Lazy Budget Chef

I grew up in the Cleveland area and if it is one thing Cleveland does well, it is Hungarian and Polish food, chicken paprikash in particular. Chicken paprikash is the type of comfort food that reaches down to your very soul and gives it a big, warm, grandma hug.

It wasn’t something I ate often as a kid and as an adult I now know why – chicken paprikash takes over an hour to simmer! That cooking time doesn’t include the prep or making the traditional spaetzle from scratch! No wonder so many of those chicken paprikash dinners I remember were served over wide egg noodles or gnocchi.

That is, until now. I came up with a paprika chicken recipe that takes 20 minutes in the Instant Pot instead of 2 hours on the stove to make!

That 20 minute meal includes cooking with frozen chicken in the Instant Pot. (aff link to the best thing ever!) Yep, don’t have to defrost meat when you use an Instant Pot. The meat comes out just as tender and the cooking time stays the same. The only difference is the electric pressure cooker takes a few extra minutes to reach it’s cooking pressure when you use frozen meat. No big deal.

Best Ever Quick and Easy Chicken Paprikash Recipe

There can be a debate on what type of chicken you should use to make chicken parish. I’ve had it made with dark meat chicken (legs, thighs, wings) and I’ve had it made with white meat chicken (breast and wings.)

Some Eastern cooks shred the chicken (a good option to make the meat stretch if you are feeding a crowd.) Some slice or cube the chicken meat, still others plunk the bone in chicken parts of their choice directly into the pot. I think all of them make a tasty paprika chicken. Use what you like!*

Pin this recipe to your Pinterest boards for later!

*Please don’t send the ghost of your Slavic Grandma after me if this recommendation or my milk allergy friendly option goes against her prized recipe. Cut me a break. I’m a Danish American foodie with a dairy allergy. Sometimes I have to punt. Thanks!

You will need:

3 to 2 1/2 pounds of chicken

1 Cup of chopped onions

3 Tablespoon paprika – Hungarian paprika if you can get it. Smoked paprika is another good choice. Try to avoid traditional paprika at all costs because it is mostly color and has very little actual flavor in it. That’s why it is so cheap.

2 Cloves of chopped garlic – or more if you like. I usually start with 2 cloves and garlic and depending upon their size, go from there

1/2 Teaspoon of salt

2 Cups of chicken stock

4 Teaspoons of regular or dairy free butter (Earth Balance is my favorite because it tastes so close to the real thing my non food allergy guests don’t realize it is vegan!)

1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste – Again, a source of debate. Please don’t send Grandma after me! I like the extra flavor and body the tomato paste adds to the sauce since I can’t use real sour cream containing dairy fat.

1 Cup of regular or dairy free sour cream (Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese is my favorite again because it tastes just like real sour cream! Unlike Diaya which tastes so bad I wish I‘ve never been born to taste it. That. Bad.)

Cornstarch

Cooked wide egg noodles, gnocchi, or spaetzle – I am using spaetzle noodles in place of spaetzle dumplings

The ingredients on this list are things that I’ve relied on and like so much that I have no problem recommending them to you (and using my affiliate links.) Throw me a bone and shop through my links if you have a need. Thank you for helping us keep the lights on at Lazy Budget Chef!

Step by Step How to Make it

1. If desired, melt the butter in the bottom of the Instant Pot on the Sauté setting and use it to brown the chicken (if using whole pieces) and onion until the onion is translucent and the chicken golden in color.

Or not. Half the time my chicken starts out frozen so I let the the onions sauté in the Instant Pot while I’m grabbing the rest of the ingredients. You really do want the butter in the pot to add quick kiss of extra flavor in the final sauce.

2. Add the chicken, 2 tablespoons of paprika, garlic salt, chicken stock to the Instant Pot.

3. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set it to cook on Manual High Pressure for 10 minutes.
This is a good time to start cooking the pasta/gnocchi/ spaetzle if you haven’t already. If you really ambitious, you can make it from scratch!

4. When the Instant Pot stops cooking, use the quick release method or let the pressure release naturally. Most of the time I’m inpatient and hungry quick release kind of gal.

5. In a separate bowl, mix 1 tablespoon of paprika into the sour cream.

The color isn't as vivid because the Tofutti doesn't have a stark, pure white color as dairy sour cream but it tastes the same! It is also a good option if you have to watch your cholesterol but want to treat yourself to chicken paprikash every once and awhile.

6. Stir the sour cream and paprika mixture into the sauce in the Instant Pot.

7. If you want the chicken paprikash sauce to be a little thicker, stir and dissolve a little bit of cornstarch at a time into the sauce until it thick to your liking. If you do not have cornstarch on hand, you can thicken the sauce with flour.

6. Serve the dairy free chicken paprikash over the egg noodles, gnocchi, or spaetzle dumplings or noodles and enjoy!

My chicken paprikash tastes like heaven on a plate and is so good, no one realizes it is milk allergy friendly and dairy free!

Don’t toss the sauce! The leftovers taste even better after marinating in the refrigerator overnight.

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