Ahh, Hungarian Chicken Vegetable Soup 🥣 — hearty, cozy, and full of paprika warmth. Here’s a classic, home-style version (the kind Hungarian grandmas approve of).
Hungarian Chicken Vegetable Soup (Csirkeleves zöldségekkel)
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (or ~1.5 kg / 3 lb bone-in chicken pieces)
- 2–3 carrots, sliced
- 2 parsnips, sliced
- 1 celery root (or 2 celery stalks), chopped
- 1 small kohlrabi, cubed (optional but very Hungarian)
- 1 onion, halved (leave the skin on for color)
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 small tomato or 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 green Hungarian wax pepper or bell pepper, whole
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika (don’t skip!)
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Optional: soup noodles (csipetke, egg noodles, or thin vermicelli)
Instructions
- Start the broth
Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with cold water (about 3–4 liters). Slowly bring to a gentle simmer. - Skim & season
Skim off any foam. Add peppercorns, garlic, onion, tomato, and pepper. Lightly salt. - Low and slow
Simmer gently (never boiling hard!) for about 60–90 minutes until the chicken is tender. - Add vegetables
Add carrots, parsnips, celery root, and kohlrabi. Simmer another 25–30 minutes. - Paprika moment
Remove a ladle of hot broth, stir in the paprika, then return it to the pot (this keeps it from turning bitter). - Optional noodles
Add noodles and cook just until tender. - Finish
Taste for salt. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
How it’s traditionally served
- Clear broth first (with noodles and veggies)
- Chicken on the side with horseradish or paprika salt
- Leftovers = even better the next day 😌
If you want:
- a Sunday feast version
- a pressure cooker / Instant Pot method
- or a modern, lighter twist
just say the word 🍲
