Hungarian Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings (2024)

4.69 from 48 votes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Hungarian

Prep Time: 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Author: Mamma C

Chicken Paprikash (You can halve the recipe if needed.)

• ▢ 3 small or 2 medium yellow onions (peeled & thinly sliced)
• ▢ 8 chicken thighs (skinned)
• ▢ 7 chicken drumsticks (skinned)
• ▢ ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ⅓ teaspoon Hungarian paprika
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra if needed to brown meat)

Paprikash Gravy

• ▢ 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
• ▢ 8 ounces sour cream (can use low fat, but the gravy won't be as smooth)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon corn starch
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste

Dumplings

• ▢ 6 eggs (beaten)
• ▢ 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ water for boiling the dumplings
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt for boiling the dumplings

US Customary - Metric

• Peel and thinly slice onions. Set aside. In a dinner plate, combine flour with the garlic powder, ⅓ teaspoon paprika and ⅛ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

• Skin chicken (use a paper towel to grasp the skin and pull it off.) Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Set up an assembly line from left to right with the chicken, the seasoned flour, and a 9x13 pan. Using a fork, dredge each piece of chicken in the flour on both sides and place the floured chicken in the pan.

• In a deep skillet (at least12 inches wide), heat the olive oil on medium high. Add the onions and cook them for six minutes or until they are soft, stirring occasionally.

• Add the chicken to the skillet with the onions and brown the meat on both sides, for a total of 7-10 minutes. (You can do this in batches if needed or use a second skillet to brown some of the chicken in a bit of olive oil.)

• While the chicken is browning, whisk 1 tablespoon paprika into 1 ½ cups of chicken stock. Place all of the browned chicken in the large skillet with the onions, and pour the seasoned chicken stock over it. Lower the heat to medium and cover the pan. Simmer for at least 25 minutes, or up to 40 minutes. The meat will be more tender the longer it cooks. (Check on it once during that time, to spoon some gravy over the chicken.)

• While the chicken is simmering, prepare the dumplings. Fill a pasta pot just over halfway with hot water. Add a teaspoon of salt to the water, cover the pot, and heat it on high. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork or whisk. Using a large spoon, stir in the flour, water, and 2 teaspoons of salt until well combined. (A whisk won't work well for that.)

• Place the bowl with batter near the stove, along with two regular teaspoons, a large slotted spoon, a clean 9x13 pan and a roll of foil.

• When the water is boiling, uncover the pot. Scoop a teaspoon of batter, and use the other teaspoon to scrape it off over the pot, so that the batter drops into the boiling water. Continue adding teaspoons of batter to the pot in a single layer, trying not to let the dumplings touch each other. (You will need to do this in batches.)

• Cook the dumplings for 3-5 minutes, depending on how firm you want them.The dumplings will float when they are almost cooked. (After the dumplings float, I usually wait a couple of minutes and then cut one open to taste it. Make sure it is cooked through. If it is too firm for your liking, cook it some more. You also can cut any large dumplings in half to finish cooking.)

• Use a slotted spoon (or strainer) to remove the cooked dumplings, letting any excess water drain back into the pot. Place the drained dumplings in your clean 9x13 pan and loosely cover them with foil to keep them warm. Keep your water boiling and continue cooking and draining the dumplings in batches until all of the batter is gone.

• When you are done cooking the dumplings, the chicken should be ready. Cut into a piece of chicken to make sure it is not pink inside. If the chicken is cooked, turn off the heat and add dollops of sour cream around the skillet, stirring carefully after each addition.

• To thicken the gravy, add a few tablespoons of the gravy to the corn starch in a cup and whisk together. Add the corn starch mixture to the skillet and carefully stir it in. You can taste the chicken and gravy to see if additional salt and pepper are needed, or just provide extra at the table.

• To serve, place a portion of dumplings in the center of each plate and top with the chicken and gravy. Add salt and/or black pepper if needed.

• Store leftover dumplings tightly covered in the refrigerator and use them by the end of the next day. (They will start to turn grey after that.) If you wish, you can just cook half of the dumplings and save the rest of the batter in the refrigerator to cook fresh dumplings the next day. Store any leftover chicken and gravy in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

• This recipe makes a lot of chicken, which is great for leftovers. You can halve the recipe, if needed. Sometimes, I reduce the chicken part of the recipe by half, but make the full amount of gravy and dumplings, since my family eats lots of them!
• If you are making the amount of chicken called for in the recipe, you may want to use a second skillet to brown the chicken in oil.
• Paprika: There's a generous amount of paprika in this recipe, so it's important to go with one you'll enjoy. I recommend using sweet Hungarian paprika (affiliate link). In general, Hungarian paprika has more of a spicy kick than regular paprika. Beware, if you use hot Hungarian paprika, you'll get a spicy hot dish.