Instant Pot Chicken Paprikash
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Chicken paprikash is one of those comforting weeknight dinners that never gets old. My mom and grandmother have made it for years, and it’s always a favorite at the table.
It’s a classic Hungarian-style chicken dinner cooked in a paprika-rich sauce and finished with cream or sour cream. This Instant Pot chicken paprikash is my version of their recipe, adapted for the pressure cooker to make it easier on busy nights.
What you get is tender chicken and a flavorful paprika sauce without hovering over the stove.
What to serve with chicken paprikash?
- Spaetzle: those little German egg noodles that soak up the sauce. My spinach spaetzle is a great option if you want something a bit more colorful.
- Carlsbad dumplings: another great option.
- Pasta: the simplest option I often serve this meal with. Use a small type like elbow pasta or small shell pasta.
- Rice or mashed potatoes: also a solid choice when you want something simple that catches every bit of sauce.
Ingredient substitutions
Chicken stock: Chicken broth works well. You can also use vegetable stock. If using bouillon, dissolve it in hot water and use the same amount of liquid the recipe calls for. If you want to make your own, here’s my Instant Pot chicken stock.
Olive oil: Use any neutral oil such as sunflower, vegetable or avocado oil.
Heavy cream: Sour cream is an amazing alternative, and I use it a lot. The more you add, the richer the sauce. Just make sure you stir it in off the heat to prevent curdling. Half-and-half is another option.
Bone-in chicken thighs: Boneless and skinless thighs work well, as do drumsticks. If you are swapping cuts or using larger pieces, add 3 more minutes to your pressure-cooking time. Boneless thighs don’t need any extra time as they are thin.
Chicken breast: It works, but it can dry out faster than thighs. If using breasts, keep the pieces similar in size and avoid overcooking. If you can, use a quick release once cooking is done.
Recipe FAQ
Cornstarch is the easiest, flavorless thickener. Mix it with a little cold water first, then stir it into the hot sauce at the end and simmer briefly until it thickens. Flour also works, but it needs a bit more care: whisk flour into sour cream (or cream) until smooth, then stir it into the sauce and simmer a few minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
It’s regular paprika you can buy at any grocery store. Sometimes it is labeled sweet paprika and sometimes just paprika. It means it’s not hot or smoked. (If you have Hungarian sweet paprika, even better.)
Yes, you can. You can follow the instructions for the pressure cooker but instead of cooking under pressure, simmer covered until the chicken is tender, about 40 minutes.
Make ahead
It is possible to make this dinner a day ahead, then reheat either in the Instant Pot or on the stove. When reheating, the sauce might need a splash of cream or milk if it thickened too much.
My tips
- The sauce should be medium-thick to thick, like heavy cream or gravy. What you don’t want is a thin, milk-like consistency. The easiest thickener is cornstarch. Flour whisked into sour cream, then added to the sauce will also work, but it might need a bit more simmering.
- Lemon juice makes the sauce pop and keeps it from tasting flat.
- If you sauté in the Instant Pot first, scrape up any browned bits before pressure cooking. That little step helps prevent the burn notice and it keeps the sauce tasting rich, not bitter.
- When adding sour cream, let the sauce cool for a minute, then stir it in. If you want to be extra safe, stir a spoonful of hot sauce into the sour cream first, then add it back to the pot.
Instant Pot Chicken Paprikash Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil see note 1
- 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs , bone-in (900 grams), see note 2
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika see note 3
- 1½ cups chicken stock (360 ml), see note 4
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup heavy cream (240 ml), see note 5
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with cold water, see note 6
- ½ lemon juice only
Instructions
- Dice 1 large onion and mince 2 garlic cloves.
- Press SAUTÉ on your Instant Pot. Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into the inner pot. Sauté the onion for a few minutes, then add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds so it doesn’t burn. Add 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs and cook for a few minutes on each side, just to sear them.
- Add the chicken thighs and sear for a few minutes per side, just until lightly browned.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and 2 tablespoons sweet paprika. Stir so the thighs are coated.
- Pour in 1½ cups chicken stock and add 1 bay leaf. Scrape the bottom of the pot well to remove any stuck-on bits. Close and lock the lid, set the steam release to SEALING. Press PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL, depending on your model) and set to 5 minutes.
- When the cycle finishes, wait 10 minutes, then carefully release the remaining pressure by turning the valve to VENTING. Remove the lid and discard the bay leaf.
- Press CANCEL. Stir in 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons sour cream.
- Press SAUTÉ again and add the cornstarch slurry (5 tablespoons cornstarch diluted in a little water) a bit at a time, stirring until the sauce thickens. Simmer briefly if needed.
- Stir in the juice of ½ lemon and taste. Add more seasoning or lemon juice if needed.
- Serve warm.
Video
Notes
- Oil: Olive oil can be substituted with sunflower, vegetable or avocado oil.
- Chicken: Bone-in thighs work best here. Boneless, skinless thighs also work with the same pressure time. You can also use chicken breasts (pressure cook 5 minutes). For extra-large thighs, increase pressure cook time to 7 minutes.
- Paprika: Use regular (sweet) paprika, not smoked.
- Stock: If you don’t have chicken stock, use vegetable stock or chicken broth instead.
- Cream: Heavy cream can be substituted with sour cream. To achieve a smooth and creamy sauce, take about a cup of the sauce from the chicken and mix it with sour cream before you pour this mixture into the pot.
- Cornstarch slurry: If you prefer a thicker sauce, add more cornstarch slurry (cornstarch whisked with a little cold water until smooth). You can start with 3 tablespoons and add more as needed, but from my experience, the sauce doesn’t need more than 5 tablespoons.
- Instant Pot size: This recipe was developed in a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1.
- Timing note: Cook time doesn’t include time to come to pressure or release pressure. Plan on about 15 minutes extra.
- Serving suggestions: small pasta shapes (like elbow pasta), spaetzle or Carlsbad dumplings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and may vary based on ingredient brands, substitutions, and portion sizes.
Where can you find “SWEET” paprika??? I am off of Amazon for numerous reasons..the grocery stores I go to have hot, paprika, Hungarian,…but never sweet. Help
Hi Gaye. It is normal paprika – not smoked. Sorry for the confusion. Some countries they call it sweet paprika just to distinguish that it is not hot. You can use classic paprika, smoked or Hungarian. Hope this helps!
My great aunt was Hungarian and made this for us all the time growing up. She never wrote down the recipe so I’ve tried many variations over the years but this is hands down the best and closest to what she made. I like to take the chicken off the bones and then mix the chicken meat into the sauce with the dumplings and we eat it like a stew that way. Of course with a sprinkle of paprika on top!
Hi Joy. I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing with us. It means a lot! :)
This is our go to come back all the time chicken paprikash recipe. It’s so easy and so delicious and my whole family loves it. You did a great job putting this together.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Anne! It’s our favorite too. Happy Instant Pot Cooking!
My dad is Hungarian so I make this a lot. I don’t see tomatoes or tomato paste in the recipe. We usually use a can of whole or diced tomatoes with this.
Hello Kim. This is how my grandmother and mother make so that is how I make it, I just adapted it to instant pot. There are many recipes and they all vary in ingredients.
Why didn’t you post the noodle dumpling recipe with it?
You should add that recipe to make it a complete entree.
Hello, James. This is a recipe for chicken paprikash in instant pot, like the title says. I don’t make dumplings myself, so I cannot post a recipe for it. Now that being said, I have a recipe for spinach spaetzle if you are interested, you could try that too…
I came across your recipe and grew up on chicken paprikash because we are Hungarian and Slovenian but it takes forever to make. My dad‘s great grandmother had a recipe that he loved and she took it to her grave and he says this is the closest thing he’s had to it. We have had variations for years but we like this one so much. We omit the bay leaf so we can avoid digging it out and add dumplings and extra paprika. It’s a staple in our recipe book.
That is so good to hear, Sara! I am so happy that my recipe tastes similar to your great grandmother’s. I also have a recipe for Langos that you might like to try. Happy Cooking! :)
I am new to the instant pot and have an 8 ltr one. I came across this recipe while looking for ideas. It’s so easy to make and was loved by everyone. I used a bit more chicken and it served 5 adults. Thank you for your recipe, I’m definitely trying others.
That is so good to hear, Catherine. Thank you so much for finding time to leave the feedback and rating! :)