Chicken Paprikash
Updated May 21, 2026
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks, or whole chicken legs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon neutral oil, like canola
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow or Spanish onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Hungarian paprika, sweet or hot, or a combination
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes or 1 large ripe tomato, chopped
1 cup chicken broth, homemade or, if not, low-sodium
1 pound egg noodles
¾ cup sour cream
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
68 grams carbs; 356 milligrams cholesterol; 1069 calories; 24 grams monosaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 62 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 5 grams fiber; 1139 milligrams sodium; 58 grams protein; 6 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 400. Season the chicken aggressively with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, heavy, oven-safe sauté pan or Dutch oven set over high flame, until the butter is foaming. Sear the chicken in batches, skin-side down, until it is golden and crisp, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Then turn the chicken over, and repeat on the other side, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate to rest.
- Step 2
Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the accumulated fat in the pot. Return the pot to the stove, over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently with a spoon to scrape off any browned bits of chicken skin, until the onion has softened and gone translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and stir again, cooking it until it has softened, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the paprika and the flour, and stir well to combine, then cook until the mixture is fragrant and the taste of the flour has been cooked out, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add tomatoes and broth, whisk until smooth and then nestle the chicken back in the pan, skin-side up. Slide the pan or pot into the oven, and cook until the chicken has cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, set a large pot of heavily salted water to boil over high heat. Cook noodles in the water until they are almost completely tender, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the noodles, and toss them in a bowl with the remaining butter, then toss again to coat.
- Step 5
Place the chicken on top of the noodles, then add the sour cream to the sauce, stir to combine and ladle it over the whole.
Private Notes
Comments
Hi! Hungarian-Czech American here. I've tried every recipe out there. Some comments:
--CRITICAL: heat onions til transparent, then REMOVE pan from heat. Add paprika and mush into paste. Why? Paprika is fat soluble and if hits side of pan and burns, turns bitter. Besides fresh paprika this is the most important step. Only then add chicken (which I do raw, unseasoned).
--Tomato or not tomato? serious question. As far as i am concerned if include tomato or tomato paste it is not authentic :-)
Why are spices sold in large quantities if they are going to be tasteless so quickly?
The traditional starch is actually "nokedli"/spaetzli. Egg/flour based dough but is actually really a treat to make from scratch and not difficult.
The start of this dish (onions + paprika) is the standard start to many Hungarian stews (gulyas, porkolt). From there, you take different directions depending on the meat and what else you add. Easy to remember 1T paprika and 1 onion per pound of meat.
Finally - these work great in slow cooker and also freeze beautifully. SUPER easy.
it may or may not be authentic—but it is delicious! made as written, with mostly hot paprika
Well, I followed the directions and then sat down to read the comments. I tasted the sauce before placing it in the oven. The paprika was bitter in the sauce. I had to add a couple teaspoons of sugar before popping it in the oven. Lesson learned. We always would go to a restaurant in Toledo called The Budapest Restaurant and it didn’t get more authentic than the Hungarian speaking couple who ran it. I agree with the comments that it was likely made on top of the stove. The gravy/sauce was a light pale orange served with spatzel type noodles. As I kid I didn’t care for dark meat, but the rest was delicious. I decided to make it because of the number of 5 stars, but I think next time I will search for a more authentic version vs a NYC version.
Hosted my Book Club for dinner and discussion of the 2025 Booker Prize winner “Flesh”. Needed a Hungarian theme so made this for 10 people. Food was a 10, book a 5. I followed the comments and bought fresh paprika yesterday; definitely made a difference. Also added piparra peppers (as close as I could find to Hungarian peppers at the store) - they added a nice zest. Served this with buttered egg noodles and the vegetarian Mushroom and Potato Paprikash; both huge winners for the crowd.