I always keep a stash of homemade chicken stock in my freezer for making soups, sauces, and even just sipping. Here’s everything you need to know to make it in your slow cooker, a stock pot, or Instant Pot. It smells and tastes amazing with layers of flavor that boost any recipe – you’ll never want store-bought again.
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Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe
Chicken stock is a pantry staple used in so many different ways, from deglazing a pan to making Chicken Noodle Soup. It gives an incredible richness to any recipe. I also love to ladle it into a mug, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and just drink it hot like tea. It’s so soothing. It makes me happy that my kids love to sip their bone broth the same way – it’s just so tasty!
Stock is made by cooking animal bones, extracting the bones’ nutrients and flavor into the liquid (also why it’s called chicken bone broth). It’s incredibly easy to make, and you can make bone broth from any animal bones, from Turkey Stock to beef stock, fish stock, and even veal stock.
Chicken Stock vs Chicken Broth?
You can use them interchangeably, but there is a difference between chicken stock and chicken broth. Chicken Stock is made by simmering animal bones for a long period to extract marrow and add layers of flavor. It’s richer and thicker because it contains more gelatin from the bones. Chicken broth is flavored with meat, simmers for a shorter time, and usually contains more salt.
Ingredients for Chicken Stock
Regardless of what method you choose, you’ll need the same ingredients, with varying amounts of water.
- Chicken Bones – You want the leftover chicken bones and skin – wings, drumsticks, even feet, or carcasses from 1-2 rotisserie chickens (see How to Cut a Whole Chicken). More bones yield a richer stock. If using raw bones, be sure to roast them first for a richer flavor (directions below).
- Apple cider vinegar – helps break down the bone to release nutrients. Use white vinegar or even lemon juice in a pinch.
- Seasoning – garlic, salt, and bay leaf
- Mirepoix (Vegetables) – onion, celery, and carrots – I add the celery leaves for more flavor. Some people leave the onion skins, but I like to peel the onions so the stock doesn’t get too dark. You can peel or scrub the carrots before adding them.
- Filtered water – careful to use the right amount for the chicken stock method you choose.
Pro Tip:
I always keep a Ziploc labeled “stock” in my freezer where I keep scraps and bones until I’m ready to make chicken stock.
Roasted Bones = Flavor
Start here for all methods! If bones are from a cooked chicken, skip this roasting step. If using a whole raw chicken, watch this tutorial on How to Cut a Whole Chicken.
- Roast – Arrange raw bones on a lined baking sheet. Roast at 400˚F for 20 minutes, and then add the bones and pan juices to your pot to enhance the stock’s flavor. Flavor Tip: Pour hot water over the baking pan to deglaze it, then add it to the stock to extract all the extra flavor from the pan.
Method 1: Stovetop Chicken Stock
Stovetop chicken stock is best if you want to make a double batch in a large stock pot; otherwise, it requires the most babysitting (from 6 hours or up to 15 hours for a marrow-rich bone broth)!
- Add the bones, water, vinegar and salt to an 8-quart stock pot, and bring to a boil. Skim foam and impurities off the top, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for at least 4 hours.
- Add the vegetables, garlic, and bay leaf, and simmer for another 2-11 hours, being careful not to boil, which can make the broth cloudy. Add more water as needed since it evaporates.
Method 2: Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
This is the easy set it and forget it slow cooker method (10-15 hours on low)! Start with warm or hot water to jump-start the process.
- Add bones, 12 cups of warm water, vinegar, and salt to a 6-quart slow cooker, and cook on low for 10-15 hours.
- Halfway through, add veggies, garlic, and bay leaf, and finish the timer.
(Favorite Method) Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth
The pressure cooker is the fastest way to make chicken stock (just 2 hours), and to be honest, the Instant Pot is my favorite method because it has the richest flavor and the clearest broth.
- Place all the ingredients into a 6-Qt Instant Pot or 8 Qt Instant Pot and add water up to the max fill line.
- Select the soup/broth setting or cook on manual high pressure for 2 hours, and then wait 30 minutes to naturally depressurize then carefully release pressure.
How to Know When Chicken Stock is Done?
The timing depends on what you are after and the cooking method you select. For a marrow-rich chicken bone broth, cook until you can easily break a chicken bone in half – that’s how you know the marrow nutrients are released into your stock.
How to Strain Chicken Stock
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. Once thickened the following day, scrape the fat off the top and continue to store in the fridge or freezer.
Storing Chicken Broth
Each recipe makes about 8 cups of broth, so you can easily have stock on hand.
- To Refrigerate: store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator
- Freezing: pour into freezer-safe containers and freeze up to 3 months (be sure to leave room for expansion)
- Reheating: homemade stock thickens after refrigeration, which is totally normal, but turns to liquid when heated. Use frozen or thaw in the fridge overnight. Be sure to heat it to a rolling boil before consuming.
Homemade chicken stock adds so much flavor to every dish! It’s rich and layered, boosting everything from pasta dishes to soups, and the nutritional benefits make this recipe a must-try.
Chicken Stock
Ingredients
- chicken bones and skin, from 1 large chicken or from 2 rotisserie chickens
- 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- 2 celery ribs, cut into thirds, leaves attached
- 2 carrots, peeled & halved
- 2 smashed garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf, optional, but nice
- Filtered Water, Stock Pot: 16 c., 6Qt Slow Cooker: 12 c., 6-8Qt Instant Pot: 10-12 c.
Instructions
Roast Raw Bones (for all methods):
- Roast – (Note: If using bones from a cooked rotisserie chicken, skip this step). Place bones on a lined rimmed baking sheet and roast at 400˚F for 20 minutes.
Stovetop Method (6-15 hours simmering):
- Add – Place roasted bones and any accumulated pan juices into your 8 qt stock pot. Add 16 cups (or 4 Qts) of filtered water along with 1 Tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Skim off impurities that rise to the top. Cover and simmer on low heat 4 hrs.
- Add Vegetables – Add onion, celery, carrots, 2 smashed garlic cloves, and 1 bay leaf, and continue cooking on a low simmer another 2-11 hours, depending on how marrow-rich you want your broth. Be careful not to bring it to a hard boil, or the broth will look foggy.
Slow Cooker Method (10-15 hours on low):
- Add roasted bones and any accumulated pan juices into the 6-quart Slow Cooker. Add 12 cups of warm or hot water along with 1 Tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tsp salt. Set to low heat for 10-15 hrs.
- Halfway through cooking on low heat, add onion, celery, carrots, 2 smashed garlic cloves, and 1 bay leaf and continue cooking on low. You can let it go longer if needed overnight and strain the next day.
Instant Pot Method (2 hours pressure-cooked):
- Add roasted bones and accumulated pan juices into a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, 1 Tbsp cider vinegar, and 1 tsp salt. Add water or until you reach the max fill line in the pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 2 hours. It will warm up, then cook on high pressure for 2 hours. When cooking is complete, wait 30 min to naturally depressurize, then release pressure (use an oven mitt for safety in case it sputters).
How to Strain Chicken Stock:
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a second pot, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Cool the strained stock to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate. The following day, it will thicken, and you can scrape the fat off the top (see storage instructions below).
Notes
- Refrigerate – Store the stock in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It can thicken in the fridge, but it will liquidify once heated.
- To freeze – divide the stock into freezer-safe containers, leaving room for expansion. Store frozen for up to 3 months.
- To use – thaw in the fridge overnight, or use from frozen. Be sure to heat to a rolling boil before consuming.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
So MANY Ways to Use Chicken Stock
You will really taste the difference in your cooking when you use homemade chicken stock. Try it out in these recipes:
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- Zuppa Toscana
- Chicken Stir Fry
- Clam Chowder
- Borscht
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Chicken Marsala
- Parmesan Risotto
- Split Pea Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Rice (1-pot meal)
This was perfect in the instant pot. I am used to making bone broth in my slow cooker (which is great), but being able to convert it to the instant pot was amazing. Now I can get broth made in about 3 hours from start to finish!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your good feedback with us, Liz.
I can’t wait to make it.
I love your receipts.
Thank You So! much
God Bless.
I made the instapot chicken stock yesterday and it’s awesome! I have tried making stock so many different ways. This is by far the best! Thanks for the tip about browning the bones in the oven. Super simple but makes so much extra flavour if using raw bones as I do. I couldn’t get full chicken carkas so ended up using about 6 of the lower back spine sections to the parsons nose. Lots of fat and flavour. It’s all my butcher had but worked really well. Great recipe. Thank YOU!
From Adelaide, South Australia 🙂
That’s so wonderful! Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and review, Sally. I’m happy that you really loved this recipe!
The broth came out amazing, I put the bones in the freezer 2 weeks ago and today I made it. What beautiful color.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Hi Natasha,
I’m going to try making bone broth for the first time. I’ve cooked a couple whole chickens in my Instant Pot and saved the juice. Can I do anything with this chicken juice? Do you ever add it to your bone broth?
Hi Cindy, see how we made gravy in our instant pot chicken recipe.
I have an 8 qt. IP. How much liquid should I be adding?
Hi Laura, I have only tried this in a 6-quart pot. I would recommend making sure you use what our recipe calls for + extra to make up for the minimum 8-quart requirement.
I notice a lot of broth recipes call for roasting the vegetables. Is there a particular reason you don’t ?
Hi Tom, it can deepen the flavor, but I found it isn’t necessary to do the extra step.
How would you go about canning the broth after it’s made?
Hi Courtney, I have always frozen it because it’s easier and we go through it fairly quickly. You might google search to see if there is anything special required for canning both broth.
My goodness, made it first time. Through it in the crockpot went to bed and the kitchen smell was awesome this morning. For 12 cups of water I got about 10 1/2 cups of the richest broth. Wow! Now I will try chicken pot pie soup. Thank you Natasha, love all your recipes. Don’t make them all, I live alone and limited to freezer space but love watching your videos.❤️
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Linda!
Hi Natasha, I made some chicken broth today! I chose to just boil the bones for 3 hours on medium heat. Added celery, carrots, garlic, onion, laurel leaves, cider vinegar, salt & pepper. My husband offered to taste it with garlic Tuscan bread! Oh he loved it. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!!
Fantastic! Great to hear that you both loved the recipe, thanks for sharing that with us!
Second time making this slow cooker version. First time was with a roasted chicken so, mostly carcass and no other roasting. This time I am using a whole raw chicken. I cut the chicken into pieces but, left all of the meat. I roasted it and it is now in the IP on slow cook. Now I am thinking you use just the bones after deboning and do something else with the meat. Question- am I ruining it as a bone broth by leaving all of the meat (I pick the meat off and save it for my dogs). Thanks!
Hi Diane, that should be fine if it was boiling continuously. I usually have a fair amount of meat on the bones when I start a broth, and it doesn’t harm the process. I haven’t read or seen anything that would say that wasn’t safe. Also, if you used a whole chicken and have leftover meat, you can use that to top a salad or even use it in a soup.
Hi, I only have a 3 quart instant pot. I know I have to use half the amount of water, but do I also reduce the cooking time?
Hi Ramona, generally the timings should be the same. I would keep the timings the same in this recipe.
Hello,
Do you taste the vinegar? I put a Tbl of tomato paste in mine. Would that do the same as the vinegar?
I’ve been making bone broth this way too and love the intense flavor. (When I make soup from it I add fresh carrots, celery and onion I saute and add fresh thyme. I roast the whole chicken with the veggies then cut off the breast and chop or shred it to add to soup later. It isn’t completely done. That way there is plenty of flavor and it doesn’t overcook. I add it with any noodles and it turns out perfect.) Then I add it all to the IP or a pot and simmer don’t boil , uncovered for clear broth.
I noticed the garlic cloves intensify in the IP. Anyone else notice the same?
You should not notice the vinegar at all in the finished product.
I was so excited to make this, but I think I might have messed up 🙁 So – first I followed all the instructions for instant pot, except I only had 1 chicken and I forgot to not put as much water in… does this make it weak and/ or not good? Also, I didn’t let it all the way cool off before I put it in the fridge (because it was 1am and I was exhausted LOL). Did I ruin it?! Looking at in the fridge now, it seems to not be gelling like I’d hoped for. TIA for the advice and thanks so much for posting these recipes!!
Hi, too much water for the amount of gelatin in the bones will keep it from gelatinizing when it cools. It will still taste great as a homemade broth and I would still use it in soups or any recipe that calls for chicken stock or broth.
Thank you, I drank ALL of it, it was so good! I ended up getting a little cold the day after I made this and it couldn’t have been there at a better time!! Thank you! Im back here to make more, again with 1 chicken but ill do much less water this time! Thanks, again!! 😀
I hope you’re feeling better, AD! Thank you for sharing this wonderful review with me.
Question! Can I substitute regular vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar? Thanks, I love your recipes!
HI Jenna, I always use cider vinegar but I would cut it in half if using regular white vinegar.
Hi! I cooked a whole chicken the other night along with some potatoes and veggies all together in my dutch oven. The chicken came out great but the veggies were too soggy and thus didn’t get eaten, do you think I can still use those for the broth? Maybe just toss the bones along with the additional liquid ingredients back in the same dutch oven and simmer away? Never made broth before so this is a first for me! Thank you!!
Hi Ellie, I think the veggies have probably already given everything they had to give. I would probably add some fresh veggies for better flavor in the broth.
I roast the carrots, garlic and onions before adding! This creates a lovely depth of flavor!! Don’t roast too long—it will darken the broth!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can I use roasted chicken feet for this recipe? And also wondering if I can cook for up to 24 hours?
Yes, roasted chicken will work. That should be fine if it was boiling all night continuously. I usually have a fair amount of meat on the bones when I start a broth and it doesn’t harm the process. I haven’t read or seen anything that would say that wasn’t safe.
I boiled two chicken carcasses that still had a good amount of meat on them. I boiled continuously for about 24 hours. (yes…all night) I strained and refrigerated (froze some too)Is it safe, considering there was quite a bit of meat still?
Hi Suzanne, that should be fine if it was boiling all night continuously. I usually have a fair amount of meat on the bones when I start a broth and it doesn’t harm the process. I haven’t read or seen anything that would say that wasn’t safe.
I have been doing chicken broth this way since…🤔😉
I store the leftover of the chicken in a large freezing bag and when it is full I prepare my stock .
Why the apple cider?
Hi, apple cider vinegar helps draw out the good minerals from the bones.