Cozy and warming, this paprika chicken soup feels like a restaurant-worthy dish yet is so easy to make at home! Made with simple ingredients and kitchen equipment we all have to hand, cook up your paprikash soup for a flavorful lunch or dinner!
I'm not going to pretend this is an authentic Hungarian paprikash soup, as I've made some swaps and additions. But I think you'll love this inspired version as it has the delicious flavors of sweet paprika and red pepper, and is such a cozy family dinner.
If you love the paprika flavor as much as I do, then do check out my paprika chicken recipe for another tasty meal!
Much like my chicken turmeric soup and my turkey quinoa vegetable soup, this Hungarian inspired chicken paprikash soup with rice is a hearty thick soup that's equally perfect for a warming lunch or a lighter dinner in the colder months.
No need for fancy kitchen equipment? Check. Simple ingredients? Check. All easy recipe steps? Definitely!
And in terms of flavor? Well I made this for my parents, and apparently my dad 'almost licked the bowl clean'. High praise I think!
Have a peek at my vegetable gnocchi soup, chicken cabbage soup and my vegetable quinoa soup for more hearty soups that can easily be an evening meal with some sides!
Jump to:
⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Hungarian inspired flavors. Sweet paprika is a favorite Hungarian spice, with so much flavor. It's slightly sweet, with a hint of bitterness and so delicious.
The best comfort food! Cozy up with a bowl of this paprikash soup on the couch with a good movie!
Easy to make. No complicated steps, it's super simple to make this chicken soup!
❔What is sweet paprika?
You may have noticed that sweet paprika is one of my favorite spices to cook with, and shows up in many recipes here on the blog, from my air fryer boneless chicken thighs to my paprika dip!
Sweet paprika is made from dried sweet peppers that are ground into spice. It has a delicious sweet, fruity, slightly bitter taste with very little 'heat'. There are many types of Hungarian sweet paprika, of which the most common variety is édesnemes (Bon Appétit).
For those looking for low histamine diet recipes, you may like to know that sweet paprika rates as 0 on the SIGHI list, unlike higher histamine hot or smoked paprika.
🌶 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Chicken - I suggest to use boneless skinless chicken breasts that are diced into a few pieces for ease of cooking in the skillet for this recipe. We then use forks to prepare them as shredded chicken for the soup.
- Paprika - we are using sweet paprika not hot or smoked paprika for this paprikash soup.
- Rice - I use basmati rice for this recipe, but regular white rice will also work well.
- Red bell pepper - for extra flavor and to help give the soup its pretty red color!
- Stock - both chicken stock and vegetable stock can be used to make the soup.
📖 Swaps and variations
Swap chicken breasts for chicken thighs. Personally I find chicken breasts easier to cook and shred, but chicken thighs will give you a little more flavor - so choose the option you like best!
Use rotisserie chicken. If it works for you, then rotisserie chicken is an easy option (likely not suitable for my low histamine readers).
Swap chicken stock for vegetable stock. You can use either you have to hand, or in the freezer if you make it ahead of time!
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this paprika chicken soup is very simple, uses what I like to call fridge and pantry staples, and has all easy steps.
The full recipe is in the card below, but these photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Cook the rice
Cook your rice according to packet instructions (image 1).
Step 2: Cook and shred chicken
Slice chicken breasts into 2-3 pieces, then sear and cook through in a lightly oiled skillet. Allow to cool, then shred with two forks (image 2). Alternatively, you can use my air fryer shredded chicken recipe for a different cooking method.
Recipe tip: Ensure the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165F on a meat thermometer at its deepest point.
Step 3: Cook the vegetables
Sauté onion, celery and garlic, then tip in sweet paprika and dried thyme. Stir well and add the red bell pepper and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes (image 3).
Step 4: Add chicken stock
Pour in chicken stock (or vegetable stock), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a light simmer and cook for 15 minutes (image 4).
Step 5: Blend (some) of the soup
Tip the cooked rice into the soup and stir well. Ladle about a third of the soup into a blender, and blend. Return to the soup pot (image 5).
Step 6: Add the chicken
Add the shredded chicken to the soup pot and stir well. Cook for 4-5 minutes to warm through, then ladle into your serving bowls (image 6).
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- I like to use chicken breasts, but you can easily use chicken thighs and they will give even more flavor to the soup.
- Cook time for the chicken will vary slightly depending upon their size. Ensure they are cooked to an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point.
- Adjust the amount of spice. If you love a very fragrant soup, add an extra sprinkle of sweet paprika!
- If it is suitable for you (likely not my low histamine readers), then you can use rotisserie chicken instead of cooking fresh chicken.
- For a thinner consistency, add a little more stock when cooking the soup.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Unlike hot paprika, sweet paprika is fairly mild with a balance of sweet, fruity and bitter flavors.
You don't have to include the rice, and could add cooked pasta or noodles at the end of the cook time instead (add in with the chicken). The rice does make it more hearty. If you choose not to use it, then I suggest to reduce the amount of stock a little.
Yes, it's a gluten paprikash soup.
🍽 What to serve with paprika chicken soup
Looking for some fun sides for your paprika chicken soup? Do check out my post on what to serve with chicken soup for lots of ideas!
- For a really hearty meal, serve with my turkey cream cheese sandwich or perhaps my whipped ricotta crostini if you're feeling a little fancy!
- A light green salad is always refreshing, or for something with veggies then my cucumber and fennel salad and apple and cucumber salad are perfect for summer.
- For a gluten free option, my chia and flax seed crackers are packed with healthy ingredients!
🥣 More cozy soups
Find so many healthy soups to choose from here, including my warming cauliflower and pumpkin soup and my broccoli and cauliflower soup with coconut milk, and these recent recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Easy Paprika Chicken Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup white rice dry weight
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 2 small chicken breasts
- ½ onion diced
- 1 celery stick diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced or finely diced
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to packet instructions.
- While the rice is cooking, slice the chicken breasts into 2-3 pieces. Heat olive oil in your skillet and sear and cook the chicken pieces through (about 4 minutes each side). Set aside on a plate. Once cool enough to handle, shred with two forks or using a stand mixer with the appropriate attachment.
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot, and saute onion, celery and garlic for 4-5 minutes, until softened. Tip in the sweet paprika and thyme, and stir well. Add the diced carrots and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a very light simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Tip the cooked rice into the soup pot and stir to combine. Then use a ladle to transfer about a third of the soup to a blender. Blend, then add back to the pot.
- Add the shredded chicken to the pot, stir well, and cook for 3-4 minutes to heat through.
- Ladle the soup into your serving bowls and garnish with fresh dill (or parsley) to serve.
Notes
- If it works for you, it's possible to use shredded rotisserie chicken in place of cooking and shredding your own chicken. This likely isn't suitable for my low histamine readers.
- Ensure the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165F at its deepest point using a meat thermometer.
- This makes a thick hearty soup. If you like a thinner consistency, use another half a cup of stock.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- onion, garlic and dill, which score 1. As a note, white onion scores 0.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
- chicken stock will depend upon ingredients used.
Vincenza Falsone says
Hearty and wholesome, absolutely delicious! This is so moreish and comforting. You really don’t miss tomato at all and this is coming from somebody who is half Italian LOL! This dish felt like it had tomato in it. I even used the recipe as source of inspiration to make a sauce for some gluten free pasta through the week and again, didn’t miss the tomato!
Claire says
Lovely to hear that you enjoyed the soup Vincenza! And so good to be able to make some pasta from similar flavors too - I'll have to try it!
Anita Gambell says
This is a delicious recipe. I have cooked a couple of times now. Freezes well so good to take to work (have shared with workmates and they have requested the recipe). One time I substituted the rice for quinoa which I cooked with dried thyme for a bit of extra flavour. That worked well. I also start the chicken cook (air fryer) when I start the soup so it's ready to put in straight away rather than have it resting for a period of time.
Claire says
So lovely to hear that you enjoy the soup Anita! And I'll have to try with quinoa, sounds good!
Holly says
Hi! Make this recipe frequently I love it however I sub rice for a few boiled potatoes it’s delicious. Is the nutrition for one serving? And any idea what the nutrition could be with my potato sub? Thanks! No worries if not
Claire says
Hi Holly, so lovely to hear you enjoy the soup so much and glad the potato swap works for you. And yes, the nutrition is for one serving, just note that it is an estimate given that different products will have different levels. There are online calculators that you could use to estimate the nutrition with the potatoes 🙂
Victoria says
This soup is amazing! Delicious and so easy to make. I have been struggling to get to grips with a low histamine diet but the recipes and information here are so helpful and easy to understand. Thank you!
Claire says
So glad you enjoy it Victoria! And I hope the recipes here are helpful with your meal planning going forward. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment 🙂
Julie says
fantastic!!! took me about an hour to get together in total (I'm slow at chopping) and I didn't do any blending. so well balanced, great comforting flavor
Claire says
Oh so glad you like it Julie! It's perfect for this colder weather I think. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, always love to hear when people enjoy the recipes 🙂
Cam F says
Holy moley. Made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I did go heavier on the garlic and paprika and also used thigh fillet. Empty bowls all round. And cheap! Inflation buster.
Claire says
Aww this comment made me smile so much! So glad you like the soup! My dad is quite the fan too. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, it's always lovely to hear when families enjoy a recipe 🙂