How would you like a delicious Chicken Paprikash recipe that’s been made a tad leaner? Made with chicken breasts instead of the traditional thighs and legs, this recipe is not only lower on calories, it is also so much quicker.
Serve this chicken with our Baked Mashed Potatoes and Homemade Bread.
Traditional Chicken Paprikash is one of my favourite meals to sit down to as a family. It’s delicious and comforting. Chicken braised in a rich sauce flavoured with paprika and enriched with sour cream is a delight.
It can be a bit heavy and calorie-laden. So I was determined to lightened it up. And after a few trials I ended up with something incredibly delicious even though not entirely authentic.
Lighter Version of Chicken Paprikash
Well, traditionally chicken paprikash is made with chicken legs and thighs that need to be fried first in order to crisp up the skin, which means ….more fat. Then it’s braised in a rich paprika sauce.
I wanted to avoid frying the chicken, so I chose skinless, boneless breasts instead. And to make things even lighter I used half the amount of chicken. Then I added red peppers for some needed vitamins.
I scaled down on the oil and sour cream to reduce the calories. Not only is this chicken paprikash healthy, it is also economical!
To bulk up the dish I added canned chickpeas. If you are a chickpea fan like myself, I don’t need to convince you what a great texture they add. Also being simmered in Hungarian paprika sauce makes them off the scale flavourful…little smoky nuggets of goodness.
Top Recipe Tips
- Sear sliced chicken strips over high heat to brown the meat. This step adds extra flavour to the chicken and the sauce.
- Do the same with red peppers. We want to see some colour on them.
- Use the paprika that is still potent and fragrant. Dried spices do go out of date, so make sure to check the expiration date.
- Use full fat sour cream as low fat tends to separate in sauces. Also stir in sour cream at the end and take off the heat immediate to keep the sauce from curdling.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
- Serve this creamy chicken paprikash with rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.
More chicken breast recipes:
This recipe was originally published in 02/2015. Updated and republished in 03/2021
Better Chicken and Chickpea Paprikash
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts skinless and boneless, sliced in strips
- 1 red bell pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika or sweet paprika
- 3 tbsp flour
- 375ml/1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 400ml/14oz canned diced tomatoes
- 400ml/14 oz canned chickpeas drained
- 125ml/1/2 cup sour cream or creme fraiche full fat
- flat leaf parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cut chicken breast in strips and season with salt and pepper.
- In a large pan sear chicken strips in olive oil until just sealed but not completely cooked, approximately for 5-7 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Add sliced pepper and stir fry over medium-high heat until slightly charred but still crispy. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to low and add chopped onion. Cook for 5-7 minutes until soft, add garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute.
- Add paprika and flour, stir to combine until you have a red paste.
- Whisk chicken stock in until the paste is completely blended into it. You might want to add ½ cup first and whisk, then the rest of the stock to avoid lumps.
- Add diced tomatoes.
- Return chicken to the pan and add chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes uncover your chicken paprikash, stir in sour cream, add red peppers and take off the heat immediately to avoid sour cream separating.
- Taste and add more salt if necessary.
- Serve sprinkled with chopped flat leaf parsley and steaming rice or noodles.
Caroline Hollywell says
Fabulous and so easy to do, quick tasty and above all empty plates!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Excellent!!
Lauren says
Absolutely delicious! Perfect amount of flavours. My kids licked the bowl and they WON’T eat ANYTHING!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
I am thrilled this recipe was a winner with your kids, Lauren!
Tom Alaimo Jr. says
Been a favorite of mine for 4 years!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
I am so happy to hear that!
Shandie says
Just tried this recipe. Had to substitute rice for a cauliflower rice and sour cream for cream cheese. It was alright and felt nutritious but it was quite bland. Wouldn’t make it again. Although it was nice to try something new and the chicken was nice and juicy.
Carolyn says
Lovely recipe, My son is a huge lover of Goulash (makes it himself in the colder months), I was looking for something similar, found this, only things I changed (out of necessity & my son looking over my shoulder), I only had a 796ml can of diced tomatoes, so, didn’t use chicken stock, just added a little water, used extra peppers (because I love them), extra paprika (my son!)..and no flour, used cornstarch slurry instead. Will definitely make again!
Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says
Great outcome, Carolyn!! Thank you for sharing this with me!
Jenn says
Delicious! I added carrots and cauliflower to add a bit more veggies. Then I added chipotle chili’s powder along with the paprika, as I too like more of a stronger flavor. It was amazing. This is a dish I will definitely be sharing with friends.
vikalinka says
Fantastic! Thank you for your review, Jenn!
Ingunn says
I’ve been wanting to make this for a while and finally had some time during these quarantine days. This recipe was absolutely outstanding. Such comfort food but not too heavy. I might have not added enough smoked paprika or maybe mine was not the best quality. My boyfriend and I just wanted to lick our plates. Thankfully there is a little bit of leftovers for tomorrow :). Now I am excited to try your other recipes.
vikalinka says
I am beyond thrilled this dish is giving you joy and comfort right now, Ingunn!!
Matthew Backhouse says
Initial timing given is very misleading, 5 mins for chicken, 5 mins for peppers, 10 mins for onions, 20 mins at the end to simmer is already 40 mins without time for creating the paste, 45-50 mins cooking time would be more accurate
Julie says
Im curious it calls for sweet or smoked paprika. I have both. I feel as if smoked paprika is over powering. Do you suggest using one over the other? Has anyone gone with the sweet? Any feedback is helpful and welcome! Thanks
vikalinka says
Hi Julie, the ingredient list gives you an option to choose. I love smoked paprika and I tend to use it more. I find regular sweet paprika slightly lacking in flavour but it’s just a personal preference, however Spanish sweet smoked paprika is beautiful. If you can find it in specialty shops or online, you won’t be disappointed. You can use it in a variety of dishes, it’s a very fragrant spice.
Nicole says
Yumm-o! Just looking at this recipe makes my mouth water. Can’t wait to make this for my family. Your recipe for coq-a-vin was divine, by the way.
vikalinka says
Thank you so much, Nicole! This recipe is definitely one of our favourites! So good with buttery mashed potatoes or rice!
Sandra Starrs says
I just made this delicious dish and love it! I come from a Hungarian background so I am very familiar with Chicken Paprikash. The adding of the chickpeas is a great idea! I also substituted the sour cream with Fat free Greek Yogurt. Yummy! Now I am trying to decide if I want to make egg noodles or dumplings to go with it! I am sure either will be awesome! 🙂
Cobi says
Made this for dinner last night with carrots instead of peppers, and it was amazing!
We started eating and I though, what is missing, it doesn’t taste right… and I realized I’d forgotten the sour cream, and that really makes the dish.
Thank you!
vikalinka says
Yes, sour cream definitely balances out the spices and acidity plus that yum factor! Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Cobi!
Charlotte says
Love this! Made it so many times now. Also tried it with Greek Yoghurt instead of soured cream which tastes great too.
vikalinka says
That is awesome, Charlotte! I am going to try it with Greek yogurt!
Marnie says
AMAZING. I’ve been meaning to make this for a while; so glad I finally made it tonight! So good. If you’re reading this and are still on the fence about making it, do yourself a favor and make it tonight!
vikalinka says
Oh thank you for the endorsement, Marnie! I am thrilled you loved it!
Magdolna from Hungary says
Is chickpea in a paprikash? I have never seen enything like this.
vikalinka says
It’s not a traditional version but rather my own take on it as I’d mentioned in the blog post.
Magdolna from Hungary says
Oh no. Chickpea is good idea. I was thinking too conservative. This recipe is traditional witout chickpea therefore I was surprised. I cook it very similar ( little bit more sour cream, less flour). It is good to see hungarian foods from other countries.
Jamie says
I just cooked this. Amazing! My Fiance turned his nose up when I told him what was planning on cooking and ordered take out. When I was finished plating it up he was scraping the pan. Will be cooking this again for the both of us soon, thank you for sharing!!
vikalinka says
Oh Jamie, that is hilarious! Sweet victory!! Thank you for letting me know and have a lovely weekend!
Jamie says
Found your recipe today while wondering what to do with some chicken breasts and an onion/green and red pepper mix I had. I looked in my pantry, fridge and spice cabinet and found I had all the ingredients! I had just gotten a beautiful smoked paprika (which I used even more liberally here) from my spice shop so I was really excited! It was incredibly easy to make, turned out amazing and so delicious this will now join my Go-To recipes. The chickpeas (I drained them) were not something my husband or kids were terribly excited about, even though I make a home-made hummus and they eat it up, but in this they had 0 complaints and scraped their bowls clean. Served over a thyme infused rice. Thanks for sharing it! Fabulous!
vikalinka says
That’s just wonderful, Jamie! I am such a huge smoked paprika fan myself, just used it in my latest post and loved it! Thrilled to receive such great feedback!
Nicole says
Can I make this in the Crockpot?
vikalinka says
I haven’t tried, Nicole, so I can’t be sure. The recipe was adapted for a quick 30 min. meal and that is why chicken breasts are used, which don’t benefit from cooking for long periods of time. I would use legs and thighs if I were to cook this recipe in a slow cooker and add sour cream at the end to avoid separation. Let me know how it goes if you do try!
Jess says
Hi, I am making this tonight and I have made loads. Do you know if I can freeze it?
vikalinka says
Hi Jess, it might separate when you reheat it from frozen because of sour cream in the sauce.
Jess says
Ok thanks. It was lovely by the way ????
vikalinka says
Happy to hear it and you are welcome!
Cheney says
This looks amaaaazing! I came here by way of the link to your Coq Au Chardonnay posted in Reddit Food, but I’ve ended up bookmarking a few recipes, including this one. Can’t wait to make it!
vikalinka says
Than you for stopping by, Cheney! Happy to hear you loved my recipes. 🙂
Jeanne Morton says
My husband LOVES this. Served with egg noodles. Next time, bread too, to soak up the sauce. My husband nearly licked the plate. He definitely wants this again.
vikalinka says
Sounds fabulous, Jeanne! The sauce is really the best part! 🙂
lex says
kinda average…
average instructions, but for the most part…if your gonna imitate chicken tikka masala, you should have a little more than one spice included and paprika is not it…
next…
vikalinka says
Umm…chicken paprikash is a Hungarian recipe and has nothing to do with chicken masala…really confused by this comment.
Tammy says
I think you should read the name of the recipe before giving a negative review…….big difference between this recipe and Tikka Masala……next😛
vikalinka says
Hahaha…thanks, Tammy!
Karen says
I only have the regular paprika, will this be ok to use?
vikalinka says
The dish won’t have the smoky taste but it will still be delicious, Karen.
Kelly says
Looking forward to making this tonight!!! Do you drain the tomatoes or no?? I’m assuming you drain and rinse the chickpeas…
Thanks!!!
vikalinka says
Hi Kelly, I drain chickpeas but I don’t drain tomatoes. You need some liquid for the sauce. 🙂
Julia says
Hi, we had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!! We had it with Hungarian/German Spaetzel noodles, worked really well. Thanks for a great recipe!
vikalinka says
It does sound delicious with German spaetzel! So glad you enjoyed it, Julia!
Kristina says
Yumm!!!looks so good!! And such common ingridients yet so different!! I will make it for sure this weekend!!
vikalinka says
Thank you, Kristina! You are right very simple ingredients but quite complex and unique flavour in the end. We loved it!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
My mouth is watering, how I wish this was dinner tonight!
vikalinka says
I wish you could come for dinner, Laura!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers says
That is one stunning skillet and I love that lightened up is even better!!
vikalinka says
Thank you, Jennifer! I love it when lightened up dishes turn out even tastier than the original!
Mikel says
It sure was beautiful! I made this tonight and it was delicious! Served it over jasmine rice. Yum!! Only thing I changed was I made it with chicken thighs because that’s what I had on hand. Loved it!
vikalinka says
Sounds wonderful, Mikel! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it!