Chicken paprikash, csirke paprikas, is chicken braised in a paprika and onion base and finished with sour cream, one of Hungary's most recognized dishes and a close cousin to gulyas built for the stovetop rather than the soup pot. The sauce should end up thick, orange red, and glossy, clinging to the chicken rather than pooling thin around it.
The dish traces back to the same herding and farming households that produced gulyas, using paprika, a New World spice that Hungary adopted and made central to its cooking by the 1800s, in place of the black pepper and saffron used in earlier versions of stewed poultry.
What Actually Matters
Sour cream curdles the instant it hits a hot pan straight from the refrigerator, which is the single most common reason home versions of this dish come out grainy instead of silky. Temper it first: whisk a ladleful of the hot sauce into the cold sour cream to warm it gradually, then stir that mixture back into the pan off the heat.
Chicken Paprikash (Csirke Paprikas) Recipe
Serves 4. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 45 minutes. Total time: 1 hour.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
- 1.5 pounds bone in, skin on chicken thighs
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1.5 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving
Method
- Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat the lard in a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the chicken, skin side down first, about 5 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Lower the heat to medium low, add the onion to the same skillet, and cook for 10 minutes until soft and golden.
- Pull the skillet off the heat, stir in the paprika, and immediately add the garlic and tomato.
- Return to the heat, pour in the chicken stock, and stir to combine. Nestle the chicken back into the sauce, skin side up.
- Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Whisk the flour into the sour cream until smooth. Ladle about a half cup of the hot sauce into the sour cream, whisking constantly, to temper it.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir the tempered sour cream mixture back into the sauce. Return to low heat just until warmed through, without boiling.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve topped with fresh parsley.
| Nutrition (per serving, estimated) | |
|---|---|
| Calories | 430 |
| Protein | 32g |
| Fat | 28g |
| Carbohydrates | 10g |
These values are a calculated estimate for planning purposes, not a lab-verified figure.
Tips, Variations, and Storage
Serve over nokedli, small Hungarian egg dumplings, or wide egg noodles to catch the sauce. If the sauce breaks anyway, blend it briefly with an immersion blender off the heat to bring it back together. Bone in thighs hold up to the simmer far better than boneless breast, which dries out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my sauce curdle?
The sour cream went into a pan that was too hot. Temper it with warm sauce first, then add it off the heat.
Can I use chicken breast instead of thighs?
You can, but breast meat dries out over the same simmer time. Thighs stay moist and are more traditional.
What's the difference between paprikash and gulyas?
Gulyas is a thin soup. Paprikash is a thicker, sour cream finished braise, usually served over dumplings or noodles.
Can I make this dairy free?
Traditional paprikash relies on sour cream for its signature tang and richness, so a dairy free version will taste noticeably different, though a cashew cream can approximate the texture.
What should I serve it with?
Nokedli (small egg dumplings) is the classic pairing, though egg noodles or mashed potatoes both work.
More From Wine Drop Cookery
Find more of this pantry on the Hungary recipes hub. This dish pairs naturally with Hungarian Goulash (Gulyas), which the soup version of this same paprika and onion base, and links to Lecso (Hungarian Pepper and Sausage Stew), which a lighter pepper forward dish that uses the same paprika pantry. For the gear this cuisine leans on, see pots, pans, and cookware and kitchen essentials.
I'm Chef Alan. I have spent 35 years in professional kitchens, I have formal culinary education in New Hampshire, and I have been honored as a 6-Time 4-Diamond Chef. More about me here.
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