Your Guide to Starches
They’re the backbone of a healthy, sustainable diet for energy, satiety and overall health — when you choose them in their whole-food forms.
🌾 Grains (whole or minimally processed)
- Brown rice
- White rice (less fiber, but still a starch)
- Wild rice
- Oats (steel-cut, rolled, groats, etc; avoid
highly processed instant types) - Barley
- Millet
- Quinoa (technically a pseudograin but starchy)
- Farro
- Bulgur
- Buckwheat (also a pseudograin)
- Amaranth
- Teff
- Sorghum
- Rye berries
- Wheat berries
- Corn (whole kernels, polenta, grits)
🥔 Starchy vegetables
- Potatoes (all kinds: russet, red, yellow, fingerling,
etc.) - Sweet potatoes
- Yams
- Winter squashes (butternut, kabocha, acorn, etc.)
- Cassava (yuca)
- Taro
- Plantains
- Green peas
- Corn on the cob
🌱 Legumes (beans and peas)
While they’re also rich in protein and fiber, legumes are starch–dominant:
- Lentils (all types: green, brown, red)
- Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- Black beans
- Kidney beans
- Pinto beans
- Navy beans
- White beans (cannellini, Great Northern)
- Adzuki beans
- Lima beans
- Mung beans
- Soybeans (edamame is less starchy but still some)
- Split peas
🥜 Other starchy plant foods
- Chestnuts (unique among nuts — high starch, low fat)
- Lotus root
- Water chestnuts
❗ Foods that are mostly starch, but often processed
- Whole-grain breads and pastas (still starch-based but often higher in calorie density and easier to overeat)
- Whole-grain tortillas
- Whole-grain noodles (soba, udon, etc.)
✅ Key points
- Choose whole, intact starches whenever possible (e.g., whole potatoes rather than fries, whole brown rice rather than white rice when you want more fiber).
- Starches are complex carbohydrates — they digest more slowly than simple sugars and provide longer-lasting energy.
- Don’t fear them: they’re the foundation of traditional healthy diets worldwide (think Okinawa sweet potatoes, Andean potatoes, African yams, Asian rice, Mediterranean barley).
Quick tip: If you’re planning meals or helping others, focus on a variety of these starches throughout the week. Rotate grains, tubers & legumes – you’ll cover different nutrients & keep things interesting.
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