Our Family’s Southern Chicken Stew Recipe
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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
Christy,
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My husband is in awe of it. He has taken the leftovers to the office for lunch a couple of days this week. It is so amazingly good, and so cheap! It only costed me around $10 to make which is almost unheard of. You are doing a great job here! I have tried many of your recipes…all with great success. 🙂
I grew up in Savannah, GA and this stew was a staple in my family as well. I started making it myself a few years ago, and made my own subtle changes. One thing that I have found is that using San Marzano (sweet Italian) tomatoes, brown sugar instead of granulated sugar and Kosher salt instead of table salt, it gives it a smoother feel. I’m so happy to have found someone else who likes this recipe as much as I do.
All my best.
Wonderful stew. I made a few of my own changes such as adding fresh chopped sage and thyme. I also added some hot sauce and a little old bay seasoning to it. I also added some carrots and celery to the broth as I made my chicken. I think it made the broth flavor a little more complex. Very good hearty food for a cold night.
Thanks
This was fantastic!!!! I did just a few things different, I used my crockpot, homemade broth I had on hand, about half of a chicken and aboutb a cup of buttered corn(family doesnt really like corn). Let it cook on high for about 4-6 hours and WOW it is amazing!!!!!
thanks again!
april
Christy, I have made this stew several times now in the past few months; a few times at home for my family, to take to church potluck, and I just now took a pot to a friend who just had her 7th baby! This recipe has already become a staple in my kitchen. I adore this site and think you are so generous to share all these recipes with us!
Oh, I ALWAYS forget to put in the butter at the end, and it’s still good. I just realized I forgot it again when I came here to post a comment and saw the recipe. One day I’ll make that addition and see if it’s even better.
Guess what just made it on to my meal plan next week. Yay for Winn-Dixie having chicken buy one get one free last week. A big bowl of that and your hoe cake- sounds amazing.
Well thats interesting. I think we’re talking about two different things, yours sounds like a recipe for chicken, when I refer to stewed chicken I am actually referring to the method of cooking it. Stewing a chicken doesn’t produce a gravy, you’d have to manipulate your broth or else add it in order to get that so I’m guessing you have a great recipe which is called that. Bet its good!
This is a classic stew recipe in that all of your ingredients are simmered low for an amount of time. I enjoy Brunswick stew and make that often as well, but its an entirely different recipe and flavor. You are right though, if you added all of that, you’d have one humdinger of a brunswick stew – but not chicken stew! lol
Wow, this was a confusing comment to even respond to but you kept me on my toes!
Thanks for reading Southern Plate, Ron!! I bet folks are eating good at your house!
Gratefully,
Christy