This slow cooker 3-ingredient Amish butter potatoes recipe is the kind of quiet, practical comfort food that shows up on farm tables all over the Midwest. My Amish neighbor passed it along years ago, after I’d helped her during harvest season. She told me this simple pot of potatoes had fed her family of twelve for generations—set out at noon with the rest of the meal, everyone taking a scoop or two as they came in from the fields.
Whole golden potatoes and butter on a kitchen counter
Whole golden potatoes and butter on a kitchen counter
It’s nothing fancy: just small golden potatoes, plenty of real butter, and salt. Long, gentle cooking turns the potatoes silky and tender, their skins just starting to split, and the butter pools at the bottom of the crock like liquid gold. It’s an easy, unfussy side dish that works as well in a city kitchen as it did on her farm.
Serve these buttery potatoes straight from the slow cooker with a big spoon so everyone can catch some of the melted butter at the bottom. They’re perfect alongside roasted or grilled chicken, pot roast, meatloaf, or a simple skillet of sausages. I like to add something green on the plate—steamed green beans, sautéed cabbage, or a crisp salad—to balance the richness.
Buttery potatoes served beside a simple homestyle dinner
Buttery potatoes served beside a simple homestyle dinner
A basket of crusty bread or dinner rolls is handy for mopping up the extra butter. If you have leftovers, slice the potatoes and pan-fry them in a bit of the leftover butter for breakfast with eggs the next morning.
Slow Cooker Amish Butter Potatoes
Servings: 8-12
Ingredients
3 pounds small whole golden potatoes (such as baby Yukon Gold), well-scrubbed
1 cup (2 sticks / 226 g) unsalted butter, cut into thick slices
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
Measured ingredients for Amish butter potatoes
Measured ingredients for Amish butter potatoes
Directions
Rinse the small golden potatoes under cool running water, scrubbing gently with a brush or cloth to remove any dirt. Leave the skins on and keep the potatoes whole. Pat dry with a clean towel so excess water doesn’t dilute the butter.
Lightly grease the bottom of a large slow cooker (5- to 7-quart) with a small swipe of the butter to prevent sticking. This also helps the first layer of potatoes pick up flavor right away.
