how long should you boil potatoes
You generally boil potatoes for 10–30 minutes once the water is bubbling, depending mainly on size and whether they’re cut or whole.
Quick Scoop
- Small cubed potatoes: about 10–12 minutes, until a fork slides in easily.
- Medium cubed potatoes: about 12–15 minutes, fork‑tender but not falling apart.
- Baby/small whole potatoes: about 12–18 minutes (some guides say up to 20 minutes) at a gentle simmer.
- Medium whole potatoes: about 20–25 minutes, sometimes a bit longer if very dense.
- Large whole potatoes: roughly 25–30+ minutes, and very large can push beyond 30–40 minutes.
Simple method that rarely fails
- Put potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water by about 2–3 cm, add salt.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer so they cook evenly and don’t explode or go mushy.
- Start checking a bit before the guideline time: poke with a fork or small knife; it should slide in with almost no resistance, but the potato should still keep its shape.
- Drain immediately when done so they don’t keep cooking in hot water.
Handy rule of thumb: cubes are usually done in 10–15 minutes, most whole potatoes in 15–30 minutes depending on how big they are.
TL;DR: For everyday cooking, plan on about 10–15 minutes for chopped potatoes and 20–25 minutes for average whole potatoes, and always trust the fork test over the clock.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.