Name: Polish-Style Chicken Goulash
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1½ pounds chicken thighs (skinless, boneless, approx. 5); 1 large onion (sliced); 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped); 1 small red bell pepper (or ½ large, deseeded, chopped); 1 small green bell pepper (or ½ large, deseeded, chopped); 8.82 ounces mushrooms (halved/quartered and cut into slices); 2 medium carrots (cut into rounds); 1 bay leaf; 2 allspice berries; 1½ tablespoons tomato paste; 3 teaspoons sweet paprika (or combined with hot); ⅔ teaspoon thyme; 2½ tablespoons oil (any); 1 tablespoon butter; 1 tablespoon flour; 1 cup stock (vegetable or chicken); Salt and pepper to taste; *Optional: 1 teaspoon Polish ground spice mix called ‘pieprz ziołowy’. (See *Notes)

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This chicken goulash is a Hungarian-inspired Polish dish made using chicken thighs and simple vegetables cooked in a paprika spiced gravy for a quick and delicious meal. The post also includes tips for making this recipe using chicken breast.

Top down view of chicken goulash in large shallow white pan.

Chicken goulash, 'gulasz z kurczaka' in Polish (pron.'GOO-lahsh s koor-CHAH-kah'), is an easy, flavourful dish popular in Polish homes. Although the word 'gulasz' in Polish cooking refers to any stew-style dish (such as pork goulash) this chicken gulasz recipe is inspired by Hungarian cuisine (as is letcho, another popular dish in Poland). Made with peppers, paprika and tomato paste it's a delicious way to serve chicken.

Thanks to my easy method this goulash with chicken also comes together quickly. I used chopped boneless chicken thighs which only need about 30 minutes of cooking (whole chicken thighs with the bone would need longer). And if you prepare the chicken in advance you can make the entire dish in just over 30 minutes!

Chicken goulash ingredients and substitutions

Ingredients for Polish chicken goulash in individual dishes. — Chicken goulash ingredients.

Chicken: I used chicken thighs, but chicken legs or drumsticks are also suitable. If you prefer to use chicken breast see my easy tips at the bottom of the post.
Peppers: I used red and green bell peppers, but you can use any.
Mushrooms.
Carrots.
Onion.
Garlic.
Tomato paste.
Paprika: You can use just mild paprika or combine it with a bit of hot (or red pepper flakes, instead).
Thyme: other herbs sometimes also used include marjoram, oregano or chervil. You can use your favourite a herb mix.
Bay leaf and allspice berries: frequently used in traditional Polish dishes.
Stock: either chicken or vegetable.
Oil: you can use any.
Butter.
Flour.
Salt and pepper: add to taste.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1. Prepare chicken: Place the chicken in a bowl, add the thyme, 1 teaspoon of paprika and season lightly with salt and pepper. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil and stir thoroughly.

TIP: You can prepare the chicken the night before, cover, refrigerate and use the following day.

Chicken pieces with spices in glass bowl.

2. Sear chicken: Heat about ½ tablespoon of oil, add the chicken and cook for about 2 minutes on each side over a medium heat. Transfer the chicken to a bowl leaving the juices in the pan.

Seared pieces of chicken in large, white dish.

3. Sautee onion: To the same pan add the bay leaf, allspice berries and onion and cook over a low/med. heat for 3-4 minutes until the onion is softened stirring often. Towards the end stir in the garlic.

TIP: Do not brown the onion (so it stays sweet).

Sliced onion and bay leaf in large, shallow pan.

4. Cook chicken: Return the chicken to the pan (along with the juices), add the stock, the rest of the paprika, cover and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Pieces of chicken with onion and paprika in white pan.

Pieces of chicken in gravy with paprika in large white pan.

5. Cook mushrooms: In the meantime, prepare the mushrooms. In a non-stick pan heat 1 tablespoon of oil, add the mushrooms and cook over a fairly high heat (this is important!) for 6-8 minutes until they start to change colour. Do not add salt and keep stirring to the minimum (so the mushrooms don't release too much moisture). Add the butter and flour and stir until the flour is no longer visible. Remove from the heat.

6. Add vegetables: To your chicken goulash mixture add the mushrooms, peppers and carrots. Stir thoroughly, cover and bring to the boil again, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally (making sure the chicken doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan). Stir in the tomato paste, remove from the heat, adjust the seasoning if needed and serve.

Chopped vegetables and mushrooms in large white pan.

Cooking chicken gulasz with vegetables in white, shallow pan.

*Scroll down to the bottom of the post for a full, prinatable list of ingredients and instructions.

Serving suggestions

For a Polish-style meal serve this easy chicken thigh goulash with boiled potatoes, buckwheat or another type of kasha, such as barley, using fresh parsley as garnish (and optionally, a little dill). It goes exceptionally well with all manner of Polish dumplings, including kopytka or kluski śląskie, as well as crispy potato pancakes. Alternatively enjoy with French-style crusty bread.

How to make this recipe using chicken breast

For me dark chicken meat works best in this recipe (and stews in general) as it has more flavour than chicken breast and eliminates the risk of eating overcooked, tough chicken (which can easily happen when using white chicken meat). However, if you prefer to use chicken breast follow these steps:

1) Cut the chicken into chunks, coat in herbs and oil as in Step 1 (see my chicken pasta for more tips) then sear as in Step 2 above.

2) Cook the onion and garlic as in Step 3 then remove from the heat. Omit Step 4 and continue to Step 5.

3) To the onion add the peppers, carrots, mushrooms, remaining paprika and stock. Cover and bring to the boil then cook gently for 10 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan and continue cooking for about 5 minutes (or less, depending on the size of your chicken pieces). Remove from the heat, add the tomato paste and serve.

Top tips

Use any boneless dark chicken meat, including chicken thighs, legs or even drumsticks. I like to remove any loose pieces of fat from the meat before using, but you don't have to.
If you prefer to use chicken with the bone you will need to increase cooking time by about 15 minutes (Step 4). If you want to use pork, instead, cook it for an hour before adding the vegetables.
To save time you can prepare the chicken the night before.
To clean the mushrooms wipe them gently with a paper towel. Do not rinse.
Don't add more stock than the recommended amount as the vegetables will release a lot of moisture as they cook. Once the dish is fully cooked you can add a splash more (adding too much might make the gravy too thin).
This chicken vegetable goulash can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Freeze for up to 3 months.

Side view of Polish chicken vegetable goulash stew in shallow, white pan.

See also these other easy, delicious chicken recipes as well as more Polish dishes.

Recipe

Keep in touch!

If you make this Polish chicken goulash I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks:)