I loved these creamy potatoes and peas as a side dish when we were growing up. Of course it tastes best with fresh, garden peas (you will want to blanch them first) but frozen peas work fine too. This is a great dish to serve with chicken, pork, steak.. pretty much anything! Many people make these with heavy cream or half-and half to make them extra creamy but I like to use skim milk– I honestly can’t taste that much of a difference but I know the calorie difference is huge. This is so great for kids of ALL ages. It is easy to mash up if you have a kid that prefers mashed potatoes or for babies (my 10-month old LOVES this stuff). It is a great alternative to your typical baked-potato side dish. It is easy to adjust the recipe for crowds if you are needing a side dish for a potluck… plus it is really cheap to make!
- 6-8 new red potatoes cubed
- 3-4 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 c. flour
- 1 c. milk or to taste
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 c. peas fresh or frozen
- Boil potatoes in salted water until just done/fork tender, appx. 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your potato cubes (you don't want them overdone or they will get mushy real quick).
- Drain and set aside.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
- Slowly add flour, stirring, until flour/butter mixture becomes doughy (you may not need all the flour).
- SLOWLY add milk, whisking constantly until mixture becomes smooth and creamy. You want it to be a gravy consistency so add more milk if it seems too thick. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add peas and bring to a slight simmer.
- Carefully fold creamy mixture into potatoes until potatoes become well covered and serve!
What a great idea for a side dish! I’m putting this on the menu! Looks delicious!
Love this! And even though this is technically a “side-dish”, I can happily make this dinner for myself!
I sometimes put pearl onions and dice ham and add to the dish and my family loves it.
I made these for dinner and they are so good!! I will be making them again.
My mom use to make these all of the time, but especially when she made a pork roast. She’d call them “Cream Peas & Potatoes.” She would make them real creamy and they were so delicious!!
My favorite comfort food, Mom always put in diced cooked bacon.
Adding bacon is a great idea! I’m going to do it next time I make this for my family – my kids will love it! Thanks for the tip!
Add a little cheese…cheddar, Gruyere, Parmesan, any kind and it will be even yummier!
My family always have had new potatoes, peas and dumplings, made with
chicken broth.
i remember my grandmother making this years and years ago 🙂 haven’t had it in over 10 years – happy memories. I will try it 🙂
I grew up eating this exact recipe and have never changed a thing. If I’m hungry for comfort food this or my mom’s homemade mac n cheese made with velvetta cheese. I have 4 grandkids they al LOVE the mac n cheese but the 2 youngest ones LOVE the creamed peas and potatoes. That’s what they ask for on their birthdays
I love it when food brings back good, comforting memories! I’m glad you are carrying on the traditional with your grandkids. Thank you for sharing!
My grandmother used to make this for me when I was little on her woodburning stove (she had an electric one but didn’t like to use it lol) I teared up a little when I saw this on pinterest, but it was b/c of happy memories!! I’m going to make this in the next couple of days! Thank you!
Made this with few twicks and was FANTASTIC!
Replaced salt with consume de pollo, ad some fresh dill and fried turkey sausage. Served with fresh cucumber salad.
Ah-mazing!
Yum! Thank you for sharing. I love your ideas for additions to the recipe!
This sounds relish! Can you make this ahead of time and serve at room temp?
You could make it ahead of time, refrigerate it, and reheat on the stove or in the microwave. I would be concerned about leaving at room temperature for too long because the milk will spoil and you don’t want anyone getting sick. Good question! Thank you!
This recipe looks great…how many does this serve?
It serves 4-6 as a side
I plan on each person eating the equivalent of one potato. So if I’m using a medium to large red potato, I’ll use six in the recipe to serve six people. If the red potatoes I’m using are small, I use plan on two per person. I hope this helps. Thank you for asking!
Any way to do this dairy free?! Would almond milk work?
I think almond milk would work great! Thank you for asking.
Hi , I have never seen this recipe before. In the 50’s and 60’s my mother made this creamed peas with tuna fish (solid white) as an entire meal. My brother and I loved this dish and we still make it a couple of times a year for old times sake.
I’ve had creamed peas and tuna before with pasta, basically a tuna casserole. Thank you for your comment!
Just a Question, How much butter is used to melt exactly?
I use 3 Tablespoons – but if you want it more buttery you can use 4 Tablespoons. Thank you for asking!
I’m making this tonight and adding cubed ham to it and making it a meal served with hawaiian rolls!
Great idea!
Thanks for bringing back wonderful memories of a favorite dish from my childhood, that I had forgotten all about! My mom made this and I can still taste it. I will try your recipe, I am sure it is just like her’s.
Oh! That is so great. I hope you enjoy it!
i added a chopped onion and cooked in the potatoes. So good
Thank you for the idea! I’m sure the onions added great flavor.
Made these last night and they were delicious!! I added some garlic but otherwise made it exactly as the recipe. I paired them with mini meat loaves. My husband loved them too. Thank you for a great recipe!
Can you use regular potatoes i dont have red potatoes
Yes, definitely
My kids don’t like peas so I added cut green beans from cans instead, it is so good, love the creamy, velvet taste, thanks for the recipe.
My mom use to make cream peas and potatoes all the time. Instead of a flour gravy she used a good quality instant potatoes to thicken the dish. Turned out delish.
I made this today for tomorrow’s Easter lunch. I made 1.5 times the sauce because I was afraid some would be absorbed during the overnight stay in the fridge. Also, added some Herbs de Provence. Goodness gracious what a delicious dish. I finally had to put it in the refrigerator so I’d quit sneaking bites. This will be a lovely addition to the Easter table.
I added grated fresh nutmeg. My men folk were totally impressed. Thanks for the yummy idea.
I’m excited to try this! I’m making it tonight.
This looks so yummy. Could I use corn starch or almond flour in the place of wheat flour? We are allergic to gluten in our family.
We haven’t done it that way before but if you have used the other flours as thickening agents before, it should be fine! I haven’t tried it with corn starch but I’d imagine it would be fine. 🙂
This was absolutely DELISH!!! add some Italian Seasoning and some garlic chips – amazing!! most def a repeat side dish!! Thanks for the post!!
You are very welcome 🙂 So glad you liked them!
Do you think half & half would work or do you think it would be to sweet? I use it whenever I make mashed potatoes. This looks delicious. Thanks for a quick side dish!!
Love this recipe Thank you so much for sharing !
You are very welcome 😀 So glad you like it!
I’ve made this so many times I thought I would finally leave a comment. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. My hubs and I love it. My notes: I use 1 1/2 cups milk and I’ve learned to make sure my frozen peas are defrosted before putting them in. I use garlic salt instead of regular salt. I find that it adds just the right amount of flavour. I’ve tried adding sour cream but I didn’t like it in this recipe. Even just a little bit was overpowering and just plain unnecessary. Thanks again for this recipe. 🙂
Thanks for your comment! Very good idea to make sure the peas are thawed. It seems like it would make it less watery. So glad you like this recipe!
You can sauté some cabbage and add it to this, it is great my mom made it that way all the time.
Yum, that sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
This is a great dish for late spring when you have new peas and taters in your garden. For an extra treat, add sliced new carrots, also. So good.
Can buttermilk be used instead of regular milk and butter? I have some leftover in my fridge and am looking for a way to use it up.
I’ve never tried it with buttermilk, but I’m sure it will work. The taste will be slightly different but, if you like the taste of buttermilk, it will be great!