Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash
Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash takes the classic Hungarian dish made with tender chicken, onions, and garlic in a flavorful paprika sauce, and transforms it into an easy slow cooker meal that’s perfect for any night of the week. Serve this satisfying stew over egg noodles, rice, or spaetzle, for the ultimate warm and cozy dinner!
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Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash takes everything you love about the traditional version and turns it into a super easy slow cooker recipe that’s perfect for any occasion!
Chicken Paprikash, aka, paprika chicken or chicken paprika, is a Hungarian stew made with chicken braised with onions, garlic, paprika, and often times, sour cream.
When I make it on the stove, I go a more conventional route and use bone-in chicken, however, I developed this recipe using boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they’re easy and a fan favorite for many.
I like cubing the chicken before you add it to the slow cooker so it stays in chunks because you don’t really want shredded chicken for this dish.
The finished dish is a wonderful comfort food meal that’s good enough for company!
Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):
- Chicken breasts – boneless, skinless
- Garlic
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Paprika – sweet and hot
- Chicken broth/stock
- Tomato paste
- Sour cream – full-fat is best for cooking
- Salt, pepper, bay leaf
I worked on this recipe for a while perfecting the sauce. I achieved that by creating a paste from the paprika, chicken broth and tomato paste, instead of adding everything separately.
Stirring in sour cream at the very end gives the sauce a creamy touch that complements the tangy paprika chicken mixture perfectly.
How to Serve Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash
Chicken paprikash creates a lovely sauce that is best when eaten with something for it to stick to.
Some great side dishes for this recipe are:
- Egg noodles
- Rice
- Spaetzle
- Mashed potatoes
- Braised Cabbage & Onions
- Polenta
- Crusty bread
What kind of paprika is best?
Paprika is the main seasoning in this recipe, so I recommend a good Hungarian paprika if you can get one.
I like a combination of sweet paprika and hot paprika, but use what is comfortable for your heat level.
Fresh is best! For the best tasting paprikash, don’t use old paprika. Paprika’s shelf life isn’t long (about 6 months).
How to store chicken paprikash
Store leftover chicken paprikash and its sauce in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing is not recommended due to the sour cream not reheating well.
Looking for more chicken recipes? Here are some favorites:
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken
- Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Sandwiches with Alabama White Sauce
- Slow Cooker Creamy Lemon Chicken (shown below)
- Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo
NOTES:
- I highly recommend using fresh paprika for this recipe since its usage is so important to the final outcome of the dish.
- We like spicy food, so this has both sweet and hot Hungarian paprika. Feel free to replace the hot with sweet for a mild version.
- There are a lot of variations on chicken paprikash. Some have red bell pepper or tomatoes, and some don’t. Some add flour or sour cream, and some don’t. This is my version and I hope you like it as much I do!
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Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash
Equipment
- 5 quart slow cooker or larger
- small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 3 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cubed
- 1 small yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1.5 tsp. sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
- 1 tbsp. hot Hungarian paprika replace with sweet to make it mild
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
Instructions
- Place the cubed chicken in a slow cooker and top with onion, garlic, red bell pepper, salt & pepper, and a bay leaf.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the tomato paste, sweet paprika, hot paprika, and chicken broth. Stir until well combined, then drop spoonfuls of the paste over the chicken and veggies.
- Pour the can of diced tomatoes and their juices over everything. Do not add sour cream yet. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until the onions have softened and the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165° with a meat thermometer.
- Stir in the sour cream and continue to cook for 15-20 more minutes or until heated through. Serve the chicken, veggies, and the delicious sauce over egg noodles, spaetzle, rice, or your favorite side. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don't like spicy food, feel free to replace the hot paprika with another tablespoon of sweet paprika.
- Full-fat sour cream is best for cooking as it blends better. I use low-fat for raw preparations like dips and topping enchiladas.
- If your slow cooker tends to leave onions crunchy, you may want to pop them into the microwave for a minute or so before adding them to the slow cooker.
Did you make this recipe? Rate it and let me know in the comments below! ♥
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This slow cooker recipe is so delicious! I can’t wait for you to try it!