Served with Nokeldi, a homemade noodle similar to German Spätzle
The Traditional Hungarian Chicken Dish with a Paprika Sauce
Would you like a recipe for chicken that is easy to make, cooks up in an hour, and is great enough to serve proudly to company? You would? Then this recipe for Chicken Paprikash should really be on your list of new dishes to try. Of course, if you have a Hungarian heritage like I do, it is already one of your family’s favorite meals.
My friends were always delightfully surprised at the mellow spiced flavors and the balance in this dish.
Real Hungarian Paprika
Never substitute other paprika if you wish to have the deliciously subtle taste of this authentic chicken dish.
Always use real Hungarian paprika, and not just any store-bought brand for the true flavor of Hungarian paprikas.
Hungarian families cook many variations
There are many ways to tweak this recipe. Some cooks add garlic, potatoes, a little tomato, and change around the basic method of simmering the bone-in chicken pieces, but this is the recipe I have used, and yes, I mix it around a little, but basically my way is as simple as possible.
The one thing that true Chicken Paprikash must always have is authentic Hungarian paprika. It is always a more tender and rich flavor than with paprika grown anywhere else in the world.
Here is my recipe, but with links to many renditions of this well loved dish, because they might tickle your taste buds with their variations. The fine points of Hungarian paprika are included for the true gourmet in you. Enjoy!
Chicken Paprikàs for Company
The aroma and taste will impress your guests.
Arguably the most loved and famous of Hungarian entrees.
A dish as traditional as Chicken paprikas is going to have more than one rendition. Try this one for company, it is the classic way to prepare this Hungarian favorite. Cosy homemade food, but with a simple elegance that amkes it special for your guests.
Hungarian Chicken Paprikas
Famously iconic chicken with paprika sauce is a dish Hungary is famous for: tender meat simmered in a piquant and creamy paprikainfused sauce.
Every family has a favorite way of making this famous and delicious dish. Online I’ve seen white wine added to the sauce, tomato puree and other variations.
My mother’s family also had a version which I call Homestyle Chicken Paprikash”, which includes tomatoes and potatoes and dispenses with the sour cream thickening, at times. But the recipe for what I consider the best chicken paprikash is the first one posted here, the one I revert to when I want my own idea of comfort food.
Homestyle Variation
Like my Mother and Grandma Used to Make
Made in this manner, it is a more simple way to serve the flavors in a hearty Sunday meal. The pan can keep warm in the oven for a few hours while you are in Church. My grandfather was a pastor and we had Sunday dinner there whenever we visited. Traditionally it started with soup, but this stewed version of Chicken Paprikas skips that course. I combines the entrée and side dishes into one easy recipe. Serve with rolls and cucumber salad.
Brown the Chicken in oil, with salt and pepper, first, to give the skin a nice color.
This dish can cook in the oven at low temperatures (slow cooked), and is probably fine for a slow cooker, although we always baked it in a glass roasting/baking pan and a large Dutch oven is fine, too.From my posting on Facebook Hungarian Recipes.
Homestyle Paprikash
An easy and delicious chicken stew with all the famous flavor of Hungarian paprikas
Brown the chicken pieces in oil; add to baking pan with quartered potatoes.
Cook onions and green peppers in chicken drippings until soft. Add to chicken in baking pan.
Add water. Sprinkle liberally with paprika, season with salt and pepper.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until done.You can toss in a tomato or two, if you wish.
Notes
Serve with or without noodles. Especially good served with slices of homemade bread!!!!
Which Paprikàs Recipe Do You Prefer?
Paprikas labeled into a bowl with dollop of sour cream
Nokedli Dumplings
Of course, you may use any type of egg noodle, but Chicken Paprikash tastes special with homemade little spaetzle-ype noodles. So easy, too!
You can use any recipe for Spaetzle or Nokedli dumplings.
Serves: 6
Ingredients
3 cups flour
2 egg
a little water added slowly
salt
Instructions
Mix ingredients together to a medium stiff dough. Place on a cutting board and use a knife to separate off little 1/4 inch dumplings into simmering stew or boiling water. When they rise to top they are done.
Dough may also be rolled into lump and grated into the broth using a large-holed grater.
Paprikàs Tips
Sliced onions are not only easiest, they are best. Forget mincing or chopping. Tomato sauce is for goulash, let the taste of the paprika and peppers reign in this dish. Stir a little of the chicken juices into the sour cream before adding it to make the final gravy.
Don’t ever let Paprika burn.
My Paprikash Pan
It can be used on the stovetop or in the oven, which means you can make either style of Paprikash in it. Great for one dish meals, with a large cooking surface and a cover. Sold on Amazon
My Favorite Cooking Pan – an Everyday Pan
I once used a Dutch oven for making hearty stews like Chicken Paprikas, or sometimes a deep sided fryer, but once I purchased an Everyday pan I fell in love with the way it cooks and serves this kind of meal beautifully.
Using a large attractive pan to prepare the meal means that it can be served attractively at the table, no need to plate separately.
The pan above is the exact one I own, it has a tempered glass cover and is made of aluminum encased in stainless steel. its sloping sides and flat bottom are great on my glass top cooking surface.
I Love to Prepare this Chicken Paprikas Method
Why all my Friends Love Paprikas Chicken!
In the Magyar language this dish is known as “Csirkepaprikas”, a staple recipe that can be dressed up enough for company or easy enough for regular family meals.
It may be served as a family dish with the meat picked off of the bone with more sauce. Classically, pieces of bone-in chicken are served on a platter, with a reduced sauce, thickened with sour cream, spooned over the top of noodles.
Unquestionably, freshly prepared noodles are preferred, but any good egg noodles will be almost as delicious.
The flavors of this dish are outstanding, the method of cooking is easy, and the ingredients are quite simple. That makes it an ingenious choice to add to your cooking repertoire.
Because you are a busy mom, what is better loved than a dinner that is easy to make and doesn’t take too long, but can be slow cooked, too? Reheated, it is even better.
I love the fact that the flavors are different enough to pique the tastebuds of most everyone, yet appeals to most palates, as well.
Your Favorite Hungarian Paprika – Hot, Sweet, or Smoked
sweet red pepper
No Narration, Visual Directions
Types of Hungarian Paprika – I prefer the Sweet for my Paprikash
The two most famous growing regions are Kalocsa and Szeged; you will notice they lend their names to brands of Hungarian paprika.
Extra special (Extra különleges)
Special (különleges)
Delicatess (Csemege)
Noble sweet (Édesnemes)
Rose (Rózsa)
Paprikash or Paprikàs?
What difference does an “h” make? Not much. Drop the “h”, add an accent mark with the diacritical ” à ” for the Hungarian spelling.
Learn How To Make Classic Hungarian Style Chicken
These recipes are as easy as they look- and absolutely delicious.
These are variations. All things considered, I don’t think you should add tomato sauce. That is more of a goulash type of dish, and prefer the simple recipe with less steps and less ingredients. I do sometimes add a tomato or two.
Hungarian Chicken Recipe Links – Other Paprikash Recipes
Sofia’s Chicken Paprikash Recipe | Eating Well Brilliant red paprika, the main seasoning in Hungarian cooking, gives this light version of chicken paprikash its color. Vary the heat by using hot, s
Goulash was originally a camp dish in the Old Country
Beautifully presented bowl of Goulash
Church Cookbooks, Immigrants Legacy
These spiral bound recipe collections aren’t the popular fund raising project they once were. Perhaps reflecting the fact that we aren’t the avid home cooks we once were. I can’t remember the time I swapped recipes face to face with a friend. It must have been a couple decades ago.
Now I get all my new recipes on Pinterest. But if you want a slice of how that important center of life, the kitchen, might have smelled and tasted when your grandparents came to this country… try looking through some of the old Church fundraising publications that featured the Ladies favorite foods.
Ethnic cookbooks published by immigrants of old were the repositories of their favorite everyday recipes. Some locally renowned home cooks of excellent ability and reputation, contributed the own rendition of many common dishes.
There were several paprikash, stuffed pepper and stuffed cabbage variations along with the famous goulash.
My Grandmother’s Recipes
Of course, the culture of the church would be reflected within the cookbook they produced.
As I peruse my Grandmother’s cookbooks, I come into contact with examples of fine Hungarian home cooking. She was the wife of a Hungarian Reformed Church Pastor, and one of her very favorite things in the world besides playing the organ was cooking!
Sadly, I rescued only a few of her many, many recipe books, but I had some of her hand written ones, from swaps with friends. And the thing is with some of these cooks of a bygone time, especially Hungarians, is that they never divulged their very best recipes. It was like pulling eye teeth. But my Grandmother (being the Reverend’s wife and all) managed to lever out a few.
Hungarian Church Recipes
The story of these collections reflects something else going on in the culture of the offspring of the immigrants who originally baked and cooked according to their traditions. Along with everything else in their lives, they became Americanized.
Ingredients Weren’t Always Available
If they couldn’t grow it here, there might have been need for substitutions. Different foods became available, and inventive home cooks added them. Variations of old world foods were as widespread as the adventurous immigrants.
Well Loved Dish In Many American Homes
Anything that is quick and easy and delicious, too, is going to become an family favorite.
Dutch Oven
Le Creuset Enameled Cast Iron Signature Round Dutch Oven, 5.5 qt., Cerise You need a Dutch oven- it is a basic pot for cooking so many dishes to perfection. I own a Le Creuset and it is my absolute favorite cooking pan of all time. Mine is a brown color which tells you it is vintage, but this cherry one is gorgeous. What I love about these is the enamel coating over the cast iron which makes cleanup so easy, and the beauty of it allows it to go straight to the table. Great for simmering stews, soups, and one pot meals. Buy Now
Cultural Cooking for American Tastes
This worked both ways, the flavors and recipes of a culture were modified and the American standbys received some tweaking of their own.
I see this clearly in the Church cookbooks which by and large are proudly presenting some family specialities, but also some of the food favorites of the day. For instance, The Dorcas Guild published a cookbook that starts out with Deviled eggs and Moss cheese ball (Bleu cheese rolled in chopped pecans), but then gives some favorites such as Kocsonya (jellied pigs feet) and Majas Nokedli (liver dumplings) and no less than three recipes for Csörōge which are my very favorite “cooky”.
Served Over Medium Wide Noodles
Ingredients For this dish, you add what you have to the mix. Do you love kohlrabi? Add that! Or chopped fresh sweet peppers, carrots, parsnips… you get the idea. Use the given recipe as a base.
Americanized recipes call for some catsup, and Worchestershire sauce. I like those additions, personally, because they make up for the loss of flavor we give up when we use leaner meats (fat gives flavor).
One Pot Meal
Cook everything in a large, heavy pot. A dutch oven is ideal.
You can add potatoes or make your own dumplings to add right into the pot, as well, although I usually cook noodles separately and serve the goulash over those.
Stewing, Slow Cooking Is Best
Prep time: 30 min Cook time: 3 hours Ready in: 3 hours 30 min Yields: Serves 8
Use What You Have
2 lb. Beef, Chuck or Round
1 cup Onions, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. Cooking Oil
3/4 cup Tomato Sauce
1 tsp. Vinegar
1 tsp. Brown Sugar
2 stalks Celery, chopped
1 Parsley Root and Greens, minced
Black Pepper, to taste
2 tsp Salt
2 1/2 tsp. Sweet Hungarian Paprika
1 tsp. Dry Mustard
Method
Brown beef chunks in the 3 T. fat (you choose the type of oil for your taste – regular vegetable oil is typical, although I have been substituting virgin olive oil.
Add onions and garlic, stir and cook until softened.
Mix together the spices, salt and pepper, and everything except the vegetables, add to meat.
Add 2 cups water and bring heat to simmer. Add vegetables. Simmer about 2 to 2 1/2 hours
Some cooks add a flour and water mixture to add thickening. Others add bread crumbs. Still others add only some homemade dumpling noodles later in the cooking (like the chef in the video at the bottom of this page.) I add 2 Tablespoons flour dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water. After addition of flour be sure to cook for long enough to thicken and lose the “raw” taste of the flour. Alternatively, add a roux to thicken.
Tips for Hungarian Paprika
I was cooking one of my favorite Hungarian dishes for my son and his supply of Hungarian paprika was outdated. When it turns dark and is out of date there is little flavor. He had grocery store paprika and a smoked version, but the flavors do not yield the same results. I had to make a special trip to obtain the real thing.
When storing your genuine Sweet Hungarian Paprika, consider refrigerating it if you won’t be using it in a reasonable amount of time.It will last 3 to 4 years when stored properly.
Store in a cool, dark cupboard, away from direct heat or sunlight.
Fresh Hungarian Peppers, Test For Hotness
Add fresh Hungarian (AKA “Banana”) peppers. This type may range from sweet and mild to moderately hot. If spiciness is not desired, taste test the pepper before adding to your dish!
Don’t Change This
The source of the paprika spice.
Not if you want real Hungarian flavor, at any rate. The paprika tastes different from other kinds because of the climate and soils of Hungary.
The Paprika Must Be Hungarian
There are sweet, and hot types, but Hungarian paprika has a particular taste that nothing rivals. No substitutes, please. Regular grocery store paprika will leave a slightly bitter aftertaste. Look for “Sweet Hungarian”. You can also order it online.
I include a table for the various designation of paprika flavors, but I usually use the Delicate. The others tend to be harder to find, although you can find almost anything on Amazon.
Types of Paprika
Designation
Description
Hungarian
Special Quality
mildest and brightest red, excellent aroma.
Különleges
Delicate
light to dark red, a mild yet rich flavor
Édes csemege
Exquisite Delicate
slightly more pungent than Delicate
Csemegepaprika
Pungent Exquisite Delicate
much more pungent Delicate
Csípos Csemege, Pikáns
Rose
Pale Red, strong aroma, mild pungency
Rózsa
Noble Sweet
most common paprika- bright red, slightly pungent
Édesnemes
Half-Sweet
blend of mild and pungent paprikas
Félédes
Hot
Light brown in color, this is the hottest paprika
Eős
What Are You Waiting For?
Make it for your family today! It will become a favorite.
Remember:
Use real Hungarian Sweet Paprika, never a substitute
Make the beef base, then create your goulash with your favorite stew vegetables
Don’t add the paprika during the beef browning, add it with the liquid. (paprika must not burn)
Are You Ready For A Comforting Beef Stew?
This is no run of the mill beef stew, and it is the paprika and the method that sets it apart. Trust me, this is real comfort food. Make it into the perfect meal by baking some homemade bread to serve with it, maybe instead of having it over noodles.
Are you ready to make this recipe? I hope so. And it is good enough to serve to friends at the bowl game get together, or have some simmering on the stove during busy holiday time.
Hungarian Cowboy
The csikós is a horse-mounted herdsman of Hungary.
Hungarian Goulash
This is probably the most well known Hungarian cooking term. The original word is spelled “Gulyas” and it is something between a stew and a soup, but always highly flavored with paprika.
The Hungarian Cowboys and shepherds made it in a big iron pot cooking over an open fire out on the Puszta.
There are so many ways to make this dish that you just have to try a few to see which type is your favorite. I suppose it is the Hungarian version of chili. Hearty, easy to make, and flavorful way to cook beef stewmeat.
In our vernacular it also came to mean a hodgepodge or jumble of elements (1)
Trivia From Out On the Plains
In Magyarol (Hungarian), “gulyás” means “herdsman” which gave the name to this quasi stew/soup we call goulash. Goulash is the phonetic way English speaking people pronounce the Hungarian sound for “s” . This is an “sh” sound to us. The herdsmen on the Puszta the cooked their meat in cauldron over an open fire. (The “Puszta” or open plains.) Most often beef was the main ingredient. Today we can use the recipe for any stewing meat we choose. Why was paprika not added to the recipe for goulash until the 17th-century?
Because the plant was brought to the country by the Turks only in the 16-17th centuries. It was the herdsmen on the plains who first introduced it into their cooking… then the peasants got wind of it… and finally, the Aristocrats caught on that this was a delicious flavoring.
Not until the 19th century was the production of paprika refined enough to control the amount of hotness in the spice. Kalocsa and Szeged are the two main areas still famous for their paprika. People from those areas were instrumental in improving the production process that results in the best paprika in the world.
How Accurate Are Self Published Recipes?
Obviously, they don’t have the same professional checking and testing that a Cook’s Magazine might, but overall I found that they produce a quality food product. Missing is the nutritional info, sometimes the baking pan sizes, and occasionally the details of cooking method.
I guess those old time cooks took for granted that we would know all that.
Because of the tested quality of a professional cookbook, we should look over the amateur recipes of a personal collection with a bit more scrutiny. Although the Hungarian ladies had much more trustworthy recipes than the ones published by my own Church (which shall remain unnamed).
My advice: test a recipe before serving to guests.
This Recipe
That said, this recipe is so simple, basic, and forgiving it will turn out well (and become one of your favorites) no matter what – as long as you follow the basic directions.
Cakes and baked goods aren’t quite so forgiving!
Trinkets of Hungarian culture
A Word On Church Cookbooks
Church Cookbooks often hold sayings and poems, along with sweet little line drawings. Occasionally they have mistakes or repetitions of the same recipe. However, nothing is better for giving you a taste of the time and the interests of what often was the last bastion of the old country culture is ther loved, but strangely new world.
Authentic Goulash
The video gives the basics on Hungarian Goulash
There are a number of videos online, but this one is easy to follow with all the basics. Forget about the advice that you can use Spanish paprika.
Some people like a bit of fire added with jalapeno pepper.
This video advises caraway, while others say cumin. I don’t usually add either of these.
If you have typical American tastes (love the meat, but not too spicy, this is the version for you)
My family also uses Amazon Prime often, which saves us money on shipping and more.
Please support my site by using my links, thank you. This Page may contain affiliate links. “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases”
Anything that is quick and easy and delicious, too, is going to become an family favorite.
Ingredients For this dish, you add what you have to the mix. Do you love kohlrabi? Add that! Or chopped fresh sweet peppers, carrots, parsnips… you get the idea. Use the given recipe as a base.
Americanized recipes call for some catsup, and Worchestershire sauce. I like those additions, personally, because they make up for the loss of flavor we give up when we use leaner meats (fat gives flavor).
