Can You Cook the Carbs Out of Potatoes? The Truth Behind This Viral Hack

November 5, 2025 •

3 min read

Over half of the world's population relies on starchy carbohydrates like potatoes for sustenance, but a viral food hack claims you can drastically reduce the carb content through a simple cooking process. The short answer is no, you cannot cook the carbs out of potatoes entirely, but you can alter their structure to create beneficial resistant starch.

Quick Summary

This article debunks the myth that cooking eliminates potato carbohydrates. Instead, it explains the science of resistant starch, a type of fiber created by cooking and cooling, which can lower a potato's glycemic index and offer significant gut health benefits.

Key Points

Carbs Are Not 'Cooked Out': The total carbohydrate content of a potato does not significantly change during cooking.
Create Resistant Starch: Cooking and then cooling potatoes creates beneficial resistant starch, a type of fiber that resists digestion.
Improve Blood Sugar Response: Foods high in resistant starch have a lower glycemic index, meaning they cause smaller spikes in blood sugar.
Boost Gut Health: Resistant starch acts as a prebiotic, feeding the healthy bacteria in your large intestine.
Chilling is Critical: For best results, cool cooked potatoes for at least 12-24 hours before eating them, either cold or reheated.
Prep Method Matters: Baking tends to produce more resistant starch than boiling, and eating chilled potatoes offers the most benefit.
Minor Soaking Effect: Soaking potatoes in cold water removes only surface starch and does not significantly lower the overall carbohydrate total.

The Chemical Reality: Why Carbs Don't Just Vanish

Potatoes are primarily composed of starch, a complex carbohydrate made of glucose molecules. Cooking does not remove these glucose units but alters their structure through gelatinization, making them more digestible. While some water-soluble nutrients might leach into boiling water, the majority of starch remains. Extended cooking does not eliminate the carbohydrate content.

The Cool Down: The Science of Resistant Starch

The significant change in how your body processes potato carbohydrates occurs during cooling. This is due to the formation of resistant starch, a type of dietary fiber that passes through the small intestine largely undigested before being fermented in the large intestine by beneficial bacteria.

How Resistant Starch is Formed

After cooking starchy foods like potatoes, the cooling process initiates retrogradation. As the potatoes cool, the starch molecules re-crystallize into a structure that is less accessible to digestive enzymes. This makes a portion of the starch 'resistant' to digestion, functioning more like soluble fiber than a simple carbohydrate.

Cook the Potatoes: Initial cooking (boiling, baking, microwaving) gelatinizes the starch.
Cool Completely: Refrigerating cooked potatoes for at least 12-24 hours maximizes resistant starch formation.
Reheat (Optional): Reheating cooled potatoes still results in higher resistant starch levels than eating them hot immediately after cooking, though slightly less than eating them chilled.

Benefits of Increasing Resistant Starch

Increasing the resistant starch in potatoes offers several health benefits:

Improved Gut Health: Resistant starch acts as a prebiotic, nourishing beneficial gut bacteria.
Better Blood Sugar Control: It prevents the rapid blood sugar spikes typically caused by digestible starches.
Increased Satiety: Like other fibers, resistant starch can contribute to feeling fuller for longer.

Cooking Methods Compared

Different cooking and preparation methods impact resistant starch formation and glycemic response differently.


Cooking Method	Initial Impact	Resistant Starch Potential	Nutrient Retention
Boiled	Increases glycemic index, cooling enhances resistant starch.	High, particularly with skin on and cooled.	Lower, as water-soluble nutrients can leach out.
Baked	Increases glycemic index.	High, especially when cooled. Can be higher than boiled.	High, retains most nutrients in skin.
Microwaved	Can lead to maximum starch hydrolysis and sugar accumulation during rapid cooking.	High when cooled.	High due to shorter cooking time.
Fried	Adds fat and calories, oil can slow digestion.	Some resistant starch can form.	Variable; high temperatures can degrade nutrients.
Raw	Highest resistant starch content.	Very High.	Highest Vitamin C, but contains toxic glycoalkaloids and can cause digestive issues.

Soaking and Other Techniques

Soaking cut potatoes in cold water can remove some surface starch, potentially leading to crispier results, but it does not significantly reduce the overall carbohydrate content. Adding acidic ingredients like vinegar can help manage the glycemic impact by interfering with starch digestion, but this also doesn't remove carbohydrates.

Conclusion: A Nuanced Approach to Potatoes

The idea of cooking carbs out of potatoes is a myth. While the total carbohydrate amount remains constant, cooking followed by cooling alters the starch structure, creating beneficial resistant starch. This process lowers the glycemic impact and improves gut health. Instead of trying to eliminate carbs, preparing potatoes to maximize resistant starch allows you to enjoy them as a nutritious food within a balanced diet.

For more information on the health benefits of resistant starch and other dietary fibers, you can consult reputable sources like the National Institutes of Health.

Key takeaways

Carbs Don't Disappear: Cooking doesn't remove the fundamental carbohydrates from potatoes.
Resistant Starch is the Key: Cooking and cooling potatoes creates resistant starch, a beneficial dietary fiber.
Glycemic Impact is Reduced: Resistant starch leads to a lower glycemic response and helps control blood sugar.
Baking and Cooling Offer More RS: Baked and chilled potatoes can have more resistant starch than boiled ones.
Eat Them Cold or Reheat: To maximize resistant starch benefits, eat potatoes cold or reheat gently after chilling.
Don't Fret the Frying: Frying can create some resistant starch but adds calories and fat.
Soaking Has Minimal Effect: Soaking primarily removes surface starch for texture, not significant carb reduction.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, boiling potatoes does not significantly reduce their carbohydrate content. While some water-soluble nutrients may leach out, the primary carbohydrates (starches) remain. The cooling process after boiling is what creates beneficial resistant starch.

Resistant starch is a type of carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine. Instead of being broken down into glucose, it ferments in the large intestine, acting like a dietary fiber and feeding beneficial gut bacteria.

While the total amount of carbs doesn't change, the calorie count may be slightly affected because resistant starch is not fully absorbed by the body. Resistant starch provides fewer calories per gram than regular starch, though this is a marginal effect and not a dramatic calorie reduction.

For a lower glycemic impact, it is better to eat a potato cold after it has been cooked and chilled. The cooling process creates resistant starch, which digests more slowly and prevents rapid blood sugar spikes.

For the best results, it is recommended to cool cooked potatoes in the refrigerator for at least 12-24 hours. The retrogradation process that forms resistant starch takes time.

No, reheating a chilled potato does not eliminate the resistant starch. While some resistant starch may be lost upon reheating, the levels remain significantly higher than if the potato were never chilled in the first place.

Yes, this principle applies to other starchy foods like rice, pasta, and legumes. Cooking and cooling these foods can also increase their resistant starch content.