Chicken paprikash - csirke paprikás in Hungarian - is one of the most beloved dishes in Hungarian cuisine and one of the finest chicken stews in the world. Bone-in chicken pieces are braised slowly in a rich, deeply paprika-spiced sauce finished with soured cream, giving the dish its characteristic warmth, silkiness, and gentle tang. It's comfort food of the highest order - simple to make, deeply satisfying, and the kind of dish that tastes like it took far more effort than it did.
Like beef goulash, chicken paprikash is built on a generous foundation of sweet Hungarian paprika - far more than most Western recipes use, and the quality matters enormously. A good Hungarian or Spanish sweet smoked paprika gives the sauce its characteristic deep red colour and complex, slightly smoky flavour. Avoid cheap supermarket paprika that's been sitting in the cupboard for a year - fresh, vibrant paprika is what makes this dish sing.
Soured cream is the finishing touch that sets paprikash apart from goulash - stirred in at the end, it transforms the paprika sauce into something silky, tangy, and luxurious. Serve over egg noodles, spätzle, or buttered rice with a simple cucumber salad on the side for a complete and deeply comforting Hungarian feast. All ingredients are available at any major UK supermarket.
Ingredients
For the paprikash
- 4 Bone-in, Skin-on Chicken Thighs
- 2 Medium Onions , finely diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves , minced
- 1 Red Pepper , deseeded and finely diced
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil or Lard , lard is more traditional and gives a richer flavour
- 3 tbsp Sweet Hungarian Paprika , don't skimp - this is the soul of the dish
- 0.5 tsp Hot Smoked Paprika (optional)
- 200 ml Chicken Stock
- 200 g Soured Cream , at room temperature
- 1 tbsp Plain Flour , to stabilise the soured cream
- Salt and Black Pepper,
To serve
- Egg noodles, Spätzle, or Buttered Long-grain Rice
- Fresh Flat-leaf Parsley , finely chopped
- Extra Soured Cream (optional)
- Simple Cucumber Salad , cucumber, white wine vinegar, a pinch of sugar and dill
Method
-
Pat the chicken thighs dry with kitchen paper and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large, wide, heavy-bottomed casserole or deep frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the chicken skin-side down for 5–6 mins until deeply golden, then flip and brown the other side for 2–3 mins. Remove and set aside. The chicken does not need to be cooked through at this stage.
Tip: Getting a deep golden colour on the skin before braising is important - it renders the fat, improves the texture of the skin, and adds a layer of flavour to the sauce as the drippings are incorporated during the onion stage. -
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to the same casserole. Add the onions and cook for 10–12 mins, stirring occasionally, until completely soft, translucent, and beginning to turn lightly golden. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for a further 3–4 mins until the pepper has softened.
-
Reduce the heat to low. Add the sweet paprika and hot paprika if using and stir constantly for 60–90 seconds until deeply fragrant. Watch carefully - paprika burns quickly and will turn bitter if the heat is too high.
Tip: This is the same critical step as in beef goulash - bloom the paprika in the oil on a low heat, keep it moving, and don't walk away. The difference between a paprikash made with properly bloomed paprika and one where the paprika was just added to the liquid is significant. -
Return the chicken thighs to the casserole, skin-side up. Pour in the chicken stock and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the base of the pan. The stock should come about halfway up the chicken - add a splash more if needed. Bring to a gentle simmer.
-
Cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 30–35 mins until the chicken is completely cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside.
-
In a small bowl, whisk together the soured cream and plain flour until smooth - the flour prevents the soured cream from curdling when added to the hot sauce. Gradually ladle 2–3 tbsp of the hot sauce from the pan into the soured cream mixture, whisking constantly to temper it. Pour the tempered soured cream mixture back into the casserole and stir well to combine.
Tip: Tempering the soured cream - gradually raising its temperature before adding it to the hot pan - is the key to a smooth, silky sauce that doesn't split or curdle. Never add cold soured cream directly to a vigorously boiling sauce. Remove the pan from direct heat if needed before stirring it in. -
Return the chicken to the casserole and gently reheat over a low heat for 3–4 mins - do not boil the sauce once the soured cream has been added or it may split. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and a little more paprika if needed.
-
Serve over egg noodles, spätzle, or buttered rice. Scatter with fresh parsley and offer extra soured cream on the side.
Alternatives & Variations
Use skinless chicken thighs - removes a significant source of saturated fat; brown the flesh side directly to develop colour without the skin
Replace the soured cream with full-fat Greek yogurt - lower in fat and calories with a similar tanginess; temper it in the same way and don't boil the sauce once it's been added
Use semi-skimmed or low-fat soured cream if available - reduces saturated fat without significantly affecting the texture of the finished sauce
Serve over cauliflower rice instead of egg noodles - cuts carbohydrates significantly with a similar satisfying bulk
The only source of gluten in this recipe is the plain flour used to stabilise the soured cream. Swap it for 1 tbsp of cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with the soured cream - it works equally well as a stabiliser and is naturally gluten free. All other ingredients - chicken, onions, peppers, paprika, stock, and soured cream - are naturally gluten free. Check your chicken stock label if you have a severe intolerance, as some stock cubes contain wheat starch.
FAQs
Around 1 hr 5 mins total - 15 mins of prep and 50 mins of cooking. Most of the cooking time is the chicken braising gently in the sauce with minimal attention needed. It's a genuinely easy dish that delivers restaurant-quality results.
Rated Easy. The main techniques are browning the chicken, cooking the onions properly, and tempering the soured cream at the end to prevent curdling - all of which are straightforward with a little care. It's a forgiving dish that's very hard to get badly wrong.
Yes, with a caveat - soured cream-based sauces can separate slightly on freezing and reheating. For best results, freeze the braised chicken and paprika sauce before adding the soured cream, then add it fresh when reheating. If you freeze the finished dish, reheat very gently over a low heat, stirring frequently, and the sauce usually comes back together. Add a fresh dollop of soured cream when serving to restore the silkiness.
Yes - it reheats very well and the paprika flavour deepens overnight, making day-two paprikash noticeably better. Reheat gently over a low heat, stirring occasionally. If the sauce has thickened too much in the fridge, add a small splash of chicken stock to loosen. Add extra soured cream when serving if needed.
Both are Hungarian paprika-based dishes but they differ in key ways. Goulash is a tomato-based stew, typically made with beef, and contains no dairy. Paprikash is finished with soured cream, giving it a richer, creamier, tangier sauce, and is most commonly made with chicken. Goulash is heartier and more rustic; paprikash is silkier and more refined in character. Both use generous quantities of sweet paprika as their defining flavour.
Egg noodles are the most traditional and widely available accompaniment - they absorb the paprika-cream sauce beautifully. Spätzle (small Hungarian egg dumplings) is the most authentic choice if you want to go the extra mile. Buttered long-grain rice works very well for a simpler option. A quick cucumber salad dressed with white wine vinegar, dill, and a pinch of sugar is the classic Hungarian side - its cool acidity cuts through the richness of the sauce perfectly.
Newsletter
Get a new recipe every week
No spam. Just good food, straight to your inbox.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe any time.
