Chicken Paprikash with Spaetzle

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Chicken paprikash or paprika chicken is one of those old-fashioned meals in which every person who makes it seems to have their own version. This simple, delicious recipe requires very few ingredients but makes a truly delicious meal.

You don’t need to be in the kitchen all day to make something amazing. Just let the ingredients speak for themselves.

Everyone in my family loves this, even my pickiest eater ate every last bit of this simple flavourful meal!

What is chicken paprikash

If you have never had this dish before, you may be wondering; what’s paprikash? Chicken paprikash is a traditional Hungarian dish that is similar to chicken stew.

It is rich, creamy, and full of flavour. Thanks to the low and slow cooking of the chicken, the generous helping of paprika, and the rich sour cream swirled in at the end.

This Hungarian comfort food is most often served with a type of noodle, or dumpling, called nokedli or spaetzle.

Storing Chicken paprikash

In the refrigerator

Store room temperature chicken paprikash, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

To reheat chicken paprikash, remove from the container to a pan on medium heat. Stir occasionally, until the chicken is heated through.

In the freezer

The finished recipe calls for adding sour cream. Often creams, like sour cream, will split and become grainy when frozen. So, if you are making this in advance, and freezing for a later meal, make sure to omit the sour cream.

When you are ready to reheat the meal, add the sour cream fresh.

To freeze the paprikash, let it come to room temperature and then store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

To reheat frozen chicken paprikash, remove from the freezer and let it defrost in the refrigerator. Place in a pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is warmed through. Add the sour cream fresh at the end.

Chicken paprikash variations

This traditional dish has so many variations. Some cooks like to include tomatoes, peppers (spicy or sweet). Some variations call for bone in chicken, some skinless boneless chicken breasts.

This is were you get to choose what you and your family prefer. For this recipe, I used skinless boneless chicken breast. Mostly, because it is easier for small children to navigate, more than a bone in thigh.

This recipe does not contain any added tomatoes or peppers. If this is something your family enjoys then absolutely add them in!

What to serve with Chicken paprikash

Traditionally, chicken paprikash is served with a homemade noodle or dumpling called nokedli or spaetzle. This recipe is below in this post.

However, there are some other great options! Chicken paprikash is delicious served on rice, store-bought noodles, or on top of mashed potatoes.

How to thicken chicken paprikash

If you like your meal a little bit thicker mix 1-2 Tablespoons of flour in with your sour cream. Then continue with the recipe. As the sour cream mixture cooks with the sauce, it will thicken. Make sure you see a few bubbles from it starting to simmer to ensure the flour is cooked. No need to boil.

Ingredients for Chicken Paprikash

½ medium onion, finely chopped

¼ cup butter

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 ½ Tablespoons paprika (sweet or Hungarian paprika)

3-4 chicken breasts cut into pieces (You can use any chicken meat. Chicken thighs are another great choice)

½ cup white wine (optional)

1 ½ cups water

1 cup full fat sour cream

Method

1. Finely chop half of a medium onion.
2. In a large frying pan, over medium heat, melt the butter. (You can substitute oil, lard, or shortening)
3. Add in the onions and fry, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and translucent.
4. Season the onions with salt and pepper.
5. Add in the chicken pieces and fry until lightly browned. Make sure to stir and turn the chicken to brown on all sides.
6. Deglaze the pan with ½ cup of white wine, (optional). To deglaze the pan, you will be scraping and mixing in all of the cooked bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. After you add in the wine, this should easily stir into the liquid.
7. Remove from heat and add in the paprika. Don’t fry the paprika as it will quickly turn bitter.
8. Stir in the water, and return to the heat.
9. Cover and continue to simmer, over low heat, for about 1 hour or until the chicken is very tender. (At this point you can get started on the spaetzle.)
10. Right before serving, stir about ½ cup of the hot cooking liquid into the sour cream. This will temper the sour cream and ensure it doesn’t split when you add it to the pan.
11. Pour the sour cream mixture into the pan with the chicken paprikash. Stir to combine but don’t boil the cream.
12. Remove from heat and serve over the little noodle type dumplings. You could also use store-bought noodles, rice, or potatoes.

How to make spaetzle

This is a type of homemade noodle or dumpling. First, we are going to mix a thick batter and let it sit for a few minutes.

To cook and make the spaetzle, I am going to use a cheese grater with large openings. However, there are specific spaetzle or nokedli makers you can use.

Spoon the batter, in batches, on top of the cheese grater and push it through with a spatula, into a pot of boiling water. The batter will stay separated into these small rustic looking noodles. Let them cook until they start to rise to the surface of the boiling water. This means they are cooked through and can be removed with a strainer or slotted spoon.

Toss them with a little bit of butter, to make sure they don’t stick together. Then continue cooking the rest of the batter.

This is a great quick, rustic, pasta that pairs perfectly with this flavourful chicken stew but could also be used in a variety of dishes!

Ingredients for Spaetzle

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

3 eggs

1 cup water

Method for Spaetzle

1. Combine all of the ingredients into a large bowl and stir until you have a smooth batter. (If the batter is very thick, add a little more water.)
2. Let the batter sit 5-10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, get a large pot of salted water boiling. (About 6 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt, but you don’t need to measure this exactly.)
4. Once the water comes to a boil, grab a large holed cheese grater. If you have a spaetzle/nokedli maker, use that.
5. Spoon the batter on top of the cheese grater that is over top of the pot of boiling water. Stir and push through the batter. It will drip through the other side, into the boiling water.
6. Once the little dumplings start to float to the surface of the water, they are cooked through and can be removed with a slotted spoon or strainer. You will do this in batches.
7. Add a small pat of butter to the cooked noodles and stir to combine. This will ensure they do not glue together.
8. Continue to cook the noodles, until all of the batter is used up.
9. Serve them immediately on the side of your favourite dish, in this case chicken paprikash!

Looking for a delicious dessert for after? These would be perfect! From Scratch Honey Apple Pie Wholesome Banana Chocolate Chip Cake with Banana icing Elizabeth’s Fudgy Chocolate Pudding Cake