Our Family’s Southern Chicken Stew
Warm, rich, and bursting with flavor, this Southern Chicken Stew has earned its place as a family classic! We’re talking chicken, corn, potatoes, and tomatoes, all slow-simmered in a broth so good you’ll want to mop it up with one of my Southern Cathead Biscuits. It’s simple to prepare, easy to customize, and perfect for feeding a crowd.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Southern Chicken Stew
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: chicken, onions, water, canned tomatoes, potatoes, sugar, frozen or canned whole kernel corn, butter
- Why You'll Love It: Featuring tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and chicken, this flavorful and hearty southern chicken stew recipe is a firm family favorite.
How do you make Southern chicken stew?
Cook a whole chicken in 7 cups of water, then shred the meat and skim the broth. Simmer 6 diced potatoes in a cup of the broth until tender and mash them slightly. Add corn, chopped onions, 4 cups canned tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper to the broth and simmer 20 minutes, then stir in the potatoes and chicken and simmer uncovered at least 45 minutes. Finish with 2 tablespoons of butter.
The Chicken Stew That’s Been in Our Family for Decades
Originally published in a 1974 issue of Good Housekeeping, this Southern chicken stew recipe has stood the test of time. It’s been a staple for our family meals, gatherings, and cozy nights in for as long as I can remember, and is often served alongside my Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread. You really just can’t beat the hearty mix of tender chicken, potatoes, and a flavorful broth, which makes it both satisfying and versatile.
This stew is so straightforward that 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, much like my Cozy Potato Corn Chowder, can be easily stretched by adding more potatoes. A double batch keeps a warm, homemade meal on hand all week. And did I mention that it’s budget-friendly too? Honestly, the more you learn about this stew, the better it gets!
Ingredients
- Bone-in chicken breast (pre-cooked or rotisserie works too)
- Onions
- Canned tomatoes (or fresh diced tomatoes if that’s what you have!)
- Potatoes
- Sugar
- Frozen or canned corn (whole kernel)
- Butter
- Salt & pepper
Tips Before You Get Started
- For a little kick, try serving your stew with hot sauce on the side. Or, if you like it spicy, just toss in a teaspoon of paprika or a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning before you let it simmer!
- Feel free to bulk it up with more veggies! I love throwing in a cup of frozen peas or green beans when I add the corn. You can also add diced carrots, bell pepper, or celery. Whatever you’ve got in the fridge works great.
- To make this in a crockpot, cover the chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours, adding the potatoes and onions a couple of hours in. Once the chicken is tender, pull it out and shred it, remove the potatoes as usual, then add everything back in. Cook on high for a couple more hours until it’s all warmed through.
How to Make Southern Chicken Stew
1. Cook the Chicken
In a Dutch oven, cover the whole chicken with water and cook it over medium heat until the thickest part of the breast hits 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
Once it’s done, take the chicken out of the broth and let it cool for a bit. Don’t throw out that broth – you’ll need it later!
2. Cook the Potatoes
Peel and dice your potatoes and onions, then toss them into the reserved broth. Cook everything until the potatoes are nice and tender.
3. Shred the Chicken
While the potatoes are cooking, go ahead and pull the chicken meat off the bones and give it a good shred.
4. Mash the Potatoes
Once the potatoes are very soft, scoop out about a coffee cup’s worth and mash them up with a fork. Stir the mashed potatoes back into the Dutch oven, then add in your shredded chicken.
Note: We’re only mashing a portion of the potatoes here, not all of them. The mashed potatoes help thicken the stew, while the remaining whole potatoes add a hearty texture. It’s the best of both worlds!
5. Add Ingredients & Simmer
Next, add your can of tomatoes, then add in the corn.
Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the sugar.
Let everything simmer slowly with the lid off for about 45 minutes.
6. Add Butter & Serve
Just before serving, stir in the butter. Adding butter just before serving makes for a creamy, velvety texture.
Time to serve up this hearty stew! We love soaking it up with our 2-Ingredient Easy Homemade Biscuits. Enjoy!
Storage
This Southern chicken stew recipe refrigerates and freezes really well. You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat in the microwave.
Southern Chicken Stew FAQs
You sure can! I would just recommend adding in some chicken bouillon cubes to your water to make sure your chicken broth is rich enough.
The secret to better chicken stew is all about layering flavors! While this recipe doesn’t call for it, one way to boost the flavor is by searing your chicken thighs in the Dutch oven first to get a beautiful golden crust, then deglaze the pot to pick up all those tasty browned bits from the bottom. Then you’d add your broth and cook your onions and potatoes from there.
Saltine crackers, some buttery cornbread, or homemade drop biscuits are some of my top choices! Honestly, nothing beats dunking a warm, buttery biscuit into a hearty bowl of stew. If you’re looking for something a little lighter on the side, I’d also recommend throwing together an easy Greek salad.
I hope this stew warms your heart as much as it does ours! Rate it below and tell me how you made it your own.
Southern Chicken Stew
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 in water until done.1 chicken, 7 cups water
- Remove the chicken from the broth and discard its skin. Separate the meat from the bones, then shred the meat. Skim off as much fat from the broth as possible.
- Simmer potatoes in 1 cup of broth in a covered saucepan until done. 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, 5 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons pepper
- Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and chicken pieces, then 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
Hi Christy! It’s been a snowy week up here in southern New Jersey, so I just made this stew today; the hubby and I loved it! This is very much like my dear departed mother-in-law’s chicken vegetable soup. She added a can of condensed tomato soup instead of canned tomatoes, but the flavor is very similar and it made me think of her. What sweet memories!
I have to tell you, Christy, I bought your “Come Home To Supper” book for both myself and for my friend Kim. She told me that her family ( hubby and three kids, ages 12, 9 and 6) told her to thank ‘Mrs. Carson’ for the cookbook! She has made several recipes and her family loved them. So, now I am paying the thanks forward to you. She loved the easy preparation and the fact that you don’t call for a lot of fancy ingredients. I invited her to go on your website, too. Now, if I could just get MY copy of your book back from my mother, I would be in good shape. I had a feeling the day I lent t to her, I wouldn’t get it back anytime soon….sigh! Something tells me I’d better order myself another copy… Have a great rest of the weekend.
LOL, I am so glad to hear that everyone is enjoying the cookbook so much!!
Christy,
I have tried a number of your recipes and loved EVERY one of them! I made this chicken stew the other night(it is a lot like what my family calls Brunswick Stew) and my father (very picky) absolutely loved it! I can’t wait to pick up your cook books!
I am so glad you liked it Kim!!! I hope you enjoy the cookbook!!
I also would like to know if the tomatoes and corn should be drained. Also, how many boneless skinless chicken breasts should I use? I’m thinking 3-4? This sounds delicious! I can’t wait to make it. Love your website and all of your recipes.
No, they do not have to be drained, but if you prefer to drain them that is ok too. This is a very forgiving recipe.
I have made this delicious stew many times after finding the recipe in your first cookbook. Everyone loves it!
Chicken stew is an “Alabama” staple. It is made for fund raisers,family reunions, and any other gathering. Our family wants it for our annual Christmas day meal. They start asking way before the holidays, “Is Papa Gene making chicken stew this year?” However the one thing that makes ours special is the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that we eat with it. We make creamy and crunchy and everyone who has ever eaten stew with us soon becomes a fan. Try it, you will like it!!!!
Hahaha! Peggy, I love this. It’s the quirky things that make our families special, isn’t it!
Haha, growing up in Florence, AL my late momma always served hers with peanut butter and syrup sandwiches. Heat creamy peanut butter in a double boiler until thinned out a bit, then add in Golden Eagle syrup to taste (start with 1/4 to 1/3 the volume of your peanut butter, I think). Stir and let simmer a bit, then spoon onto a slice of toasted bread then cover with another piece of toast. Cut into triangles and serve warm, alongside your stew. Sounds weird, but this stuff is like crack it’s so delicious…especially when it’s cold out! I moved to Boston 10 years ago, and always crave chicken stew and these sandwiches when winter hits. People here think I’m nuts, but it tastes like home to me. 🙂
I just made this for dinner and I made homemade dumplings with it; it was delicious and was quite filling! I also added mixed vegetables, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes for a little additional seasoning. I am not a big fan of tomatoes (I used canned crushed tomatoes) so I was a little skeptical where I was making it, but it was still quite good and very flavorful. I think that the next time I will make it without the tomatoes and see how that turns out. But it did make a huge pot, and my family loved it. Thanks for posting this recipe!
If we sub chicken breasts, how many or how many pounds? Thanks!