Table of Contents
Description | Ingredients | Method | Nutritional Info | Notes And OptionsReduced Fat Chicken Paprikash
Chicken Paprikash is one of those dishes that proves comfort food doesn’t have to be heavy. Traditionally made with rich cuts of chicken and plenty of sour cream, it’s often a dish you save for a cold night when indulgence feels justified. (And yes, I’ll admit that Billy Crystal’s famous line from When Harry Met Sally — “Waiter, there is too much Pepper in my Paprikash, but I would be Proud to Partake of your Pecan Pie!” — was part of what nudged me into trying my own version years ago.)
My take keeps all the bold paprika flavour and that velvety, tangy sauce, but lightens things up with lean chicken breast and fat-free sour cream. The result? A luscious, creamy Paprikash that doesn’t leave you feeling weighed down.
In Hungary, you’d usually find it spooned over Nokedli (their version of spaetzle), but in our house it rotates between egg noodles, rice, barley, or just a hunk of crusty sourdough bread to mop up the sauce. If you want to balance things out a little more, serving it over roasted, shredded cabbage is a great way to boost the veggie content without piling on extra starch. However you serve it, it’s high in protein, has a balanced split of carbs and fats, and delivers the kind of flavour that makes you go back for seconds.
And if you’re after something with a similar Hungarian flavour profile but don’t feel like Paprikash, you might want to check out my Hungarian Goulash recipe. It’s a heartier, stew-style dish that makes a great alternative.
Ingredients (Makes 10 Servings)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into bite-sized chunks)
2-1/4 teaspoons sea salt
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large yellow onion
4 cloves garlic (minced)
3 Roma tomatoes (finely diced)
2 yellow or orange bell peppers (diced)
5 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free sour cream
Method
Pre-salt the chicken pieces and season with freshly ground black pepper. Cover and refrigerate until there is about 6 minutes remaining in the simmering time in step 4.
Sauté the onions over medium heat until translucent, then add the bell peppers and sauté for another 3-4 minutes until peppers begin to soften.
Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, 3 tablespoons of paprika and the bay leaves, stir to mix well, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 20 minutes to let the flavours develop in the sauce.
14 minutes into the simmering time, brown off the chicken pieces in two batches in a separate pan over medium-high heat with some olive oil (about 2-3 minutes per batch), transfering the browned pieces and any juices to the sauce. Once all chicken pieces are in the sauce (which should roughly coincide with the end of the original 20 minute simmer), simmer a further 10 minutes to finish cooking the chicken.
When the 10 minutes is almost elapsed, combine the flour, sour cream and remaining paprika together, mixing thorougly with a fork to ensure there are no lumps of flour.
When the timer goes off, stir the sour cream mixture into the sauce, increase the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes to allow the mixture to integrate and the sauce to thicken.
Remove the bay leaves, adjust the seasoning with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, and serve!
Nutritional Info
Totals for the Full Recipe
Calories (protein, fat, net carbs only): ~2,245 kcal
Protein:
Grams: ~320 g
Calories: ~1,280 kcal
Percentage of total calories: ~57%
Fat:
Grams: ~62 g
Calories: ~558 kcal
Percentage of total calories: ~25%
Total Carbohydrate: ~78 g
Total Fiber: ~12 g
Net Carbohydrate:
Grams: ~66 g
Calories: ~264 kcal
Percentage of total calories: ~12%
Per Serving (1 of 10 servings)
Calories (protein, fat, net carbs only): ~225 kcal
Protein:
Grams: ~32 g
Calories: ~128 kcal
Percentage of total calories: ~57%
Estimated palm-size portions: 1 to 1.5 palms (1 palm = 20–30 g)
Fat:
Grams: ~6.2 g
Calories: ~56 kcal
Percentage of total calories: ~25%
Estimated thumb-size portions: 0.5 to 0.75 thumbs (1 thumb = 10–15 g)
Total Carbohydrate: ~7.8 g
Total Fiber: ~1.2 g
Estimated as:
Women under 50 (25–28 g/day): 4%
Men under 50 (31–34 g/day): 3%
Women over 50 (22 g/day): 5%
Men over 50 (28 g/day): 4%
Net Carbohydrate:
Grams: ~6.6 g
Calories: ~26 kcal
Percentage of total calories: ~12%
Estimated cupped-palm portions: 0.25 to 0.5 palms (1 palm = 20–30 g)
Fist-Sized Portions of Non-Starchy Vegetables:
Total veggies ≈ 150 g (onion) + 186 g (tomatoes) + 238 g (bell peppers) = 574 g
Assuming ~100 g = 1 portion → 5.7 portions total → ~0.6 portions per serving
This nutritional analysis is an estimate only, based on available knowledge regarding the nutritional content of the individual ingredients. Nutritional content of foods is HIGHLY variable, so you should always base your dietary intake on whether it meets your needs and progresses you towards your goals rather than any theoretical numbers on paper.
Notes and Options
During a Maintenance week (or just regular eating), you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. This will give the dish a bit richer flavour, but will have slightly higher fat content.
When using chicken thighs, I like to leave them whole, but you can cut them into bite-sized chunks if you prefer.
Because the chicken thighs will impart more flavour to the sauce, you could opt to use water instead of chicken stock for some or all of the liquid.
Pre-salt and season the chicken thighs at least 30 minutes before you’re going to begin cooking.
Brown them off in batches in a separate pan as soon as you start simmering the sauce, transferring them to the sauce as they finish browning along with any juices.
Simmer them in the sauce for about 20 minutes to finish cooking and for them to impart more flavour to the sauce.
If you want to add more veggies to the Paprikash itself, go ahead! I sometimes add some sautéed zucchini or par-boiled carrots to the mix.