# Potato Sizes Guide: Must-Have Best Cooking Reference

- Link: https://lifeandwork.blog/a-reference-guide-to-potato-sizes-and-cooking/
- Published: 2026-10-23T20:09:02-05:00
- Author: Bert Swope

Recently, I was experimenting with an old recipe and the only gains it gave for 
the amount of potatoes to use was one large potato. This got me to thinking, what
constitutes a large potato or medium potato for that matter.  Potatoes are variable
in size and when you add to that the fact that everyone may peel a potato a little
differently he gets a little difficult to know exactly how much usable food potato
will be remaining once you peeled. So, please keep in mind there will always be 
some variability in that the guidelines provided in this post are essentially averages
for the most common outcome.

# Table Potato sizes

Even amongst the general weight category, potato will vary in weight, length, girth
and general shape. That said, however, here is a helpful guide to provide reasonable
consistency when purchasing potatoes and using potatoes for cooking.

  |

**Quantity**

  |

**Size**

  |

**Measurements**

  |

**Weight**

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Small

  |

1.75”
to 2″ in diameter

  |

4-5oz
(113-140g)

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Medium

  |

2 to
3″ in diameter

  |

5-8oz
(140-225g)

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Large

  |

3 to
4.25″ in diameter

  |

8-12oz
(225-340g)

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Pound

  |

3 – 4
Medium Potatoes

  |

16oz
(453g)

  |

[⌊Diced potatoes ⌉⌊Diced potatoes ⌉[

Diced potatoes

Table of Potato Preparation Equivalents

Some recipes don’t call for just a larger, medium or small potato; sometimes, recipe
will call for it in measures of diced, mashed, peeled or even instant potato flakes,
which you may be wanting to replace with fresh potatoes from your vegetable garden
or local grocer.

  |

**Quantity**

  |

**Size**

  |

**Instant Potato Flakes**

  |

**Peeled And Sliced**

  |

**Shredded**

  |

**Diced**

  |

**Mashed**

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Small

  |

¼ cup

  |

¾ cup

  |

¾ cup

  |

½ cup

  |

¼ cup

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Medium

  |

1/3 cup

  |

1 cup

  |

1 cup

  |

¾ cup

  |

½ cup

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Large

  |

½ cup

  |

1 ¼
cups

  |

1 ¼
cups

  |

1 cup

  |

¾ cup

  |  
 |

**1**

  |

Pound

  |

1 1/3
cups

  |

3 cups

  |

3 cups

  |

2 ¼
cups

  |

1 ½
cups

  |

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