Top 10 Potato Varieties

Potato 'Swift' is one of the fastest maturing early varieties on the market
Image: Potato 'Swift' from Thompson & Morgan

Homegrown potatoes are far tastier than shop bought spuds - and they’re incredibly satisfying to grow. Even if you don’t have a large garden or allotment, you can still grow a decent crop in a container on your patio or balcony.

There are plenty of seed potatoes from which to choose - everything from first earlies to late maincrops. If you’re not sure which to order, our potato selector is a good place to start. Or, you could take your lead from our discerning customers who really know their stuff. Here’s a list of our top ten, best-selling potatoes of all-time…

This article was reviewed by T&M’s horticultural team and updated on 29 January 2024.

1. Potato 'Sharpes Express' - First Early
2. Potato 'Arran Pilot' - First Early
3. Potato 'Maris Peer' - Second Early
4. Potato 'Maris Piper' - Maincrop
5. Potato 'Cara' - Maincrop
6. Potato 'Pink Fir Apple' - Maincrop
7. Potato 'Setanta' - Maincrop
8. Potato 'Rooster' - Late Maincrop
9. Potato 'King Edward' - Late Maincrop
10. Potato 'Charlotte - Second Cropping

1. Potato 'Sharpes Express' - First Early

Image: Potato 'Sharpes Express' from Thompson & Morgan

A favourite with our customers and well worth a try! This heirloom variety dates back to 1900 and produces floury new potatoes with an exceptional flavour. Best cooked whole, boil ‘Sharpes Express’ in their skins and slather with butter to serve. They also make rather special roast spuds.

2. Potato 'Arran Pilot' - First Early

Image: Potato 'Arran Pilot' from Thompson & Morgan

A reliable old favourite that remains as popular as ever. This traditional, first early variety produces white tubers with firm, waxy flesh. Renowned for its deliciously earthy flavour, Potato ‘Arran Pilot’ should be cooked straight from the ground to be enjoyed at its best. Eat hot or cold as a new potato or as a fabulous salad variety.

3. Potato 'Maris Peer' - Second Early

Image: Potato 'Maris Peer' from Thompson & Morgan

This is a popular variety with restaurateurs for its excellent flavour and creamy yellow flesh that holds its shape during cooking. ‘Maris Peer’ produces good yields of small, new or salad potatoes that can be enjoyed either hot or cold. This variety is particularly notable for its gently-scented, purple flowers that make an attractive feature on the allotment or vegetable plot.

4. Potato 'Maris Piper' - Maincrop

Image: Potato 'Maris Piper' from Thompson & Morgan

This well known variety is a chip shop favourite! A popular maincrop potato since the 1960s, ‘Maris Piper’ is a purple-flowered variety that produces good yields with a dry, floury texture. Because of their particularly high dry-matter content, these splendid spuds make excellent chips and the perfect roast potatoes - soft and fluffy inside with a beautifully crisp skin.

5. Potato 'Cara' - Maincrop

Image: Potato 'Cara' from Thompson & Morgan

Potato ‘Cara’ proves extremely reliable in almost any soil. This resilient maincrop copes well with drought and shows good resistance to eelworm and blight. No wonder it’s such a popular choice with allotment growers. The oval tubers are particularly uniform, with attractive red eyes and fluffy flesh that makes great jacket potatoes or chips.

6. Potato 'Pink Fir Apple' - Maincrop

Image: Potato 'Pink Fir Apple' from Thompson & Morgan

Potato ‘Pink Fir Apple’ is a heritage variety that dates back to 1850 and is simply unmatchable by modern spuds! The knobbly, pink-skinned tubers have real character and make an attractive addition to your plate. Inside, the waxy flesh is buttery yellow with a distinctive ‘nutty flavour’ that really sets it apart. Boil or steam them whole and enjoy with late summer salads.

7. Potato 'Setanta' - Maincrop

Image: Potato 'Setanta' from Thompson & Morgan

This flavoursome potato was voted top of the red-skinned varieties in our own taste tests. Potato ‘Setanta’ is a great choice for making deliciously fluffy roasties with a lovely crunch on the outside. The buttery flesh also makes excellent baked spuds and mash! It has a reputation for producing colossal yields, similar to ‘Rooster’, and shows good drought-tolerance which makes it a useful allotment variety.

8. Potato 'Rooster' - Late Maincrop

Image: Potato 'Rooster' from Thompson & Morgan©Alamy Stock Photo

Potato ‘Rooster’ makes a great choice for your Christmas dinner. This versatile Irish potato has found its niche as a top quality late maincrop with a fabulous flavour. The red-skinned tubers have pale yellow, floury flesh that won’t fall apart during cooking, making them ideal for crunchy roasties, fluffy mash or a buttery baked potato. Delicious, however you cook them.

9. Potato 'King Edward' - Late Maincrop

Image: Potato 'King Edward' from Thompson & Morgan©Photoshot

Potato ‘King Edward’ has it all - good resistance to scab and slugs, stores well, and is easy to grow. This reliable heritage variety produces good crops of pink-skinned tubers with a floury texture, making it one of our favourite roasting potatoes. For the best quality crops, leave the tubers in the ground for a few weeks after cutting back the foliage. This allows the skins to ‘set’ prior to lifting.

10. Potato 'Charlotte - Second Cropping

Image: Potato 'Charlotte' from Thompson & Morgan

Held back for planting later in the season, second cropping potatoes are harvested from autumn to Christmas! Potato 'Charlotte' is a very popular variety producing pear shaped, yellow skinned, waxy tubers and creamy yellow flesh with first class flavour. Delicious hot or cold. 

We hope this has given you plenty of ideas about which varieties to choose. If you're new to growing potatoes, visit our comprehensive hub page for expert advice on potatoes. Here you’ll find information on how to grow potatoes in the ground or in containers, along with helpful tips on avoiding blight. 

Written by: Sue Sanderson