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.
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
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!