Potatoes are the chameleons of cooking. We might know them best mashed and served with sausages, as part of our Sunday roasts or a barbecue side salad, but the humble spud is used in enormously diverse recipes in every corner of the world. In Spain, they're the star of patatas bravas and tortilla; in Uganda, spicy curried potatoes are a staple side dish; in Canada, tourists make a beeline for the comfort of poutine and in Switzerland they're shallow-fried until crisp for satisfying röstis. The varieties used might shift from country to country, but few areas go without them entirely (though some rely more heavily on its distant cousin, the sweet potato). Ultimately, there are few foods more universally loved than potatoes (to tell your Apaches from your Vivaldis don't miss our ultimate guide to spuds).

Having been cultivated by humans since at least 3400 BC (their roots can be traced back to southern Peru), today potatoes are one of the world's most widely-grown crops, only trailing behind rice, wheat and corn. Their versatility means they can be cooked using every method we have at our disposal, and added to everything from soups to bread. They're also cheap, long-lasting and relatively easy to grow in tricky conditions – factors which, when combined with their high vitamin C content, have made them a go-to throughout history, particularly among less affluent communities. Here, we've focused on the recipes of just a handful of countries to show the enormous potential of our beloved spud.

Used in everything from street food snacks to traditional recipes, potatoes are abundant in Indian cooking; at the heart of dishes including North Indian flatbread aloo paratha, which is stuffed with spiced mash before being cooked on a hot grill until crisp and brown, as well as potato shak, a Gujarati potato curry, and dum aloo, a North Indian curry with baby potatoes, fragrant spices and yoghurt.

They're equally as prevalent when it comes to street food, including samosas, which are popular around the world. Stuffed with fillings like potato and fried until flaky and crispy, samosas can be found served with various chutneys across most of India (don't miss our spiced crab samosa recipe here). There's also aloo tikki, a crispy, spiced potato patty topped with yoghurt, and aloo pakora, crispy spud fritters dipped in a spiced flour batter and fried. In the Delhi-style aloo chaat (you can see our barbecued version here), shallow-fried potatoes are topped with chutneys, while in classic aloo gobi, potato and cauliflower are tossed in spices and roasted.

Most of France's classic potato recipes are – unsurprisingly – all about indulgence. There's aligot, which is rich, creamy mashed potatoes with cheese and garlic, potatoes boulangère, where spuds are sliced and cooked in a broth or cream, and Pommes Anna, which essentially involves cooking sliced potatoes in a lot of butter. Potatoes are also weaved into gratin dishes, a classic French technique in which a baking dish is filled with vegetables and a creamy sauce and baked, creating a limelight-stealing side (the best-known gratin dish is dauphinoise, where sliced potatoes are poached in milk or cream and baked). Elsewhere, fine dining staple potato fondant sees cylinders of potato browned on either end and roasted in butter and stock, while potatoes sarladaises relies on garlic and duck or goose fat for its decadence. In the mood for something cooler? A classic French vichyssoise is a chilled leek, potato and cream soup first created in the early 1900s. 

Though rice might be the staple of the Korean diet, potatoes aren't neglected and can be found in banchan – small side dishes – and street food fare. Gamja-jorim sees potatoes braised in soy sauce and a Korean rice syrup until they are tender and sticky, before being served with steamed rice, while gamja-jeon (gamja is the Korean word for potatoes) is a simple potato pancake, not dissimilar to a rösti, made from blended or grated potato and onion. In Seoul's street and night markets, you'll also find the gamja-hotdog, a hot dog dipped in batter, rolled in diced potatoes and fried, a creation inspired by America's corn dogs which has spread further afield in recent years thanks to TikTok and Instagram.

It's the sweet potato, or goguma, though, that the country has a particular fondness for – Korean sweet potatoes have a denser, drier and often sweeter texture than what we're used to in the UK, and they're widely used (particularly as a healthy choice). In this recipe, Louise Robinson uses sweet potato noodles in japchae, a Korean stir-fry.

As the birthplace of potatoes, Peru knows a thing or two about cooking spuds. One of its classic dishes is papa a la huancaína, a unique recipe which sees boiled yellow potatoes covered in a creamy, spicy cheese sauce and served with boiled eggs and olives. There's also the eye-catching causa (pictured above), a layered creation which – though it varies – usually has potato at the top and bottom and a meat filling (you can see Martin Morales' take on it here). Papa rellenas, meanwhile, are a Peruvian stuffed potato consisting of fried mash with a meat filling (usually beef and cumin). Chef Robert Ortiz, a pioneer of Peruvian cuisine, also uses spuds in his salmon with red kiwicha, yellow potato and rocoto chilli, as well as picarones, a Peruvian fried dessert filled with sweet potato.

Belarus eats more potatoes than anywhere else in the world, with annual consumption estimated to be around 180kg per person (that's around half a kilo a day). That means there are a host of national spud dishes, including draniki, pictured above, potato pancakes made with grated potato and onion and usually served with sour cream (they're sometimes topped with sugar or apple sauce for a sweet version), and kolduny, which are similar, but are stuffed with meat. Potato babka is a popular Belarusian breakfast casserole of sorts, which sees grated potatoes, eggs, bacon or salt pork and onion baked until golden on top.

Across the border in Poland, potatoes are used in comforting, warming fare like kopytka, a potato dumpling not miles away from Italian gnocchi (you can see Ren Behan's version here), and as a common filing for pierogi. They can also be found in potato pancakes and potato soups, including traditional kartoflanka, which is typically eaten in winter and can include root vegetables and smoked meats. Chef Kuba Winkowski, who grew up in Poland's Gdansk, serves strawberry and potato dumplings with basil and sour cream, as well as duck with sauerkraut potato dumplings. 

Ireland has a well-documented history with the potato, with the Irish potato famine of the 19th century laying bare the country's reliance on them. Though times have moved on, Ireland still has a love affair with the spud and its potential for hearty, comforting dishes. Take boxty, a traditional potato pancake made with leftover mash and grated raw potato, which can be pan-fried, baked or boiled like dumplings. It's eaten at both breakfast and dinner, and, as pride in Irish cooking has mounted, so too has its popularity. Mash is the mainstay of some of Ireland's other traditional potato recipes, including colcannon, mash mixed with leeks and cabbage or kale and butter, as well as champ, which uses spring onions instead.

China is the world's biggest potato producer (it's estimated they grow over 22% globally), so it's no surprise that spuds are a staple in many of its regions. Common recipes include tudou, a Sichuan province side dish in which potatoes are shredded into thin strips and stir-fried with spices, Sichuan peppercorns and chilli flakes (they're also used cold in a shredded potato salad). Potatoes, aubergines and sweet peppers are also stir-fried in Di San Xian (the name roughly translates to 'three treasures from the ground'), while bite-sized spuds are fried until crispy and coated in spices and herbs for a street food snack which can be found across much of the country.

We might think we have a good grip on potato's potential, but we can always find new ideas when we look further afield; every country in this list has married its own flavours and techniques to find a fresh take on the unassuming spud. Looking for more inspiration? Have a browse of our potato recipe collection here.