Chicken with Heavenly Paprika and Cream Sauce

I am going to tell you a secret today.

Huge, important and life-changing secret.

It has something to do with love

Would you like to know?

I just know you do!

So sit down comfortably and listen.

This secret has been passed down from generation to generation in our family and it reveals how to win a man’s heart.

It’s not about magic, it’s not about spells… to win a man’s heart you just have to prepare this delicious chicken with heavenly sauce for the special one your heart is fond of.

You will watch the results in awe.

It’s earth-shaking.

I’m telling you.

It has been tested!

These are the ingredients – very simple dish it is, indeed.

1. Start by making yourself some nice cup of coffee and play one of Martha’s shows on the internet.

The atmosphere is very important here!

2. Then grab an onion and cut it into halves.

Cut the half horizontally…

… and then slice it neatly.

Nice.

3. Now pour 4 tablespoon vegetable oil into a bigger pot and heat it up.

4. Add the onions and fry them, stirring constantly…

… just until they have this yellow color.

5. Then add 2 teaspoons sweet red paprika.

This ingredient is crucially important in this meal.

6. Stir the paprika with the onions around for about 30 seconds – not more.

7. We are going to need the skinned chicken legs now… so yes, it is very good if you have skinned them in advance.

8. Place the legs into the pot and cover them with the bouillon/broth.

9. Stir gently, cover and bring to a boil.

Then allow to boil moderately just until the meat gets fork-tender.

This is going to take about 45-55 minutes, I guess.

10. Meanwhile, with Martha still talking about all the great stuff that girls love, we can prepare the flour-cream mixture.

That will make our sauce beautifully creamy.

In a separate bowl, pour 4 tablespoons flour, 3 1/2 tablespoons (heaping) sour cream and 1/2 cup (120 ml) whipping cream.

Give that all a good mix.

11. Now make a  little test of fork-tenderness.

Remove one leg from the pot and check whether it is tender enough to be easily pierced or cut with a fork.

Basically, it just should be… hmm… tender, folks.

12. After you’ve concluded that the legs are exactly how they should be, remove them all from the pot onto a separate plate or bowl.

13. Pour the flour-cream mixture into the pot while whisking constantly and bring the whole mixture to a boil (while still whisking).

See?… I wasn’t even able to capture this step properly, because I was using both of my hands. And my tripod is who-knows-where.

Allow to boil for about 3-5 more minutes – giving the sauce the necessary time to get thicker (and of course, stir constantly).

14. Remove the sauce from the heat and taste it. Some more salt might be needed – I added about 1/2 tsp (the amount of salt needed depends on the bouillon/broth you’ve used).

15. At this point you can decide, whether you want to serve the legs in whole pieces like this (in this case return them back to the pot), or if you want to serve the meat only (using two forks remove the meat from the bones and return the meat into the pot).

Here we go, nicely served with fusilli.

Now place this plate right under the particular man’s nose and see what happens.

And let me know!

(Click the RECIPE SECTION to see more of my recipes.)

60 thoughts on “Chicken with Heavenly Paprika and Cream Sauce

  1. 1

    That chicken dish does look heavenly!

  2. 2
    mangiodasola says:

    What a lovely, scrumptious dish.

  3. 3
    Lillian says:

    love the wonderful post and step by step instructions with photos! delicious 🙂

  4. 4

    beautiful recipe, can’t wait to give it a try, and….

    no, you don’t wanna know *wink wink

  5. 5
    Cookie says:

    In my man’s case, it would have to be chicken thighs but I see your point. Wonderful and yummy recipe! I’ll have to give it a try soon!

  6. 6
    Tammy says:

    What a great meal.. I added spaetzle to mine and it was simply perfect! thank you so much!

  7. 7

    I love your photos, and this recipe is up my street!!!!!!!!! Yum, also sound very Hungarian!

  8. 8
    Jessy says:

    Beautiful, funny post as always. Love the recipe. I’ve already got my man, but I love making him happy! LOL

  9. 9
    Jerry says:

    My Mom called this PAPRI GHOSH . No matter what it is called it is one of my favorites.

  10. 10
    Phoenix56317 says:

    My Dear Petra,

    I loved this dish, it is so heavenly !

    I hope you do not mind but I made some minor adjustments to this.

    I used Skinless Chicken Breasts and added a 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes and 1/2 tsp. parsley.

  11. 11
    Kay says:

    Do you have to have onions? I really hate onions, but rest looks delicious!

  12. 12
    Marka says:

    This is pretty much the recipe for chicken parika (pronounced paprikash). The traditional recipe uses heavenly sour cream dumplings rather than plain ole’ pasta.

  13. 13

    I made this with my friends yesterday and it was wonderful 🙂 thanks for putting it up!

  14. 14
    Michaela says:

    Nikdy neviem ci je to perkelt alebo paprikas 🙂 U nas doma sa mu hovori Perkelt a je to nejake zazracne jedlo pre deti, lebo ak deti nechcu jest, toto zarucene pomaha 🙂 A uz sme davno nemali…

  15. 15
    India says:

    I love your blog:))))))))))))))))))))))

  16. 16
    vanillapetal says:

    tried this last night and it was a HUGE success! i just added one or 2 things… like some brown sugar, fruit chutney and a little gorgonzola cheese. also some garlic. ok- so i added quite a few things! but it still turned out absolutley delicious! thank you for the inspiration! next up on my list of tries is your chicken parmesan 🙂

    p.s. LOVE your photography section as well. i think if we met in real life we’d be best friends.

  17. 17
    Ashley says:

    Hi, I’m wondering if you have to use chicken legs to get the appropriate taste, or would breasts work too? Thanks!

    • 17.1
      ZoomYummy says:

      Hi again Ashley! Yes, chicken legs are recommended for this recipe, they really create the right taste in this dish. However, if you prefer breasts, feel free to use them. The dish will taste slightly different, but I am sure it will be lovely. 🙂 Petra

    • 17.2
      Beata says:

      you could try chicken thighs, similar flavor as legs but much more tender when done.

  18. 18
    Heather says:

    OH THANK YOU! My husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day a little early, since he’ll be working that night. I made him this recipe (exactly as written), along with the mushroom ragout on garlic toast (exactly as written).

    While eating he kept looking at me like I was the most amazing person in the world. I am a novice cook at best, but following your step by step pictured instructions made this easy to do. THANK YOU! What a delicious dish. I have won over his heart once again.

  19. 19
    Diana says:

    I’m LOVE your recipes, especially the ones that remind me of my favorite meals that my grandma makes. (I’m Slovak, though left with my family in 1987 and now live in the US). YUM 🙂

  20. 20
    Thewiseone says:

    This is basically chicken paprikash.

  21. 21
    Beata says:

    Tried it tonight and it was a big hit. I did add 2 cloves of garlic salt & pepper to taste and parsley because i tested it last night and there wasn’t enough flavor to it as it is. It’s bland because of the amount of creamy stuff in it.

  22. 22
    Deniz says:

    The recipe looks amazing but I have to substitute both the sour cream and the whipping cream ’cause the only thing we have in market is ‘cream’ You know plain and normal, so what can I use as a substitute and will the recipe turn out as heavenly? =)

    • 22.1
      zoomyummy says:

      Hi Deniz!

      Try using 1/2 cup cream that you have and substitute the sour cream with plain white yogurt mixed with a little bit of flour and water.

      I have never tried it like this but it might work out. Let me know!

      Petra

  23. 23
    Sam Foster says:

    Hello! This may be a silly question, but when you add the cream and flour mixture, do you add that to the pot of chicken broth, or do you make it on it’s own? I’m assuming you add it to the broth, but I just wanted to make sure. Thanks so much, this is a lovely recipe!

    • 23.1
      Petra says:

      Hi Sam! You make the flour-cream mixture on its own, and then you add it to the pot with simmering broth. Hope this helped. 🙂 Petra

  24. 24

    I must say that the picture looks very appetizing. It’s nice to see a twist on the old chicken recipes.

  25. 25
    Lillie says:

    Hi Petra,
    I was wondering how many servings this recipe makes.
    Thanks,
    Lillie

  26. 26
    Tesia says:

    This is basically Chicken paprikash.

  27. 27
    Christina says:

    Very yummy 🙂 Thanks a bunch.

    I dislike how ppl post comments trying to correct the name or what not. Whatever it is it’s yummy and I love the pics!

  28. 28
    Kim says:

    Made tonight and was fabulous. I used plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream and chicken breasts. Mainly because that is what I had. Was fabulous. Thanks, Kim

  29. 29
    Laura Fiore says:

    Made this for dinner tonight, at my daughter’s insistence! OMGosh…so freaking delicious!!!

  30. 30
    Angela says:

    First I just want to say..maybe it is just me….but it really bugs me when people comment on recipes without trying them first. “Looks Good!” or “Have to try this soon!” Doesn’t help the rest of us! SOOO….since I did make this last night, I wanted to comment and say thank you for this simple but delish recipe. My boyfriend loved it…who is hard to please.

    I stumbled upon your site a couple of days ago. Petra, where have you been all my life?
    lol

  31. 31
    Nicole says:

    I make this all the time! But I use rice (and chicken breasts) and make it a one pot dish…. really a hit when you need to bring it to people (for sickness/babies etc.) and it tastes even better the next day!
    🙂

  32. 32
    Megan says:

    Where can I find sweet paprika? I’ve looked everywhere! I’m in the mid-west area

  33. 33
    Estefania says:

    This was sooooo delicious! I found it on Pinterest and after reading the wonderful reviews I had to try it! I did add 2 cloves if garlic and parsley like someone mentioned before and also used half and half instead of whipping cream. It was perfect! Oh and I love your step by step pictures! Will be making it again soon! Thanks 🙂

  34. 34
    KarenDF says:

    okay … yu-um! Your images are so beautiful & clear that they are making me hungry! Your method is so much simpler than the chicken paprikash recipe I made (& lost) years ago! I look forward to making this (using spaetzle dumplings that I love so much)!

  35. 35
    Lynn says:

    Hi Petra and i am from Sunny Singapore!

    I made this receipe during one of my gatherings at home and it is so good that my friends were praising it to the high heavens! I made a few tweeks to the receipe to have it served as a soup dish by adding finely chopped celery, carrots and white button mushroom!

    Thank you for make receipes so easy and so yummy!

  36. 36
    Doodle says:

    put it over rice instead of pasta and it was absolutely amazing. My husband is in love 🙂 thanks for sharing!!

  37. 37
    leo says:

    Hi
    where do the onions fit into the dish

  38. 38
    Anne says:

    Firstly, my husband, and I, LOVE this recipe… Thank you so much for sharing it.

    Second, I’ve tried this recipe, separate times, with skinless chicken drumsticks (what you call legs), thighs, and breasts… The drumsticks are the best. I think it’s the bone to meat ratio. The drumstick bones add something that’s missing with the other cuts of chicken.

    I also add some black, and white, pepper to the recipe to taste, and more flour for a thicker sauce. Then serve it over rotini pasta.

  39. 39
    valerie says:

    Could you make this with beef broth? It’s all I have right now and don’t want to make a special trio just for chicken broth. Also can you use boneless skinless thighs? Thanks

  40. 40
    Kat says:

    Hi, I’d like to try this but I’m trying to limit eating white flour. Can I substitute whole grain flour or something else? Or is making it without any flour at all worth a try?

  41. 41
    Ágnes Szilágyi says:

    Hello Petra!

    You might know what I want to tell you or maybe somebody has already told you this… Actually I am from Hungary and this is a very well-known and loved basic Hungarian dish 🙂 Soo…. If you liked it, I can send you some more recipies as well 😀

  42. 42
    Elaine says:

    This looks delicious! I’ve been feeling so drained from trying new recipes, it’s nice and refreshing to see new dishes I haven’t tried yet. Thank you!

  43. 43
    Marion says:

    This recipe is spectacular! Thank you!

  44. 44
    Carla says:

    Hi there!
    I found this recipe on your site about 2 years ago. I just never got around to commenting on it. I’m making it again tonight so, I just wanted to let you know this is a dish we make a lot!! My husband adores it and since it just the 2 of us, we love it the next day! Its even better as leftovers!! I have used gnocchi, spätzle, rotini, and mashed potatoes and it’s perfect everytime! I just add more garlic and pepper to kick it up a bit. I highly recommend this recipe and your entire blog. Everytime I see a new recipe, I have to try it out!
    Excellent photos and easy step by step instructions! Love it my dear!

    • 44.1
      zoomyummy says:

      Hello Carla! Thanks for your message, I loved reading it! I am very glad you like this recipe, it truly is yummy and we make it very often too! Enjoy! Petra 🙂

  45. 45
    Shirley Hughes (Bochy) says:

    My Mother passed away in 2002, she made this alot cause we’re Hungarian ,sometimes she would start out like this but make Chicken and dumplings, delish, but when it was the cream chicken ,she would get soft Italian bread and I could eat 5slices loaded with cream , thank you your recipe is the closest to my Mamas,,????

Leave a Comment

Send this to a friend