When I’m low on money I get lentils and potatoes and rice. I would dice up the potatoes fairly small, rinse the rice and lentils and then cook all three in a pot of water on the stove usually with just some salt and pepper and curry powder. By the time the rice is done everything is cooked through and a big pot of that could last me a couple of days!

I’ve always understood that beans and rice is the defacto struggle meal. It’s hard to beat them for sheer dollars-to-calories ratio, and may even be less expensive than potatoes.

I’m sure you’re aware - and I empathize with your situation - but eating a variety is best if you’re able to manage it. Potatoes can go a long way to stretching a diet, but aren’t very nutritionally diverse on their own.

A few less expensive supplements I’ve used in the past are peanut butter, and eggs. There’s often a deal to be had by shopping seasonally - pumpkins are in right now and I get a surprising amount of mileage out of them.

Personally I love green onions with potatoes. They’re not very nutritionally dense, but they’re a pleasing aromatic and you can get a bundle for around a dollar. If you place your onions in an open jar of water on the counter, they’ll continue to grow. I usually regrow my onions 4-5 times from a single bunch and plain water, a handy frugal tip

But assuming potatoes are the only or main item on the menu, there’s an impressive degree of versatility in their preparation. Ultimately that usually adds up to mashed, baked, boiled, or fried.

Potatoes make an excellent soup. Even on their own - a local place here does a side dish which is just a quarter potato simmered in miso / vegetable stock. If you’re doing other ingredients, the potato can be made into a thickener for soup - corn chowder is an inexpensive meal that I’ve leaned heavily on in the past.

If you make a large batch of mashed potatoes, you can repurpose the leftovers for other meals. Mix with flour and you’ve got croquettes or potato pancakes. You can pretty much just toss them in a pan and refry them. If fish is available to you, you can mince a can into a potato / flour mixture and then fry it to get a tasty fish cake.

You can jazz up a baked potato into what’s known as a Hasselbeck potato if you want a fun presentation. Essentially you score the potato into several thin segments and drizzle it with oil while baking. It has a pretty unique look.

This last one is a bit off the deep end - but it’s a local dish here and something that our family does for major gatherings. It’s called Rappie Pie, or Pate a la Rapure, or sometimes Potats Rappe. It’s a bit of a process, but the only essential ingredients are potatoes and soup stock. It can be a ton of work and not for the faint of heart, but it’s a rather unique preparation and genuinely comfort food for me. We like ours fairly runny - we sometimes call it Potato Jello

This recipe appears fairly accurate, but I’ll try to summarize.

1. Grate potatoes into pulp then squeeze to remove the starch. This is the most laborious part of the process, so it’s common for people to do this communally or to take a shortcut by buying a processed potato block.

2. Gradually mix potato mixture into boiling broth. Whisk until smooth

3. Pour into a greased pan, halfway through adding additional fillings if you have them. This is commonly served as a meaty dish with chicken, rabbit, or venison, but I’ve made it vegetarian or plain before too.

4. Bake until a crispy skin forms. Serve while hot, leftovers can be frozen or refrigerated, then reheated in the oven or a skillet

Anyway, good luck to you. I hope food security is in your future, nobody should have to go hungry 😞

Not sure if this one’s been said yet, but potato gnocchi and tomato sauce is easy and cheap. Some recipes require egg yolk, but I’ve seen it done without it. Basically potatoes, flour, egg yolk (or a binder of some kind, but eggs can be found cheap at bargain groceries around me) and salt. It takes some time, but it makes for a pleasant meal without a lot of skill or expense required. Get yourself a jar of premade sauce or a can of diced tomatoes with some salt and pepper to top it with. Italian seasoning if you can spring for it.

My grandma would make us potato fritters when I was young and we didn’t have much money. Basically just hashbrowns fried with some salt and pepper with a bucket of salsa on top. You can also find powdered milk for things like mashed potatoes. Hope this helps!

A couple of years ago I picked up a recipe that someone shared in response to a post about three ingredient recipes. I partially boil potatoes, dump them on a cookie sheet, fork smash them, pour butter over the top, and throw them in the oven until they’re a little brown and crispy on the tips, and then salt. They are so good and you could sprinkle a little bit of anything on top of this -any kind of seasoning. A little bit bacon would be good, or ham or leftover taco meat or some spicy chicken. It’s kind of a good base for whatever leftovers you might have in your fridge and it has a little better presentation than just mashed potatoes. People are always amazed at how good it is. Who knew that potatoes, butter and salt were good together?