Welcome to one of the my family's favorite dinner nights! A delicious meal of Chicken Paprikash is an explosion of flavor with tender chicken thighs served on top of wonderful buttered egg noodles. Learn the tricks and how to make perfect Chicken Paprikash with this easy to follow recipe.
Mike's Recipe Rundown
- Taste: The paprika sauce packs a punch, with deep and savory paprika flavors really brining the tomato sauce to life.
- Texture: The chicken is an awesome mix of crispy skin with super tender chicken. A creamy tomato sauce over buttered noodles gives a perfect vessel to the chicken.
- Pros: Tons of flavor, my whole family loves it. It's a great different take on pasta night.
- Cons: Takes a little more than an hour to bring together. It's still doable on a weeknight, but you'll want to get started quick. It's great for Sunday dinners.
- Would I make it again? Definitely. As I said above, this is one of my family's favorite meals. It pops up fairly often on our recipe planner.
Why you'll love this recipe
This is an easy dinner to make, and if you work quickly, is definitely doable on a weeknight. But most of that time is spent braising in the oven, so you can get it started, pop it in and move on to other post-workday duties while it cooks to perfection.
Personally, I love the subtle depth and subtle heat that the smoked paprika and pinch of cayenne bring. The dish combines just enough technique to make it impressive, while also delivering a full of satisfying end-of-the-day bite. There's a reason everyone gets excited when I write this on the dinner schedule I keep on my fridge.
Check out some of our other great recipes, like cajun shrimp and grits, smoked gouda mac and cheese, chicken tikka masala, or 29-hour, super tender sous vide chuck roast. Or, try one of my wife's favorites, my Bacon Lamb Sliders which are 100% flavor-bombs. .
What is Chicken Paprikash?
Chicken paprikash is chicken slowly stewed in a tomato sauce that's seasoned well with a mix of paprika and other spices. Begin by searing your chicken and cooking your onions, then throw in all the the oven to infuse the spices to bring it to yummy perfection.
What do I need to make Chicken Paprikash?
Equipment wise this one is pretty simple. You'll want a large, quality, oven safe saute pan (affiliate), along with a large pot (affiliate) to boil your noodles in (and of course a colander to strain them). I use chicken thighs, because they're juicier than breasts. You'll want a thin boning knife (affiliate) to remove the bone and a mixing bowl (affiliate) to toss your noodles in.
Nerd Chef's Tips and Tricks
- Similar to what we do in our Sous Vide Chicken Thighs recipe, we begin by removing the bone and cartilage from our chicken thigh so that it will cook flat in our pan. This allows us to get the entirety of that chicken skin nice and crispy. To do this, use a boning knife (affiliate) (or other skinny knife) and carefully run it along the bone, cutting the flesh away. Do this along both sides until you can pull the bone away. Then, make sure to cut out the knob of cartilage that sits just above the bone.
- Dried spices can die fast, and paprika is definitely one of those. Buy it in small containers so that it doesn't sit on the shelf too long. Since we're using a pinch of cayenne to add some heat, I prefer Hungarian sweet paprika, along with some smoked paprika to add depth. Those three spices really lend to a well rounded bite of flavor.
Check out some of our recent posts
- Easy 2-Step Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Goulash
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- The Complete Guide to Sous Vide Pork Chops
How to make Chicken Paprikash
Getting Started
Preheat your oven to 300°. We want a nice, slow braise when we get to the point to really meld the flavors together. Meanwhile, get ready by cutting the bones and cartilage off your chicken thighs, as directed above. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
You want to use a large, oven safe saute pan (affiliate) with high sides. Bring it to medium-high heat and melt butter in pan. Swirl it around to cover the pan. When it begins to foam, lay the thighs skin side down. To avoid splatter, lay the thigh down with the closest point to you first, then lay it away from you.
Leave chicken undisturbed in pan to allow the skin to get a nice golden brown, about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan, cooking your chicken in batches if needed. Next, flip the chicken over and cook underside for another 2 minutes, then remove to a pan.
Getting Saucy
Immediately add diced shallots to pan and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally and cook until shallots are softened, about 3 minutes.
Add Hungarian sweet paprika, smoked paprika and pinch of cayenne pepper to pan. The cayenne is optional, you can skip it if you are spice adverse. Stir everything together and cook for a minute to toast the spices.
Add can of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and stir everything together. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and shut off burner. Now, return chicken thighs to pan, this time skin side up. Keep the skin exposed above the sauce to help keep it nice and crispy as it cooks. Place in center of oven for 40 minutes.
Finishing steps
While chicken is cooking, boil egg noodles according to directions on package. Drain and move to a large bowl. Add remaining butter to bowl along with 1 Tbsp parsley. Season with another pinch of salt and pepper and stir everything together. Set aside.
Remove chicken pan from oven after 40 minutes. Remove thighs and set aside on a pan. In a side bowl, mix together sour cream and a ladle of the sauce from the pan. Stir together for 30 seconds to bring sour cream to temp. This will keep it from splitting when it is poured in the pan. Add sour cream mixture to pan and stir everything together.
Return pan to burner over medium heat and cook for another 3 minutes to bring everything together. While it's cooking, stir in remaining freshly chopped parsley along with lemon juice and stir together as it cooks. Remove from heat and let cool one minute before plating.
To serve, first place a healthy portion of noodles down in a wide bowl. Pour sauce over noodles and top with two chicken thighs. Serve warm alongside a warm yeast roll.
What to do with leftover Chicken Paprikash
Store noodles, chicken and sauce together in an airtight container. Keeps well in refrigerator for about 5 days. Simply stir and reheat in microwave when ready to serve. Can also be frozen and stored for up to a month.
PrintChicken Paprikash
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs, with bone and cartilage removed
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 shallots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- ½ Tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 15 oz can tomato sauce.
- 12 oz egg noodles
- 1 lemon (juice)
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup sour cream, left out to come to room temperature.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°.
- Remove bones from chicken thighs. Season with salt and pepper. Melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat in a large, oven safe pan with high sides. Add chicken, making sure not to overcrowd pan (cook in batches if needed). Leave chicken undisturbed for 4 minutes so it develops a nice golden brown sear. Flip over and cook for 3 minutes more before removing to a pan to rest. Repeat until all chicken is cooked and drain excess fat from pan.
- Add diced shallots and garlic to pan and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally and cook until shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add paprika, smoked paprika and cayenne and stir together. Continue stirring for one minute to toast spices.
- Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce to pan and stir everything together. Bring everything to a simmer and stir again. Remove from heat and return chicken thighs to sauce skin-side-up. Try to keep the skin above the liquid to help keep it crispy. Place pan in center of oven and cook for 35 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, boil egg noodles according to directions on package. Remove to a large bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, remaining butter and all but 1 Tbsp of the chopped parsley. Stir everything together.
- Remove pan from oven and carefully remove chicken to a separate dish. In a side bowl mix together sour cream and one ladle of the sauce from the pan. Stir for 30 seconds to bring to temp, then pour into pan. Return pan to burner over medium heat and cook for another 3 minutes to bring everything together. Stir in remaining freshly chopped parsley along with lemon juice. Remove from heat and let cool one minute before plating.
- To serve, spoon noodles into a large bowl, then ladle sauce overtop. Top with a chicken thigh are garnish fresh a pinch of chopped parsley.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Braising
- Cuisine: Hungarian
Keywords: Hungarian, Chicken Pasta, Family Dinner