Today I am showing you how to make chicken bone broth, a nutrient dense super food, and you can make it in the slow cooker, or my recent favorite – the Instant Pot (Amazon affiliate).
I sometimes call this chicken stock, even though using the two interchangeably is not completely accurate. Bone broth cooks the bones very long, until they become soft. Here is a great article that explains the difference, in case you are curious.
How to make chicken bone broth
First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
To make chicken bone broth you will need the following:
- chicken bones (I use the bones from roasted chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken)
- water
- apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper
- bay leaf
- other aromatic veggie scraps – onions, celery garlic, carrot
Keeping a scrap bag in the freezer
The cool thing about chicken bone broth is that is a food that can be made from things that you normally throw away. You could store chicken bones in an airtight container in the freezer until you are ready to make it.
Heck, I even save the ends of my veggies (carrots, celery, onions, garlic, already used bay leaves). Talk about frugal! Those all can also be saved in the freezer in a freezer bag.
Cooking the chicken bone broth
Place all ingredients in a slow cooker, instant pot or in a stick pot on the stovetop, and fill with water.
For the slow cooker, cook on low for at least 12 hours, up to 24 hours.
In the Instant Pot, cook for 120 minutes on high pressure.
For the stovetop, after bringing to a boil, reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for no less than 5 hours. (Note: For the stovetop method, you will likely need to add/ use more water as evaporation is much more of a factor.)
Once the cooking time is complete, use a strainer to separate the liquids from the solids.
How to Use Chicken Bone Broth
As for uses? When I am sick, I will drink a little bit warmed up, just straight out of a mug. It is actually pretty tasty, warm and comforting all by itself, if you ask me.
I use is to cook veggies in, like green beans, peas or lima beans. You can also use bone broths as the base for many sauces or gravies.
I also love to use it as a base for homemade chicken noodle soup. Chicken bone broth is a great base for many soups, actually.
Soup Recipes to Use Chicken Bone Broth
You may enjoy some of these recipes. They are some of my family’s favorites. You can make them with your chicken bone broth!🙌🏻 Some of them are Instant Pot recipes, some slow cooker and some are made on the stovetop.
- Chicken noodle soup from scratch
- Chicken tortilla soup in the slow cooker
- Chicken and corn chowder
- Turkey vegetable soup
- Lemon chicken orzo soup
- Slow cooker black bean soup (use in place of the vegetable stock)
- Instant Pot white chicken chili
- Ham and 15 bean soup (slow cooker or Instant Pot)
- Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup
- Broccoli cheese soup
- Instant Pot black bean soup (use in place of veggie stock listed in the recipe)
- Healthy lasagna soup (Instant Pot and stovetop instructions included)
- Pasta e fagioli soup (Instant Pot or stovetop instructions included)
- Irish potato leek soup (Instant Pot or stovetop instructions included)
- Instant Pot chicken and rice
Chicken Bone Broth FAQ’s
For about a week in the refrigerator.
As far as I can tell, yes. What makes it “bone broth” is the high levels of collagen. This is indicated by a gel-like texture once it is refrigerated. Mine gels every time I make it. Your bones-to-water ratio will determine how much collagen you get. For thicker stock, use less water or more bones.
If you are a stickler for the length of time, use the slow cooker method, provided in the recipe card. Either way works!
Yes! You can use any liquid that comes out from roasting that as well, as well as any skin, or any other part.
Yes. I often remove any leftover meat and set it aside. That being said, if you don’t plan on consuming the meat left on the bones, you can just go ahead and leave it on there.
I am not a medical or nutritional professional, and I do not pretend to be one on the internet. However, there are many potential health benefits reported to consuming bone broth.
They are both chicken broth by definition. However, chicken bone broth refers to a cooking process that extract the maximum nutrition, collagen, etc. out of the bones. This requires longer/ more cook time. Regular chicken broth can be made a bit quicker and will likely have less dense nutrition in the final product.
I do not find this necessary, especially if I am using the bones from an already-roasted chicken.
Yes! I have never used chicken feet, but they are said to be highest in collagen, and they make great chicken bone broth. We have been happy with the results we have using bones from a whole roasted chicken.
We have a reverse osmosis, so I use that for all of our cooking liquids. That being said, use the water that is available to you. Filtering is not a requirement.
Tools You Will Need to Make Bone Broth
Note: These are Amazon affiliate links.
- A large stock pot, or slow cooker, or Instant Pot (my personal favorite)
- A mesh strainer
to separate the liquid from the solid bits
- Storage containers – I recommend glass to store the broth, like these mason jars
(Do not use these to freeze! They may crack.)
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Chicken Bone Broth
Ingredients
- Bones from a whole chicken (I used the carcass of a store bought rotisserie chicken)
- 2 stalks of celery roughly chopped
- 2 large carrots roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic smashed and peeled
- 1 onion quartered
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Fresh herbs (optional – I used parsley and thyme from the garden)
- salt and pepper to taste
- inches Cold water covering the chicken carcass by about 3-4
- 2 leaves bay (optional)
Instructions
STOVETOP
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Place the chicken bones into a 12-quart stock pot, and cover with water. In the Instant Pot, do not exceed about 2/3 full.
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Add the veggies, herbs and apple cider vinegar.
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Bring to a low boil.
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Reduce heat to the lowest setting.
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Partially cover, and simmer for at least 5 hours. You can cook it longer, but I would say no less than 5 hours. The longer the better!
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Strain and store in the refrigerator.
INSTANT POT
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Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot, and add water until it is about 2/3 full.
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Place the lid on, lock it, seal the vent.
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Use the manual setting to cook for 120 minutes.
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Use the quick release valve when time is up, or feel free to let it release naturally. Both ways work!
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After releasing pressure, remove the lid, and use a strainer to separate the liquids from the solids.
SLOW COOKER
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Place all ingredients in a slow cooker, and fill with water.
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Cook on low for at least 12 hours, up to 24 hours.
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Use a strainer to separate the liquids from the solids.
Have you ever made bone broth?
Are there any additional uses for bone broth that I didn’t mention?
This post may contain affiliate links, which pay a referral fee to me at no additional cost to you. My full affiliate disclosure can be seen here.
littlemeadow says
Thanks for the information and recipe. You said, “That being said, if you don’t plan on consuming the meat left on the bones, you can just go ahead and leave it on there.” Why can’t someone who plans on eating the meat just leave the meat on the bones when cooking the bone broth?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
You definitely could. The meat will just become very soft and overcooked. I remove the meat just so it will taste better. But it’s up to you, if you want to try it.
Fritzie says
While many people swear by homemade chicken soup made with real broth, to fight a cold, I have discovered 2 other important uses for it. When my kids were babies they loved to eat the cold broth in its gelled form. My little girl would literally shake with anticipation when she saw it and open her mouth like a ravenous baby bird. As a source of protein and calcium among other things, it was a no brainer as one of the first foods I fed her. Now she is pregnant–puking and not even able to consider most foods–the exception is homemade long simmered broth. This is reassuring to her partner who was stressing about her health and that of the baby due to her inability to eat almost anything some days. I am sending jars of broth to her at a steady rate. On good days she adds vegetables and noodles–maybe even some meat. When she is feeling crappy she eats broth all day.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I hope she gets to feeling better soon!💖
Rita Heinz says
I used organic chicken leg bones that I had been accumulating in the freezer for months. I cooked the bone broth a really long time, 8 hrs one day, refrigerated overnight, 8 hrs the next day. It tastes really good, but all of that connective tissue dissolved and the ends of the bones crumbled leaving bits of bone in the broth. Good news is, those bits of bone fell to the bottom of the containers when I let it sit over night in the fridge. As long as I don’t scrape the bottom of the container, it’s deliciously usable. Lesson: Don’t simmer chicken bones more than 8 hrs.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Rita! I would recommend getting a fine mesh strainer. Keep cooking it as long as you want. It gets better that way, and the strainer will pull out all the bits.👌🏻 Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback!
Julie says
HI i bought a precooked rotissere chicken, i plan to follow this recipe using the insta pot. do i still cook for 120 minutes if the chick is already cooked and deboned? or are these instructions for a raw chicken? Thanks
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Julie! We eat the meat off the chicken first, and we just use the bones, skin, and any leftovers to make the stock. Enjoy!
Jennifer B says
Is 7 carbs a lot for this? Where do the carbs come from?
Erin Doherty says
and 3g of sugar…curious to ask you calculate the nutritional info too – would love any tips/resources on how to do that!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I calculate it using a plugin on my site. After reviewing it, I think it is calculating it as if you are eating the vegetables (carrots, celery, onion), whereas in reality we are straining them out and not eating them. That would cause this to be a little bit “off.” (Hence the sugar amount in the nutrition facts). I will go in and see if I can tweak it to not include that in the nutrition calculation. That should make it more accurate. Thanks for letting me know!
Jordan says
I am planning on using a rotisserie chicken for this recipe, can I include the coagulated liquids that are in the bottom of my container?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Great question, Jordan. Absolutely, yes, dump that stuff in to your pot when you make the bone broth. It has lots of that wonderful collagen.
Teabug says
excellent recipe! that should take care of that nasty cold that’s going around. to answer your question, yes, i’ve made bone broth for years, having learned from home. dad makes it out of fish heads, whole pepper, bay leaves and leek. doesn’t sound (or look) very appetizing, but it’s a great, eco-friendly way to get healthy fat, vitamins and protein. i use chicken bone like you, but never from a rotisserie chicken before. don’t they have a lot of sodium? i put in dried and powdered celeriac leaves, leek and onions, indeed all kinds of iron and vitamin c rich vegetables. i can never go 100% vegan as i quickly become anemic, so i compromise by eating locally farmed/caught chicken and fish. can’t wait to try your other recipes. ❤
Chris says
Out of curiosity, what is the purpose of the apple cider vinegar? Flavor?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Chris. The ACV helps draw out more collagen from the bones, giving the broth more nutrition and a richer flavor.
Kara says
Thus is good but I definitely recommend letting it sit way longer than 5 hours. I let it simmer for 7 and this doesn’t give the rich flavor you may want. It is good though. I ended up adding extra garlic.
Kenneth Norman says
Has anyone tried this with the carcass of a smoked chicken?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That should work fine, Kenneth, FYI.
Carolyn says
I made this for my 9 year old corgi who is having trouble with walking and going up stairs. My friend is an herbalist and said bone broth would be good for her.I used the bones from a rotisserie chicken and simmered them in my crockpot for 24 hours. The houses smells great.! I’m letting it cool and she can’t wait for dinner. I will use it like gravy over her dry food. If it helps her – I’ll be making it regularly for both of us. Stay tuned!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Carolyn! I hope she gets to feeling better.
Kit Sherman says
What happens if I forget the the apple cider vinegar?
Its already been more than 24 hours in the slow cooker and the bones are not softened.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
No problem, it will still be good! ACV simply helps get more collagen out of the bones.
ERIN JOLLEY says
just making this now stovetop! I added rosemary to the recipe. hope it works!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I hope it turns out delicious. Rosemary is so yummy! A great addition.