Potatoes vs Brown Rice Nutrition Chart – Which One is Healthier?

Potato vs Brown Rice Nutrition Chart – Full Comparisons Infographic

The source we use for the nutritional values are the U.S. Department of Agriculture FoodData Central data. The values might varied when compared to other sources.

For this comparison, the researchers used baked Russet potatoes vs. cooked brown rice from long-grains variant.

Please note that we highlight the side with a higher amount for each nutrition.

Below is the full comparison of the nutritional values between potatoes and brown rice:^{1 2}

So, is potatoes or brown rice healthier?

When considering nutritional values, brown rice is the better option for you.

Potatoes and brown rice contain mostly the same nutrients, with slightly different numbers. Yet, brown rice will provide you with much more vitamins and minerals when consumed regularly in the long run.

Furthermore, brown rice has an excellent glycemic index of 50 (low), while the commonly eaten Russet potatoes have a high GI of 72 to 111, depending on how you cook them. However, I cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that potatoes are undisputedly America’s favorite vegetable for years. You can’t go wrong with potatoes, whether cooking at home, dining out, or grabbing a takeout. Potatoes also easily available anywhere across all US states because we are the third highest potato consumer country in the whole world.

Truthfully, I think the issue with brown rice is mostly inconvenience. You have to re-familiarize yourself with it and adjust your daily life around it.

As an Asian, I’ve been eating rice since before I could speak. However, brown rice still throws me off. It’s just “different” from white rice. It’s not the flavor and texture that my subconscious mind expects when I’m having a meal with rice (some people even say it tastes “gross”).

Furthermore, it took me twice as long to cook brown rice. Good luck doing it when you have to rush to work daily.

So, it’s okay if you don’t want to force yourself to eat brown rice. There’s one more crucial thing that I’d like to convey to you through this article: Always pay attention to the “other stuff” you use when cooking and eating.

The low glycemic index of brown rice is great, but if you eat it with tons of processed food, you can say goodbye to its health benefits. Small factors such as different cooking durations or temperatures also affect brown rice’s GI value.³

Potatoes have low calories and fats, but if you prepare them with butter, milk, bacon, and salt… Then eat them with greasy goat or chicken meat… Well, they’re not going to be a healthy meal anymore.

So, what should you do? Keep your diet balanced. Combine your staple foods with vegetables, legumes, and proteins as often as possible.

Potato vs Brown Rice Nutritional Values in Details

Just in case the image above doesn’t load, you can see the comparisons in the table below. I’ll discuss their in-depth differences according to the Reference Dietary Intake (RDI) in the next subsection.

The Reference Dietary Intake percentages are calculated based on the Dietary Guideline for Americans⁴ provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services..

Calories Comparison

Brown rice contains 29.47% more calories.

Potatoes have less calories per 100 gram when compared to brown rice. As we know, calories are one of the most critical indicators for a calorie

Carbohydrates Comparison

Brown rice contains 19.63% more carbohydrates.

Potatoes contain lower carbohydrates than brown rice. Pick them if you’re on a low-carbohydrate diet, as you’d get a more filling meal with fewer calories than brown rice. It’s just perfect.

Protein Comparison

Brown rice contains 4.18% more protein.

Both potatoes and brown rice have almost equal amounts of protein, so eat them alternately to ensure a varied diet from your meals.

Fats Comparison

Brown rice contains 4.18% more fats.

Fats contribute more to our daily calorie intake than protein or carbohydrates. Each gram of fat is equal to 9 kcal. When you compare potatoes to brown rice, both have less than 1 gram of fat. However, potatoes are better because they have less fat.

Dietary Fiber Comparison

Potatoes contain 43.75% more dietary fibers.

Everybody and their grandma have heard that whole-grain food contains a lot of fiber. So, it makes sense that brown rice has a higher amount of fiber than other foods, right?

Unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily true.

I found that the researches on dietary fibers provided inconclusive proofs so far. Some research even resulted in more fiber from potatoes.

According to USDA, brown rice only has 1.6 grams of fiber per 100 grams of brown rice sample. Yet, another analysis showed more than twice the amount of fibers (3.32 grams) from the sample they collected.⁵

A dietary fiber analysis of a particular food ingredient can give different results. Various factors affect this kind of research, such as the steps you take to measure it, the measurement instruments you use, the sample you use, and so on.

There are some more information you can consider about the difference of fibers from these researches:

1. Contrary to popular belief, most potatoes’ fibers (>50%) are NOT on the skin. [6] Eating this tuber whole is still the best way to get its fibers’ full value. However, you can skip the skin if you don’t like it and still get some of the needed fibers.
2. Brown rice is processed by removing only its outer layer, known as the hull. Most of its nutritional value, including the dietary fibers, are conserved well through this process.⁷

Dietary fibers are important to improve your gut’s microbial diversity and colon’s muscle contraction. They also increase your insulin sensitivity, which in turn reduces the risk of Diabetes Mellitus type 2 as well as cardiovascular disease.⁸

Both potatoes and brown rice have decent amounts of fiber compared to other popular staple foods (such as white rice). Both of them can provide additional fiber for your daily diet. You’d do well to eat either of them.

Vitamins Comparison

Goat meat contains 50.68% more vitamin B1 (Thiamine).

Goat meat contains 245.07% more vitamin B2 (Riboflavin).

Goat meat contains 205.41% more vitamin B12.

Chicken meat contains vitamin A, goat meat doesn’t.

Chicken meat contains 119.73% more vitamin B3 (Niacin).

Chicken meat contains vitamin B5, goat meat doesn’t.

Chicken meat contains vitamin B6, goat meat doesn’t.

Chicken meat contains 40% more vitamin B9 (Folic acid).  

Chicken meat contains vitamin C. Assumed zero amount of magnesium in goat meat.

Chicken meat contains vitamin D, goat meat doesn’t.

Chicken meat contains vitamin E, goat meat doesn’t.

Chicken meat contains vitamin K, goat meat doesn’t.

Chicken meat hands down carries more vitamins in terms of variety.

Chicken meat also contains folic acid, so pregnant women should consume chicken rather than goat meat. This vitamin is beneficial for the formation of neural tubes, as well as preventing the birth defect in the brain and spine from happening.

So, you might think there is no real contest here. Think again.

Goat meat is richer in riboflavin or vitamin B2, while chicken meat is richer in niacin or vitamin B3. These two vitamins are part of coenzymes that play a role in metabolism. Vitamin B2 deficiency can cause cleft babies and growth disorders, while vitamin B3 deficiency can cause pellagra.⁷

Goat meat contains higher levels of vitamin B-12, making it a better choice for preventing anemia than chicken meat.

Below is the table for vitamin comparisons between goat meat and chicken meat.^{1 2}

Minerals Comparison

Brown rice contains 30% more magnesium.

Brown rice contains 45.07% more phosphate.

Potatoes contain 539.53% more potassium.

Potatoes contain 909.43% more iron.

Brown rice contains 423.36% more copper.

Potatoes contain 500% more calcium.Brown rice contains 102.86% more zinc.

Brown rice contains more magnesium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, manganese, and selenium. Most of these nutrients are essential to maintaining your bones and teeth health, fluid and electrolyte balance, immunity, and pH. Furthermore, some of them also provide antioxidants to your body.¹⁰

Potatoes offer more potassium, iron, and calcium, which give you the benefits of:¹⁰

• Calcium: Gives bones and teeth their strength and structure, helps in the blood-clotting process and intracellular communications.
• Potassium: Regulates cells’ water volume so they can function well, helps balance sodium, and lowers blood pressure.
• Iron: Helps the oxygen transport and prevents microcytic hypochromic anaemia.

Glycemic Index Comparison

The glycemic index is a crucial factor to pay attention to for diabetics, especially because potatoes and brown rice are usually consumed regularly.

GI numbers indicate how quickly a food increases your blood sugar level, thus resulting in a spike in blood sugar. There are three groups of glycemic index values:¹¹

1. Low: GI ≤55
2. Medium: 56-69
3. High: GI >70

It’s ill-advised to eat high-GI food regularly, which could lead to insulin resistance and Diabetes Mellitus type 2. In this regard, brown rice is definitely a good choice for daily meals for a diabetic.¹²

On the other hand, diabetics are recommended to eat only low-to-medium-GI foods. Potatoes have high GI numbers across the board, even more so when they are processed heavily. So, potatoes are definitely a no-go for diabetics.