Butter Stewed Potatoes
I was a tickled that so many people wanted to know how I made the potatoes that were pictured with last week’s meatloaf. Stewed potatoes are something I make fairly often for my family because they are so stinking easy to whip up and make a filling side dish to go with just about everything. I can also honestly say that there have never been any left, no matter how much I make. That’s right y’all, this one is a plate-licker.
The thing is, they are so easy that I found myself trying to come up with a more complicated recipe to bring you instead of mine because I was a little embarrassed at how simple these are. Don’t worry, I came to my senses. After all, the whole premise of Southern Plate is to bring you the recipes that folks in my family use every day. That’s the great thing about traditional Southern food, in its natural form it is simple as can be and very inexpensive.
So here we go, my last minute no fuss side dish that everyone loves. If you don’t already make stewed potatoes in your house I hope you’ll give these a try because until you taste them, you wont’ believe something so easy could be so good.
You’ll need: Potatoes, margarine or butter, salt, and water.
Thats it.
How many potatoes do you use? I usually do one to two for each person, depending on the size of my potatoes. If they are small, I might do two or three per person. If you end up with leftovers (which I never do) these refrigerate and reheat well so if you’re in doubt, just make a few more.
I promise they won’t go to waste!
Fill a pot about 1/2 to 3/4 full. You basically just want enough to cover your potatoes.
I salt my water a little bit and then put it on to boil while I get my potatoes ready.
Peel dem taters.
Some folks like to use vegetable peelers, but now I use my old trusty paring knife.
Back in college, I didn’t know how to peel things with a paring knife and so I had to use a vegetable peeler if I wanted to keep all of my fingers. I had an internship at a restaurant for one of my classes and the lead chef gave me a whole bucket of potatoes to peel – and no vegetable peeler! I looked at that paring knife as if it were about to bring about the end of my life, but considering how ineffective I was with it and how many potatoes I had to peel – that wasn’t really a stretch.
I struggled through a few of them, hacking away, until he came over laughing and said “You’re acting like you’re holding a vegetable peeler, not a knife”. Of course, I immediately fessed up about my woeful lack of peeling experience and left that day with newly acquired paring skills. I haven’t peeled a potato any other way since.
I slice mine kinda thick and chunky.
Put them in the water and cover them.
Bring to a boil.
You want to continue boiling them until they are fork tender, 10-15 minutes (or so)
Usually, I just stick a fork down into my water and see if it splits in half like this, then I know they are done.
I took one out for the picture on accounta I jes love y’all s’much.
Once they’re done, pour them into a colander and drain well.
Now I just put them back into the pot and toss in a stick of margarine.
Add a little more salt.
A good rule of thumb is to start with about half a teaspoon.
Let the butter melt and stir them up good. Spoon them out to serve!
Butter Stewed Potatoes
Ingredients
- Enough potatoes for those you want to feed (For four people, I use 6-8 med sized)
- 1 stick butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Fill a pot 1/2 - 3/4 full with water and add a teaspoon of salt. Put on to boil. Peel potatoes and cut into thick slices. Add to water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain potatoes in a colander. Place back into pot and add butter and salt. Stir and allow butter to melt. Serve warm.
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Ingredients
- Enough potatoes for those you want to feed (For four people, I use 6-8 med sized)
- 1 stick butter or margarine
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Fill a pot 1/2 - 3/4 full with water and add a teaspoon of salt. Put on to boil. Peel potatoes and cut into thick slices. Add to water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain potatoes in a colander. Place back into pot and add butter and salt. Stir and allow butter to melt. Serve warm.
Another Way
*Grandmama cooks her stewed potatoes a little differently but they taste the same to me so I just stuck with showing you my method. She covers her slices with just enough water for them to cook in and puts a lid on them until they are fork tender. Then, she adds a stick of butter, salt, pepper, and a little flour to thicken up the water a bit and lets them cook with the lid off until thick. This is probably how you saw your Granny make them so I just wanted to let ya know in case you think I missed something here 
.
“Tell me who you go with and I’ll tell you who you are.”
Submitted by Sue Bankston, who heard it from her dear mother growing up.
Submit your quote here, and if your well is feeling a little empty, drink your fill there as well.
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Mar 7 2010. Filed under Side Dishes.
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I make these all the time too. I often add chives.
BUT…my favorite way is to add browned butter..almost black. THAT is good!
Hi Christy,
Going to serve the potatoes tonight with cube steaks. Sound so good, forgot about that easy dish. Also, planning a trip to Belvidere, TN to visit Falls Mill and Swiss Pantry. Thanks for the information, keep sharing your one tank road trips. Have been living in Scottsboro for 2 and half years, so exploring the area is so much fun. How about Athens and Florence?
You visited my neck of the woods! I have relatives that live near both places in Belvidere. I live in another town, but spent much of my childhood around those parts! Falls Mill is a cool place and Swiss Pantry…YUM!
Made the meatloaf and potatoes , was a hit. Everyone loved them.
Thanks
Christy!!! I am CRACKIN’ UP! I thought we were the only ones who made – and called them “Stewed Potatoes!” These were a staple in my childhood. Guess we had potatoes when we didn’t have much else!
Your site continues to be a breath of fresh air in this crazy world. Many nights I just log-on, sit, read and enjoy…..
THANKS!
Deborah
Ive been reading your posts for awhile but when this one came across my email, after looking at the picture I was curious about the recipe because my mother, being a southern woman from savannah herself made what looked like the exact same potatoes. When I clicked the link to check out the recipe I was taken aback by the picture. Not only is this the same recipe my mother made but you have the same plate and salt shaker that she had. Mom passed away 4 years ago so it was like a trip down memory lane for me. Thanks for all the nifty recipes and humor I really enjoy your posts!
See Christy, I do look at your website! After looking at these stewed potatoes, I immediately decided that we had to have them for supper tonight. You are so right. Even though they are super simple, they are out of this world delicious. I hope that some of your readers will try them and let us know how their families liked them. Mama
Yep…made them for dinner and all 3 of my kids loved them. Honestly I think my 4 year old had at least 4 helpings!! Thanks for such incredibly easy and yummy recipes.
Thanks so much for the recipe! I bought 3 10-lb bags for $1.50 ea (yeah!) and I need some new ideas on how to prepare them so my family won’t grow tired of them:) I had these growing up but, sometimes forget the EASY recipes are the best!!
My mom added dried parsley and called them “Parslied Butter Potatoes” And sometimes when she wanted to change it out a little, she’d put some milk and flour in and they’d become “Creamed Potatoes”
I love this recipe. My mom also added the dried parsley & called them “Parsley Potatoes.” (I don’t here an -ed in my memory.) It was a staple food for 2 parents & 6 kids living on a serviceman’s salary back in the 1960′s. Thanks for sharing.
My sweet little Granny’s stewed potatoes were the best ever. Yum I used to love it when she cooked bbq weenies & stewed potatoes. Sure would love to see her twinkling eyes
I grew up with my mother making these for us as well. We too had the same green dinnerware that you have in your picture. You make so many of our family favorites and it takes me back to my childhood when times were so much easier. Since my mother has now passed away I am sharing many of these good southern recipes with my children just as you are with yours. So I just wanted to say thanks for what you are doing with your website. While I am making these potatoes for dinner tomorrow, I will be sipping my sweet tea and remembering some great times had around the table with some great friends and family from the past.
My great-grandmother made these when I was growing up. They were our favorite and we called them “butter soup” potatoes! Thanks for the memories!
Love stewed potatoes! Hardly ever hear them called that anymore. I have had strange looks from guests when I told them they were on the menu for supper, that is until they tasted them!
Our mother made these often when we were little and my brother has asked me many times if I knew how she made them. She died young and I never got her recipe. My brother is coming for a visit next week and I am going to try to impress him with this recipe. We called them “ever hots” because they stayed hot so long. For that reason, I could never find a recipe, Thank you so much.
I make these potatoes too but I don’t drain all the water off. I save little bit and I add butter and paresley and a little garlic ( powder or garlic salt or fresh garlic if ya have it) for flavoring…I call them buttered Garlic /Parsley potatoes….MMMMMmmmm good!!!
My granny cooked these up just like your granny did. They were like a staple in our diet…had them almost ever meal. We just called them chunky tators…man that brings back good memories!
I am new to your site and I wanted to tell you how VERY much I am enjoying reading through all the recipes on here. I have laughed so much. Honestly, I think we could be sisters!!!
Thanks so much,
Cindy Lou
These potatoes sound good. Have you cooked them sliced thin with a stick of butter and a can and a half of evaporated milk on 380 degrees till brown on top. These are good with hamburger steaks.
Isn’t it funny how people call something one thing and someone else calls it another? We make stewed potatos in our family but boil new potatos and a chopped onion until done. Then we drain off all the water and pour on a white sauce or milk gravy, season with salt and pepper and dig in.When we make potatos like your recipe, we call them “butter potatos”. Whatever you call them, they are yum-o.
I’m making the stewed potatoes tonight with fried cabbage, field peas, corn bread. It’s my version of a vegetarian dinner!
My Grandmother made stewed potatoes with milk and green English peas and pearl onions…Grandmothers are so clever:)
i cannot tell you what a absolute delight it is reading your post. i live by myself and i save reading it until i am feeling a little lonesome—when i look at the recipies, especially the old recipies like my momma and grandmother used to make– i just kinda get carried back to happier times. and when i read what all you have to say when describing how to prepare them-i get a laugh or at least a smile. and then, when i read what other readers share, stories they tell-it warms my heart. ala in all when i finish reading everything, i feel like i have visited with folks and don’t feel as lonesome anymore, plus i have some wonderful new recipies–or some great old ones that i really didn’t know how momma made till now !!!! God bless you, lady, you just don’t know what a good thing you are doing………
I like your grandmas recipe mo better. I crumble up a little pile of cornbread, put some potatoes on with with some of the juice the potatoes were cooked in, add me a bunch of fresh ground black pepper and I can eat the them by themselves. Sooooo good. LOL
I will tell you a less fat way, cube the potatoes I prefer yukon golds because they already have a buttery taste and peeling is not necessary and is healthier as well. Place in pot and just cover with water add a sprinkle of salt, when tested with a fork and done, drain all but a few tablespoons of water depending on how many potatoes you have, now add about 2 T of butter or more if you must but 4 should be more than enough. Add some fresh chopped italian parsley, more salt and pepper, put the lid on and the fire low,keep an eye on it and stir often until the water has been absorbed, this is accomplished in mere minutes. It is basically parsley buttered potatoes but leaving just that little of water in makes the biggest difference on the texture and also not having so much butter in it. Enjoy!
Love this dish. So easy and yummy.
Something to add, which is the way my family has always made Stewed Potatoes, is to add a medium sized sweet vidalia onion to the pot, and slice it in quarters, letting it boil along with the potatoes. Also, black pepper; it helps counteract the salty butteryness. You can do half an onion, if you prefer. This particular recipe goes perfectly with salmon patties, by the way!
[...] Christy Presents Butter Stewed Potatoes [...]
I’ve looked everywhere for this recipe. I remember having these a child. Thanks for posting!!!!
This is my favorite food when I am sick. I love stewed potatoes and we always have them with BBQ chicken (cooked in a skillet, not the grill). I do add the flour so there is plenty “thincken”.
LOL We always called it “Thicknen” as well, and that is why I could NEVER find the recipe. We called it “new potatoes with thicknen”. Are you sure we aren’t related?
We just might be somewhere along the way, regardless you are family now!
My momma used to fix these with just a bit of Velveeta cheese!! Talk about yummy!!! Have you ever had a recipe for stewed tomatoes?? My husband’s Granny used to fix them and he loved them but again she has passed and nobody knows the secret!!
My mom made stewed tomatoes with canned (whole, smashed) tomatoes, torn chunks of bread (great for using up the heels that no one wanted) and a bit of sugar, no idea if this is what you’re looking for but that’s what we called it.
Making these tonight with some pintos and your mama’s meatloaf! I just love all your family’s recipes!
I have been searching for years for this recipe! My grandmother who passed away in 1997 made them. They were one of my favorite dishes to have at her house. Thank you!
I grew up eating these and have passed this on to my children and grandchildren. I add a couple of chicken buillon cubes to the water before cooking the potatoes. Richer flavor,
My famiy loves these. I use garic salt instead of table salt & then add a little parsley. My boys fight over who will get the last bit in the pot.
We have these often..grew up eating them. I also fix cheese potatoes often..boil..add as much cheese as you like…I use Velveeta…and a little milk…so yummmmy
My mom made these also when I was a child. But she added pepper to them as well. I called them “peppered potatoes.” I remember eating these as a quick meal because my mom worked (owned a mom and pop grocery store) and got home late. So it was peppered potatoes, peas and hot dogs (just the weiners not hotdogs on a bun), and “light bread.”
I grew up eating stewed potatoes as well, but fixed a bit different.
Bring water to a boil, then add your salt (so that it doesn’t scar the bottom of your boiler), then cubed potatoes, diced onion, butter and black pepper. I find that cooking the butter and the potatoes together while the potatoes are boiling helps for the potatoes to absorb the butter flavor rather than being coated in butter.
Also, if you use new potatoes (red potatoes), boil them in salted water. Mix together eggs, milk, pepper, and a little salt (for the eggs). When the potatoes are near done and the water is still boiling, pour the egg mixture in and allow it to cook (will look somewhat like scrambled eggs but a different texture). These are my favorite! My daddy (may he RIP) cooked these all the time and I love them. These potatoes, smoked ham, fresh green beans, and dinner rolls = the best meal ever!
Was surprised to see my mama’s stewed potatoes on the internet. Haven’t cooked these in years, but now remember how good they were. I’m thinking they’re on the menu for tomorrow night’s supper. By the way, my granny didn’t add flour, but took out one of the potatoes and mashed it up, then stirred in the little bit of water she kept, which thickened up the liquid very well.
I cook my potato’s the same way and then I add chopped tomato’s and onions in large pieces and toss them in with the potato’s and then I pour olive oil all over them…. They have so much favore…
My mom made these as well, but thickened the water with cornstarch, which made a thick, yummy sauce!!!
I make these a lot, but I toss a beef bullion cube or two in the water while it’s cooking. Delish!
So funny…exactly how I grew up on them and cooked them for my kids. The only difference my Grandmother did was to always “mash” a few to make the “thickenen”! Haven’t had these in years but you can bet tomorrow night for supper, we WILL have them! Too late tonight or I would go cook me some right now! She also used to add some green peas. She also would add “new” potatoes on top of her green beans!!!! YUMMY!
Yummy is right!!!
Thank you, Christy for this wonderful website!! I’ve not gotten to try any of the recipes yet but plan on trying as many as possible. Alot of these recipes sound like ones that my papa was just starting to teach me when he passed in 1985. I sort of lost interest in cooking then and my moma, who was one of 10 kids, took over the cooking. She had learned to cook by watching & helping her moma to cook before she passed (my moma was 18 when grandma passed). Since my moma was one of the middle kids & one of the oldest still at home, she took over the cooking & helped with her younger siblings while her daddy & grandpa took care of the farm. I remember my older cousins raving about her cooking, especially her “sloppy potatoes”. By the time I became interested in cooking again she was just beginning the early stages of alzheimers. This, unfortunately, was one of the recipes she couldn’t remember and she just passed away last month. I was talking to my oldest cousin at her funeral and asked her if she knew how moma had made them. She wasn’t positive but thought it was just potatoes, bacon grease and water. However she wasn’t sure how she cooked them. After extensive searching on the internet I found your site and this recipe, which is the closest i’ve found. I sincerely believe that my moma’s spirit led me to this site and so many of the recipes from my childhhood. So i’m starting with this one and working my way from there.
Thank you again, Christy, for this wonderful site and your heartwarming stories.
[...] Butter Stewed Potatoes [...]
I use a little bacon grease plus butter, salt and pepper.thicken with flour…still kinda soupy and serve over cornbread !! make myself sick ever time i fix um !!!
another thing i do with taters……. get the smallest you can find… boil till done, drain and then fry them whole like you would french fries. sprinkle with salt
sooooo good !!!
Ohhh Suzi! I am going to have to try that!!! It sounds so good. Now I am hungry!
[...] Butter Stewed Potatoes [...]
These are especially good with some fresh chopped parsley as well!
Love them!
So glad you posted this recipe! I’ve been looking for something else to do with potatoes besides baking them in the microwave. My family will love this!
My mother made these a lot. She did hers similar to your grandmother’s. Delish. Going to have to make some. But need to add lots of black pepper. Could make a meal on them. Don’t know why I forgot about them.
Christy, Could you post a video to show us the best, most efficient way to peel potatoes with a paring knife?
in our family we call it buttered taters, we have them at least once a week, sometimes w/gravy too..my husband likes to mash his with a fork and make chunky mashed taters, either way, you cant go wrong