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chicken meatball paprikash over egg noodles on plate with asparagus
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5 from 20 votes

Hungarian Paprikash Chicken (With Meatballs)

We're using light, tender juicy chicken meatballs in this version of Hungarian paprikash chicken. Same delicious (and fairly traditional) paprikash sauce though. Ready in 30 minutes.
Prep Time8 minutes
Cook Time22 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Hungarian-style
Servings (change as needed): 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 1/2 pound (0.68kg) ground/minced chicken (dark or white meat - I use dark)
  • 2 slices bread, torn into tiny pieces (or 1/3 cup bread crumbs)
  • 3 tablespoon milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon grated onion (or 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon ketchup
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper or more to taste

Paprikash Sauce recipe

  • 2 tablespoon butter (or olive oil)
  • 1 cup chopped onion (1/2 large onion)
  • 2 teaspoon minced garlic (2 cloves garlic)
  • 2 tablespoon Hungarian Paprika, Note 1 sweet Hungarian paprika or hot Hungarian paprika
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon flour
  • 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) chicken broth (or chicken stock)
  • 1/2 cup (112g, 8 oz) tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup (123g, 4.3oz) sour cream (full or light)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sriracha or other hot sauce, optional
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup (50g) chopped parsley

Instructions

  • PREP: Heat oven to 425F/218C IF baking meatballs. If pan frying, use large nonstick skillet. Gather all ingredients.
  • MAKE MEATBALLS: In a medium bowl, add bread bits and milk. Let soak for a minute until liquid is absorbed. Add grated onion, ketchup, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix together. Add minced chicken and lightly mix all ingredients together (I used my hand like a claw to mix and twist lightly). Don't over mix or meatballs will be dense. Meatball mixture will be very moist. Wet your hands (do this periodically) and form into meatballs about 2 inch/5 cm size. (I don't worry about them being perfectly round). Cooking methods, Note 2.
    To pan fry: Heat non stick pan to medium (I use 6/10) and add 1-2 tsp oil. Form meatballs and drop into pan. You will have to do 2 batches. Pan fry for 2-3 minutes per side until lightly browned. They will finish cooking in the sauce later. Set aside on paper towels to soak up oil. Repeat with 2nd batch.
    To bake: Line a large baking pan with parchment or foil sprayed with oil. Place meatballs on pan and bake for about 12-13 minutes until almost cooked through. They will finish cooking in the sauce later.
  • MAKE PAPRIKASH SAUCE: While meatballs are baking or pan frying, make sauce. Heat butter (or oil) in a skillet to Medium heat. Add onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to medium low and stir in paprika and garlic. Stir in flour and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Increase heat to medium-high heat. Add broth, tomato sauce and sriracha (if using). Cook for a 3 minutes until you get a thick tomato sauce.
  • FINISH DISH: Lower heat to a simmer. Stir in sour cream and parsley to create a creamy paprika sauce. Add meatballs to simmering sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes. Taste and add salt and black pepper to taste. If sauce is too thick, thin it with a bit more broth. Serve meatballs paprikash over egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice.

Notes

  1. Paprika: Use any combination of Hungarian sweet paprika, Hungarian hot paprika or smoked paprika. If using regular paprika (also called sweet paprika), you can always add spice with chili flakes, sriracha or any hot sauce. 
  2. Cooking method for meatballs: For a slightly lower calorie/fat version, you can bake the meatballs. Or pan fry them. They take about the same amount of time (since you need to do two batches in the pan). The pan-fried ones have a nice browned crust. The oven baked meatballs don't. But keep in mind, you will be covering them in the paprikash sauce. 
  3. Variations to try:
    • Chicken: The recipe calls for meatballs - you can use white or dark ground chicken. I use dark. You can, however, use the pan-fried traditional bone-in chicken pieces, boneless skinless chicken thighs or even grilled boneless chicken breast cut into pieces.
    • Vegetables: feel free to add a chopped bell pepper when you are sautéing the onions. 
    • Sour Cream - since you're only using 1/2 cup/96 grams for the whole recipe, I go for the full fat sour cream. Light is fine too. Even plain yogurt. Another option is to skip the sour cream and add heavy cream or half and half (10%). 
  4. Make Ahead: Meatballs can be made ahead, cooled and refrigerated for a couple of days. Or frozen. The whole dish can also be made ahead and refrigerated, then gently warmed on the stove or in microwave within 2-3 days. 
 
Nutrition values are estimates based on baked chicken meatballs and full fat sour cream. 
Calories: 427kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 177mg | Sodium: 1560mg | Potassium: 1352mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2999IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 4mg