Enjoy these Creamed Peas and Potatoes with peas and potatoes fresh from your garden or from the Farmer’s market. Served up in a delicious white sauce, with a bit of onion and lots of salt and pepper.
This dish isn’t an everyday vegetable dish, but it’s certainly a delicious way to celebrate fresh garden peas and those lovely little new potatoes. It’s comfort food in vegetable form and yes, that’s totally a thing :)
Creamed Peas and Potatoes is a dish that was enjoyed for many years, especially by farmers or anyone with a garden that found that the new potatoes and garden peas were ready for harvest at the same time. It has not been as popular in recent years, probably because of the “creamed” in the name.
Fact is though, there isn’t a drop of cream in this dish. It starts with just one tablespoon of butter, some flour for thickening and one cup of milk (I used 2%, but you could easily use 1%). So while it’s not a dish that you’d eat every day, it’s an absolutely delicious way to enjoy garden fresh peas and potatoes once in a while. (It’s also a great Thanksgiving side dish, by the way!)
And if you’ve never enjoyed this dish and you’re thinking it looks rich, I can only try to assure you that it just really isn’t. It’s the kind of creamy that’s more about the creamy texture than the creamy taste, if that makes sense.
Salt and pepper are crucial to the success of this dish. If you take a bite and it tastes bland, add more salt! Just remember that none of the ingredients are adding any salt to the dish, so you’ll need to do it along the way and at the end. Boil your potatoes in salted water. Once your sauce is made, taste and add seasoning as necessary.
So if you’re at the market right about now and you see some garden peas and little, new potatoes on offer, I hope you’ll give this one a try!
Cook’s Notes
What are New Potatoes? New potatoes are simply potatoes that have been shipped to market without being stored for any time. They are typically small and they have a paper thin skin, that rubs off easily. New potatoes are favoured as they are more moist and sweeter than potatoes that have been stored.
Again (for emphasis :), use a generous hand with the salt when seasoning this dish.
This dish is best eaten right when made, but left-overs can be refrigerated and re-heated. Simply add a splash of milk to it when re-heating to loosen the sauce.
You can certainly make this dish with frozen peas and/or mini potatoes when garden fresh peas and new potatoes are out of season.
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Seasons and Suppers.
Get the Recipe: Creamed Peas and Potatoes
Ingredients
- 12 small new potatoes
- 1 cup fresh garden peas, can use frozen if out of season
- 1 Tbsp. salted butter
- 2 Tbsp. red onion, finely chopped, can use yellow onions
- 1 Tbsp. flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp. salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Start water boiling in two medium-large saucepans on your stovetop. Add peas to boiling water. Don't salt, but add a pinch of sugar to the water. Cook until just tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Unless potatoes are really tiny, cut in half. Cook in salted boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes (test with a knife). Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook, stirring, until onion is softened. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Slowly begin adding milk, stirring continuously, until well combined. Add cooked peas and potatoes and salt and pepper. Reduce heat slightly and allow sauce to simmer until thickened to a creamy sauce. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed (should not taste bland). Remove to a serving dish.
Notes
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
My mother in law made this for me , it is still my favorite. But can you freeze leftovers?
Hi Christine and yes, you can freeze leftovers. You may need to add a splash of milk to thin it a bit when reheating.
Made this today and it brings back memories at my great grandma’s house 60 some years ago! I used unsweetened original almond milk and it worked just fine! Having it with grilled pork chops and corn on the cob – perfect August meal!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Sue and good to know it works with almond milk, too :) Thanks!
This dish is a little bit of heaven.Having it with a Shepard pie and it is very tasty.
So glad you are enjoying it, Charles :) Thanks so much!
I just had to add this, everyone’s talking GRANDMA’S HOUSE, I always knew I was BLESSED because my GRANDMA & GRANDPA LIVED WITH OUR FAMILY ALL THEIR LIVES. My GrandPa passed away when I was 10 years old and my GRANDMA passed away about 20 years later. So, actually my GRANDMA raised my brother and me because both my parents had to work to make a living……
GOD BLESS GRANDMA & GRANDPA…….
Indeed!
Ummmm GOOD, just like GRANDMA used to make for me back in the day…..
Thanks ever so much……
John F……..HAYS, KANSAS..
So glad you enjoyed them, John :) Thanks so much!