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With rich, smoky flavours, bursts of pepper and chunks of chicken, what’s not to love about this Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken – aka Chicken Paprikash? Creamy paprika chicken cooked with red and yellow peppers for a hearty and simple dinner which is full of flavour.
This slow cooker chicken paprikash is a delicious, Hungarian-style stew cooked in the slow cooker (or crockpot) for ease.
Creamy paprika chicken is such a hearty meal, whether you’re serving it up with rice and veg or a big dollop of mashed potato for pure comfort.
The slow cooked chicken thighs fall apart in a sauce flavoured with both hot paprika and sweet smoked paprika, swirled with soured cream.
It’s bold, bright and big on flavour. Guaranteed to keep you cosy and warm through the winter! And how could you not smile at the colour of it?
You can serve this Chicken Paprika with mashed potato, boiled potato, rice or even with gluten free pasta, and any leftovers can easily be frozen.
If you love an easy slow cooker recipe then make sure to try some of my other favourites, like my Slow Cooker Beef Goulash, Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken or my Slow Cooker Chicken Satay Curry.
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a printable recipe card below with everything you need for this one pot paprika chicken recipe. But for the shopping list you will need:
- Chicken Thighs: I used boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. Skinless chicken breasts would work for a lower calorie version but would need less cooking time as they can dry out more easily.
- Peppers: I use one red and one yellow pepper in this recipe.
- Onion and Garlic: You can easily swap this for a red onion and either finely chopped frozen cloves, minced garlic cloves or a garlic paste.
- Tinned Tomatoes: The more finely chopped the tomatoes, the more ‘saucy’ the finished dish will be.
- Plain Gluten Free Flour: I use the FREEE Plain Flour or whichever plain or all purpose gluten free flour I can find. This helps to thicken the sauce.
- Sweet Smoked Paprika: Using Hungarian sweet paprika makes such a difference to this recipe, trust me! You can use a standard smoked paprika but spending a little extra for a tin of this will really elevate the whole dish.
- Hot Paprika: If you don’t like any spice at all you can swap this for a standard paprika. I don’t think this dish is hot at all, this just adds a lovely flavour to it.
- Chicken Stock: Not all chicken stock is gluten free so make sure you double check the ingredients – I have a whole list of gluten free stock cubes here. You can also use vegetable stock if you prefer.
- Soured Cream: I’ve tried a low fat crème fraîche instead of soured cream, but I found it curdled in the slow cooker.
You may also want some extra salt and ground black pepper to season this to taste.
How to make slow cooker paprika chicken
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method, but here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this easy paprika chicken is to make:
Add the onions to a frying pan with a little olive oil and fry on a low heat for around 5 minutes until they start to go transluscent.
If you have a slow cooker like my Morphy Richards Sear and Stew one, you can save washing up by frying the onions in the slow cooker pan instead.
Add the cooked onions and everything else (EXCEPT the soured cream and parsley) to the slow cooker pot.
Stir the mixture well to ensure the flour and spices are evenly distributed through the sauce. Then place the lid on and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.
Before serving, stir in the soured cream. Spoon the creamy paprika chicken over mashed potato, rice or pasta and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
How to make paprika chicken without a slow cooker
No slow cooker? No problem! If you don’t have a slow cooker you can still make this easy one pan paprika chicken in the oven.
First fry off the onion as per the recipe. But then add the chicken thighs and fry for a further 5-10 minutes until completely browned all over.
Add the rest of the ingredients (minus the soured cream) and stir well. Place the lid on, bring to the boil then simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid, simmer for a further 10 minutes before adding the soured cream. Mix well and serve.
Storing and Freezing
Any leftovers of this creamy paprika chicken can be stored in a tub in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheated thoroughly before eating.
This slow cooker chicken in paprika sauce freezes really well and is perfect for meal prep and batch cooking.
To freeze any leftovers, simply portion the cooked paprika stew into tubs, allow it to cool completely then freeze for up to 6 months.
This means you can reheat a meal from frozen and have a handy, microwave meal whenever you need one! Even better, freeze it with a portion of rice or potatoes then heat and eat.
Serving Suggestions
I find this slow cooker chicken paprikash recipe so versatile – you can serve it in a number of ways. My favourites ways to serve this are:
- Serve over steamed greens and basmati rice for a hearty and healthy meal. I always sprinkle mine with chopped fresh parsley too.
- Mix cooked gluten free pasta into the creamy paprika sauce and serve it as a hot pasta dish.
- Plate up your slow cooker paprikash with plenty of buttery, mashed potato, boiled potato or even gluten free gnocchi.
Of course, you can serve it up however you like, but these are my favourite ways.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this slow cooker paprika chicken. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
This recipe uses soured cream to create the creamy, paprika sauce, so in it’s current state is not dairy free.
I haven’t found a vegan and gluten free substitute for soured cream – a dairy free cream cheese could work in its place though.
Or failing this, if you don’t like a creamy sauce you can simply have it without, so it will be more a rich, tomato-based stew.
I absolutely love my Morphy Richard’s Sear and Stew Slow Cooker. It’s perfect because the pan can be used on the hob too!
I’m addicted to making things in the slow cooker at the moment, including my slow cooker chicken stroganoff and my slow cooker pulled pork.
I know a lot of people are worried about the cost of living and looking for cheaper alternative. The good news is slow cookers are actually pretty efficient to run!
It looks like a slow cooker costs roughly 16p a day to run, compared to 87p a day for an electric cooker.
Yes – it is perfectly fine to put raw chicken in the slow cooker! As long as you always ensure it is cooked through before eating.
You don’t need to brown the chicken first. But in some recipes (such as my chicken casserole) I do this as it changes the flavour profile.
In this recipe though, you can simply chuck it in and cook from raw.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken (Paprikash)
Ingredients
- 500 g boneless chicken thigh fillets
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp gluten free plain flour
- 2 tbsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp hot paprika
- 250 ml chicken stock, 1 stock pot + 250ml boiling water
- 200 ml soured cream
Instructions
- Add the onions to a frying pan with a little olive oil and fry on a low heat for around 5 minutes until they start to go transluscent.
- Add the cooked onions and everything else (EXCEPT the soured cream and parsley) to the slow cooker pot. Stir well and then place the lid on and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.
- Before serving, stir in the soured cream. Spoon over mashed potato, rice or pasta and garnish with freshly chopped parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi there, I dint have a slow cooker, but like the look of this recipe. Can you suggest an alternative cooking method and time please.
Thanks 💕
Sorry for the late reply! There is a non-slow-cooker method in the blog post above already x
Gorgeous recipe! Beautiful flavour and goes lovely with rice and veggies. Only thing I’d suggest is using more chicken, because if like me you have teens in the house 500g won’t go far. Lovely meal though 👌🏼
Hi just wondering if you could use dairy free double cream instead please.
Hi was just wondering if you could use dairy free double cream instead please.
Do you drain the tinned tomatoes before adding to the slow cooker?
I havnt yet made it! But I wasn’t sure if I should cut the chicken up into bite size chunks before going into the slow cooker or do I put them in whole?