Baked Paprika Chicken

Next to this recipe comes reader favorite Juciy Garlic Chicken Thigs and Sweet & Spicy Boneless Chicken Thighs, both made with a handful of simple ingredients.

This Paprika chicken recipe should go into my ‘midweek lifesaver’ list. It’s almost unbelievable how a recipe with such simple ingredients can be so good. Smoked paprika does an incredible job of lifting flavor of the chicken. The baked chicken quarters are moist and juicy with enough pan juice to drizzle over veggies.

This recipe is different from the Hungarian Chicken Paprikash. Though both have a dominant paprika flavor, the later is more like a stew and needs a few more ingredients.

Reasons you should give this paprika chicken a try

If you have some bone-in chicken lying in the freezer, you can’t stop yourself from baking this effortless recipe with the seasoning you already have on hand.

1. Just 6 Ingredients – If I exclude Oil and Salt, you only need 6 ingredients out of which 5 are pantry staples.
2. Completely hands-off, bakes in the oven.
3. Make a big batch, meal prep half, and rest you can also freeze.
4. More like a one-pan recipe, so minimal clean up.
5. You can use any cut of chicken you have in hand.

Make it in 3 easy steps

Before we begin with the marination, make sure the chicken is close to room temperature. Pat dry the chicken well so that the marination sticks well. Mix all the ingredients for marination in a large bowl, add chicken, and coat it well.

If you have time let it rest for 1 hour in the refrigerator or if you would wish to marinade it longer then add chicken and rest of the ingredients to a zip lock bag, toss well, and refrigerate it overnight. (Note- always keep a plate/container underneath the zip lock bag to collect any dipping)

If the chicken was marinating in the refrigerator, bring it out at least 20-25 minutes before you bake. Preheat oven to 200 F. Arrange the marinated chicken in a large baking sheet. Try not to overcrowd the pan for even cooking. Bake it for 40-45 minutes until the skin is perfectly golden and the chicken is cooked through.

At the end of baking, you will see a good amount of pan juice in the tray. It’s perfect for drizzling over the side of veggies or mashed potato. You can also empty the juices to a saucepan, add another 1/4th cup of chicken stock, and stir some cornstarch slurry for a thick gravy.

If Using Boneless Chicken Breast

Chicken pieces with bone need the same amount of time to bake but if using chicken breast then to cook it moist with a golden crust you need to prep the meat like I do for my Air Fryer Chicken breast and Ranch chicken.

If the chicken breast is too thick, cut horizontally into fillets. Pound the thick part of the chicken with a rolling pin to even thickness. Bone-in chicken pieces don’t need marination but chicken breast needs at least one hour of marination for it to tenderize. Bake @200F for 12-15 minutes then once done loosely cover with aluminium foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Can I add veggies to it?

Nothing like a one-pan meal with protein and veggies in it. I have so many recipes where veggies and chicken bake together and your dinner is ready in no time.

Hard veggies like potatoes, and carrots you can add along with chicken and bake. Softer veggies like pepper, green beans, Brussels sprout, butternut squash you need to add halfway through after first 20-minutes.

How about making it in an airfryer?

If you have browsed through my Airfryer recipes, you know how much I love cooking chicken in airfryer. It cooks in half the time than traditional oven, the skin crisps up beautifully. You can make this paprika chicken in airfryer also. Airfry it for 20-25 minutes @380 F.

The only thing you will miss when cooking in the airfryer is the pan juice.

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