The Potato Board Is the Ultimate Crowd-Pleasing Appetizer This Holiday Season

Need a holiday snack board that’s guaranteed to please all your guests? Potato boards are the crave-worthy party appetizer that’s been enjoying its time in the spotlight this season. Grazing platters and Thanksgiving tables full of every kind of potato dish have been going viral on social media, and for good reason.

We can’t think of a cozier comfort food than potatoes. French fries, tater tots, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, roasted potatoes, latkes, potato chips, croquettes, potato au gratin—the list is endless. And that’s what makes this board such a great party appetizer—can anyone pass up every potato dish?

Below, we’ve outlined the recipe for the ultimate potato board, so your guests can enjoy comforting bites all night long.

How to Build the Perfect Potato Board

Your potato board can be as simple or as involved as you’d like. There are so many ways to spin a potato board; some prefer theirs filled exclusively with different kinds of fries, while others devote time in the kitchen to cooking up dozens of ways to serve potatoes. First, decide whether you want your potato platter to be primarily finger food or loaded (pun intended) plates.

Finger-food platters feature bite-sized potato dishes with dips. You can give guests their own bowl or plate to experiment with dips, or have everyone gather around the board while they eat. Fries, crispy potato balls, potato chips, and croquettes are other good finger-food ideas. serve them with bowls of ketchup, melted herby cheese, garlic sauce, and spicy mayo.

If you’re thinking of letting your potato-related creativity run wild at the dinner table, you have more room to serve potato-centric dishes. Baked, mashed, and scalloped potatoes are fun options for guests to add to their plates. Pass around containers full of dips and spreads for guests to spoon onto their plates as they please. 

Tips for Making a Tasty Potato Board

Regardless of the dishes you serve, expect your platter to get a little greasy. Serving potatoes on a tray with edges is a good idea, so that your bite-sized potatoes don’t roll right off. Confine your melted cheeses and dips to glass jars and bowls scattered across the board to help prevent your potatoes from getting soggy.

Relying on frozen or bagged foods can be a good idea here; frozen hash brown patties, frozen french fries, and bagged potato chips are all easy ways to save time in the kitchen. You can also make some dishes (like mashed potatoes) ahead of time and warm them up when your guests are ready to eat.

For a dinner party, you can expand your potato board to include small dishes focused on potatoes: gnocchi, potato rolls, shepherd’s pie. Too many potatoes? We say nay, but it’s up to you how far you want to go with the theme. The only question left is, should sweet potatoes be included?