Ingredient file // Starch
Dried Ground Potatoes
Useful starch without a grain-free health bonus
Dried ground potatoes are cooked potato material with most of the water removed, then milled for dry food. They supply energy and help form kibble. Their presence does not make a recipe healthier than one made with grains.
- What it is
- Cooked, dried and milled potato material that retains more of the tuber than extracted potato starch.
- Made from
- Potato tubers or usable processing pieces
- Main job
- Starch for energy and structure
- Typical amount
- Not published
- Watch for
- Several potato and pulse ingredients high on the list
- Not the same as
- Potato starch or potato fiber
Our read // In our catalog
In 1 of every 110 foods we track
Share of foods that list it
1%
23 of the 2,523 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 2 brands. All dry dog food.
Each square is 1% of the catalog
Where it sits on the label
Median position 5. In the top five of 14 foods, so it is usually a main ingredient.
Above the salt
Almost always listed before the salt, so there is more of it than a pinch.
Price per lb
Median of the cheapest bag price across 21 priced foods, about level with the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.
Who leans on it
87%
of the foods that list it are from Wellness. 2 brands use it in total.
What it is
How it is made
Potato processors make foods such as fries and dehydrated puree, leaving usable tubers and pieces. Cooking, drying and grinding turn potato material into an ingredient that stores and ships without refrigeration.3,4,5,9
- 01 // Source Potato material Whole tubers or usable pieces from potato processing supply the material for drying and grinding.
- 02 // Process Cleaned and cooked Processors start with clean potato material and cook it before making potato flour.
- 03 // Process Dried One method spreads cooked potato mash on a heated drum and removes most of its water.
- 04 // Process Ground The dried solids are milled into particles that mix with other kibble ingredients.
- 05 // Output Dried ground potatoes A dry potato ingredient arrives at the kibble plant with starch concentrated by water removal.
What is in it
Composition, dry matter
55.7
% starch
Total starch in one tested potato flour. It explains the ingredient's energy role but is not a specification for every supplier.
Why it is in the bag
What the manufacturer gets
-
01
Supplies cooked starch
Potato starch supplies calories after processing. Complete diets containing dehydrated potato flakes were well digested in a dog study, though the recipes differed in other ingredients too.1,4
-
02
Helps form kibble
Starch helps ingredients bind as kibble cooks and expands. AAFCO names potatoes among plant ingredients that supply calories and help kibble hold together.6
-
03
Uses a processing stream
Drying gives usable potato material a storable outlet. It also costs money, so there is no basis for assuming dried potatoes are cheaper than grain.4,9
How much A dog study tested dehydrated potato flakes in complete diets, but its accessible abstract does not report the inclusion amounts.1
Our read // The claims
What the evidence supports
Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.
-
Brands say
Dried potatoes give dogs usable energy
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
A tested potato flour contained 55.7% starch on a dry matter basis. In a 180-day study, complete diets containing potato flakes were well digested. Other ingredients changed too, so the study cannot isolate the flakes' contribution.1,2
-
Brands say
Potatoes help hold kibble together
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
AAFCO identifies potatoes as a plant ingredient that supplies calories and helps kibble hold together. That supports the practical role, but the available dog feeding study did not test binding by dried ground potatoes alone.1,6
-
Brands say
Potato makes grain-free food healthier
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
In a 180-day study of 65 dogs, grain-free and grain-inclusive complete diets were well digested. The recipes differed in several ingredients, and the study showed no health advantage caused by potato or by removing grain.1
-
Owners say
Potatoes cause heart disease in dogs
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
FDA investigated reports involving diets with potatoes, pulses or both among their main ingredients. It says reports alone cannot prove cause. The investigation does not identify dried ground potatoes as a cause of heart disease.8
-
Critics say
Dried potatoes are just filler
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
The tested flour contained 55.7% starch on a dry matter basis, and AAFCO identifies potatoes as a calorie and kibble-structure ingredient. They have a clear job, even when a recipe relies heavily on starch.2,6
Straight answers
What owners ask
-
Q01
Is it just filler?
NoIt brings starch that dogs use for energy and manufacturers use to form kibble. The tested flour had little fat or crude fiber, so read this ingredient mainly as a starch source.2,6
-
Q02
Why list potatoes twice?
Different formsFresh potatoes and dried ground potatoes enter the recipe with different amounts of water, and each gets its own place on the ingredient list. Read both lines together when judging how much the recipe relies on potatoes.3,7
-
Q03
Should I avoid it for DCM?
Not automaticallyFDA flagged a pattern involving complete diets with potatoes, pulses or both high among the ingredients; it did not identify potato as a cause. If your dog has DCM, review the complete diet with the treating cardiologist.8
Who uses it
Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps
Top brands, by foods that list it
Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it
- Peas 100%
- Flaxseed 96%
- Dried Plain Beet Pulp 87%
- Chicken Meal 61%
- Lentils 61%
- Chicken Fat 61%
- Turkey Meal 43%
- Turkey 35%
- Canola Oil 35%
- Natural Flavor 30%
- Salmon Meal 30%
- Potatoes 26%
On the shelf
Foods that list it
23 foods in our reviews list it. Here are some of them.
Show 15 more
Wellness CORE Small Breed Turkey & Chicken Recipe Dry Dog Food40.0% proteinWellness CORE Grain Free Ocean Whitefish, Herring & Salmon Dry Dog Food37.8% proteinWellness Core Simple Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Healthy Weight Dry Dog Food28.9% proteinWellness Core Simple Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Small Breed Dry Dog Food32.2% proteinWellness Core Simple Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food28.9% proteinWellness Core Simple Limited Ingredient Grain-Free Salmon & Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food28.1% proteinWellness Core Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food37.8% proteinWellness Core Large Breed Dry Dog Food37.8% proteinWellness Core Small Breed Healthy Weight Dry Dog Food37.8% proteinWellness Core Small Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food42.2% proteinWellness Core Small Breed Original Dry Dog Food40.0% proteinWellness Core Reduced Fat Dry Dog Food37.8% proteinWellness Core Ocean Dry Dog Food38.9% proteinWellness Core Original Dry Dog Food37.8% proteinWellness Complete Health Grain-Free Whitefish & Menhaden Fish Meal Dry Dog Food28.9% proteinOur read // On the bag
Count the potato lines, then judge the recipe
Dried ground potatoes near the top mean starch is a major part of the recipe. Look for fresh potatoes, potato starch and pulses elsewhere on the list, then check what animal protein sits alongside them. One potato line is ordinary; several high on the list make this a potato-centered food.
Sources
What we read
Checked October 1, 2026.
- 1 The impact of protein source and grain inclusion on digestibility, fecal metabolites, and fecal microbiome in adult canines
- 2 Comparison of fermentative digestion levels of processed different starch sources by Labrador Retrievers at different ages
- 3 Potato (Solanum tuberosum) tubers
- 4 Potato (Solanum tuberosum) by-products
- 5 POTATOES, WHITE, DEHYDRATED
- 6 What’s in the Ingredients List?
- 7 Reading Labels
- 8 FDA Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- 9 Dehydrated Potatoes