Our Family’s Southern Chicken Stew Recipe

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Featuring tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and chicken, this flavorful and hearty southern chicken stew recipe is a firm family favorite.

Southern Chicken Stew ready to serve

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

Southern Chicken Stew ingredients

Ingredients

  • potatoes
  • whole chicken
  • crushed tomatoes
  • corn
  • onion
  • salt
  • black pepper
  • sugar
  • butter

How to Make Southern Chicken Stew

 

Cover Chicken with water in a dutch ovenIn 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 potatoes and onionsPeel and dice the potatoes and onions.

add potatoes and onions to reserved brothAdd diced onions and potatoes to the reserved broth. Cook until the potatoes are tender.

shred chicken while potatoes cookWhile the potatoes are cooking, remove the chicken meat from the bones and shred.

mash potatoes

When the potatoes are very soft, remove approximately a coffee cup’s worth. With a fork, mash these potatoes in the cup.

Add mashed potatoes to potAdd the mashed potatoes back into the dutch oven.

Add shredded chickenThen add the chicken pieces to the pot.

Add crushed tomatoesNext, add the can of crushed tomatoes. You can use diced tomatoes or even fresh garden tomatoes in place of the crushed tomatoes.

Add corn to stew
Add the corn. Both canned corn and frozen corn work well.
 
add salt and pepper

Next add salt and pepper.

add sugar and simmerFinally, add the sugar. Sugar acts to enhance flavor and offset the acidity of the tomatoes.

Simmer with the lid off

Simmer slowly with the lid off for about forty-five minutes.

Add butter before servingJust before serving, stir in the butter. Adding butter just before serving makes for a creamy, velvety texture.

Ladle Southern Chicken Stew into bowlsLadle 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

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, bell pepper, 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.

Southern Chicken Stew

More Stew Recipes You’ll Love

Southern Chicken Stew ready to serve

Southern Chicken Stew

Featuring tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and chicken, this flavorful and hearty southern chicken stew recipe is a firm family favorite.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, stew
Servings: 4
Calories: 684kcal

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

Nutrition

Calories: 684kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

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478 Comments

  1. I sure took the liberty of making this recipe my own. I cut the recipe in half, dumped frozen vidalia onions, my last three potatoes, last can of corn, last can of tomatoes (plum tomato strips) and my last can of chicken, tap water, small peice of chicken buillon cube to make up for flavorless chicken, last pat of butter in the dish and some salt and pepper into my stew pot and simmered it uncovered till it was thick. Every time I stirred it , I mashed some of the tomato, potato and chicken against the side of the pot which helped to thcken it. I have to say my husband had a second helping. That means it was really good!!!! Thanks for helping me with dinner. All your recipes are great. The best part is I have enough for 2 more meals. That’s a very good thing!!!! Love you Christy!

  2. I use Publix vegetable soup mix veggies (corn, carrots, okra, lima beans, onions, potatoes), a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of creamed corn for mine. I cannot eat enough of it.

  3. This made for a pretty good chicken soup. I made it as directed (except I forgot the butter at the end), but it seemed rather thin for me to call it a stew I tend to think of a stew as more hearty, thick, and stick-to-your-ribs(ish), and I don’t think the lack of butter was what made the difference.

    I added an extra bag of frozen carrots at the end to add some more texture to it, and served it over some egg noodles.

    Thanks for the recipe. It made a ton of soup that will sit happily in my freezer for those really cold days!

  4. We didn’t have can crushed tomatoes when we made this so we used can rotel tomatoes (2 cans) and it was like a southwest version of what you had..delicious!

  5. Looks interesting. I’m always looking for receipes that I can Remix for my picky family. It’s cold here in Denver so chicken stew will be right on time. I might keep the stew but make a little jasmine rice and serve it like that! I’m always adding carrots to things too. They are filling and cheap and good for you. I have a family of 15 to feed!

  6. 1. Cook chicken until done in water. Remove chicken from broth and discard skin. Separate meat from bones and shred meat.

    By “cook” I assume you mean at a full boil?

    And roughly what time frame does it take to get “done” ?

    Everything sounds ambiguous to a novice like me 🙂
    Thanks for the recipe.

    1. Chicken stew is variable. It is all to taste for for cook and area. I don’t think a full boil is necessary. Just a rolling boil until it will flake apart. I prefer to use boneless chicken breast, it is just so much easier. Must add butter for loss of fat that is in a whole chicken for good broth.

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