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My easy Smothered Potatoes Recipe is complete with smoky sausage, sweet onions, and tender potatoes! It all comes together in one pot in just over 1 hour. Kielbasa and potatoes is perfect as a side dish for beef, chicken, pork, and more!

Jump to:
- Smothered Potatoes and Kielbasa
- Smothered Potatoes FAQ
- Smothered Potatoes with Onions Ingredients
- Best Potatoes for Smothered Potatoes
- How to Make Smothered Potatoes with Sausage
- Sausage and Potatoes Tips
- What to Serve with Smothered Potatoes and Sausage
- Best Potato Side Dishes
- Best Smothered Potatoes Recipe with Sausage
Smothered Potatoes and Kielbasa
My family's favorite side dish recipes always seem to include potatoes, and can you blame us? A hearty potato side dish goes well with just about every meal, and they're even better when combined with other vegetables and a protein!
This recipe for smothered potatoes and kielbasa is super easy. All you need to do is some simple slicing prep work. You don't even have to peel or cut the potatoes if you don't want to!
Serve my smothered potatoes recipe alongside your next pork chops dinner, baked chicken, or beef pot roast, and the table will be all smiles. This is true comfort food!

Smothered Potatoes FAQ
"Smothering" in cooking refers to food cooked on the stove in a liquid, covered in a pan over low heat, similar to braising. In the case of smothered potatoes, a cup of water is used along with the onions to boil and soften the potatoes, giving the entire dish a lovely soft texture.
It takes just 15 minutes of prep to ready the smothered potatoes, and about 1 hour on the stove to cook them, with minimal work required while they cook.
Smothered potatoes can be stored for up to 4-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. However, you should not freeze smothered potatoes. The soft texture of the dish does not hold up well when reheating after freezing.
Smothered potatoes and sausage pairs well with just about any meat you can think of. The best pairings for this dish are steak, pork, chicken, turkey. However, you can even pair them with a breakfast recipe such as an omelet, breakfast casserole, or scrambled eggs.
Smothered Potatoes with Onions Ingredients
- Smoked Kielbasa sausage, sliced
- Olive oil
- Baby potatoes
- Onion (yellow or white)
- Salt and pepper
- Frozen peas
- Red pepper flakes (optional, for spice)

Best Potatoes for Smothered Potatoes
The best potatoes to use for smothered potatoes are baby potatoes. Baby potatoes are potatoes picked before they reach their full size. This makes them smaller, with thinner skin, lower starch, and a higher moisture content than fully grown potatoes.
Baby potatoes are a perfect choice for smothered potatoes due to their high moisture content and softness. Small soft red potatoes and small Yukon gold potatoes may also be used, though I recommend cutting these for a faster cook time.
How to Make Smothered Potatoes with Sausage
- Add olive oil to a Dutch oven (or large pot with lid) over medium heat. Slice Kielbasa sausage and add to the pot. Cook until it begins to brown and caramelize.
- Pour water into the pot along with baby potatoes. Stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot into the water.
- Place a sliced onion on top of the other ingredients in the pot, then cover with the lid. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook 40-45 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- When the potatoes are tender, add peas. Cover and cook a few more minutes until the peas are cooked through.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper (keep in mind the Kielbasa is naturally salty). Serve, and enjoy!
Sausage and Potatoes Tips
- You can peel and cut the potatoes if you like, but it isn't necessary.
- Make sure to use a sweet yellow or white onion and not a red onion for this dish. The flavor of a red onion is too harsh for this dish.
- While the potatoes are cooking, check the pot from time to time and add more water, if necessary. If you're using peeled and cut potatoes, they will take less time to cook and will soak up more water, so you may need to add more.
- Kielbasa is naturally salty, so when salting the dish, make sure to taste it first before adding more.
- Red pepper flakes can be used to add spice to the dish, but you may want to cut back on the black pepper - or leave it out entirely - if adding red pepper.
What to Serve with Smothered Potatoes and Sausage
- Serve smothered potatoes and sausage with pork, chicken, steak, turkey, or even a pot roast.
- Smothered potatoes pair very well with breakfast recipes.
- Top them off with a sauce, like hollandaise, bearnaise, cheese sauce, or your favorite gravy.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese on top if you like.

Best Potato Side Dishes
Try more of the best side dishes and High Protein Side Dishes:
- Riced Potatoes
- Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
- Grilled Potatoes in Foil (Oven or Grill)
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Pesto Gnocchi
- Grilled Potatoes
- Roasted Small Potatoes
Did you try this recipe? Let us know in the comments below, and leave a rating! We love to hear from you.

Best Smothered Potatoes Recipe with Sausage
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven or large pot with lid
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting board
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. smoked Kielbasa sausage cut into short lengths
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 pounds baby potatoes whole
- 1 large onion sliced thinly; yellow or white onion
- salt, to taste Kielbasa is salty, so taste test first before salting
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes optional – you may want to skip the black pepper if you add this!
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a Dutch oven (or large pot with lid) over medium heat. Slice Kielbasa sausage and add to the pot. Cook until it begins to brown and caramelize.2 Tablespoons olive oil, 1.5 lbs. smoked Kielbasa sausage
- Pour water into the pot along with baby potatoes. Stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot into the water.1 cup water, 3 pounds baby potatoes
- Place a sliced onion on top of the other ingredients in the pot, then cover with the lid. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook 40-45 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.1 large onion
- When the potatoes are tender, add peas. Cover and cook a few more minutes until the peas are cooked through.½ cup frozen peas
- Season to taste with salt and pepper (keep in mind the Kielbasa is naturally salty). Serve, and enjoy!salt, to taste, black pepper, to taste, 1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes
Notes
- You can peel and cut the potatoes if you like, but it isn't necessary.
- Make sure to use a sweet yellow or white onion and not a red onion for this dish. The flavor of a red onion is too harsh for this dish.
- While the potatoes are cooking, check the pot from time to time and add more water, if necessary. If you're using peeled and cut potatoes, they will take less time to cook and will soak up more water, so you may need to add more.
- Kielbasa is naturally salty, so when salting the dish, make sure to taste it first before adding more.
- Red pepper flakes can be used to add spice to the dish, but you may want to cut back on the black pepper - or leave it out entirely - if adding red pepper.
Nutrition
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