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The Best Buttery Parsley Potatoes

Avatar photoby Updated: Mar 18, 2025

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Boiled potatoes get an infusion of butter and parsley to make this super easy, three-ingredient side dish. This is one of my all-time favorite side dish recipes for any meal!

Boiled potatoes in white serving bowl with spoon

I bet we had these parsley buttered potatoes at least once a week when I was growing up.

They’re the ultimate pairing for any and all comfort food because they’re so insanely simple to add along to any main. And so intensely delicious.

Baby red potatoes are the simple cook’s dream side dish. They’re creamy in texture. They cook quickly. You don’t have to skin them. And they’re easy to prepare no matter what your method. 

Roasting. Grilling. Smashing. And like here, with your basic quick boil in water.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • This is a no-frills, quick and easy recipe that takes just 30 minutes from start to finish.
  • It uses three basic ingredients (plus salt and pepper) to deliver ultra buttery boiled red potatoes liberally sprinkled with fresh parsley.
  • You can customize this recipe by swapping in vegan butter or any fresh herb you like.
Buttery Parsley Potatoes ingredients

What’s in This Recipe?

  • Small red potatoes — No need to skin the baby red potatoes before boiling. Simply scrub them well and rinse off any dirt or debris.
  • Kosher salt and pepper — Freshly ground will deliver the best flavor.
  • Salted butter — Makes less work on your part since salted butter is already nicely seasoned.
  • Fresh Italian parsley — No, you can’t swap the fresh herbs for dried. Fresh parsley lightens up the flavor of the otherwise hearty buttered potatoes and is a must for this recipe.

Flavor Variations

  • Swap the baby red potatoes for Yukon Gold potatoes, which are also a creamy, waxy variety of small potato.
  • Add some garlic powder or a crushed clove of garlic for some garlicky flavor.
  • Swap the kosher salt for seasoned salt for a different flavor profile.

How to Make Parsley Potatoes

  1. Prep the potatoes. I simply give them a light scrub under cold water and use a small paring knife to remove any major blemishes.
  2. Boil the potatoes. Add the potatoes to a saucepan and cover with COLD water. Bring the potatoes to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until done. Once cooked through, drain well.

Heidi’s Tip: The secret to flavoring boiled potatoes of any size is to generously salt the water. (But don’t salt it before the water comes to a boil or you’ll end up pitting your pan.) I bring the water and potatoes to a boil together, then lower to a rolling simmer and add the salt then.

  1. Get steamy. Once the potatoes are drained, any remaining water in the pan simply steams these spuds just a little more and the butter infuses into these little red bundles of starch with the chopped parsley and a bit more kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. The skins begin to fall off these little red orbs. And with a few good shakes of the pot, the creamy centers become just a bit more mashed/smashed/dashed with love.
  2. Let rest. Finally, cover the potatoes and let them sit on the stove for about 10 more minutes. You don’t even have to turn on the heat, but you can rewarm them before serving if you feel they need it.
A bowl of buttered parsley potatoes

Recipe FAQs

How long should you boil red potatoes?

Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and let the potatoes simmer for 20 minutes or so.

You’ll know the potatoes are done boiling by look (the skins will being to break apart from the golden whites of the vegetable) and with touch (by using a fork to check for doneness). The fork should easily slide in and out of the potato.

Can dried herbs be used?

I don’t recommend using dried herbs in this boiled potatoes recipe as they’re much more potent in flavor and they’re also quite crunchy. Fresh herbs are the way to go here!

Should the potatoes be cut before boiling?

There’s no need to cut the red potatoes before boiling them. Just cut out any impurities and add the potatoes to the saucepan as is. You want the potatoes to remain whole so that the centers become ultra creamy.

Serving Tips

Leftover parsley butter potatoes will last up to 5 days in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove over medium heat.

What to Serve with This Recipe

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #foodiecrusheats



4.38 from 170 votes

The Best Buttery Parsley Boiled Potatoes

Boiled baby red potatoes get an infusion of butter and parsley to make this super simple side dish one of my all-time favorites for any meal.
Print
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword boiled potatoes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 130kcal

Ingredients 

  • 1 ½ to 2 pounds small red potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt , plus more to taste
  • 3 tablespoons salted butter , cut into slices
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Add the potatoes to a medium saucepan and cover with cold water by 2 inches.
  • Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Reduce to a rolling simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender and the skin is beginning to fall away from the potatoes, about 20 minutes.
  • Drain the water from the pan. Quickly add the potatoes back to the saucepan with the butter and parsley, and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Give the potatoes a vigorous stir with a wooden spoon or shake with the lid on so the potatoes break up a bit. Let sit on the still warm (but off) burner for 5-10 minutes and serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 459mg | Potassium: 530mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 386IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

More Easy Potato Side Dishes

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    4.38 from 170 votes (162 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  4. Ramona Marenda

    5 stars
    Heidi, I added the brine from mild jalapenos to the water for the potatoes prior to boiling. Then I substituted chopped fresh jalapenos for the parsley–with the ribs and seeds removed for those who can’t handle the heat. It was a great twist on boiled potatoes.

    Reply

  6. Donna Blanton

    5 stars
    I make these all the time…I love ’em!!! I will make a batch & eat them all. I guess there’s only one way to prepare this dish, I created my own recipe, from the way it wax prepared at my elementary school lunchroom, it is exactly the same except, I use Yukon Gold potatoes, this is my personal preference, but I sometimes use a combination of both, the red & yellow potatoes. I always use real butter instead of margarine & I never let heat from the burner melt the butter, just the residual heat after removing the pan from the burner.

    Reply

  7. Sarah

    5 stars
    with the current coronavirus going around, I was unable to find the red russet potatoes, but I did find larger brown russet potatoes can I cut those up and follow this recipe? Will it work?

    Reply

  8. Lori Tinjum Johansen

    5 stars
    I didn’t have fresh parsley, but wanted to try these as I’ve grown to LOVE the little grocery store potatoes with the seasoning packets that you can grill or nuke. These were GREAT! Hubby wanted more but I’d scraped the bottom of the sauce pan and they were gone. :D SUCCESS!! I’ll be making them again soon.

    Reply

  12. Angelo

    I love those parsley potatoes. My mother used to make them all the time. They sure brought back good memories. I had to read the recipe many times to get it down right. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the beautiful instructor. Thank you

    Reply

    • Nate

      Most likely turn to mush.. if you want to make them far ahead of time, refrigerate and then reheat either by roasting in the over or by quartering and pan frying.. this will also add a crispy exterior. If you want to avoid any crunch, just put foil over them and bake.

      Reply

  18. Rustine

    oh my these potatoes were soooo good!
    i followed the recipe exactly but next time i may add some chives or sour cream…
    Family loved them…
    thanks so much !

    Reply

  27. Nancy

    This was truly absolutely amazing!!!! My whole family went crazy over these potatoes!!! The only thing different that I did was I added I’d say at least a teaspoon of garlic powder !!!! I love garlic❤️ Thank you so much!!

    Reply

  29. Kathy

    I’ve been making these for years. I usually make them when I make baked fish or salmon patties during lent and all year long. I make extra and on the weekend I fry them up and break several eggs on them and stir until cooked. The key is to use fresh parsley never dried. Thanks for posting.

    Reply

  33. Brenda

    I love simple potatoes like this. However, I’m not a big fan of parsley. Can I use other fresh herbs instead? Maybe chives? I love chives…

    Reply

    • Joy M

      I make these all the time but instead of Parsley, I chop up fresh oregano and add it in during the butter stage. It’s the main reason I keep an oregano plant!! The kids never allow leftovers of this side dish.

      Reply

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