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.
I am going to start this post off by asking a favor of you all. Please make this chicken stew. It’s that good. I mean, it’s so good that it actually bothers me to think that some of you might only look at the photos, read the tutorial, and never make it. It’s so good that if I could, I would seriously arrange a time and place for all of us to meet up under a tent somewhere in the middle of the country just to serve you this chicken stew. It’s just, well folks, it’s just so good!
My mother got this recipe out of a 1974 issue of Good Housekeeping. There was a photograph of a little old lady next to the title and Mama said “She just looked like her food would be really good”. Since then, I cannot even begin to tell you how often we make it. Everyone in my family makes this and loves it. My in-laws are coming in from Georgia this weekend for the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler’s Convention as they do every year and this stew is always a request for their first meal. Tonight I’m serving it with Dixie Cornbread.
Once you make this a time or two, you’ll have no more need for the recipe. It will be ingrained in your heart, your taste buds, and your stomach. If you need more reasons to give this southern chicken stew recipe a go, it refrigerates well, freezes well, and can easily feed a crowd simply by adding more potatoes. I always try to make a double batch and my family happily eats a bowl of this supreme dish whenever they need a quick meal all week long!
Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes
- A chicken
- Crushed tomatoes
- Corn
- Onion
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Sugar
- Margarine
Helpful Kitchen Tools
Cover your whole chicken with water and cook over medium heat until it’s done. When chicken is done, remove it from the broth and set it aside to cool a bit. Reserve broth.
If you prefer to 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. Also, peel and dice your onion.
Add potatoes to the broth.
Add diced onion as well. Cook these until your potatoes are tender.
Cook until potatoes are tender. Remove about a coffee cup’s worth of potatoes.
Like this.
With a fork, mash those potatoes in the cup. We are going to add this back to the stew and it will thicken it.
You can also just use a bit of instant mashed potatoes here if you want, as I’ve mentioned in a previous post. (I truly believe soup thickening is about all they are good for… except for when I make this crust out of them for our Taco casserole… but that is a recipe for another day).
Place back in the saucepot along with the .
Add the can of tomatoes.
Now, you can use any type you want here. I tend to use crushed because my husband (who I have oft mentioned was dropped on his head as a child) doesn’t like to actually bite into a piece of tomato in his stew. However, I prefer diced if I’m going with canned. Nothing though, NOTHING is better than homegrown tomatoes from my freezer if I have them!
Add corn.
I often use frozen corn if you prefer that.
Add salt…
And pepper.
Then add the sugar. I know sugar sounds a bit odd in a stew, but trust me on this.
Simmer slowly with the lid off for about forty-five minutes.
Just before serving, stir in margarine. YUM!!
Storage
As I said, 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.
Recipe Notes
- Serve your homemade chicken stew with saltine 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.
- If you’d prefer slow cooker chicken stew, follow the steps but once the potatoes, chicken, and onions are cooked in the broth, you’ll want to transfer everything to a slow cooker before adding the can of tomatoes and the remaining ingredients. Then cook on high for 4 to 6 hours.
Check out these other sensation stew recipes:
Beef Stew Recipe for Slow Cooker
Lentil Stew (Budget-Friendly & Delicious)
Ground Beef Stew (with a secret!)
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
Hi there from the east i juds made this stew for the first time. Boy was it delicious ! my kids were so disappointent when they asked whats for dinner and i answered chicken stew. There tune sure changed though when i served this up my son asked for seconds then thirds ! This was surely a treasured fine. i troll the internet all the time searching for new and inspiring recipes this one is a keeper! Cant wait to make it again ! Thank you thank you for posting it. Gina
Gary does take pictures seriously…..Ok, so then I should combine your recipe (which is slightly different from your Mom’s) and your Mom’s recipe (which is slightly different than yours)…..Just kidding…. I made the stew this weekend and it was as expected…a hit….thanks.
Gary (mentally, photograpically challenged)
Been meaning to tell you for quite some time that we tried your Chicken Stew and it has become one of our favorite recipes. My husband, especially, LOVES it. I even canned some and have given some jars to friends/neighbors that have been ill. They all liked it too. Thanks for all the yummy recipes.
Carol
The stew sounds great and I plan to make it. But did you realize you forgot to put the chicken back in the pot? I read the recipe three times and it’s not there. Guess it’ll be soup 🙂
~makes mental note: Gary takes pictures very seriously~
It’s in the last two lines of the recipe at the bottom. 😉
Thank you for reading, Gary!! Have a great week!
Gratefully,
Christy 🙂
Made this stew last night. It was delish! Even my picky eaters ate everything in the bowl. I modified the recipe a bit because I didn’t start off with a whole chicken. I only had 4 breasts. Even with 4 breasts you still need about 6 cups of water. I started out with only 3-1/2 cups, but had to keep adding a cup here and there. I also put in a very big can of crushed tomatoes which was too much because I halved all the other ingredients. So I ended up with a very acidic base. To combat this I added more sugar and 2 packets of chicken bouillon. The chicken turned out very moist and tender after stewing for about an hour. Even my husband liked it, and he usually doesn’t like tomato-based stews too much. Thanks for another great recipe!
I must admit I was skeptical it just didn’t sound all that great. After making it and eating it. Oh, it was delicious. My life is fixing to get really busy as my Mother’s lung cancer has returned your recipes are easy enough that they can be prepared rather quickly.
Christy, I just want you to know that I made your chicken stew this past week and tonight we finished it up. It is just plain and simple – DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for your website, for your tutorials, and for your friendly, folksy way of encouraging us all to be better cooks and enjoy good Southern recipes! There’s nothing that compares (like I’d know, since I’ve never lived anywhere else either!). 🙂 You’re just wonderful!