Best Chicken Paprikash
Bone-in chicken simmered in vibrant paprika-onion sauce, finished with sour cream. One-pot Hungarian comfort over noodles.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 900 g bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 cups 480 ml chicken broth
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- Creamy Finish:
- ½ cup 120 g sour cream, room temp
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry, season with salt/pepper. Sear skin-side down in butter 5–6 min until golden; flip 3 min. Remove.
- Sauté onion 5–7 min until soft. Add garlic + bell pepper 2 min.
- Off heat, stir in paprikas + salt/pepper to bloom.
- Add tomato + broth; nestle chicken back, skin up. Simmer covered 25–30 min until 175 °F.
- Whisk sour cream + flour + ¼ cup hot broth (temper).
- Remove chicken; stir in slurry. Simmer 2–3 min to thicken.
- Return chicken, coat in sauce. Taste and adjust.
- Serve over buttered noodles with sour cream dollop + parsley.
Notes
- Off-heat paprika bloom = no bitterness; critical step.
- Temper sour cream with hot broth to prevent curdling.
- Bone-in thighs = richer flavor; boneless works (15–20 min).
- Freeze stew (no cream) up to 3 months; add fresh sour cream on reheat.
- Reheat low with a splash of broth; avoid boiling cream.
- GF: Use GF flour + noodles; same method.