Instant Pot Chicken Paprikash
Love comfort food? Try this instant pot chicken paprikash! Easy-to-pull-apart chicken thighs cooked in plenty of creamy sauce are ready in less than 30 minutes.
Chicken paprikash is one of my favorite dinners. My mom and grandmother have been making this dish for years and we all love it!
This instant pot chicken paprikash is my pressure cooker version of their recipe with some minor changes. Guys, if you haven’t tried this easy dish, you gotta do it soon! It will become your family’s favorite meal!
Making instant pot chicken paprikash is easy and quick. You can enjoy this delicious dinner in about 30 minutes and that my friends, is pretty cool!
By the way, since I bought Instant Pot I’ve been using it like crazy! I made a few easy instant pot meals, so if you wanna check them out, here they are:
Step-by-step how to make chicken paprikash in instant pot
Turn on the instant pot and press the SAUTE function. Pour in olive oil and add diced onion. Sauté for about a minute before adding minced garlic. Now stir this frequently. You don’t want the garlic get burnt. When the onion has translucent color, add in the chicken pieces.
Sauté these on both sides. You don’t want to cook them much, all you are after is locking the juices inside the chicken.
When this is done, season them with salt, pepper and the most important ingredient – paprika. Without paprika chicken paprikash wouldn’t be paprikash! So be generous!
Now what I do is I give everything a good mix with a wooden spoon. I want my chicken pieces coated with the seasoning before I add the chicken stock in.
After all the ingredients are in the pot, you just lock the lid and set the MANUAL function to 5 minutes.
You can do 10 minute natural pressure release or wait completely until the pin drops down itself – you will not overcook the chicken.
The last stage of this Instant Pot chicken paprikash is simple. Press SAUTE again and pour in whipping cream and give it a stir. To make the sauce extra creamy I added cornstarch diluted in water. So bring the sauce to a boil and you can now turn off the pot. It should still be cooking for about 2 minutes which is exactly all you need here.
Now the last and most important ingredient is lemon juice. The juice gives the sauce nice flavor and cannot be omitted. Without it, you will have bland sauce, unless you increase the amount of seasoning. However, the lemon juice is as important as the paprika.
Ingredient substitutions
- Chicken stock – vegetable stock can be used as well as chicken broth.
- Olive oil – If you don’t have olive oil, use butter or vegetable/sunflower oil.
- Whipping cream – sour cream is another delicious option.
- Chicken thighs, bone-in – chicken thighs, boneless are fine to use, chicken drumsticks as well and so are chicken breasts. Cooking time could vary slightly. This would depend on the type and size of the pieces as well. If you are not sure, I suggest increasing the cooking time by 1 minute or letting the pressure drop naturally – which will prolong its cooking time slightly.
So guys, if you are looking for Easy Instant Pot Recipes, this pressure cooker chicken paprikash is definitely one of them!
Watch how to make chicken paprikash
Instant Pot Chicken Paprikash
Ingredients
- 1 onion , large
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds skinless chicken thighs , bone-in (900 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1½ cup chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 5 tablespoons corn starch
- ½ lemon or more to taste
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince garlic.
- Press “SAUTE” function on your Instant Pot. Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the inner pot. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté this for a few minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning the garlic. In about 3 minutes, add the chicken thighs. Cook them on both sides for a few minutes. All you need is to lock the juices inside.
- Add salt, pepper and sweet paprika. Stir everything around with a wooden spoon so the thighs are coated with the seasoning.
- Throw in bay leaf and pour in the chicken stock. Close and lock the lid, set the steam release to “SEALING” position. Press “MANUAL” and adjust the time to 5 minutes.
- After the cycle is finished, wait for 10 minutes before releasing the pressure manually.
- Press "SAUTE" and pour in heavy cream, sour cream and cornstarch diluted in little water.
- At last, squeeze in the juice of ½ lemon and taste. Add more seasoning or lemon juice, if needed.
- Serve with dumplings, or pasta of your choice.
Video
Notes
- Chicken thighs are the best to use here, but you can also use drumsticks or chicken breasts (bear in mind the cooking time might vary slightly).
- Cream can be substituted with sour cream (to achieve smooth and creamy sauce, take about a cup of the juice from chicken and mix with sour cream before you pour this mixture into the inner pot).
- If you don’t have chicken stock, use vegetable stock or chicken broth instead.
- If you prefer a thicker sauce, add more cornstarch (always dilute this in a little water first).
- This recipe was made in a 6 quart/6 liter instant pot.
- The cooking time does not include time needed for the pot coming to the pressure and also time needed to release the pressure. Count with extra 15 minutes.
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! :)
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! :)
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…