Potatoes & vegetables · Glycemic index
Do baked potatoes spike blood sugar?
Yes â baked potatoes have a high GI of 86, and a 173 g serving (1 medium potato) has a glycemic load of 28, which is high. Baking tends to give potatoes some of their highest GI values, and a medium baked potato carries a high glycemic load.
Key numbers
- Glycemic index
- 86
- High GI
- Glycemic load
- 28
- High GL
- Available carbs
- 33 g
- 3.8 g fiber
- Serving
- 1 medium potato
- 173 g · baked, with skin
GI vs GL for baked potatoes
The glycemic index (GI) compares how fast the carbohydrate in a food raises blood sugar against pure glucose (100), using a fixed amount of carbohydrate. The glycemic load (GL) adds the other half of the story â how much carbohydrate a normal serving actually contains: GI Ă available carbs Ă· 100. For baked potatoes: 86 Ă 33 g Ă· 100 â 28.
That figure is an average reported in the 2008 international GI tables (âBaked potato, mean of four foods: 86 ± 6â). Baked potatoes tested between 69 and 98 in the 2008 tables, and a baked Russet Burbank tested 111 in one US study. The 2021 tables list two newer baked-potato tests (83 and 93) but no new mean.
Eating a different amount? Work out the glycemic load of your portion.
How to eat baked potatoes with less of a spike
- Eat the skin: in a UK study, a baked potato eaten with its skin tested 69 against 98 without it.
- Choose a small potato (about 138 g in USDA's portions) rather than a large one (about 299 g).
- Top it with beans, tuna, chili or cottage cheese and serve it with a big salad.
Lower-GI swaps
Compare with
Frequently asked questions
What is the glycemic index of baked potatoes?
Baked potatoes have a glycemic index of 86, which is high. That figure is an average reported in the 2008 international GI tables (âBaked potato, mean of four foods: 86 ± 6â). A 173 g serving (1 medium potato) contains about 33 g of available carbohydrate, giving a glycemic load of 28 (high).
Is baked potatoes good for prediabetes?
A whole baked potato is one of the bigger blood-sugar loads on a typical plate. If you have one, choose a small potato, eat the skin, and top it with protein such as beans, tuna or cottage cheese rather than butter alone.
Is a baked potato worse than a boiled potato for blood sugar?
On average, yes. Baked potatoes averaged 86 in the 2008 tables, while boiled potatoes averaged 73 in the 2021 tables. Both vary a lot by variety.
Sources
GI values come from the international GI tables; carbohydrate and fiber per serving are calculated from USDA FoodData Central.
- Atkinson FS, Foster-Powell K, Brand-Miller JC. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008 â online appendix, Table A1
- USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 170093: Potatoes, baked, flesh and skin, without salt
- Atkinson FS, Brand-Miller JC, Foster-Powell K, Buyken AE, Goletzke J. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values 2021: a systematic review. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021;114(5):1625â1632, Supplemental Table 1
Data last checked .