Pulsed electrical field (PEF) treatment with 1 kJ/kg and 3 kJ/kg of energies was applied to yellow- and purple-fleshed potatoes before frying (180 °C for 2 min). The effects of PEF on oil content, colour and bioactive compounds were investigated. Significant oil reductions were observed for PEF-treated potatoes, ≥ 20% for yellow- and ≥ 24% for purple-fleshed potatoes, and this was also confirmed in the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) graph. PEF-treated potatoes had significantly higher phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity than those of untreated samples. Moreover, although the frying reduced total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) contents of the purple-fleshed potato samples compared to raw potato samples (not PEF-treated and not fried), PEF-treated samples had significantly higher TMA than the untreated (not PEF-treated but fried) samples. Raw samples and fried samples were separated according to PC1 (principal component 1) in chemometric analysis, and fried samples with and without PEF treatment were also separated according to PC2 (principal component 2). When PLS (partial least squares) regression graphs were examined, it was revealed that there was a very good correlation between the oil content and redness (a*) values calculated and estimated by FTIR spectroscopy. Our study showed that PEF treatment could be succesfully used for different varieties of potato before frying.