Creamy chicken paprikash - or paprika chicken - is a delicious Hungarian recipe with chicken, sweet paprika and sour cream. Made in 30 minutes, this is a flavorful and healthy weeknight meal.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read more about it in the privacy policy.
🥘 Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need 5 ingredients: boneless chicken thigh fillets, sour cream, chicken stock, onion, and sweet Hungarian paprika.
💡TIP! You can usually find sweet paprika in Eastern European stores, or on Amazon.
You can use any cut of chicken, but I prefer to use boneless chicken thighs in this recipe. If you choose to use chicken pieces with bones, you will have to increase the cooking time.
🔪 Instructions
Heat some one calorie cooking spray in a large pot. Add the chicken fillets, and brown them on both sides. Remove them from the pot, and set aside.
Add finely diced onion to the pot, and cook until translucent and soft. Then, add the paprika powder and cook for a minute while stirring. Add the chicken back to the pot, and stir them to coat completely with the paprika and onion. Add the chicken stock, place the lid on top and leave to cook until the liquid has reduced and the chicken has cooked through. This takes 15-20 minutes.
When the chicken is done, remove the pot from the heat and add sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve.
💭 Top tips
- I recommend using boneless chicken thighs, but you can use chicken with bone if you prefer. Avoid using chicken breast fillets, as they will overcook and dry out.
- Authentic chicken paprikash is made with sour cream, but you can use creme fraiche instead.
- The safe temperature for chicken is 165 F / 75 C. It is always recommended to use a meat thermometer to make sure that the meat has cooked through before serving.
🍲 Leftovers
Leftover paprika chicken can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also safely freeze it for up to 3 months. Bake a big batch and freeze it for quick and easy future meals!
🥗 Side dishes
Chicken paprikash is often served with rice, noodles, or traditional Hungarian dumplings.
If you want to add some vegetables to the meal, try serving them with green beans, courgette and halloumi salad, or sweet potato fries.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Is this recipe allergy friendly? - It is gluten free, soy free, nut free and egg free. you can make it dairy free by using a dairy free sour cream substitute.
Can I make this vegetarian? - Omit the chicken, and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock if you want to make a vegetarian paprikash sauce. I highly recommend adding chickpeas, mushrooms or vegetables for a filling vegetarian stew.
🍴 More hearty stews
- Beef and ale stew
- Slow cooker beef stew
- Butter bean and chorizo stew
- Vegetable stew with dumplings
- .. or browse all stew recipes!
Chicken paprikash - paprika chicken
Ingredients
- 600 g boneless chicken thighs 1-2 per person
- 300 ml reduced fat sour cream
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 20 g sweet paprika
- 200 ml chicken stock or water with 1 stock cube
Instructions
- Heat some cooking spray in a large pot. Add the chicken fillets, and cook until they have slightly browned, then flip over. Cook until they have browned slightly on both sides, then remove them from the pot and leave them on a plate. They usually need 3-5 minutes on either side.
- Add finely diced onion to the pot, and cook for a few minutes until it turns translucent and soft.
- Add the paprika powder to the pot, and cook while stirring to 30 seconds. Be careful not to leave it for too long, as paprika burns easily.
- Add the chicken fillets to the pot, and rub them in the paprika until they are completely covered.
- Pour the chicken stock into the pot, place the lid on top, and leave to cook until the liquid had reduced and the chicken has cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
- When the chicken has cooked through, remove the pot from the heat. Add the soured cream, and stir to combine. It is very important that the dish does not boil or simmer after the soured cream, as this might cause it to split.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve.
Notes
- I recommend using boneless chicken thighs, but you can use chicken with bone if you prefer. Avoid using chicken breast fillets, as they will overcook and dry out.
- Authentic chicken paprikash is made with sour cream, but you can use creme fraiche instead.
- The safe temperature for chicken is 165 F / 75 C. It is always recommended to use a meat thermometer to make sure that the meat has cooked through before serving.
Jay
Instead of frying the chicken in oil, I would fry it in AF, then fry the onion in the same pot in chicken drippings or added fat (if necessary). You can also add some water to the drippings instead of added fat/oil. I use Instant Pot (Lid) AirFryer.