This Instant Pot chicken stew comes from a delicious Hungarian recipe that is perfect for making in the pressure cooker. Serve with pasta, rice or potatoes for a delicious family dinner.
Chicken paprika or paprika chicken (also known as paprikás csirke) is a popular Hungarian dish and one that my family often made when I was growing up. I am not Hungarian, but having grown up in Europe, this creamy chicken stew has certainly made a regular appearance on our table. My Instant Pot recipe is a quick and easy way to prepare this dish, which normally requires extended simmering time.
This dish has two key ingredient: chicken and paprika. The rest is really up to you! I love making mine with lots of onion, some butter, sour cream and garden peas. Other recipes call for green peppers or carrots; and, you will find different parts of chicken used depending on who’s cooking.
Before you get cooking
In this recipe, I am using diced chicken breast and thigh meat. I like to buy a whole chicken and separate the meat that I need and use the rest of the chook to make a lovely soup or bone broth. You can buy some chicken thighs or/and breast meat and dice it up; or, you can use chicken drumsticks or whole thighs. If using large chicken pieces, you may need to set the timer to Manual and increase it 20 minutes.
Traditionally, paprika chicken is served with a small dumpling or gnocchi-like noodles called nokedli. For me, that’s too much extra work, so I usually make a side of boiled or mashed potatoes or steamed rice. One thing I do always serve on the side is a simple cucumber and dill salad. It compliments this dish really well. I’ve included it in the recipe below.
Check out more delicious Instant Pot chicken recipes on the blog here.
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Hearty and delicious, this Instant Pot paprika chicken will delight the whole family. Serve over pasta, rice, potatoes or veggies.
Ingredients
- 1 medium brown onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt (use a little less if the stock is salty)
- 1.3 lb / 600 g diced chicken (mix of breast and thigh meat is perfect but you can use either)
- 3 tablespoons paprika powder (mild or sweet)
- 2 large cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (stock cube and water is also fine, we love Kallo organic chicken stock cubes)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 heaped tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
- 1/2 cup frozen garden peas (thawed out in warm water)
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot flour/starch (or cornstarch)
- More sour cream, to serve with if you wish
Cucumber dill salad
- 2 medium cucumbers, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
- Generous pinch of salt
Instructions
- Turn the pressure cooker on. Press the Sauté function key (it will show Normal, 30 minutes).
- Add the onion, butter, olive oil and salt and cook for 5 minutes with the lid off. Stir a few times.
- Add the diced chicken and cook for another minute or two together, stirring a few times. Add paprika and garlic and stir through, then add the chicken stock, tomato paste and crème fraîche or sour cream. Stir through.
- Press the Keep Warm/Cancel function. Close and lock the lid of the Instant Pot. Check that the lid knob is turned to Sealing. Change the setting to Manual (High Pressure) and set the timer for 12 minutes. After 3 beeps the Instant Pot will start to build up the pressure and the cooking will begin.
- Once the time is up, let the pressure release naturally or use a quick release method, and open the lid.
- Add the peas and press Sauté. Cook for 5 minutes with the lid off, stirring a few times. This will evaporate some of the liquid and thicken the sauce.
- After 5 minutes, scoop 1/4 cup of the sauce liquid into a small bowl and add the arrowroot flour (corn flour is also okay). Whisk to dissolve. Turn the Instant Pot to OFF and then stir in the arrowroot liquid and another tablespoon of crème fraîche/sour cream. This will further thicken the sauce.
- To prepare the salad, combine all ingredients in a bowl and serve alongside chicken paprika.
Notes
For a dairy-free version, use ghee or coconut oil instead of butter and coconut cream instead of sour cream. I would also add a tablespoon of lemon juice in this case. And you can dress the cucumber and dill salad with lemon juice and olive oil.
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16 Comments
Heather
January 16, 2017 at 6:10 amThis sounds so good!! Thanks for sharing!!! I think I’d like to add the gnocchi you mentioned. I’m relatively new & was wondering if you have any ideas on how to do so in the instant pot? TIA!!
Hope Mann
January 19, 2017 at 1:14 pmThank you for offering a dairy-free option!! You don’t know how this excites me, as I have a child who is lactose and milk protein intolerant. This sounds amazing, and will be dinner tonight!
instantpoteats
January 19, 2017 at 4:52 pmEnjoy! It’s a great, family friendly recipe.
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March 4, 2017 at 8:04 pm[…] Instant Pot Chicken Paprika (Paprikas Csirke) from Instant Pot Eats […]
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Michele
July 7, 2018 at 2:41 pmdo you think i could use greek yogurt instead of sour cream? i typically prefer the low fat version as a substitute. thanks!
instantpoteats
July 16, 2018 at 6:26 pmHi Michele. You could almost definitely use Greek yoghurt. Enjoy the healthier substitution!
RB
September 10, 2018 at 6:58 pmDo you think I can double the recipe?
instantpoteats
October 4, 2018 at 9:33 pmYep, no problem! The cooking time shouldn’t increase much. You could add about 5 minutes to it if you do, and you don’t necessarily need to double the liquid if you want a thicker consistency.
Tom
October 15, 2018 at 2:47 amWow, this was sooo good! I served it over mashed potatoes with the cucumber salad on the side. Really, really easy and tasty. I have a good friend whose family is Hungarian and she brings me paprika from Europe every couple of years. It was exciting to make this.
★★★★★
instantpoteats
October 28, 2018 at 10:25 amThanks Tom! Glad you liked it 🙂
Addilyn
March 5, 2019 at 3:15 pmThis recipe looks delicious and based off the comments, one I’m most certainly going to try. Thanks for also including the side dish recipe. That’s so helpful in getting the whole meal planned. I had to look up “chook” … now I know! Thanks for the great recipes!