Instant Pot Chicken Paprika—tender chicken thighs in a flavorful creamy tomato and paprika sauce served over pasta or rice.
Related: SLOW COOKER chicken paprika recipe

Instant Pot Chicken Paprika
This is a comforting stew-like chicken and sauce that was a perfect family dinner to eat this past week. I loved the bright color of the sauce and the tang from the sour cream. We ate ours over orzo and served it alongside a salad.
What kind of paprika should I use? In Hungary this dish is called “Paprikás Csirke”, which means “Paprika Chicken.” This dish is ideally made with Hungarian paprika* that has a sweet, full-bodied flavor profile and a bright red color. But if you’re in a pinch regular paprika will work too.
Can I use another cut of chicken? I used frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs that I get from Costco. Other choices would be boneless, skinless chicken breasts (won’t be as tender) and bone-in chicken pieces. If cooking bone-in chicken pieces then increase the pressure cooking time to 15-18 minutes.
What should I serve with Instant Pot chicken paprika? I boiled orzo on the stove and we spooned the beautiful sauce and chicken over the top of it. It was so tasty. Other choices would be to serve over egg noodles, rice, potatoes or for a low-carb option riced cauliflower.

More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes…
Instant Pot Veggie Chicken Korma
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Instant Pot Chicken Paprika
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
Tender chicken thighs in a flavorful creamy tomato and paprika sauce served over pasta or rice.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is fine)
- 1 Tbsp paprika (ideally Hungarian paprika)
- 1 tsp dried marjoram(or you can use 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch + 3 Tbsp water
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in the onion and saute for 4-5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot. Turn off the Instant Pot.
- Add in the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with paprika, marjoram, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Then dump the tomatoes on top of the chicken.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes for fresh thighs or 15 minutes for frozen thighs. When the time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute. In a small bowl stir together 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of water, until smooth.Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly. Turn off the Instant Pot. Stir about 1/2 cup of the sauce from the pot into the sour cream to temper it. Then stir the sour cream into the Instant Pot. Taste test the sauce and add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over rice, egg noodles, orzo or cauliflower rice.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Do you think I could double the chicken in a 6-quart Instant pot? Love the idea of orzo and spinach salad. Thinking of this for a family reunion of about 15.
So EZ & so delicious! Had to use smoked Paprika, didn’t have Hungarian. Boo hoo. Will try to find some & make it again. Served over orzo with side of steamed broccoli. Oooo-la-la!
★★★★★
I bet smoked paprika was good too!
I’ve been making this for 40 plus years. I always add cooked bacon. just gives it another layer of flavor
I love that idea!
I loved this recipe!
★★★★★
So glad to hear this Macey! 😊
I only have a 3 qt IP. How would I change this recipe to work in it?
I think it will all fit in there. Probably not with frozen chicken so I’d use fresh. Keep the same cooking time.
This worked great for me with 3qt!
★★★★★
GOOD! 👍
Hi Karen,
I’m fairly new to the IP family. Where can I get a pot- in- pot to cook the rice. I have an 8 quart pot.
Hi, I like this one: http://amzn.to/2EH7OR8 on amazon
This is my first time using one of your recipes and boy am I going to try more. Lovely delicate flavor. I am on Weight Watchers and I did alter the recipe slightly. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts , only one TBS oil, and low fat sour cream. It is delicious and so simple. Your instructions are very clear. Thanks for sharing your recipes. Looking forward to trying more.
★★★★★
Glad to hear you liked it Luisa!
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup chicken broth. I tried that in my IP 6 qt and got the burn indicator. I’ve had a hard day so let my frustration out and just dumped more water in – probably about a cup – which I think was too much and diluted the finished product. The flavor was still evident, so next time I’m going to use 1 cup broth! I think I’m going to add some carrots in it, too.
★★★★
Thanks for sharing your experience! Next time it will be great 🙂
I’m making this now. Looking forward to dinner!
Enjoy!!
How spicy is this?
It’s not spicy really at all 🙂
I love paprikash! I have a favorite crock pot recipe that I like, and I like to serve it over egg noodles. I’ll have to see how this compares! P.S. I have pretty much loved all your recipes that I’ve made!
★★★★★
I’d love to see your crockpot recipe!
It’s this: http://www.kitchensimmer.com/2012/06/crockpot-paprika-chicken.html
I’ve made it several times and it’s so good! Really makes a big batch and I always freeze 1/2 of it!
Looks so tasty! I’ll have to give it a try.
Hi, can I substitute sour cream for something else? I don’t have any at home and am avoiding going to the stores as my state has a shelter-at-home order in place.
Try greek yogurt.
Do you have any plain yogurt?
This sounds soooooo good. Can I use smoked paprika, what do you think?
You could, it will be a different flavor profile but I bet it will be tasty!
Can I replace spar cream with green yogurt in instant pot.
Soar cream**
Yes yogurt works great!
Is this dish spicy(meaning hot🔥)
I love your recipes 🥰🥰🥰
No, not really at all! 🙂
I am loving your recipes. I was thinking of trying the chicken paprika with boneless veal cubes for stew. What would the cooking time be for that? Probably only 1-1.5 lbs
I bet 20-25 minutes for suffice. Let me know how it tastes.
The website moves scrollong up, down, freezing then varouis popups display making access to recipes a real challenge.
Patricia, I have that problem on my phone, but not on my computer.
I have the same problem and it’s really very frustrating and makes following the recipe very difficult. I always have to. Grill back to find where I left off.
perhaps taking a screenshot of the recipe would be a good idea?
I’m sorry, is this on mobile or desktop?