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Homemade Bone Broth
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Homemade Bone Broth

Homemade Bone Broth

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Learn how to make homemade bone broth with all of my top tips and tricks! This easy recipe is a simple combination of wholesome, nutritious ingredients. It’s freezer-friendly and great for using in a variety of recipes, from soups, sauces and gravies to casseroles and rice.

Overhead shot of bone growth in a pot with a ladle.

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Filled with Nutrients: Not only does bone broth taste warm, cozy and delicious, but it’s incredibly nourishing. It’s a great source of vitamins, minerals, collagen and amino acids.
  • Easy and Affordable: The cost of store-bought bone broth comes with a hefty price! Luckily, making it at home is really quite easy and won’t break the bank.
  • So Many Uses: Replace chicken broth or chicken stock in any recipe for an extra boost of flavor and nutrition. I love to use homemade bone broth as a base for soups and stews, or sipped on its own as a comforting, nutrient-rich beverage.

Ingredients for Homemade Bone Broth

Making homemade bone broth is a great way to maximize using up veggies in the fridge, food scraps and even leftover bones. Make a big batch of it and keep it stocked in the freezer to add to various recipes that call for chicken broth or stock, or simply to sip on for restorative purposes.

  • Whole Chicken Carcasses: You’ll need 1-2 whole chicken carcasses. Alternatively, you could use 2 pounds beef or pork marrow bones to make this recipe. Leftover bones work too!
  • Apple Cider Vinegar: This is a very important addition, as it helps to break down the collagen making it more bioavailable and extracts nutrients and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium from the bones.
  • Vegetables: Add in an onion, celery stalks, a carrot and garlic cloves for extra vitamins and minerals and great flavor.
  • Herbs: Fresh parsley and a bay leaf provide fresh herby flavor.
  • Whole Black Peppercorns: For a warm peppery taste.
  • Kosher Salt: Enhances the flavor.
  • Water: Filtered water is best to keep the broth clear and prevent it from becoming cloudy.
Overhead shot of labeled ingredients.

Steps for Making This Bone Broth Recipe

Homemade bone broth takes a long time to make – it needs a total of 8 to 12 hours to simmer, so plan ahead. The good news is that it’s mostly all hands-off time! Plus, the long cook time is so worth it for the amazing nutritional benefits of bone broth and the rich, savory taste.

  1. Roast the Chicken Bones: Break apart the chicken carcass until you can spread it out evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast the bones at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes.
  2. Prep for Simmering: Add the roasted bones to a large stockpot. Add water to the pot until the bones are covered with 1-inch of liquid over the top. Add the vinegar and stir.
  3. Simmer: Simmer over low heat for 4-6 hours before adding the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt. Simmer for an additional 4-6 hours, for a total cooking time of 8-12 hours. Add more water as needed to keep the bones just barely covered with water. Avoid adding too much water, as this will throw off the collagen-to-water ratio.
  4. Strain: When the broth is done simmering, strain out the solids with a fine mesh strainer. Store the broth in the refrigerator in a large air-tight container overnight.
  5. Serve: Before serving or storing, skim off the solidified fat from the top. This can be saved and used as cooking fat or discarded.
Overhead sho too chicken carcass spread out on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Angle shot of someone pouring water in to a pot of bones.
Angle shot of vegetables and herbs in the pot of water and bones simmering.
Angle shot of bones and skin being filtered out of the bone broth.
Overhead shot of someone scraping the solidified fat from the top of the broth.

Tips and Variations for Homemade Bone Broth

Bone broth is a nutritional powerhouse that is packed full of vitamins, minerals, and collagen. Here are my best tips, ways you can customize it, and how to make it in an Instant Pot.

  • Adding Water: Don’t water it down too much! You want just enough water to keep the bones covered while it simmers. Too much water will throw off the collagen to water, which will reduce the nutrients of this delicious bone broth. 
  • Leftover Bones: Store leftover chicken bones in the freezer until you have enough or are ready to make a big batch of bone broth.
  • Simmer on Low: Keep the heat low! You want the broth to be barely at a simmer. If it’s bubbling at all, turn down the heat. Higher heat will break down the nutrients that make bone broth so good for you!
  • Use Other Bones: You don’t have to use chicken bones to make homemade bone broth! Use beef or pork bones, especially ones with lots of tissue and cartilage. Treat them just the same as the chicken bones in the recipe card, roasting them before using them.
  • Extra Add-Ins: Add some pigs feet, pig ears, beef shank, or chicken feet to add a lot of Gelatin to your bone broth. The cartilage in these will break down and melt as the broth simmers, adding all of that gelatinous goodness to the broth. 
  • For Flavor: If you want, you can skip the vegetables and seasonings. These are added purely to add flavor to the broth. If you omit them, it will not affect the outcome.

Overhead shot of gelatinized homemade bone broth.

Instant Pot Instructions

  1. Fill Pot: Add the roasted bones to a 6 or 8-quart instant pot. Fill with water until you reach 1 inch below the Max Fill line
  2. Pressure Cook: Close the lid and turn the valve to “sealing”.  Pressure cook on manual for 3 hours, followed by a complete natural release. Keep in mind the extra time it will take for the instant pot to come to pressure and also the time to naturally release, about 60 minutes combined. 
  3. Continue with Recipe as Written: Resume the recipe on step 4 of the recipe card.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Homemade bone broth doesn’t contain added preservatives, so it must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to preserve its freshness. Follow my instructions below for storing and freezing your homemade broth.

  • In the Refrigerator: Keep bone broth in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
  • In the Freezer: Freeze bone broth for up to 6 months. I recommend separating it into smaller portions before freezing it. 
  • Reheating: Reheat bone broth gently on the stove or in the microwave. It should not be boiled, only a low simmer so warm it up slowly.

Side shot of a mason jar with homemade bone broth in it.

Ways to Use Bone Broth

There are so many wonderful ways to use bone broth! You can conveniently use it the same way you would regular meat stocks or broths. Give it a try in some of my most loved recipes!