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Bring Southern comfort to your table with these flavorful, tender smothered potatoes, seasoned to perfection for a side dish everyone will love.
Table of Contents
- What are Smothered Potatoes?
- Smothered Potatoes Ingredients
- How to Make Southern Style Smothered Potatoes
- Expert Tips for Making Perfect Smothered Potatoes
- Tasty Additions To Try
- What Goes Well With Smothered Potatoes?
- Questions about Smothered Potatoes
- More Easy and Delicious Potato Side Dishes
- Smothered Potatoes Recipe
What are Smothered Potatoes?
Simply put, “smothered potatoes”, at least in the Southern sense, are spice coated potatoes and thinly sliced onions that are pan fried to perfection. They are also known as “potatoes and onions” and they are the perfect side dish to just about everything. I had these for the first time at a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in South Carolina. They seemed so simple but they were so full of flavor! Normally when I think of something being “smothered” my mind goes to bacon and melted cheese, but that isn’t exactly what these are (however, bacon and cheese IS a delicious addition if you want to want to stray from the classic).
Smothered Potatoes Ingredients
- Yukon Gold potatoes – these potatoes sauté up the best, their thin skin helps them to cook faster and the centers of the potato gets creamy and buttery.
- Yellow onion – sliced thin, when cooked they caramelize and get nice and sweet
- Butter
- Chicken broth
- Seasonings: minced garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, Creole seasoning (like Tony Chachere’s or similar)
How to Make Southern Style Smothered Potatoes
- Prep – peel and slice potatoes and onions and place in a bowl with seasonings. Toss to coat.
- Cook – melt butter in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven. Add potatoes and onions to the skillet and cook for 20 minutes, remembering to flip often so they don’t burn.
- Chicken broth – add chicken broth and put a lid on the skillet. Reduce heat and let cook for 8-10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
- Evaporate – remove lid and allow excess liquid to evaporate out.
Expert Tips for Making Perfect Smothered Potatoes
Prevent overcooking: cut your potatoes smaller, in about 1 inch cubes or even less. This will help them cook and brown before burning because if the potato is too big, the outside will burn before the inside will have a chance to cook. Additionally, when the potatoes are cooking in the chicken broth, check to see if they are done often. Sometimes potatoes overcook just because we forget about them!
The secret to the perfect coating : the most important things are to use enough oil and to not crowd the pan. You’ll never get 100% evenly browned potatoes, but you can get close. Allow them to take their time on each side and give them enough oil to crisp up.
Reheating leftovers: warm up a portion in a skillet, on a pan in the oven, or simply microwave.
Tasty Additions To Try
These potatoes are great as they are but it’s always fun to switch it up from time to time. A lot of people add sliced bell peppers to the onions and potatoes, but I prefer it without. If you love peppers in your smothered potatoes, go for it! You can also add cooked, crumbled bacon, smoked sausage, leftover chopped ham, shredded cheese, etc. They also taste great garnished with green onion and a dollop of sour cream.
What Goes Well With Smothered Potatoes?
Any classic Southern food will pair well with this dish. Think grilled or BBQ dishes, Meatloaf, fried chicken, ribs, pulled pork, grilled pork tenderloin, and barbecue chicken.
Questions about Smothered Potatoes
While Yukon gold are best, red potatoes also work. You want to avoid russet potatoes because they are more starchy and don’t produce the best texture.
Sure! Cut up your ingredients and add them to the Crock Pot, including the butter but without the chicken broth. Cook on High for 2 to 3 hours, or low for 4 to 5 hours. It should come out tender and delicious.
Sweet yellow onions work best, they caramelize nicely and have a good flavor. The sweet flavor of the onion works well to balance out the slight heat of the Cajun spices.
More Easy and Delicious Potato Side Dishes
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Au Gratin Potatoes
Cheesy Potato Casserole
Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
German Potato Salad
Loaded Potato Skins
Cheesy Potato Cakes
Cheesy Ranch Potatoes
Smothered Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 medium yellow onion (very thinly sliced)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon Creole Seasoning (like Tony Chacheres, optional, or to taste)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Peel and slice potatoes into thin slices. Place sliced potatoes and onions in a bowl and toss with garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, and Creole seasoning (optional).
- In a large, heavy skillet or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add potato/onion mixture and cook, gently flipping the potatoes every 2-3 minutes so the potatoes don't burn, for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are lightly browned.
- Add chicken broth to potatoes and cover with a lid. Reduce heat and gently simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 8-10 more minutes (check often for doneness).
- Remove lid from skillet and allow excess liquid to evaporate out, this should only take another minute or two. Season with more salt and pepper if needed.
