Parsley Potatoes, made with buttered red potatoes and fresh parsley, are an easy, comforting, picky-eater-approved side dish.

This recipe for red potatoes makes a perfect side dish for your family meals. I love serving these Parsley Potatoes with Stuffed Meatloaf, Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts, or Chicken Marsala.

Potatoes are one of my most common ingredients used to create side dishes for family meals.

From scalloped potatoes to instant pot baked potatoes to creamy mashed potatoes and oven-baked fries, there are endless ways to prepare potatoes. So it is easy to see why potatoes are a staple in our diets.

One of the EASIEST recipes for a potato side dish is Parsley Potatoes.

It is an easy recipe for boiled red potatoes that are coated with butter and fresh parsley to deliver a simple side dish that is not only buttery and creamy but also has a burst of freshness thanks to the addition of parsley.

This simple recipe for buttered red potatoes is nothing glamorous nor is it complicated to make, yet everyone loves this 3-ingredient potato recipe.

Parsley potatoes were a staple in my childhood home, a staple for family meals today, and I am willing to be you too, will love these creamy, buttery parsley potatoes.

Notes on Ingredients

Ingredients for parsley potatoes labeled on counter.

Potatoes: Red potatoes are the perfect potato to use for parsley potatoes, as they are a waxy variety of potatoes that is high in moisture, but lower in starch, so they hold up well when they are boiled. You can use baby red potatoes, small red potatoes, or larger red potatoes.
Butter: You can't make buttered red potatoes without butter! The butter melts over the boiled potatoes and forms a creamy, nutty coating for the potatoes. I recommend using unsalted butter so that you can control the sodium yourself.
Parsley: Fresh parsley adds a bright freshness to simple buttered potatoes. Curly or flat-leaf parsley are both suitable in this potato recipe.

recipe modifications

Dairy-Free: You can certainly make "buttered" parsley potatoes dairy-free if you need them to be! Good quality olive oil will work as a substitute for butter, as well as vegan butter.
Add Garlic: Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder to the potatoes, along with butter and parsley.
Make it Richer: Add in up to 2 more tablespoons of butter if desired.
Omit Parsley: Don't like parsley, omit it! Or add chopped green onions or chives.

Tips for Perfect Parsley Potatoes

While incredibly simple to make, there are a few things to keep in mind when making this recipe. You will find the full recipe in the recipe card below.

Be sure the potatoes are all the same size. This will ensure the potatoes will cook evenly. If your potatoes are not the same size, one potato will be overcooked and one will be undercooked--neither pleasant.
Use cold water. If you want your potatoes to cook evenly, you need to use cold water, not warm water.
Use enough water. Be sure to fully cover your potatoes in water by at least 1 inch. This again helps to ensure all the potatoes will cook evenly.
Use the right size pot. Be sure your stock pot or saucepan is at least 6 quarts. You want there to be several inches between the level of water to the top of the pan, to leave plenty of room for the starchy water to boil up.
Heavily salt the water. Just like pasta, it is best to heavily salt the water to season the potatoes as they cook.
Simmer Potatoes. Start the potatoes over high heat. Once the water comes to a rapid boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Do NOT be tempted to boil the potatoes over high heat the entire time to speed up this potato recipe, the potatoes will break down too much under a rapid boil.
Cook until knife tender. The potatoes are ready when a paring knife easily slides through the potato. We are not looking for our potatoes to be fork-tender, as we do for mashed potatoes. We want these red potatoes to have some structure left.
Drain Completely. Once you drain the boiled potatoes in a strainer, it is best to return them to the hot pan and place them over low heat for a minute or two. This allows all the water to evaporate and lets the butter coat the potatoes evenly.

Serving Suggestions

Serve these simple parsleyed potatoes with any entree you like! We love serving these buttered red potatoes with Cheese-Stuffed Meatloaf, Instant Pot Chicken Thighs, and Air Fryer Pork Chops.

More Recipes Featuring Red Potatoes

If you gave these Parsley Potatoes a try, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.

Bowl of buttered red potaotes topped with parsley.

Parsley Potatoes

Parsley Potatoes, made with buttered red potatoes and fresh parsley, are an easy, comforting, picky-eater-approved side dish.

4.95 from 17 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 30

Servings:

Calories: 209kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

▢ 3 pounds red potatoes scrubbed clean
▢ 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more to taste
▢ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
▢ 2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced

Instructions

Scrub potatoes well and then cube them into 2-inch chunks.
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with COLD water. Season the water with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.
Cover the saucepan and over high heat, bring the water to a rapid boil. Once boiling, remove the lid from the saucepan and reduce heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender about 15-18 minutes. A pairing knife should easily pierce the potatoes fully.
Once the potatoes are tender, drain them, and then immediately return the potatoes to the hot saucepan. Place over low heat for 1-2 minutes, to absorb any water remaining on the potatoes.
Turn off the heat, add in butter and parsley, and toss to combine. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve warm.

Notes

Potatoes: Red potatoes are best for this recipe. Feel free to use baby red potatoes, small red potatoes, or large red potatoes. Just be sure potatoes are all the same size and about cut into 2-inch chunks if needed.

Fresh Parsley is best for these buttered potatoes. You can of course use another herb if desired. I do not recommend dried parsley for this recipe. Feel free to use additional fresh parsley or less based on taste.

Butter: use unsalted butter to control the sodium content of these buttered potatoes. You can also use good quality olive oil or nondairy butter in place of the butter if you need this side dish to be dairy free. Feel free to add up to 2 tablespoons of additional butter if desired.

Size of Pan: Be sure to use a large saucepan, as the water will be very starchy and can boil over if not enough room in the pan.

Storage: Store leftover buttered potatoes in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave.

Nutrition

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