I recently dug through my pantry, mostly searching for pasta but also avoiding actual work. That’s when I found a bag of potatoes… and they had sprouted. Not little nubs—full-on, reaching-for-the-light, alien-tentacle sprouts. My first thought? “Ugh.” My second? “Can I still eat these, or will this kill me?”

It turns out, sprouted potatoes are more complicated than I realized. Here’s what I learned.

Sprouts Aren’t Just Ugly
I used to think sprouts were purely cosmetic. They looked weird but weren’t dangerous. Wrong.

When a potato sprouts, it starts producing glycoalkaloids—specifically solanine and chaconine. These are natural toxins. They won’t kill you instantly, but eating too much can trigger nausea, cramps, and headaches. So yes, they’re real, and yes, you should pay attention.