A quick and easy midweek twist on a classic, this Easy Chicken Goulash is just as delicious as a traditional beef goulash but is ready in half the time!
A question I am often asked, is which of the 350+ recipes on Easy Peasy Foodie is my favourite. It’s a question I find impossible to answer – I have so many favourites!!
But there are definitely a small group of recipes that I just adore and make again and again. My Easy Hungarian Beef Goulash is one such recipe. It’s truly one of those ‘greater than the sum of its parts’ recipes.
A recipe where just a few simple ingredients are chucked in a pot, and the pot put in the oven. A few hours later something utterly magical has happened and those simple ingredients have transformed into utter deliciousness.
The only trouble with my beef goulash is that it takes 2h15 from start to finish. So definitely not one for busy weeknights (though now I’m itching to try it out in my new pressure cooker to see if I can make it much quicker!!)
So, how to make goulash in less time?
The answer is to make a chicken version. Now prior to making one myself, I’m not sure I’d ever seen a chicken goulash recipe, but I was pretty confident that it would work – I mean chicken with bacon, peppers, tomatoes, paprika and caraway sounded a pretty good idea in my head (and to my stomach!!!).
So, I gave it a whirl and it worked beautifully. I have substituted chicken thigh, in place of the stewing beef and slightly increased the caraway (as it seemed to need it) and more than halved the cooking time.
The result? All the delicious flavours of a traditional beef goulash in less than half the time!
What is goulash?
Goulash is a type of Hungarian soup or stew. It is usually made using beef (or sometimes pork or lamb) and seasoned with paprika and caraway. It’s traditionally served with noodles and is considered the national dish of Hungary.
Although it’s not traditionally made with chicken the delicious flavours of paprika and caraway work really well with chicken and means it can be ready in a much shorter time frame. A delicious Hungarian twist to chicken stew!
Other benefits of using chicken in goulash
Not only does using chicken instead of beef mean this goulash is quicker to cook, but it is also lower in calories than the beef version and cheaper too (based on current UK prices) – all together WIN WIN!
Better still, just like the beef version, this Easy Chicken Goulash is suitable for freezing. So why not make double and freeze half? That way you know you’ve got a very easy peasy homemade ready meal to eat on a super busy evening in the future.
What to serve with chicken goulash?
I like to serve this Easy Chicken Goulash with a mix of white and wild rice (you can buy it ready mixed in the supermarkets). But it’s also great with crusty bread, pasta, baked potatoes or mash. I like it with a generous dollop of sour cream on the top, but you can leave that out if you want to keep the calories down!
What to drink with chicken goulash?
I would drink a Southern French or Spanish Grenache based wine with this Easy Chicken Goulash – either red or rosé would work well. Something like a Côtes du Rhône or a Garnacha heavy Rioja would be good, although you can generally find better value if you go for a Southern French Grenache or Spanish Garnacha which doesn’t feature the big names.
If it simply must be white, then Sauvignon Blanc also works well with this type of tomatoey chicken stew as well as the paprika and peppers.
More delicious chicken recipes…
If you like this recipe you might like these other easy chicken versions of classics…
- Easy Chicken Rogan Josh
- Chicken Shish Kebabs
- Chicken Chilli Con Carne
- Easy Chicken Mole
- Easy Peasy Chicken Pie
Easy Chicken Goulash
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 1 green (bell) pepper sliced
- 1 red (bell) pepper sliced
- 90 g smoked lardons or chopped streaky bacon (I use the little packs of Tesco Finest Lardons)
- 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 800g g chicken thigh cut into bite size pieces
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve...
- Rice or pasta/mash/baked potatoes/bread
- Sour cream optional
- 2 tablespoons parsley optional
Instructions
- Put the onion, peppers and olive oil in a large saucepan and fry gently, with the lid on for 5 minutes, until the onions and peppers are softened but not brown.
- Add the lardons (or chopped streaky bacon) and turn up the heat. Fry for 3 minutes until the lardons, peppers and onions have a little colour.
- Turn down the heat and add the paprika, caraway seeds and garlic. Fry for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken, tinned tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
- Turn down the heat, put the lid on and cook for 45 minutes. Add a little splash of water if it gets too dry. Alternatively you can cook this stew in the oven. Cook at 180C (160C fan/ gas mark 4 / 350F) for the same length of time (or longer!)
- Serve with rice, sour cream and a sprinkling of parsley.
Notes
Pin Easy Chicken Goulash for later
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Corina Blum says
I think making a goulash with chicken instead of beef is a great twist on the traditional recipe and definitely something we’d enjoy. It looks really tasty! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina – it really works well! Eb x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina, it makes a really lovely change from the beef version…and much quicker – perfect for busy weeknights 😀 Eb x
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
Ooohhh, I’ve had chicken paprikash before, but never chicken goulash. This is brilliant! You had me at bacon, but this dish has a TON of wonderful, complex flavors going on. I’d definitely have mine with a dollop of sour cream: the extra calories really aren’t that bad, and the flavor is worth it! Thanks for bringing your easy chicken goulash to #cookblogshare! 😉
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Michelle! Hahaha – yep I’m in the ‘sour cream calories are worth it’ camp – it’s soooo good with goulash! Eb x
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
I do love a one pot dinner, especially one you can just bung in the oven! Defintiely going to try this one!
Eb Gargano says
Oh they are so brilliant, aren’t they? This is truly one of my faves! Eb x