Baked Hungarian Chicken Paprikash is a traditional dish with a flavorful paprika sauce and chicken thighs baked to tender, juicy perfection in the oven.
If you’ve had my Skillet Chicken Paprikash, you know it makes a warm and hearty easy Weeknight Dinner. This baked version of the classic Hungarian dish turns out just as delicious, plus you don’t have to stand over the stovetop to make it!
Table of Contents
- Sabrina’s Baked Hungarian Chicken Paprikash Recipe
- Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- How to Make
- Recipe Card
- Chef’s Note: Try Serving Chicken Paprikash with Noodles
- Can this be made ahead of time?
- Nutritional Facts
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- What to Pair With Baked Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
- How to Store
- Frequent Questions
- Variations
- Related Recipes
Sabrina’s Baked Hungarian Chicken Paprikash Recipe
My authentic Chicken Paprikash is a favorite recipe to make when it’s cold outside. The rich flavors, tender chicken, and creamy sauce just make the most amazing comfort food. It’s sweet, tangy, a little spicy, and filled with that warm smoky, paprika flavor.
Baking Chicken Paprika is a slightly longer cooking process than the skillet version, but most of it is just oven time. It only takes a few minutes to prep the meat and veggies to bake. Once it’s done baking, you just have to make that signature, amazing sauce with the pan drippings to finish it off. The hands-on time is pretty minimal but you still get all the incredible flavors that make this Hungarian recipe so well loved.
Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: Chicken is a great source of lean meat that you can flavor in so many ways for the perfect family dinners. In this recipe 6 chicken thighs are easily prepped with a spice mix and then baked until cooked through and tender.
- Seasonings: 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika is the main ingredient that gives the creamy paprika sauce its amazing flavor. Sweet paprika is mixed with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper to finish off the authentic flavors.
- Vegetables: The chicken is cooked with ½ onion and 1 red bell pepper which also add a bold and slightly warm flavor to the dish. The veggies are cooked in ¼ cup unsalted butter.
- Sauce Ingredients: Drippings from the seasoning, vegetables, and chicken are used as the base of the sauce. Then 2 tablespoons each of cornstarch and water are added to thicken the sauce, and it’s all finished with 1 cup sour cream for the perfect creamy texture.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Large Baking Dish: Use a large baking dish to hold the 6 chicken thighs. You can use glass, metal, or ceramic, it is up to you.
- Large Skillet: Grab your favorite skillet to cook the veggies a bit before baking everything all together. This will help combine and enhance the flavors of this Hungarian comfort food.
- Medium Saucepan: Lastly, you’ll need a medium saucepan to make the creamy sauce that will to the chicken.
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour and 40 minutes.
- Prep
To prep the ingredients, slice the onion, and red pepper. Then preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the chicken in paprika, salt, and pepper, and place it in a single layer on the baking pan.
- Onion Mixture
Melt butter at medium-high heat in a large skillet, then add the onion and bell pepper. Cook the veggies until they’re tender.
- Topping
Spoon the onion mixture over the pieces of chicken, then pour 1 ½ cups water over the top.
- Cooking Time
Put the baking dish in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes. After the chicken cooks, remove it from the pan, and tent the meat in aluminum foil to keep it warm.
- Cornstarch Slurry
Pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a saucepan. Skim the extra fat off the top and discard. Then whisk together the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch slurry to the saucepan.
- Creamy Sauce
Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down the heat and cook until thickened. This should only take 1-2 minutes. Remove the sauce from heat, and stir in the sour cream.
- Serve
Plate the chicken pieces, veggies, and any other side you’ve prepared, topped with the gravy, or served with the gravy on the side for a delicious dinner.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 yellow onion , thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper , thinly sliced
- 6 chicken thighs , bone-in and skin-on
- 2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add butter until melted.
- Add onion and bell pepper, then cook and stir until tender.
- Coat chicken with paprika, salt, and pepper and place in an ungreased roasting pan.
- Spoon onion mixture over chicken, then gently add the 1 ½ cups water.
- Bake, covered, for 45-60 minutes or until chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees.
- Remove chicken and keep warm.
- Pour drippings into a saucepan, then skim off the fat and discard.
- In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water until smooth, then stir into a saucepan.
- Bring saucepan to a boil, then cook and stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
- Serve sauce and chicken together.
Notes
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: Try Serving Chicken Paprikash with Noodles
Chicken Paprikash tastes wonderful served over broad egg noodles. If you want to serve your meal this way, prep a pot of boiling water and cook the noodles at the same time you start making the sauce. Toss the noodles in butter or olive oil after you drain them so they won’t stick together. Plate pasta and coat chicken in the sauce to serve over the top.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes, you can make Baked Chicken Paprikash ahead of time. Bake the dish and prepare the gravy. Then once the chicken has cooled to room temperature, seal it with a lid or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. Cool the gravy and store that in a separate container. Then reheat the chicken in the oven at 400 degrees, and reheat the gravy in a saucepan over the stove or in the microwave. Plate and serve the chicken once it’s all warmed up and ready.
Nutritional Facts
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Thickening the Sauce
- If you find your sour cream mixture needs to be a little thicker, that is likely because you had a lot of pan drippings. You can add another tablespoon of sour cream to thicken it. Alternatively, if you didn’t have much pan drippings you might have a very thick sauce. You can add some water or chicken broth to thin it out a little bit.
- Using Cold Water with Cornstarch
- Be sure to mix your cornstarch with cold water to create a smooth slurry. If you use warm water, it can create clumps and you’ll end up with lumpy gravy.
What to Pair With Baked Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
Some great sides to serve with your Baked Chicken are Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Red Potatoes, or Mushroom Rice. You can prep one of these dishes while the meat is baking, to have it ready for the dinner table. Any of the sides do a great job rounding out this comfort food dinner, and they soak up the creamy, flavorful sauce. Add a side salad or some veggies too, like Sautéed Green Beans or Roasted Vegetables for some added flavor and nutrition.
How to Store
- Serve: Don’t leave Hungarian Paprikash out for more than 2 hours.
- Store: For leftovers, you can transfer chicken to an airtight container to store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Alternatively, you can also seal and freeze the chicken. It will stay good in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating in the oven.
Frequent Questions
Chicken Paprikash is a Hungarian comfort food of braised chicken seasoned mostly with paprika. It is served with a creamy sauce seasoned with paprika as well because it is made from the pan drippings. You’ll use sweet paprika for this delicious dish but there are other flavors of paprika to choose from like smoky paprika or hot paprika.
Paprika is used in both Goulash and Paprikash but Goulash is a beef dish and Paprikash is a chicken dish. They also differ in their sauces. Paprikash sauce is creamy and thickened with sour cream whereas Goulash is more like a stew and not creamy.
Variations
- Chicken Breast: If you don’t have chicken thighs, you can still make this flavorful dish with boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Chicken breasts bake more quickly than thighs, so make sure you check the dish while it’s in the oven and take it out as soon as it’s done. You can check the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees to make sure it’s a safe temperature.
- Vegetables: Try adding bold flavors and textures with your favorite vegetables. You can add banana peppers, green peppers, mushrooms, or carrots along with the red pepper.
- Tomato Sauce: Another additional flavor you can add to the sauce is tomato. Try mixing a small can of tomato paste or tomato puree into the sauce while it cooks.
- Spices: To give the chicken a richer flavor, you can coat it in extra spices before baking. The chicken is already prepped in salt, pepper, and paprika, but you could also add spices like ginger, thyme, rosemary, and garlic powder to your homemade rub.
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