Chicken paprikash meatballs. Give your paprikash a makeover with this chicken meatball version that’s packed with earthy mushrooms and tender bell pepper. Simmered in an amazingly rich and flavorful paprika -infused tomato sauce with sour cream. Serve over buttered noodles for an all time favorite that everyone at your table will love. It’s pure heaven!
With luscious, tender chicken meatballs in a fragrant sauce, this dish is the embodiment of comfort food. It’s packed with flavor, calls for minimal ingredients, and can be made as spicy as you can handle.
Sautéed bell pepper gives this sauce a natural sweetness and the earthy mushrooms add that extra special taste. But the key ingredient is undoubtedly the paprika as it gives a warm touch to the smooth tomato sauce.
This delicious dish also relies on sour cream, to thicken the sauce and to balance the warmth of the paprika. Serve it with some buttered noodles, boiled potatoes or some bread for a fabulous weeknight meal.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
RECIPE NOTES
- this is a super versatile recipe!
- you can leave out the mushrooms or bell pepper
- use red and green bell peppers, or add roasted bell peppers
- add potatoes to the sauce and turn these chicken meatballs into a complete one-pot meal
- if you can find it, use Hungarian mild or hot paprika
- use boneless/skinless chicken thighs
- serve with buttered egg noodles, crusty bread, rice or mashed potatoes
- add a big side salad tossed with a sour cream dressing or a cucumber salad
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Chicken Paprikash Meatballs
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 1.1 pounds ground chicken
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Hungarian paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 egg yolk
Tomato Paprika Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 9 ounces mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper cut into thin slices
- 1 small brown onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cups puréed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley more for serving
- ¾ cup sour cream
- crushed red pepper flakes for serving
Spices
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Get the prep done before you start cooking: mince the garlic and finely chop the onion. Cut the bell pepper in half, remove veins and seeds, then cut the pepper into thin slices.
- Add the ingredients for the meatballs to a large bowl. Mix until just combined, using your hands. Roll the meat into balls
- Heat 1 tbsp oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high. Add meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes, turning them frequently. Remove from skillet.
- Add mushrooms, cook until browned, remove from skillet.
- Add the remaining butter and oil to the same skillet. Add bell pepper, cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes. Stir in spices and add flour, stir until combined.
- Deglaze with chicken broth, simmer for 2 minutes, stir with a wooden spoon while scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the skillet. Add puréed tomatoes, simmer for 3 minutes.
- In the meantime, chop the parsley.
- Add parsley and sour cream to the sauce, stir until combined. Add mushrooms and meatballs, stir to coat. Simmer for 10 minutes. (At this point, you can cook your noodles, if using). Finish off with freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes and chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Just made it 🙂 It’s delicious! Like all dishes made from your recipes 🙂 Thank You for your work! It’s pleasure to eat this food. Yum!
Fantastic, I am so happy you’re enjoying the recipes! Thank you so much for your kind comment and following along!
I make this at least once a week, and the flavors are just incredible. Deep, rich, smoky, and the sauce is just to die for. My boyfriend and I usually do a side of pasta and bread for dipping. YUM.
One question: I tried adding baby potatoes (quartered) to the sauce at the same time as the chicken and mushrooms (before the final simmer), and the potatoes weren’t cooked at all. What would you recommend to ensure the potatoes are evenly cooked? Thanks
Hi, so glad you enjoyed Ameer! Unfortunately 10 minutes is not long enough for the potatoes, next time you could cut them into small bite-sized pieces, add a little more broth and simmer the whole dish for at least 15 minutes.