'Swamp Potatoes' Have Gone Viral, And It's The Easiest Slow Cooker Recipe I've Seen

Ah, potatoes – at the risk of being considered too much of an Irish stereotype, they are my favourite vegetable of all time. 

I mean, you can do so much with them (think wedges, chip-shop worthy airfryer fries, and even my beloved potato farls). 

So I was thrilled to see that a new carb-based meal has entered the spudaverse: as of the time of writing, “swamp potato” recipes have taken over my social media timelines. 

It has all the ingredients of a classic, comforting potato dish. It’s low-lift, works in a slow cooker (my favourite way to cook in a heatwave), and incredibly comforting.

What are “swamp potatoes” and where did they come from?

Writing under an AllRecipes video about the “viral” meal, a Facebook user said: “I grew up in Indiana in the ’70s and my grandmother made this frequently. I’ve even made it for dinner at my cafe.” 

AllRecipes themselves describe it as a “Southern [American] classic.” The name, however, is arguably a lot newer than the dish – others call it “smothered green beans,” for instance.

It’s an American dish that involves a lot of Stateside staples: a slow cooker, green beans, potatoes, Andouille sausage, and butter. 

Food influencer Hope Garcia shared in a video of her making the recipe that she had “not had something so simple and delicious in a long time.” 

A peek at the recipe, which (like all long-standing food traditions) is more of a guideline than a strict set of instructions, seems to suggest she’s right.

What’s the recipe for “swamp potatoes”?

As we mentioned above, the rules aren’t exactly hard and fast. Garcia notes, for instance, that there’s no set “best” potato to use. 

If I had my pick, I’d go for the perfect middleground between waxy and floury; ideally, a Kerr’s Pink, but failing that, a Rooster is great. But hey, you do you. 

Begin by scrubbing (never peeling) about a kilo to a kilo and a half of potatoes, and place them in the base of your slow cooker. 

Then, add spices of your choice (Garcia likes paprika, garlic powder – and remember, you can’t sautee garlic in most slow cookers – pepper, and “Creole seasoning,” which often includes a mix of  paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and dried thyme and oregano.)

Add a small diced white onion and rounds of a whole cut “spiced sausage,” such as Andouille, if available, or chorizo if not. 

Chuck in two cans of green beans or about four handfuls of frozen green beans.

The rules implode further after that; some people add stock for their liquid (which I’d probably do), while others go for onion soup powder. 

Then comes the only non-negotiable; add a “whole stick” (roughly 113g) of butter, and let the lot cook on “high” for five hours. 

This yields about four to six servings, and frankly, sounds delicious.