Southern Stewed Potatoes

Stewed Potatoes

If you were raised in the South, you grew up eating stewed potatoes at least a couple of times a month, if not every week. Served with cornbread and blackeyed peas, stewed potatoes were a real treat from any proper old Southerner’s childhood. And, to our friends up North, no, this is not a kind of potato soup.

Stewed Potatoes

Stewed Potatoes

MamaPeggy.com
Stewed potatoes were a treat from any Southerner's childhood
5 from 19 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

  • 6-8 large potatoes (peeled and cubed, about 1 inch cubes)
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp bacon grease (optional)
  • 1 pinch onion flakes
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • ยฝ cup water
  • ยฝ cup milk
  • 3 tbsp butter

Instructions
 

  • Peel and cube the potatoes, put in a medium pot and fill with water until it's about 2 inches above potatoes.
  • Bring to a boil (you want the potatoes cooked to they are just fork tender, not falling apart.
  • After the potatoes are done, keep them in the same water you cooked them in and reduce to a low heat.
  • Put the flour and half cup of water in a bowl and blend with a whisk until the flour is dissolved.
  • Stirring constantly, but carefully, add the dissolved flour and water into the pot with the potatoes and water. Allow a few minutes to cook on simmer so that it can thicken.
  • Add more flour if you want it thicker, or more water if you want it thinner.
  • Add milk, salt, pepper, onion flakes and butter or bacon grease (if desired - it's fine without the bacon grease). Season to taste.
3.9 46 votes
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Lane

I never knew til I was almost grown that arsh was the same thing as Irish.

Anna Luna

So when people from England say Don’t be an arsh (I thought is was a s s) it is actually Irish?

Trista

5 stars
My mom was raised in TN, but raised us kids in GA. This is her “special” Thanksgiving potatoes. Makes them every year for it. She calls them “Mammy(ma’am-me) taters”. She doesn’t add the bacon grease or the onion flakes tho. Everyone I know who eats them…love, love, loves them.

Deb

5 stars
Can you use unpeeled baby gold potatoes? If so I will be making tomorrow.

Jennifer

5 stars
Tennessee here. I grew up with my grandparents, both born in the 1920s. We didn’t have a lot of money, so veggies, usually grown in the garden, were the main dish alot. Stewed taters were a staple with my grandfather’s cast iron cornbread. Lots of veggies, and the occasional salmon patties. Love this recipe

Melissa

My mawmaw made all of those to when we were growing up

Pat

Very healthy diet.

Myrna

5 stars
I am from the eastern part of VA. My mother made this into soup with cornstarch as the thickener. She added dried beef in the glass jar. I am allergic to onions but I can eat leeks. I add cream and garlic. No way I am evah putting cheese in it.
The one recipe I can’t find is stewed tomatoes with Ritz crackers. Anybody know ?

B vardmn

5 stars
I use some french onion dip in mine, about a third to half a cup and some cubed ham or bacon crumbled

M. McMillin

5 stars
My grandmothers, mother and mother-in-law called them “thicken” potatoes. We’re all from Northern Mississippi if that helps explain, ๐Ÿ˜.

Margo D.

My mother just boiled potatoes and bacon cut into pieces. Then she would male rolled out dumplings and add to the boiling mixture a few at a time. I remember she added black pepper every layer. If she had some fresh English peas in the garden, she would shell them and add to the pot. I loved this dish!

Philip Langham

My grandmother from south Alabama made this same version. It was delicious!!

Laritabell7

5 stars
I’m from Northern MS my mother raised in the Delta and she always called then Stewed Potatos. There was never any bacon though.

dotsonga

I’m from GA and my mother and MawMaw also called them ‘Thicknen’ potatoes and I love them

CJolly

My Grandmother made this often, but never gave me the recipe! Thanks!

Larketa A Glover

I grew up on stewed potatoes and love them. I haven’t had them since my mom passed away 20 years ago. Going to make these tonight! Thank you for sharing your recipe

Jennifer

I am in NC and this is a child favorite, raised my kids on it and cook them still today. Potatoes are a great way to save money feeding a family. The longer the potato’s cook, the more the potatoes break down and the starch will release, the liquid reduces and thicken the water the potatoes are being cooked in so a few potatoes went far for this side dish. I never used thickening. Great side dish to start and do other stuff. It doesn’t create a fuss. It should be the first thing you start when fixing a meal. This time of the year was the best time for soupy potatoes made out of the new potatoes straight out of the ground. Sometimes Momma would add a few small green peas at the end. The perfect meal is to make these and cook a mess of fresh green beans, cornbread and cantaloupe. My daddy loved to crumble up cornbread and pour soupy potatoes over it.

Beth

I am in NC too! My mom made these often and served with cornbread or biscuits. Every time I make it, it brings back fond memories of my childhood.

Nunnally D. Brunson Jr.

Try chopping up 3- 4 hard boiled eggs in when done, also The Potatoes with the chopped-up eggs in it GO’S GREAT WITH SALMON PATTIES & Cook with pork Baby Lima bean

ALuna

5 stars
Yes will try!!! Thx

Jen

My Grandmother called them “Soupy Taters”. Missing her today. Thought I would make some, but never thought about using bacon grease though ๐Ÿ˜Š

L J Webb

Besides just eating the potatoes by themselves, is there any other side dishes you can make to go along with the potatoes?

M. Steelman

Greens. We had greens with them a lot growing up.

Sylvia

smothered squash, black-eye peas, fresh sliced tomatoes, tomatoes & okra smothered and cornbread

Mike Herron

5 stars
I make meatloaf, greens, and cornbread allong with the soupy taters. Been making this meal for years.

Cheryl Harvill

Can you add cheese?

Kevin

I don’t see why not. We never have, but I imagine it’d be good. We’ll have to try that.

Brandy

My Daddy was raised putting them over rice once prepared and thatโ€™s how weโ€™ve always ate them. …so good

james bowie

5 stars
Im going to try this when cold weather gets here next week,It looks great

Christeena

5 stars
I had NEVER heard of stewed potatoes til my hubby asked me to make them one day and u thought he had lost his mind. I found this recipe and now I’m the best wife ever. Thanks so MUCH

Cheryl Hill

My mother made these stewed potatoes and she also would add southern roll dumplings occasionally. They were even better with the dumplings.

Margo D.

Back in the 40โ€™s this would be all we had as a meal. For supper, we had leftover cornbread and fresh buttermilk. We thought this was what everybody ate. We didnโ€™t have meat with every meal. Of course I am 81 years old, and this was normal.

Susan Culberson

We called the “buttered potatoes. But we didnt add the flour. Just a lot of butter. Momma cooked the potatoes until they were tender, but not quite mushy, then drained out most, but not all of, the water. Then added the seasonings. Let it sit a few min to thicken, then YUM!

Stacy Wilson

I was so excited to find this recipe. My Mama Mary Moss Gunn from Blacksburg, SC knew Ms. Peggy (may have been related). Iโ€™m sure that I went to her house when I was a little girl.

Patience

My grandma also called them “arsh” potatoes. She just boiled her potatoes and then mixed half a cup of water with flour, salt and pepper and stirred it into the pot of boiling potatoes. Best eatin’ ever!!

Sandy Scott

Old folks called Irish potatoes arsh potatoes ๐Ÿฅ” at least my Grannie did….

Margo D.

Rash taters is what thy were called in Alabama.

Margo D.

That would be Arsh taters. Sorry.

Daniel

A lot of old timers in Louisiana call them โ€œIrish Potatoes โ€œ

Delores West

I can’t look at your cooked dishes without starving. I will be fixing these potatoes TODAY.
Love You

Michele Greene

Absolutely love these! Reminds me of my childhood and my kids love them too

Carol W.

Georgia girl here. My mama always served this with purple hull or black-eyed peas and cornbread and some kind of meat – usually fried pork chops. I’m making a pot today!

Charles

Iโ€™m making some today

Donna Kirby

I have made this recipe before and it turned out delicious. .My family ask for again today for lunch. We like as kinda of bowl of soup with buttermilk corn bread. Yum

Lorinda Sears

I’m out of flour and no way to store, how can I thickenvthem ,already stared on stove

Wanda Goodson

You can use corn starch to thicken anything. Be sure and dissolve it well in a cup before you add it. Only add a little at a time to your dish because it can thicken really fast. You can also use it to thicken tomatoes if you want to have tomatoes and rice. It does not alter the taste of your dish either. Its my standby instead of flour. Enjoy.

Charles

Yes

Barbara

Lorinda, you can just take out a few of the potatoes and mash them up really good, then add back to the pot…this works also. We grew up eating these potatoes with greens, peas and cornbread. We usually had meat on sundays..and sometimes at my grandmas the boys would shoot squirrels and they would be fried along with the chicken..lol And we lived just on the outskirts of big city Houston..

Kathy Burgess

Tasty. Not quite like my Nanny’s…but good!! Getting them to thicken was a little tricky. Delicious tho ๐Ÿ˜‹

Dennis Floyd

Can you use something for onion flakes?

Kevin

You don’t need to use the onion flakes. It’s just for an extra pep. I’ve made these plenty of times without the onion flakes.

Wanda Goodson

You can use onion powder instead of onion flakes. Same taste effects.

Nona Robinson

Wow! This took me back. My mom was raised in Buford, Georgia, and this was a meal we had often, especially in the winter. Served with her “from scratch” Southern cornbread made with stone ground corn meal and buttermilk in her iron skillet.

Charles

Oh yes. Cornbread.

Melissa Hayes

Absolutely loved when my grandma made a big pot of stewed taters and cornbread. Awesome childhood memories.

Tami Pledger

Lord yes! Grew up on stewed tators & we still eat ’em. Never are any thrown out at our house. We fix a a big ol’ pot full & what’s left (if any) we heat ’em up the next day. I cook ’em but Mama’s is always better, if course!

Rosa J Gore

My dad was a mechanic and my mom worked in the sewing room. She would make this & it was delicious ~! We called it “thicken potatoes “.

Linda

Just like Momma used to make

Susan

Delicious! I remember my mother making these often. They turned out great,! Thank you for sharing.

Harry

Replace the flour with instant potatoes it’s easier to control the water and milk and taste

ALuna

5 stars
Great idea!

Cherry

How many calories per serving?

Kevin

As near as we can tell, using one of those online calculators this recipes breaks down like this per serving.

  • Calories – 308
  • Total Fat – 5g
  • Saturated Fat – 3g
  • Cholesterol – 13mg
  • Sodium – 61mg
  • Total Carbohydrate – 60.2g
  • Dietary Fiber – 8.9g
  • Total Sugars – 5g
  • Protein – 7g

https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076

Robin Mosier

I grew up eating this without the bacon grease. My mom called it potato gravy and we always ate cornbread with it. We are from southwest Virginia. It’s best using new potatoes.

Carol Vice

I didnโ€™t use the bacon grease . I used butter forgot the bacon grease

Diann

I grew up eating this… My momma made it all the time… We called it thickened potatoes

Gaylene Goodwin

This is REAL good stuff. A little heavy on the hips, but when people used to physically work hard, it would fill you up and is a great winter comfort food.
Gaylene from Olde Raleigh,NC

Denise

I grew up in Kansas and my mom made this many times. We had very little money and this fed 7 people for pennies. So good

David

Sounds like my family.. My daddy was a mechanic and sold Automotive parts all my life. My family has always been blue collar and this is still a family favorite!! We call them milk taters!!

Robert Haynie

Okay. This is going to sound very strange to you…
I have lives in the South all my life. I was born in Georgia– Atlanta to be exact. Mostly raised around Augusta. Been in Georgia for 61 years at last count (That was in November of this year). I can count the number of times I have been farther north than North Carolina on one hand– and, I think have a thumb left over. Farthest west I have ever been is Texas. Except for about three months I was in Mexico, I have spent every waking and/or sleeping moment in the Deep South.
And somehow, I have never heard of this dish. My momma never cooked it that I can remember, neither did Grandmother, no aunts or uncles or neighbors or… just nobody.
I mean, there were potatoes. Of course there were potatoes. Boiled and buttered, baked, fried, mashed, and the soup mentioned above– but this stewed potato dish? I, until today, had never heard of it at all. (And before you ask, yes, both Momma and Grandmother were Southern ladies who somehow never prepared this. The whole family is south of the MD line since the time we came over from England and Scotland, well over a century and a half ago.)
I feel like someone who grew up in Japan who never saw rice, or in France who never saw cheese. It’s weird…

Chrissy

I grew up with stewed potatoes and Iโ€™m from Tennessee. You can also find it in some restaurants here.

Kathryn

Iโ€™m from Arkansas and grew up on these as a kid. Havenโ€™t had them in YEARS, and couldnโ€™t figure out just exactly how mama made them. So glad I found your recipe, it tastes just like hers.

Leslie

I am in the Augusta area as well. This was such a common dish at our house. I love it, and always looked forward to it. Going to make it today in fact!

dan webster

My grandparents lived on a farm. They had a garden and grew potatoes. They has a deep well outside where they drew up water with a bucket. The old log house they lived in was a hand me down built before the war, the civil war. The kitchen like most homes built in that era was separated from the main house which was jus 2 bigs rooms and a fireplace. They had cows and chickens. Grandpa delivered mail and taught school. y favorite memory was eating her square pan cornbread and Irish tater stew. With purple hull peas and boiled okra all fresh from the garden.

Cathy Wessels

Yep, reminds me of the 2nd house I lived in in Ga. My Aunt & Uncle bought it with intentions of tearing it down & using wood from it to build a more modern house. We lived in a smaller house down a dirt road just down the hill while it was being built.

Luanne

I live in Cartersville Ga. Lived in Macon and Thomasville too. My BF was born and raised here. He never heard of it either. But I’ve seen it b 4.
I was born and raised in Illinois. But my family is from Texas.
This is more likely a northern made southern dish. Northerners LOVE southern cooking.

Kevin

Would come as a surprise to Mama to hear it’s a northern made southern dish, since she grew up eating them in North Carolina during the Great Depression. The family has roots in NC going back to the Revolutionary Way. But let’s face it. They’re potatoes, and nothing fancy. I’m honestly very surprised the recipe has caused such a ruckus on the web site. lol

Melissa Hayes

I’m from about 100 miles north of Atlanta and we ate them all my life. Maybe its a regional dish.

Lloyd

From southern Mississippi… my grandmother made similar, but with added green onion (enough to really give it a kick) and sometimes cubed/shredded beef or venison. They called it Irish stew, but I think the base is the same as described here.

Perry

Love it, but where I’m from in the deep south, it’s purple hull peas.

John Painter

Just like Momma made every Saturday for lunch in Gaffney, SC!

Abby

My Mom was a wonderful cook, we called this Potatoe Gravy. My Mom also made a raisin gravy. Those were THE DAYS!!

Juanna Fortner

My mom use to makes us these stewed potatoes all the time. We loved them,I can taste them now. My mother was a awesome cook,immean she could cook anything.

Jean McDaniel

Do you eat with a spoon in a bowl, or allow it to run in the plate like gravy or cream corn? What meat would you serve with it?

Dawn Parris

In Chesnee, Sc Very close to Gaffney,, this was a staple for us!!

Darren Fortner

Yep this is definitly what I grew up on in Tennessee and still make today-Stewed potatoes. Great recipe! Served tonight with a pot of mixed greens, black eyed peas, corn bread and fried pork chops. Perfect for New Years in the south!

Donna

I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who puts mayonnaise in theirs!!

Carol

We always called this stewed potatoes. Let diced potatoes cook in water until soft with butter or bacon drippings, mixed flour and milk or cream until all lumps were gone, stirred that into the potatoes until thickened–Yumm, makes me so hungry for them!

Sharon Talley

Where’s the green onions, mushroom soup, worschester?

Emma

In the store where they belong?

Rebecca

YES!!….lol

Linda J Grizzle

Lol, that’s right

Sandy

This sounds like creamed potatoes! I’m from Rotterdam Junction, NY.

Ardy (Ardith) Pifer

I am from Michigan and grew up calling them creamed potatoes too.

Robin

Creamed potatoes (in the South) are drained of water and then mashed or beaten with a mixer along with butter and milk until they have no lumps. Some people also add a little mayonnaise or sour cream but there are no lumps or chunks of potato.

Diana

That’s what I’ve always thought of as mashed potatoes. Everyone I know calls that mashed potatoes.

Karen Westfall

Also creamed potatoes in northern West.

Karen Westfall

Northern West Virginia!

Sue

They sure are . They are so good .
Remember new potatoes from the garden – they make delicious creamed potatoes .

Jennifer

I was born and reared in Kentucky and have been in Georgia for 30 years. My mom made a similar recipe and we called it creamed potatoes. Folks I know in the Augusta area havenโ€™t heard of this.

Harriett

We call them “Thickened Potatoes.” I also use the flour thickening in canned corned beef, in hominy and in giblet gravy. You have to add the water slowly and whisk thoroughly to avoid lumps.

Vonda Gayle Stephens

We didn’t know what onion flakes were back then. Mama used chopped onions. She and my grandmothers cooked with evaporated milk. Sooo good. No flour. Let the potatoes thicken. Doggoneit. Now I want some.

Preacherman

I grew up eating steamed potatoes in north Louisiana, but always with purple Hull peas and cornbread alone with turnip greens.
This is my favorite way to eat potatoes period being from Louisiana many of us prefer rice and gravy over mashed potatoes and gravy.

L J Webb

My Dad was from northern Louisiana (Vivian, La), and he too loved these kind of potatoes. Mom had to fix them for him all the time, he liked his with collard greens.

B Jones

I love potatoes prepared in any way, but haven’t made them like this in a while. Being born and raised in north Louisiana as well, I must agree with the rice and gravy over potatoes and gravy (though I do like it as long as its REAL potatoes! ๐Ÿ˜

Jerry Adams

Rice and gravy over potatoes? Never tried that. Gravy yes, but rice. I must try.

Corrine

I think she means they prefer rice and gravy more than potatoes.. not literally on top of potatoes lol

ALuna

5 stars
I thought the same thing… pouring rice and gravy over potatoes…. ๐Ÿ˜†!

Audrey

LOL…no no no!! I believe the person’s wording created a bit of confusion for you…their point was~ being from the same area, their area preferred rice and gravy more than potatoes and gravy. ๐Ÿ™‚

S Swindle

Jerry Adams, I think he (B Jones) meant he likes โ€˜more thanโ€™ instead of โ€˜overโ€™. ๐Ÿ˜Š

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