Paprikash-Style Chicken And Dumplings Soup Recipe

One of my favorite lunch spots in Cleveland serves the best chicken paprikash soup. It's layered with all the bold spices of the traditional Hungarian dish, packed with tender, pulled chicken, and dotted with big, buttery beans. It's both a spot-on tribute to a traditional Hungarian paprikash and completely different, and absolutely perfect alongside a salad or sandwich during lunch. It's also the soup that came to mind first when developing a paprikash-style soup — except instead of the beans, I swapped in a silky, buttery dumpling, instead.

Chicken and dumpling soups come in many shapes and forms. Many are made with biscuit-like dumplings that cook on top of the broth, while others are made with pillowy squares of dough that cook more like noodles. In this recipe, the dumplings take the form of the latter, folding into the soup like thick noodles. To me, they best replicate the tender, buttery beans in the chicken paprikash soup I love while thickening the broth and offering a uniquely silky mouthfeel. A warming, cozy soup that combines two delicious classic dishes, this paprikash-style chicken and dumpling soup is likely to be a regular in your weekly dinner (or lunch) rotation.

Most of the ingredients used in this soup are similar to the ingredients you'll find in a traditional paprikash. For example, you'll need olive oil, chicken thighs, salt, pepper, onion, red bell pepper, garlic, chicken stock, and plenty of Hungarian paprika, which in the United States is likely to be a sweeter, more pungent version of typical paprika (which can be used interchangeably in this dish). You'll also need a can of diced tomatoes and the ingredients to make the dumplings, which include flour, baking powder, butter, and milk. Then, to thicken the soup and add to its familiar tangy flavor, you'll need both sour cream and heavy cream.

Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add it to the pot.

Brown the chicken for about 5 minutes per side.

Remove the chicken from the pot and add the onion and bell pepper. Cook to soften, for about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and tomatoes. Stir to combine and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the paprika and chicken broth, then return the chicken to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it using two forks.

While the chicken is cooking, make the dumplings. Combine the flour, baking powder, and butter in a bowl until crumbly.

Add the milk and combine until a dough forms. Form into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin to ¼-inch thickness.

Cut the dough into 1-inch by ½ inch strips resembling small, short, flat noodles.

When the chicken is removed from the broth, bring the liquid to a boil and add the dumplings one at a time.

Boil until the dumplings are soft and chewy, like thick noodles, about 10 minutes.

When the dumplings are cooked, turn the heat to medium-low and add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the sour cream and heavy cream.

Stir to combine and let simmer until the chicken warms through and the soup is thick, then serve.

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Dumplings are found in many different cuisines, and in each, come in many different shapes and sizes. In general, dumplings are understood to be pillowy combinations of flour and fat, sometimes filled with meats or veggies, while other times cooked until risen like a biscuit. Even when made flat, a dumpling differs slightly from a noodle, which is also at its core a flattened mixture of flour and liquid. With noodles, the liquid can be water or eggs, and the dough is pressed completely flat, usually by using a pasta roller that presses the dough into thin, translucent sheets. Dumplings are typically pressed by hand, usually left thicker and more doughy than a silky, thin noodle.

With the dumplings in this recipe, the line between dumpling and noodle is blurred more than usual, but the difference is still clear. The dumplings are thick and chewy, while also being slightly doughy (like a biscuit), and silky, like a noodle. It's a perfect in-between that is neither too filling nor too slight, and that complements the creamy, bold broth that it cooks in.

You've likely heard of (or used) the three main types of paprika sold in the United States: sweet, smoked, and hot. There are many, many types of paprika beyond just these three, though, and in Hungary alone, where paprika is considered the national spice, there are eight grades of paprika, each ranging from mild to pungent. Each paprika in Hungary is made from different varieties of chiles, creating a different flavor profile for each grade of paprika. In the United States, the paprika labelled as Hungarian is a sweet, mild spice that likely represents Hungary's most popular paprika, the Noble Sweet. Though each brand may make Hungarian paprika a little differently, you're likely to always find it as a sweet, mild paprika.

The paprika labelled as Hungarian that you will find in the United States is also likely the same as paprika without the Hungarian label. If you can't find a paprika specifically labelled as Hungarian, use the paprika you already have. I don't recommend using smoked or hot paprika for this soup because the flavor might be overwhelming, but if you'd like to try it, I suggest combining them with sweet paprika for the best balance of flavor.

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