If you are looking for a simple bone broth recipe, I have just the one for you! Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth requires very little hands-on time and offers big rewards in terms of flavour and health benefits. Believe me, you will never buy shop bought bone broth or stock cubes again!
And if you don’t have an Instant Pot, keep on reading, I will explain how to adapt this recipe for other methods of making bone broth.
Health Benefits of Chicken Bone Broth
Chances are, if you are reading this article, you have heard of the immense benefits of consuming bone broth. Not only is it amazingly flavourful, but it contains an incredible amount of nutrients that support many things from the gut, to the immune system, to our joints.
Chicken bone broth contains collagen which turns to gelatine in the cooking process and contains many amino acids. It is these amino acids that our body needs to support so many of its functions. If you would like to find out more about the health benefits of bone broth in general, take a look at this article.
Ingredients needed to make Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth
The ingredients to this recipe are pretty simple:
- Chicken bones and cartilage
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 10 pepper corns
- 5 cloves
- Splash of apple cider vinegar or white wine
- 1 carrot (optional)
- Greens of 1 leek (optional)
- 2 sticks celery (optional)
- Herbs (optional)
Chicken Bones
I use the carcass from roast chicken, but I also keep any bones left from eating chicken drumsticks or thighs during the week. I have a bag of bones in the freezer that I add to and I use it’s contents to add to the pot when I am making bone broth.
It is important to keep all bits of cartilage, as they contain collagen, and any skin that hasn’t been eaten. Chicken skin also contains essential nutrients that are very good for you as part of a balanced diet, so don’t be afraid of using it!
Vinegar or Wine
I believe that adding vinegar or wine to your broth will help the bones to release their collagen, which is exactly what we want!
Aromatics
The aromatics that I always use in Chicken Bone Broth are onion, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns and cloves. I find that they give an amazing flavour that really elevates the bone broth.
Optional Vegetables and Herbs
I sometimes use a few vegetables and herbs to give and extra depth of flavour to the bone broth. However, there should not be too many other wise I find that the bone broth is not concentrated enough and I think some of the health benefits may be lessened.
I like to use carrot, leek (you can use the greens for bone broth instead of throwing them away) and celery also adds great flavour. I think turnip would work well too and, in terms of herbs, I like to use parsley but I would also use sage or oregano.
The key is to use what you have to hand and to use up bits of vegetables that wouldn’t normally be eaten, such as leek greens celery leaves, or even vegetable peelings if your vegetables are organic and well washed.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth
The method is really very simple.
Place all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot and pour in enough waters so that they are not quite covered. Make sure not to use too much water otherwise your broth will too diluted, will lack taste and will have fewer health benefits.
The amount of water will obviously vary depending on how many bones you have, so I can’t give you an exact measurement.
Turn your Instant Pot onto the Soup/Broth setting and set the time for 4 hours. Make sure the Keep Warm function is on. I usually set my Instant Pot to cook the bone broth overnight, so it will cook for 4 hours and then be kept warm until I am ready to strain it. This lets the broth continue cooking very gently which again helps with the flavour.
Sometimes, if I have done my broth earlier in the day, I will set it to cook for another 4 hours, especially if there is a large amount in there. With bone broth, the longer you cook it, the better it is!
When your broth has finished cooking, put a colander over a large saucepan and pour the contents of the Instant Pot into the colander to strain the broth. Make sure that your saucepan is large enough to hold all of the liquid. If it is not, do this step in two gos.
There may still be some bits in the broth, this doesn’t bother me but, if you prefer it to be completely strained, you will need to strain it again through a fine sieve.
Pour your strained bone broth into containers and leave to cool.
How Can I Make Chicken Bone Broth Without an Instant Pot?
The method remains exactly the same for whatever appliance or pot you use, however, the timings will change. Here is a list of different options:
- Dutch oven or large saucepan – cook on the stove for anywhere between 4 and 12 hours. Some people leave their broth cooking for 24 hours but I would prefer not to have anything cooking on my gas stove over night.
- Pressure cooker – I would suggest cooking for 4-6 hours once it has come up to pressure. Make sure you turn the stove right down to low once it is at pressure.
- Slow cooker – when I make bone broth in the slow cooker, I will let it cook for at least 8 hours. If you can leave it cooking for 24 hours, that would be even better.
How to Store Chicken Bone Broth
Once your bone broth is completely cooled in its containers, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I always have extra bone broth in the freezer 🙂
How to Use Chicken Bone Broth
Chicken bone broth can be drunk as it is, added to soups and stews or used to cook rice and pasta. However you use it, it will add extra flavour and make your food more nutritious.
You will notice that I do not include salt in the ingredients. This is because I prefer to salt the meals I make directly so I have no need of adding salt to the broth. If you are going to drink the bone broth on its own, you will probably need to add a pinch of salt or two to your bowl.
If you want to start making your own bone broth for health reasons, it is good to know that you should never reheat it in the microwave as this will destroy all of the nutrients present in the broth you took such care to make.
I just love making my own Chicken Bone Broth, I feel good about feeding something so nutritious and tasty to my family. I hope I have convinced you to give it a go now that you have seen how easy it it!
Pin it for later!
Let me know if you try this recipe in the comments, I love to hear from you 🙂
Are you looking for some other homemade options? Check out my Homemade Yogurt recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth and Other Methods
Ingredients
- Chicken bones and cartilage
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 10 pepper corns
- 5 cloves
- Splash of apple cider vinegar or white wine
- 1 carrot optional
- Greens of 1 leek optional
- 2 sticks celery optional
- Herbs optional
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot and pour in enough waters so that they are not quite covered. Make sure not to use too much water otherwise your broth will too diluted, will lack taste and will have fewer health benefits. The amount of water will obviously vary depending on how many bones you have, so I can’t give you an exact measurement.
- Turn your Instant Pot onto the Soup/Broth setting and set the time for 4 hours. Make sure the Keep Warm function is on. I usually set my Instant Pot to cook the bone broth overnight, so it will cook for 4 hours and then be kept warm until I am ready to strain it. This lets the broth continue cooking very gently which again helps with the flavour. Sometimes, if I have done my broth earlier in the day, I will set it to cook for another 4 hours, especially if there is a large amount in there. With bone broth, the longer you cook it, the better it is!
- When your broth has finished cooking, put a colander over a large saucepan and pour the contents of the Instant Pot into the colander to strain the broth. Make sure that your saucepan is large enough to hold all of the liquid. If it is not, do this step in two gos.
- There may still be some bits in the broth, this doesn’t bother me but, if you prefer it to be completely strained, you will need to strain it again through a fine sieve.
- Pour your strained bone broth into containers and leave to cool.
- Once your bone broth is completely cooled in its containers, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Other cooking options
- Dutch oven or large saucepan – cook on the stove for anywhere between 4 and 12 hours. Some people leave their broth cooking for 24 hours but I would prefer not to have anything cooking on my gas stove over night.
- Pressure cooker – I would suggest cooking for 4-6 hours once it has come up to pressure. Make sure you turn the stove right down to low once it is at pressure.
- Slow cooker – when I make bone broth in the slow cooker, I will let it cook for at least 8 hours. If you can leave it cooking for 24 hours, that would be even better.
Chère Sarah…merci pour tes délicieuses recettes et tes bonnes idées 💡..
.très intéressant
Merci beaucoup Bernie, je suis contente que ça te plaît!