Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken

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?

This slow cooker chicken paprikash – aka chicken in a paprika sauce – is a delicious, Hungarian-style stew cooked in the slow cooker for ease.

The chicken thighs fall apart in a sauce flavoured with hot paprika and sweet smoked paprika, and swirled with soured cream.

It’s bold, bright and big on flavour. Guaranteed to keep you cosy and warm through the winter!

I love to serve this Paprika Chicken with mashed potato, boiled potato, rice or even with gluten free pasta.

And any leftovers can easily be portioned up and frozen for a simple microwave meal on those nights you need dinner in a hurry.

Make sure you check out some of my other easy slow cooker recipes after trying this one pot chicken paprika.

Ingredients and Substitutions

There’s a recipe card below with the full method and quantities for this recipe.

But for the shopping list, the main ingredients you’ll need for this paprika chicken recipe are:

• Chicken Thighs: I used boneless skinless chicken thighs in this recipe. You can use bone-in but may need to give a longer cooking time ensure they are cooked through. Skinless chicken breasts would work for a lower calorie version but would need less cooking time as they can dry out more in the slow cooker.
• Peppers: I use one red and one yellow pepper in this recipe. However, any coloured pepper would work, or you can omit them if you prefer.
• Onion and Garlic: These form the base of this stew. I use a brown onion and frozen chopped garlic. You can easily swap this for a red onion and either finely chopped fresh garlic cloves, or garlic paste.
• Tinned Tomatoes: This cheap and easy storecupboard staple gives this paprika stew its vibrant colour and rich flavour. The more finely chopped the tomatoes, the more ‘saucy’ it 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. Cornflour (or corn starch) would also work if that’s all you have.
• 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 thing.
• Hot Paprika: If you don’t like any spice at all you can omit this. I don’t think this dish is hot at all, this just adds a lovely flavour to it. Swap for a standard paprika if you prefer.
• Chicken Stock: Not all chicken stock is gluten free so make sure you double check the ingredients. I usually use Knorr stock as it’s certified gluten free, but I have a whole list of gluten free stock cubes here. You can 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. If you want a lighter version you can try a reduced fat cream cheese, but to me soured cream is the only way!

You may also want some extra salt and ground black pepper to season this to taste.

Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken FAQs

To help troubleshoot, I’ve tried to answer as many frequently asked questions as possible about this slow cooker paprika chicken.

But if you have any others please do add them to the comments at the end of this post and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Is slow cooker paprika chicken gluten free?

Yes, this recipe is 100% gluten free and safe for people with coeliac disease, as are all of the recipes on my website.

This crockpot paprika chicken doesn’t use any wheat flour or gluten-containing ingredients so it is naturally free from gluten.

Just make sure you double check some of the ingredients to ensure they are gluten free, such as the vegetable stock.

Is this paprika chicken recipe dairy free?

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.

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.

WHICH SLOW COOKER DO YOU USE?

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.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A SLOW COOKER?

If you don’t have a slow cooker you can still make this easy chicken paprikash in the oven instead.

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.

Is it OK to put raw chicken in the slow cooker?

Yes – it is perfectly fine to put raw chicken in the slow cooker! As long as you always ensure it is cooked through.

You don’t need to brown the chicken first. But in some recipes (such as my chicken casserole) I do so as it changes the flavour profile.

In this recipe though, you can simply chuck it in and cook from raw.

What to serve with paprika chicken?

I find this chicken paprikash recipe so versatile – you can serve it in a number of ways. My favourites 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 gnocchi.

Of course, you can serve it up however you like, but these are my favourite ways.

Can I freeze this slow cooker paprika chicken?

Yes, this slow cooker chicken in paprika sauce freezes really well and is therefore perfect for batch cooking.

To freeze, simply portion the cooked paprika stew into tubs, allow it to cool completely then freeze for up to 6 months.

This means you can simply reheat from frozen and have a handy, microwave meal whenever you need one!

My Slow Cooker Paprika Chicken

This Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash is the perfect family dinner idea. And it’s one that’s great for batch cooking in the crock pot.

This recipe serves four people but you can easily up or down the quantities to make as much as you like.

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your bakes!

And if you loved it, please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me. 

NEED MORE SLOW COOKER RECIPE INSPIRATION?

Here are some more gluten free slow cooker recipes you can try out once you’ve made this Gluten Free Paprika Chicken.

• Slow Cooker Beef Goulash
• Gammon in Ginger Beer
• Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese
• Chickpea and Potato Curry

If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram. 

If you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!

LIKE THIS SLOW COOKER Paprika Chicken RECIPE?

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