Eastern European Images are for illustrative purposes only, may be inaccurate, and do not guarantee the presence or absence of specific ingredients. 
Serving Images are for illustrative purposes only, may be inaccurate, and do not guarantee the presence or absence of specific ingredients. Paprikash
Chicken braised in a silky, fire-red paprika and sour cream sauce that's rich, mildly spicy, and deeply comforting — Hungary's weeknight treasure over egg noodles.
Contains common allergens
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Good to know
- One-pot
Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners
Instructions
8 steps- 1
Season the chicken pieces generously with salt.
- 2
Melt the lard in a large heavy pot over medium heat and cook the onions and bell pepper until very soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
- 3
Remove the pot from the heat briefly and stir in the paprika and tomato paste, coating the onions well; this prevents the paprika from scorching and turning bitter.
- 4
Return to the heat, nestle in the chicken pieces, and pour in the broth so it comes about halfway up the chicken.
- 5
Cover and simmer gently over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally, until it is fully tender and pulling from the bone.
- 6
Whisk the sour cream with the flour until smooth, then stir a ladle of the hot broth into the sour cream to temper it.
- 7
Pour the tempered sour cream mixture back into the pot, stirring gently, and simmer just until the sauce thickens and turns a rich brick-red, about 5 minutes; do not let it boil hard or the sauce may curdle.
- 8
Serve the chicken and sauce spooned over egg noodles or nokedli.
Images are for illustrative purposes only, may be inaccurate, and do not guarantee the presence or absence of specific ingredients. Listahan Family Score™
73/100
Good fit for most families
Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.
Nutrition
per serving510
Calories
45 g
Protein
9 g
Carbs
33 g
Fat
Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.
Listahan cooking guide
Chef notes & practical guide
Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.
Cultural context
Chicken Paprikash (csirke paprikas) is Hungary's most internationally recognized dish and the clearest expression of Hungary's defining spice: paprika. Unlike most European stews that use paprika as a background accent, paprikash builds the entire sauce from it — two to three tablespoons per dish give the sauce its brick-red color, sweet-earthy depth, and warmth. The dish became widespread across Central and Eastern Europe through the Austro-Hungarian empire and variations appear in Czech, Slovak, Romanian, and Ukrainian kitchens with minor adjustments to the base.
Listahan note
This version uses a generous amount of sweet paprika as the primary flavor builder and finishes with sour cream off the heat, so the sauce is deeply colored and tangy without any separated grainy texture.
Technique cues
- Add paprika to fat only briefly before adding liquid — paprika burns in dry heat within 30 seconds and turns from sweet-earthy to bitter-acrid; keep it moving and deglaze immediately.
- Use chicken thighs and drumsticks rather than breast meat — they remain juicy throughout the long braise while breast meat overcooks and goes dry before the sauce develops.
- Temper the sour cream by whisking a ladle of hot braising liquid into it before adding it to the pot, and never let the sauce boil again afterward.
Kitchen flow
- Parallel prep
- Cook spaetzle, egg noodles, or rice while the chicken braises — both take about 30 minutes and finish at the same time.
- Make-ahead
- Paprikash reheats beautifully — make the full dish up to 2 days ahead and reheat gently over low heat; add the sour cream only when reheating, not before storing.
- Leftover move
- Shred leftover chicken from the bones and stir back into the sauce; serve over toast or mix into cooked egg noodles for a quick pasta-style dish.
- Cleanup rhythm
- The heavy-bottomed braising pot handles everything from searing to saucing — one pot, one cover, one spatula for the entire process.
Ingredient brief
Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.
sweet paprika
primary flavor and color
Purpose: Paprika is not a garnish here — it is the backbone of the entire sauce, providing color, sweetness, and depth in quantities that most North American recipes are timid about.
Handling: Use fresh, high-quality sweet paprika; old, faded paprika lacks the volatile aromatic oils that make the sauce distinctive.
Adaptation: A blend of half sweet and half smoked paprika adds a pleasant smoky dimension to the sauce.
chicken thighs and drumsticks
primary protein
Purpose: Dark meat stays tender and moist through 45 minutes of braising and releases collagen-rich gelatin into the sauce that gives it body.
Handling: Brown skin-side down in a dry or lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat until the skin is golden before braising — the fond is an essential flavor base for the sauce.
Adaptation: Bone-in chicken breast can be used but must be removed after 25 minutes to prevent overcooking.
onion
aromatic base
Purpose: Sweated onion forms the sweet, savory foundation that the paprika sauce builds on — without it the sauce has a raw, one-note flavor.
Handling: Slice thinly rather than dicing so the onion softens into the sauce and disappears into the background during the braise.
Adaptation: Leeks in the same quantity give a milder, more delicate onion backbone.
sour cream
sauce finisher
Purpose: Full-fat sour cream enriches the paprika sauce into something velvety and tangy rather than just a brothy stew.
Handling: Full-fat only — low-fat or fat-free sour cream will separate into a grainy mess the moment it hits the hot sauce.
Adaptation: Plain full-fat Greek yogurt works but requires even more careful tempering and lower heat.
chicken broth
braising liquid
Purpose: Broth provides the cooking medium that carries the paprika flavor and produces the sauce without being so flavorful it competes with the paprika.
Handling: Warm before adding to the pan so the cooking temperature does not drop, which can cause the chicken to release moisture rather than absorb flavor.
Adaptation: Dry white wine replacing half the broth adds brightness to the sauce and deepens the flavor profile.
Technique notes
- Do not skip browning the chicken — the Maillard reaction on the skin produces flavor compounds that the paprika sauce will not replicate on its own.
- The sauce should be deeply red-orange, not pink — if it looks pale, you have not used enough paprika; taste and add more before the sour cream goes in.
- Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan as you add broth — the browned onion and paprika fond is where most of the flavor lives.
Ingredient swaps
- Gluten-free direction
- Thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry instead of flour and serve over rice or gluten-free egg noodles.
- Dairy-free option
- Full-fat canned coconut cream with a tablespoon of lemon juice mimics sour cream acceptably; the coconut flavor is barely detectable beneath the paprika.
- Weeknight shortcut
- Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of bone-in pieces — the braise time reduces to 20 minutes and there is no need to pull meat from bones.
Serve alongside
- Hungarian spaetzle (nokedli)
- Egg noodles
- Cucumber salad with vinegar and dill
- Hungarian Egri Bikaver (Bull's Blood) red wine
- Pale lager beer
Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.
Storage & reheating
- Paprikash keeps refrigerated for up to 4 days and improves as the sauce deepens in the refrigerator.
- Freeze without the sour cream for up to 3 months; add fresh sour cream when reheating.
Equipment
- Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven with a lid
- Wooden spoon for scraping fond and stirring without scratching
- Ladle for tempering the sour cream
- Tongs for handling chicken pieces during searing
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