Easy Chicken Bone Broth Recipe

Ever wondered how you could make bone broth? It couldn’t be easier than this!

Having chicken bone broth made from this easy bone broth recipe stocked in my fridge has been a really delightful addition to our daily food from scratch meals. You can replace any water or liquid in a savory recipe to add extra nutrients and depth of flavor.

Some of my favorite ways to use chicken bone broth are from scratch…

Soups
Stews
Rice
Pasta
And more!

Probably the best thing about bone broth is that it is very nutritious and can actually be gut healing! If you have followed this blog for awhile, then you know that I have had a gluten intolerance and still have rosacea which is a skin condition related to gut health.

Adding bone broth to my diet daily has made a huge impact on healing my gut and clearing the rosacea on my face. It is one of the core dietary choices of Pro Metabolic eating and can drastically affect your health for the better.

It’s so easy to make and it doesn’t cost me anything extra either because I already buy whole chickens. If you are ready to embark on the journey of making and reaping the wonderful benefits of bone broth, then read on!

What are the best bones to make bone broth?

Any bones work great, but bones with extra cartilage are the best. Some people prefer to add chicken feet to their bone broth recipe for this very reason.

You can also use…

Beef bones
Chicken bones
Turkey bones

Seriously! Any kind of bones will work. They all will vary in their flavor so choose what you like. I typically use chicken bones because they cost me nothing extra since I already buy whole chickens.

If you would like to use beef bones, call your local slaughterhouse or processing facility. They have no use for bones and may give them to you for free (as well as unrendered lard for that matter). Just make sure you have the freezer space because they will probably give you a lot at one time.

Is store bought bone broth healthy?

It can be if it is made with good quality ingredients. I have heard great things about Kettle and Fire Bone Broth although I have not used it myself. It uses filtered water and all organic ingredients. If this is unaffordable, make sure you read all the way to the bottom for my bonus tip!

This post contains affiliate links.

Is it okay to drink bone broth everyday?

Yes. Bone broth is so nutrient dense and very hydrating. You can drink it everyday, but as with most things, don’t over do it especially if you are drinking it straight.

Can you cook bone broth in a crock pot?

Absolutely! This is basically what I do with my instant pot that has a slow cook option. I find that my instant pot has more room and less likely to overflow. That’s why I prefer it over my crockpot, but they both do the same thing.

Chicken Bone Broth Recipe

What you will need:

Instant Pot or Crockpot
Strainer
Large Bowl
Jars or your preferred storage containers
Skillet
Storage container for cooked meat

Ingredients:

A whole organic chicken
Salt
Onions (or onion powder)
Garlic (or garlic powder)
2 Carrots
Filtered water
Apple cider vinegar

Roast the whole chicken.

Usually, I plan to have roasted chicken once a week or so and then make bone broth that night with the roasted bones. The chicken is seasoned with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, and butter and then roasted in the oven in a cast iron skillet at 400 degrees for 1 hour or so until it is done.

There is usually a bit of well seasoned broth in the bottom of my skillet that I like to save to make gravy or cook my rice with for extra flavor and nutrients, too.

If you are using other raw bones to make bone broth, roast them in the oven to get the best result before making broth out of them.

Debone the chicken and discard the skin.

Once the chicken is done and cooled (about an hour or so or after dinner), debone it while the chicken is still slightly warm. It is much easier this way then if you were to try to debone it after it has been cooled in the fridge. The fat gels when it has completely cooled down making it much harder to debone.

Discard the skin and set aside your bones to make broth with. You do not have to make the broth right away. You can throw the bones in the fridge if it is going to be a couple of days before you are ready to make broth (or in the freezer for longer storage).

Put the bones in an instant pot or slow cooker.

Once you are ready to make bone broth, throw the bones in your instant pot (or slow cooker). Make sure there is plenty of space so you can cover the bones with water without it spilling over while it simmers.

Add your veggies.

Cut off the head of the carrots, chop them in half, and rinse them. No need to peel them.

Peel a whole onion and cut it in half or quarter it.

Peel 3-4 cloves of garlic and smash them with the back of your knife

Add all your veggies to the pot. Typically, I use a whole onion, but opt for garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.

Choose your seasoning.

I find that bone broth made from bones that were roasted with garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, and some butter simply needs some salt and perhaps a couple veggies to make it delightful.

About 2 tablespoons of sea salt is all I add. It is usually undersalted, but I prefer it that way because I don’t know what exactly I am going to cook with the bone broth. You don’t want the salt or other flavors to be overpowering because they may not mix well with other ingredients. That’s why I keep this recipe super basic. I can always add more salt and seasoning later. The most important part is the nutrients from the bones.

Add any veggies or veggie scraps (like veggies that are starting to go bad) that you have on hand. I love the flavor that onions, garlic, and carrots add to the broth. I have thrown in a bell pepper and liked it, too, but I don’t always have those on hand.

I also add 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar mostly to break down the bones to extract the nutrients, but it does add a bit of flavor so make sure you don’t add too much.

Cover with Filtered water.

Cover everything with filtered water. It’s okay if the bones are peeking out a bit. I find that covering the bones gives me a decent amount of broth to use throughout the week without watering it down too much.

Cook on low for 12-15 hours.

Put the lid on and cook on low for 12-15 hours or overnight.

I typically use the slow cook button on my instant pot and set it for 15 hours to cook overnight. I don’t especially like the smell of bone broth cooking so doing it overnight while we are sleeping works well for us.

Strain out the bones.

In the morning whenever I am ready which is typically before the 15 hours is up, I strain the bones by placing a strainer in a large bowl and dumping everything into the strainer. Then I pour the broth into jars and let them cool for a couple of hours before putting the lids on and putting them in the fridge.

I then transfer the bones to a walmart sack and take them straight out to the garbage bin outside. They start to stink really fast so I prefer not to let them sit in the kitchen trash.

Enjoy!

You can use the bone broth as soon as you have strained it or you can keep it in the fridge for about a week or so before it goes bad.

Bonus Tip!

Gelatin powder is a great substitute for bone broth if you need some for a recipe, but don’t have any on hand. It’s basically dehydrated unseasoned bone broth and is the healthiest substitute for bullion. Just add a scoop or 1T to whatever savory dish you are making that calls for liquid.

I like to use it on the days during the week when I have run out of broth so that we are still getting the gut healing nutrients from broth almost every day.