Our Family’s Southern Chicken Stew Recipe
Featuring tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and chicken, this flavorful and hearty southern chicken stew recipe is a firm family favorite.
This Southern Chicken Stew is a must-try. Rich, comforting, and packed with flavor, it’s a dish that quickly becomes a household favorite. It’s simple to prepare, easy to customize, and perfect for feeding a crowd.
Originally published in a 1974 issue of Good Housekeeping, this recipe has stood the test of time. It’s a staple for family meals, gatherings, and cozy nights in. The hearty combination of tender chicken, potatoes, and a flavorful broth makes it both satisfying and versatile.
Once you’ve made it a couple of times, you’ll likely have the recipe memorized. It stores well in the fridge, freezes beautifully, and can be easily stretched by adding more potatoes. A double batch ensures a warm, homemade meal is always on hand for the week. This budget friendly, hearty meal is going to be your new favorite!
What You’ll Need to Make Southern Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- potatoes
- whole chicken
- crushed tomatoes
- corn
- onion
- salt
- black pepper
- sugar
- butter
How to Make Southern Chicken Stew
In a dutch oven, cover the whole chicken with water and cook over medium heat until it the thickest part of the breast registers 165°F (74°C) on an instant read thermometer. When done, remove the chicken from the broth and set it aside to cool a bit. Reserve broth. You can use boneless skinless chicken breast for this recipe, just add some chicken bouillon cubes to your water to make sure your chicken broth is rich enough.
Peel and dice the potatoes and onions.
Add diced onions and potatoes to the reserved broth. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
While the potatoes are cooking, remove the chicken meat from the bones and shred.
When the potatoes are very soft, remove approximately a coffee cup’s worth. With a fork, mash these potatoes in the cup.
Add the mashed potatoes back into the dutch oven.
Then add the .
Next, add the can of crushed tomatoes. You can use diced tomatoes or even fresh garden tomatoes in place of the crushed tomatoes.
Next add salt and pepper.
Finally, add the sugar. Sugar acts to enhance flavor and offset the acidity of the tomatoes.
Simmer slowly with the lid off for about forty-five minutes.
Just before serving, stir in the butter. Adding butter just before serving makes for a creamy, velvety texture.
Ladle stew into bowls and serve. This Southern Chicken Stew recipe refrigerates and freezes well. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave.
Notes on Making Southern Chicken Stew
- Serve Southern Chicken Stew with saltine or oyster crackers, homemade drop biscuits, or cornbread. You could also serve it with a simple side salad, like an easy Greek salad.
- For a little kick, serve your stew with some hot sauce. Alternatively, before simmering add a teaspoon of paprika or a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.
- Want to add more vegetables? Add in a cup of frozen peas or green beans when you add the corn. You could also add diced carrot, , or celery to your stew.
- You can use chicken that is already cooked and shredded (rotisserie chicken works well), but you will need to use chicken stock to cook the vegetables.
- If you want to make Southern Chicken Stew in a crockpot, cover and cook the chicken on low for 6-8 hours, add the potatoes and onions a couple of hours into cooking. When chicken is cooked and tender, remove from crockpot and shred, remove the potatoes as instructed above and then add everything back to the crockpot and cook on high for a couple of hours or until warmed through.
More Stew Recipes You’ll Love
Ingredients
- 1 chicken
- 2 large onions chopped
- 7 cups water
- 4 cups canned tomatoes
- 6 medium potatoes peeled and diced
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups frozen or canned whole kernel corn
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 5 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
Instructions
- Cook the chicken until done in water. Remove the chicken from the broth and discard its skin. Separate the meat from the bones and then shred the meat.1 chicken, 7 cups water
- Dip off as much fat from the broth as possible.
- Simmer potatoes in 1 cup of broth in a covered saucepan until done and do not drain. Mash potatoes slightly, keeping them lumpy.6 medium potatoes
- Add corn, onions, tomatoes, sugar, salt, and pepper to broth.2 large onions, 4 cups canned tomatoes, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 cups frozen or canned whole kernel corn, 5 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons pepper
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add potatoes and chicken pieces and simmer slowly with the lid off for at least 45 minutes.6 medium potatoes, 1 chicken
- Right before serving, stir in the butter and let it melt. This chicken stew is best if made a day ahead and reheated to serve.2 tablespoons butter
Just made this last night & loved it..so easy and yummy, even had 2 Vegetarians drooling! I added carrots as they are my favorite and I think I’ll be making up some pot pies with this recipe. I originally felt compelled to make this after the first or second or maybe the third time we were told to make this stew! Lol, but it was great advice it will become “our chicken stew” also….we may even steal a pie or two too…so glad i landed in the south while searching chicken stews.
Can’t wait to get into the pies thanks! Lori
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Lori!! It is one of our favorites and I love hearing that others like it as well as we do!
Cool, foggy morning in Louisiana. Woke up thinking about what I could cook for supper tonight. Chicken stew and cornbread came to mind. Your recipe was the first one I saw when I searched the internet. I didn’t go any further. I can taste this already!
This was really good! I have a large family and needed to make chicken “stretch”, I had 4 leg quarters and 8 people to feed. I cut up the quarters into pieces before I boiled the chicken and I ended up using only half of it after I chopped it up. I also used mixed veggies(no corn in the freezer) and tomato sauce(no canned tomatoes either) and potato flakes to thicken. There wasnt an empty bowl in the house and I have more chicken for another meal! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Sandra!!!
I am cooking this tonight, but I have put O’brien Hashbrowns in it b/c I didn’t have enough potatoes. I will let you know how it turns out.
I can’t wait to hear Shea!!
Its going to be a little cool this afternoon and gruess what I’m going to try? Chicken Stew. Have a good weekend.
This has become a family favorite. Making it again tonight – probably the 7th time we’ve had it. All of my children love it. I’ve been out of potatoes a couple of times, and had to substitute sweet potatoes. My husband thought it was a bit sweet – but the kids were just as happy even with the wrong ingredients.
Thank you. I love a recipe that is tried and true – and really love a recipe that is great every time!
I’m a little confused about when to put the cooked, shredded chicken back in the pot for the tutorial version of the recipe. Does it go back in when I add the tomatoes?
Actually, Betsy, she never does put the chicken back in. =-) It’s still sitting on the counter cooling — complete with skin, bones and meat. I’ll bet Christy skins and bones the chicken, shreds it, and adds it with the tomatoes just before that last 45 minute simmer. Can’t have chicken stew without the chicken, can you?
I noticed that the chicken was never put in too, lol!! I read and re-read it about 3 times thinking I had just missed it. However, her mother’s recipe does tell to skin, shred, and put the chicken back in!