Hungarian Chicken Paprikash Recipe

Ahhh, Chicken Paprikash — cozy, paprika-rich, soul food done right 🇭🇺❤️
Here’s a classic, authentic-style Hungarian recipe, creamy but not heavy, with all the right techniques.

🍗 Hungarian Chicken Paprikash (Paprikás Csirke)

🌶️ The star

Use good-quality Hungarian sweet paprika. This dish lives or dies by it.

🧾 Ingredients

• 2½–3 lb (1.2–1.4 kg) chicken (bone-in thighs & drumsticks preferred)

• 2 tbsp lard or neutral oil (traditional = lard)

• 2 large onions, finely chopped

• 3 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika

• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

• ½ tsp black pepper

• 1 small tomato, chopped (or ½ cup crushed tomatoes)

• 1 green bell pepper, sliced (optional but traditional)

• 1 cup chicken stock or water

• ¾ cup sour cream (full-fat)

• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Build the base

   • Heat fat in a wide pot over medium heat

   • Add onions + salt

   • Cook slowly until very soft and pale golden (10–15 min)

2. Paprika moment (important!)

   • Remove pot from heat

   • Stir in paprika quickly

   • This prevents bitterness

3. Add chicken

   • Return to low heat

   • Add chicken, tomato, and pepper

   • Toss to coat in paprika-onion mixture

4. Simmer

   • Add stock

   • Cover and simmer gently 35–45 minutes until chicken is tender

5. Make it creamy

   • Mix sour cream + flour until smooth

   • Temper with a ladle of hot sauce

   • Stir back into pot

6. Finish

   • Simmer uncovered 5–10 minutes

   • Sauce should be silky, not thick like gravy

🍜 Serve With (Essential)

• Nokedli (Hungarian dumplings) — traditional

• Egg noodles or spaetzle (acceptable & delicious)

• Pickled cucumbers on the side

🧠 Paprikash Wisdom

• Never brown the chicken first

• Never burn the paprika

• Sour cream goes in at the end

• Simmer gently, don’t boil

If you want, I can:

• Give you a one-pan weeknight version

• Make it slow-cooker friendly

• Share a nokedli dumpling recipe

• Adjust spice levels using different paprikas