My Amish neighbor shared this with me after I helped her during harvest season. She said it fed her family of twelve for generations.

This slow cooker 3-ingredient Amish butter potatoes recipe is the kind of quiet, practical comfort food that shows up on farm tables all over the Midwest. My Amish neighbor passed it along years ago, after I’d helped her during harvest season. She told me this simple pot of potatoes had fed her family of twelve for generations—set out at noon with the rest of the meal, everyone taking a scoop or two as they came in from the fields. It’s nothing fancy: just small golden potatoes, plenty of real butter, and salt. Long, gentle cooking turns the potatoes silky and tender, their skins just starting to split, and the butter pools at the bottom of the crock like liquid gold. It’s an easy, unfussy side dish that works as well in a city kitchen as it did on her farm.

Serve these buttery potatoes straight from the slow cooker with a big spoon so everyone can catch some of the melted butter at the bottom. They’re perfect alongside roasted or grilled chicken, pot roast, meatloaf, or a simple skillet of sausages. I like to add something green on the plate—steamed green beans, sautéed cabbage, or a crisp salad—to balance the richness. A basket of crusty bread or dinner rolls is handy for mopping up the extra butter. If you have leftovers, slice the potatoes and pan-fry them in a bit of the leftover butter for breakfast with eggs the next morning.

Servings: 8-12

3 pounds small whole golden potatoes (such as baby Yukon Gold), well-scrubbed

Rinse the small golden potatoes under cool running water, scrubbing gently with a brush or cloth to remove any dirt. Leave the skins on and keep the potatoes whole. Pat dry with a clean towel so excess water doesn’t dilute the butter.

Lightly grease the bottom of a large slow cooker (5- to 7-quart) with a small swipe of the butter to prevent sticking. This also helps the first layer of potatoes pick up flavor right away.

Spread the whole potatoes in the slow cooker in an even layer. It’s fine if they pile up a bit, but try to keep them relatively even so they cook at the same rate.

Sprinkle the kosher salt evenly over the potatoes. You want some salt to reach the bottom of the crock and some to sit on top of the potatoes so each one is seasoned as it cooks.

Lay the sliced butter over the potatoes, distributing it as evenly as you can. Some pieces should fall down between the potatoes; others can sit right on top. As the slow cooker warms, the butter will melt and baste everything.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, or on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Avoid lifting the lid in the first couple of hours so you don’t lose heat and steam, which help the potatoes cook evenly.

Begin checking the potatoes toward the shorter end of the cooking time. They are done when a fork or thin knife slides in easily and the skins are just starting to split. The butter will be fully melted, pooling at the bottom and clinging to the potatoes with a glossy sheen.

Once tender, gently stir the potatoes from the bottom up with a wide spoon or rubber spatula, turning them so they’re all coated in the melted butter. Taste one and add a pinch or two more salt if needed, stirring again to distribute it.

Switch the slow cooker to WARM for serving, keeping the lid slightly askew if there is a lot of steam so the potatoes don’t overcook and fall apart. Just before bringing them to the table, you can scatter a pinch of dried or fresh herbs over the top if you like, but it’s optional and not part of the base three ingredients.

Serve the potatoes straight from the slow cooker, spooning some of the buttery juices over each portion. Any leftover butter in the crock can be saved and used to reheat the potatoes or to cook eggs, vegetables, or fried potatoes the next day.

To stay true to the three-ingredient spirit that my neighbor emphasized, the base recipe uses only potatoes, butter, and salt. That said, once you’ve made it her way, you can adapt it to your own kitchen. For a subtle onion note, tuck a halved yellow onion (or a few thick slices) under the potatoes at the very bottom, then discard before serving; the flavor will be gentle but present. If you’d like a bit of color, sprinkle a small pinch of dried parsley, chives, or thyme over the finished potatoes—this keeps the cooking method and core ingredients the same while adding a fresh look for the table. You can also finish with freshly ground black pepper at the table instead of salting more. If your crowd prefers a creamier texture, lightly crush some of the cooked potatoes in the crock with the back of a spoon so they soak up more of the butter, almost like a rustic mash. For a smaller household, halve the recipe but keep the same cooking times, checking early; a less-full slow cooker can cook a bit faster. Food safety notes: Always scrub potatoes well to remove soil, which can harbor bacteria. Keep the potatoes fully covered and cooking on LOW or HIGH; don’t use the WARM setting to cook them from raw, as it doesn’t bring the food quickly enough into a safe temperature range. Once cooked, don’t leave the slow cooker on the WARM setting for more than about 2 hours at room temperature. Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate in a shallow container within 2 hours of cooking, then reheat thoroughly until steaming hot before serving again.