the yucca root needing to e boiled first! Such great tips and I just love this! Pinning!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Japanese sweet potatoes!
I’m making yucca fries tonight! Haha!
Farrah says
Forserious, I did not know there were so many kinds of potatoes out there. I adore purple sweet potatoes!! <3
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
There are SO many varieties! I love how they each taste and have different textures!
Emma @ em-poweredwellness says
Ooh those purple sweet potatoes tho…must find. They will make every dish so much more colorful and fun 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Stokes is the one and only!
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free says
I love all of this starchy deliciousness! Funny coincidence, too – my husband and I were just on a walk last night talking about the ways to use starchy plantains!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Plantains are so incredible! I just made some grain-free doughnuts yesterday with an over ripe one 😛
Linda @ Veganosity says
Super list Rebecca. There isn’t anything on it that I don’t like. 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Right on!
EA-The Spicy RD says
Such a great list! Of all of those, the humble ‘ol plain potato is probably my all-time favorite, but I love so many of the others as well. Except turnips. And, taro. Going grain-free is good for some of my clients, but luckily I do well with all non-gluten grains 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
All potatoes are king! But plantains are my second love!
I love my buckwheat flour and quinoa! I’d never be fully grain-free!
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables says
This is awesome! Thanks girl!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
😉
Audrey @ Unconventional Baker says
I had no idea squashes were considered starchy/carby — they’re more on the vegetable side for me. I love them all though, especially butternut <3. If I only had to choose one carby/starchy item, it would most definitely be a sweet potato!
I have been grain free before for over a year. I was trying out a specific diet that was meant to help my health, but after a year I didn't feel like cutting out the grains did much, so I went back to eating them. I see them as a valuable source of nutrition, and unless avoiding for specific health reasons I see no need to cut them out. I consume a pretty minimal amount of grains though on the whole.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
No, I don’t consider them a veggie (any way, they would be a fruit since they have seeds!) But they are their own food category!
RFC says
I’d *probably* be able to tell the purple potato from the others because, well, it’s purple (is it really purple?). But other than that…they all look the same to me. Don’t’ hate me.
Side note: baked potato wedges covered in sea salt and placed in a zip lock baggie shoved in your hydration vest make KILLER long mid-run fuel. Yum!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
A lot of people think “purple potatoes” are the same as “purple sweets” too…it’s really sad!
Krysten says
I am also potato obsessed!! I could eat them every day!! (and maybe I do!)
I think they are one of the world’s most perfect veggie!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I know! I think I eat them everyday too! They just complete me!
Michele @ paleorunningmomma says
You hit on all my favorites, nothing else to add!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Hahaha! I knew you would appreciate this 😉
Annmarie says
Mmmm potatoes of any variety are my fav!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I could just marry them all 😉
Ivanna says
Great post! I also love starches. These are some great ideas. I lived in Okinawa for 4 years while I was in the Air Force and they made everything with the Okinawan sweet potatoes. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Well I am jealous!
lindsay says
great info girl! and way to preach the carbs! love my potatoes and starches and all the ways you can cook them!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Can’t get enough! They’re just so yummy!
Shashi RunninSrilankan says
Such an interesting read Rebecca! I love these options – there are so many of these I have yet to try!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
There are still tons I need to try (and find) too!
tiff @ love, sweat, & beers says
Wow, I had no idea there were so many kinds of sweet potatoes. I need to find these babies!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
There’s even more varieties than that!
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
I had no clue that there was a sweet potato called a “Hannah” Sweet Potato, but I am obviously loving that! 😉
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
YOU NEED TO FIND ONE! Hahaha! I’ll send you one if I ever find one too 😉
Hannah @ CleanEatingVeggieGirl says
PERFECT!!! 😀
Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit says
There are so many different varieties of sweet potatoes I’ve never heard of (or seen), I love some of those names! Like a Creamsicle sweet potato?! Although I may be a little sad when it doesn’t taste like a fruity orange popsicle ;D
Do you ever eat plantains raw when they are SUPER ripe? I know people who do, but I’ve never tried it.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
But you can MAKE it taste that way 😉 Hahahaha!
Ew! No! It’s not good to eat them raw….that would be rough on the tummy!
Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit says
That’s what I was afraid of.
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
what a comprehensive post. sharing it on my fb page 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Thank you Dixya! XOXO
Emily @My Healthyish Life says
Wow! I never knew how many different potatoes there were. Sweet potatoes are by far my favorite 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I’ve never met someone who doesn’t like some form of sweet potato!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
This is actually SO GREAT! My husband just went grain and gluten free and I am struggling to cook things besides potatoes! Thank you! So pinning this 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Haha, thanks Taylor! Plantains, yucca, they are all so good! As long as you can find them in the store, you’ll never be without options!
Pamela Hernandez says
Not grain free but I love squash!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Gotta love squash!
Jessica @ kiwiyogirunner says
Wow I didn’t even realise that all of these exist!! I love sweet potato and parsnips and good ol’ potatoes! I really want try some of the different varieties now though!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Plantains!!!! They are my second favorite! 100% delicious!
Rebecca U says
Thanks for this, really useful. I’m going gluten-free so its always good to think about adding starches to the meal – sweet potatoes and squash are my favourites at the moment #tastytuesday
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Sweet potatoes will always be my love! You’ve got to try plantains if you haven’t!