Bone broth is a kitchen staple in this house and learning how to make bone broth at home can be a game changer for your recipes and your budget.
Why we use and make bone broth at home.
Incorporating bone broth into your diet on a regular basis has so many benefits. Not only does it significantly increase the protein content of your meals and add a deeper flavor profile, it also boosts collagen, supports digestion, helps maintain a healthy immune system, improves joint pain, and overall stiffness, and even helps support sleep. The list goes on and on!
In a recent recipe, I shared some of our favorite sources for buying store bought bone broth in a pinch, you can find that here. Now I want to share with you how to actually make it! And like with any other skill you acquire it will add to your tool box and make you feel that much more empowered in your kitchen.
What are the best bones to make bone broth?
The bones we use most often when making our bone broth at home are chicken bones from a roasted whole chicken and chicken feet bought separate from the butcher. The chicken feet totally freaked me out at first and if you are like me you might want to omit those to start. But once you gain confidence give it a try! They really to add to the mineral density and gelatin quantity in your broth.
Our second favorite are soup bones we got when we ordered a half beef for the year.
Is it cheaper to make bone broth at home?
One of the reasons why I want to teach you how to make bone broth at home is the cost savings. When planned well it can make a significant difference to your grocery bill if batching for yourself at home. (plus it is better for you.)
The easiest, most affordable why I have built this into my weekly routine in the kitchen is to stop buying cuts of chicken and sticking to buying a whole chicken to roast each week. And I use every bit of that chicken getting the most bang for my buck! Day one we roast the chicken to eat for dinner. I then scrap whatever meat is left on the bones and store in an air tight container stew or soup for dinner the following night. Lastly, all the bones go straight into the instpot or crockpot to make 2-4 quarts of bone broth depending on the size of the bird. And just like that for $15-17 I have two dinners and bone broth. 4 quarts of store bought bone broth alone would be around $24!
Do you use raw or cooked bones to make bone broth?
When teaching how to make bone broth at home I often have heard the questions of raw or roasted bones and the answer is one rule followers wont like… its both! You can certainly use either one and get a tasty nutritious result but with that said… I have had a better experience getting my bone broth to be nice and gelatinous but using roasted bones.
Can you use bone broth everyday?
The best part of learning how to make bone broth at home is that the more regularly you can incorporate it into your diet the better! I use bone broth to make soup, stew or a sweet broth hot chocolate every single day.
Now, onto the making. I have two methods for you on how to make bone broth at home. One for the crockpot and one for the instapot. Though I am not including it in this post, it can certainly be done on a stove top as well!
Crockpot Instructions:
Add the bones from one whole roasted chicken into the bottom of a crockpot. Add a few cups of vegetable scraps or 3 whole carrots, a full head of garlic, 4 celery stalks, and a sweet onion. Things do not need to be chopped but I due tend to half the onion and garlic.
Next add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinager and 1 teaspoon of salt. This helps extract moisture from the bone and minerals too. Be careful not to over salt during this step.
Lastly, add filtered water until the bones are covered (about 2 or 3 quarts) and set crockpot to high. Replace lid and let cook down for 12 or more hours. Check once in a while to make sure the water isn’t too low.
After cooking time, use a fine mesh strainer to strain off broth from scraps. Jar up and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Instapot Instructions:
Add the bones from one whole roasted chicken into the bottom of a instapot. Add a few cups of vegetable scraps or 3 whole carrots, a full head of garlic, 4 celery stalks, and a sweet onion. Things do not need to be chopped but I due tend to half the onion and garlic.
Next add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinager and 1 teaspoon of salt. This helps extract moisture from the bone and minerals too. Be careful not to over salt during this step.
Lastly, add filtered water until the bones are covered (about 2 or 3 quarts) and set instapot to pressure cook on high for 2 hours with natural release.
After cooking time, use a fine mesh strainer to strain off broth from scraps. Jar up and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Pin for Later!
Chicken Bone Broth
Bone broth is a kitchen staple in this house and learning how to make bone broth at home can be a game changer for your recipes and your budget.
Ingredients
- Bones of one whole roasted chicken
- 2 chicken feet (optional)
- 1 sweet onion
- 1 head of garlic
- 3-4 whole carrots
- 3-4 stalks of celery
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinager
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions:
- Add the bones from one whole roasted chicken into the bottom of a crockpot. Add a few cups of vegetable scraps or 3 whole carrots, a full head of garlic, 4 celery stalks, and a sweet onion. Things do not need to be chopped but I due tend to half the onion and garlic.
- Next add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinager and 1 teaspoon of salt. This helps extract moisture from the bone and minerals too. Be careful not to over salt during this step.
- Lastly, add filtered water until the bones are covered (about 2 or 3 quarts) and set crockpot to high. Replace lid and let cook down for 12 or more hours. Check once in a while to make sure the water isn't too low.
- After cooking time, use a fine mesh strainer to strain off broth from scraps. Jar up and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Instapot Instructions:
- Add the bones from one whole roasted chicken into the bottom of a instapot. Add a few cups of vegetable scraps or 3 whole carrots, a full head of garlic, 4 celery stalks, and a sweet onion. Things do not need to be chopped but I due tend to half the onion and garlic.
- Next add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinager and 1 teaspoon of salt. This helps extract moisture from the bone and minerals too. Be careful not to over salt during this step.
- Lastly, add filtered water until the bones are covered (about 2 or 3 quarts) and set instapot to pressure cook on high for 2 hours with natural release.
- After cooking time, use a fine mesh strainer to strain off broth from scraps. Jar up and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Or in the freezer for up to 3 months!
Skip to Recipe
We love bone broth in our house! Thanks for the tips. Never thought of chicken feet, I’m a little hesitant but the increased mineral quantity from them is intriguing!
I was hesitant too just at the sight of them but it does not change the taste! And they fall apart with other bones so you don’t see them long. MY broth gels every single time I use them. Game changer if you’re wanting a really gelatinous broth
Thanks for sharing how easy it is to make bone broth! Do you have any other recommendations for using extra bone broth? It seems I can’t ever use it all…
Yes! We use it to make rice, the rice then soaks up at those minerals and protein adding nutrition and flavor. Sometimes I will even boil noodles in it if I need to use some up. Bone broth hot chocolate can be delish, and then of course soup which we make a soup or stew weekly. Anything extra I freeze!
This is simple to follow and definitely something I want to have in our home considering the many health benefits of bone broth. Thanks for sharing!
That broth looks so gorgeous and full of nutrients that if I were sick I think I’d get better by looking at it. 🤣
hahaha thats hilarious! If only!
We use bone broth regularly but have never included chicken feet. I guess I’ll have to give that a try since your bone broth looks so delicious. Mine has been coming out really dark lately.
When mine goes super dark and the flavor is too strong I find I’m just cooking it down too much.
Love this! Bone broth is a staple in our house as well!
I have been looking for detailed instructions like these, thank you!
Chicken feet freaked me out at first, too! haha! but now i love adding them to soup and such, I really notice a difference when my broth is chilled. Its much more firm!
Thanks for the tip about ACV. I didn’t know to add that!
I have not made homemade bone broth in years, but this inspired me to get back to doing it again!