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If you're into creamy, juicy tender chicken packed with ultimate flavor and served over a bed of egg noodles, then you will fall in love with this Instant Pot Chicken Paprika recipe. It takes less than 30 minutes to make for an easy weeknight meal!
I mean guys, what's better than curling up in front of the fireplace with a big 'ol bowl of comfort? This is seriously the ONE thing I like about winter...comfort food.
Creamy bowls of steaming delicious goodness...like this German goulash recipe or even this paprika schnitzel recipe. It's SO GOOD. Like, lick the bowl good. That kind of good.
If you're into ultimate comfort, you'll probably also love these Instant Pot recipes:
- Instant Pot Coq Au Vin;
- Instant Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff;
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup;
- Instant Pot Lemon Chicken;
- Instant Pot French Onion Soup;
- Instant Pot Braised Oxtails.
Plus, guys, we're talking about Instant Pot cooking here, so you know it's going to be easy. If you don't have an Instant Pot yet...why not???? Just kidding (not really).
Read more about the Instant Pot in this Instant Pot Review to find out if it's right for you (it's definitely right!!).
Serve this chicken paprika with buttered egg noodles, steamed white rice or with these air fryer pierogies.
Why This Recipe Works
- Using fresh paprika adds the most incredible flavor to the chicken;
- The addition of sour cream at the end of cooking adds a creamy, tangy component to the dish;
- Browning the chicken first adds a deeper flavor to the dish, as well as helping to keep the chicken tender and juicy;
- A touch of fish sauce really help to bring out the flavors.
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The Ingredients
The most important ingredient in this recipe is the paprika. It is VERY IMPORTANT to use fresh paprika for the best flavor.
Don't use the 2 year old bottle you have in your pantry - go out and invest in some fresh paprika. It makes a huge difference.
What is Paprika?
Paprika is made from dried peppers and ranges from sweet to savory and mild to spicy. There are many different kinds of paprika. This recipe call for Hungarian paprika, which has an amazing deep flavor, and a little spice. (paid link)
Read this post on the Different Types of Paprika from Bon Appetit for more information.
This easy chicken paprika recipe also calls for fish sauce, which may seem a bit strange for a Hungarian dish, but I promise it adds a delightful umami flavor to the dish. It does not make it taste fishy at all. Just delicious. (paid link)
Is Chicken Paprika Spicy?
This Paprika Chicken recipe can be spicy is you use a hot paprika. Hungarian paprika can be hot or sweet. If you don't enjoy spicy food, I recommend going with the sweet paprika. Either one however, will taste amazing in this recipe.
Step By Step Instructions
Step 1: Heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat in a skillet and season the chicken generously with salt (2 teaspoons salt) and pepper (½ teaspoon pepper).
Brown the chicken for 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside. You can do this in the Instant Pot as well for a full one pot meal, but I find the results are much better in a cast iron skillet.
Step 2: Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the Instant Pot on the normal sauté setting. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes.
**I use the 6 quart 9-in-1 Instant Pot. (paid link)
Step 3: Add the flour and paprika and stir to coat the onions. Continue stirring to keep the paprika from burning and sticking to the pan. Cook for 1 minute.
Step 5: Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer.
Step 6: Add the chicken back to the pot and pressure cook on high for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then use the manual release for any remaining pressure.
Step 7: Stir in the sour cream and the lemon juice and season with additional salt to taste if necessary.
Serve over egg noodles or rice. You can also serve it with bread such as naan, pita or toasted French bread.
Expert Tips
- It is very important to use fresh paprika in this recipe. I also highly recommend Hungarian paprika for the best deep flavor. Look for sweet Hungarian paprika if you prefer a less spicy dish. Regular paprika can be substituted in a pinch. While not quite as flavorful, the dish still comes out amazing.
- Be sure to use chicken stock, not broth. The chicken stock has a much richer mouth feel and adds better flavor. Learn how to make Chicken Bone Broth.
- Do not add the sour cream until the end. Simmering the sour cream may cause the sauce to curdle and get lumpy. Stir it in at the very end after the heat is off for a perfectly creamy texture.
- I use the 6 quart 9-in-1 Instant Pot for this recipe. The instructions should be the same using the larger size.
Chicken Paprika Freezing Instructions
If you are making this dish ahead of time, follow all the instructions but leave the lemon juice and sour cream out. Freeze the chicken in an airtight container. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then heat on the stove top.
**Add additional stock if it is too thick. Once warmed, add the lemon juice and sour cream and stir to combine.
To freeze leftovers, place in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to one month. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove until warmed through.
**Note that the sour cream may curdle slightly, resulting in a less than smooth texture. However, the flavor will be the same.
More Recipes Using Paprika
Chicken is such a versatile meat - browse all the Chicken Recipes for some new ideas on how to cook it!
Don't forget to sign up for the email list (don't worry, it's only one a week and it's packed full with AMAZING recipes!) and get your FREE Instant Pot Cookbook!!
Did you make this Paprika Chicken recipe? Rate the recipe and leave a comment to let me know how it turned out!
This recipe was originally posted in January 2019. It has been updated for content and photos.
Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Paprika Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs (bone in with skin - about 4 thighs)
- 3 tablespoons butter (or other animal fat)
- 2 teaspoons salt (to season chicken thighs before browning)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (to season chicken thighs before browning)
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1-15 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
- 1 cup chicken stock (or chicken bone broth), unsalted
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium high heat in a skillet and season the chicken generously with salt (2 teaspoons salt) and pepper (½ teaspoon pepper).
- Brown the chicken for 3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the Instant Pot on the normal sauté setting. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the flour and paprika and stir to coat the onions. Continue stirring to keep the paprika from burning and sticking to the pan. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, fish sauce, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a simmer.
- Add the chicken back to the pot and pressure cook on high for 12 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then use the manual release for any remaining pressure.
- Stir in the sour cream and the lemon juice and season with additional salt to taste if necessary. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
Expert Tips:
- It is very important to use fresh paprika in this recipe. I also highly recommend Hungarian paprika for the best deep flavor. Look for sweet Hungarian paprika if you prefer a less spicy dish. Regular paprika can be substituted in a pinch. While not quite as flavorful, the dish still comes out amazing.
- I highly recommend using chicken stock, not chicken broth. Chicken stock adds a richness to the dish. Also, note the recipe calls for unsalted. If you buy a stock that has sodium, make sure to taste before adding additional salt.
- Do not add the sour cream until the end. Simmering the sour cream may cause the sauce to curdle and get lumpy. Stir it in at the very end after the heat is off for a perfectly creamy texture.
- I use the 6 quart 9-in-1 Instant Pot for this recipe. The instructions should be the same using the larger size.
Nutrition
Papu
kept to the recipe, but I added a few chopped roasted red peppers, 2 tablespoons Hungarian Paprika, and 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika. end result is yes comfort food, like a big hug in a bowl. for a change had it over creamy polenta... I know bizarre. but was perfect.
Danielle
Love the idea of adding red peppers, I'll definitely try that next time. Glad you enjoyed it!
Colin
This dish is a homerun! I used trimmed boneless chicken thighs and subbed Boursin cheese for the sour cream, and it was fantastic. This is better than the famous butter chicken but without the overpowering curry(still wonderful). I'm glad you insisted on fresh paprika and fish sauce($10 for both), which I was really skeptical about when I added that stink with the stock, but I knew what you were going for. I do a lot of cajun cooking and add browning sauce and worcestershire as my secret ingedients to saucy dishes, and next time I'll add a little cayenne, maybe 4 or 5 dashes. The lemon juice at the end is the perfect acid to balance everything and I can't wait to make this for larger groups of family and friends. It's also super cheap, just the cost of chicken and a can of tomatoes. One thing that I would recommend is to use the lowest saute setting at the roux stage. Because it sticks so quickly to the bottom use a spatula or something wih more surface area than a spoon.
Danielle
I'm so happy to hear you liked it! Great tip in using the low saute setting - the Instant Pot does get hot and food can stick.
Karen
Hi,
I loved the flavors in this recipe, but unfortunately got the burn message. I have made quite a few other instant pot recipes that have you put thickener such as flour or cornstarch after the the pressure cooking period is finished. I think adding the flour with the paprika made the sauce to thick, hence the burn error. Next time I will either add in some cornstarch with chicken broth at the end or mix some flour into the sour cream and put the pot in sauté mode until the sauce is thickened. Great flavors though and the fish sauce really did give it that extra kick. Thank you for the recipe
Danielle
Hmmm...Sorry that happened! I haven't gotten the burn error on this particular recipe, but I do get it for other recipes quite often! Thanks for the great tips about adding cornstarch at the end - I'm sure that will help. Glad you liked the flavors!!
Nancy
I’d like to try this tonight with drumsticks. Any problem with that ? Should I adjust the timing ? Thanks
Danielle
Drumsticks will work great! Same cook time should work perfect.
Steve McWilliams
The dish was way too salty and practically inedible, the recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of paprika. It should be teaspoons. I’ve made dozens of Instant Pot recipes and this is the first dud. Back to the drawing board.
Danielle
Hi Steve - I am very sorry this didn't work out for you. I'm going to test it out again and see if there is some way to improve. Thanks for letting me know!
Mazz
Steve, not sure what kind of Paprika you're using, but it's not supposed to be salty. Secondly, traditional paprikash almost always calls for at least 3 tablespoons of Paprika. Maybe Hungarian food isn't for you!
Heidy McCallum
This chicken was outstanding! So tender and juicy and the flavor was perfect. This is a recipe I will be hanging on to and sharing with my friends. Yum'd and pinned so I won't misplace it.
Danielle
Thanks!
Kevin
Best Paprikas I ever ate. I did add a lil more sour cream and left out the fish sauce. Excellent recipe!
Danielle
I'm so glad you liked it!
Lois Taylor
First time using my Instant pot so had one problem with sticking (the 'burn' notice came up- not a good start!) Other than that was very tasty. I'm sold!
Danielle
Oh no! I do occasionally have trouble with sticking in the Instant Pot. Sometimes I like to brown my meat in a separate pan, then add it to the IP. It's a lot less convenient though.
Page
The chicken was fine sauce was awesome! I used sauté function on instant pot for the chicken but think it would have been better seared in a pan like recipe says I also didn’t use enough salt
My chicken was boneless skinless thighs and I would rethink that and at least have chicken with skin next time
I would make again for sure the sauce was awesome I mixed the flour and paprika together before putting in the pot
I did add chicken right after paprika and flour had been stirred with onions and garlic to get the chicken with the paprika I stirred it around to coat the chicken before adding other stuff
At the end I added sour cream since I didn’t have heavy whipping cream
Yum! My only disappointment was the chicken I used.
Very good recipe
Danielle
Thanks Page! I'm glad you liked the sauce. I do find the bone-in skin on thighs to be the best. And browning them before putting them in the Instant Pot definitely yields the best results. I hope you try it again!
Angie Johnson
Great recipe! It is now a family favorite.
Danielle
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Laurie
How large of a can of tomatoes? 28oz?
Danielle
15 oz. Sorry, I've updated the recipe .
Cheese Curd In Paradise
Oh my goodness that sauce! It is so smooth and rich! I also love the flavor of paprika, and this chicken looks out of this world yummy!
Danielle
Thanks Ashley!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
The color and the flavor of the fresh paprika sounds so good! I am going to substitute the chicken with something vegetarian and going to try this recipe. Love the instant pot version. I am going to look for the Hungarian paprika specifically and try it out!
Danielle
It would totally work as a vegetarian dish. I'd love to hear how it turns out!