In the Netherlands, we grow up eating boiled potatoes almost every day, so trust me when I say we know how to make them worth eating.
The secret is a simple homemade parsley-chive butter that melts over the potatoes while they're still steaming hot. The potatoes drink it all in, and suddenly the humblest side dish on the table is the one everyone reaches for first.
You only need five ingredients and about 30 minutes, and these potatoes go with nearly everything: Slow cooker rotisserie chicken or classic Beef Wellington.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "So easy and my husband gave them rave reviews!!"
- Liz, reader
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Boiled Parsley Potatoes with Butter
Potatoes are incredibly popular in the Netherlands (although they are now closely followed by pasta and rice). You may wonder why the potato is so popular? Perhaps because you can do so many things with it. You can bake, steam, boil, fry, and puree them. And then I forget a few preparation methods.
Of course, you also have many different types of potatoes, each with its taste: a baby potato, a delicious Russet, or a Maris Piper. And don't forget the culinary purple potato. So a lot of variation.
This time delicious boiled potatoes on which, while still warm, you can melt a homemade parsley butter with chives. All those flavors mix with the potatoes. And this side dish is irresistibly delicious. Try it yourself!
What do you need for Buttery Parsley Boiled Potatoes?
To prepare these boiled potatoes with parsley butter, you need the following ingredients (you can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog):
- Potatoes - Use floury potatoes to make this recipe. Russet, Doré, King Edward, and Maris Piper are great choices.
- Butter - Real butter for that delicious creamy taste, which you mix with fresh herbs and then let it melt over the boiled potatoes. The potatoes absorb the butter and have a wonderfully creamy taste.
- Chives and Parsley - Fresh green herbs that you finely chop and with which you give extra flavor to the parsley butter.
- Sea Salt - Use sea salt to add a wonderful flavor accent to your herb butter.
How to make Buttered Potatoes with Parsley
A recipe with extensive steps, the right amount of ingredients, and which you can also easily print can be found at the bottom of the blog.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into even-sized pieces (this way, they are done at the same time). Wash them and put them in a pan of water. Make sure the potatoes are covered. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Check whether the potatoes are cooked by pricking the potato with a fork. If it goes in without resistance, the potatoes are ready Drain and let them steam dry for 20 seconds on low heat. Shake them up and down.
- Meanwhile, make the herb butter: mix the butter (at room temperature) with the sea salt.
- Add the chopped parsley and chives.
- Mix well with a fork. Add the parsley butter to the boiled potatoes and let the butter melt. Shake the potatoes well and serve.
Top Tips
- Start in cold water. Put the potatoes in the pan first, then add water. If you drop them into already-boiling water, the outside turns soft before the inside is cooked.
- Salt the cooking water. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water: it seasons the potatoes from the inside out and makes a bigger difference than salting afterwards.
- How long to boil potatoes? Cut into even 2-inch (5 cm) pieces, count on 15 to 20 minutes from the moment the water boils. Smaller pieces are done sooner, so start checking at 15 minutes: pierce with a fork, and if it slides in without resistance, they're ready.
- Why I use floury potatoes. Most recipes tell you to boil waxy potatoes because they hold their shape. That's true, but the Dutch way is floury (kruimige) potatoes like Russet, Doré, King Edward, or Maris Piper. Their surface gets slightly crumbly when you shake the drained pan, and that's exactly what lets them absorb all that parsley butter instead of letting it slide off. If you prefer firm, intact potatoes, use waxy ones, but you'll miss some of the buttery magic.
- Let them steam dry. After draining, return the pan to low heat for 20 seconds and shake. Dry potatoes absorb butter; wet potatoes don't.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you boil potatoes with the lid on or off? Keep the lid on the whole time, that's the Dutch way. It saves energy, since the water comes to a boil faster and stays there with less heat, and it keeps the steam (and the humidity) inside the pan instead of filling your kitchen. Just lower the heat once it's boiling so the potatoes simmer gently instead of rattling around and breaking apart.
- Can I make the parsley butter ahead? Yes, mix it up to 3 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Bring it to room temperature before spooning it over the hot potatoes.
- Can I use dried herbs? Fresh parsley and chives really are better here since the butter is the whole dish. In a pinch, use a third of the amount in dried herbs and let the butter stand for 15 minutes so they can soften.
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
Two easy tools to make cooking even easier. Cooking mode keeps the screen on. The easy-step recipe displays the recipe step by step, including the ingredients needed. And you can adjust servings easily
Ingredients
Chives Parsley Butter
- 5 stalks parsley , cut fine
- 5 stalks chives , cut fine
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, coarse
- ½ stick butter , unsalted, room temperature
Boiled Potatoes
- 2¼ pounds potatoes , floury like Bintje
- 1 teaspoon salt
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
Chives Parsley Butter
- Prepare the parsley chive butter by mixing the parsley, chives and sea salt through the butter.5 stalks parsley , 5 stalks chives , ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ stick butter
Boiled Potatoes
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces to make all potatoes about the same size.2¼ pounds potatoes
- Wash them well.
- Put the potatoes in a pan with water, so they're ½ inch (1 cm) submerged. Add the salt to the water.1 teaspoon salt
- Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes. First, check if the potatoes are done. You know they are done when you pierce them with a fork, and there is no resistance.
- Drain the potatoes and return the pan with potatoes to low heat for another 20 seconds (the water will evaporate). Shake the potatoes.
Serve
- Spoon the parsley butter over the potatoes and let stand for 1 minute.
- Then mix the butter well with the potatoes, and shake them well.
- Serve the boiled parsley potatoes with butter right away.
Notes
Nutrition
Liz says
So easy and my husband gave them rave reviews!!