About every other time I go to Costco, I pick up a rotisserie chicken. It’s really easy for me to use the meat in my homemade chicken pot pie and gochujang chicken ramen, though I think my favorite part is the leftovers: I can make the absolute best Instant Pot chicken bone broth right at home! This broth is higher in protein than plain chicken stock, too. The high pressure from the Instant Pot turns the collagen in the chicken bones into protein-rich gelatin. All in a fraction of the time it normally takes over the stove!
I always have a stash of this homemade chicken stock in my freezer—it makes my favorite soups that much more delicious! And it’s basically free to make, since I use leftover veggie scraps, herbs from my garden, and water from the tap. There’s very little to it, but it makes all the difference in homemade soups.
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Ingredients for Chicken Bone Broth
I shared on my Instagram a while back that it seemed like I figured out a hack for never-ending chicken broth by simply using leftovers. And it still feels that way to me! I have not been short of chicken broth for about a year now that I’ve started making my own. It is just so simple to do with such basic ingredients!
- Bones, skin, and leftover meat from a roasted chicken. I use whatever is left on the bones of my Costco rotisserie chicken. Make sure to pour in any juices at the bottom of the bag, too!
- Vegetable scraps, like onion and garlic skins, onion tops, celery tops, and leftover carrots.
- Herbs. I use a sprig or two each of fresh sage, thyme, oregano, and rosemary from my garden, but dried herbs will do the trick, too!
- Water. Just enough to cover the ingredients in the Instant Pot. This all get turned into broth!
Quick Tips for Chicken Bone Broth in the Instant Pot
Add the bones, skin, and any leftover meat from a rotisserie chicken into the pot of an Instant Pot. If there is any juice at the bottom of the bag, pour that in, too! Next, add any leftover veggie scraps, like onion tops and skins, garlic skin, carrot peels, and celery tops.
I’ve kept a bag of vegetable scraps in my freezer for about a year now. It makes it easy to just put the cutoffs in the bag once I’m done prepping my ingredients for dinner. This helps keep the veggies fresh until I have enough to make a batch of this chicken broth.
Next, add fresh or dried herbs and seasonings, like oregano, sage, thyme, and rosemary. If you like, you can throw a few cloves of garlic in, too. (I usually don’t, but only because I already have the garlic skin in there.)
Top the pot off with a good amount of water. I usually use around 8 cups, but you can add more water, up to the max fill line, if you want more broth.
Ensure that the Instant Pot valve is set to “sealing,” and you’re ready to pressure cook! Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and cook for 2-3 hours. I used to cook my chicken bone broth for 3 hours, but I haven’t noticed a significant difference if I only cook it for 2 hours.
You can perform a manual release or allow the Instant Pot to naturally release pressure over 45 minutes to an hour. I often do the manual release if I’m making a soup later in the day.
How to Strain Chicken Bone Broth
Prepare a large glass jar over a pot holder, and place a fine mesh strainer over the top. Ladle the chicken broth over the strainer, allowing it to catch any larger pieces of meat, skin, or vegetables.
I usually get one full 64-oz jar and a little extra that fits in an 8-oz jar. You may be able to fit all the broth in one 64-oz jar if you remove the fat from the top of the jar!
After all the broth has been strained out, I like to pick up a bone and see just how easy it is to break in half. If it breaks with almost no effort, you’ve successfully made bone broth!
FAQs about Homemade Chicken Bone Broth
I always use a Costco rotisserie chicken for my chicken bone broth, but any roasted or rotisserie chicken will do the trick.
Dried herbs will work just fine! I would use ½ to 1 whole teaspoon of each dried herb you want to flavor through the chicken bone broth.
That means you made it correctly! The collagen in the bones of the chicken cooked and turned into gelatin that thickened the broth significantly with more protein.
When stored in the fridge in an airtight container, I’d recommend using this broth within 3 days if the fat cap has been broken, or within 5 days if the fat cap has not been broken. For longer term storage, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 6 months.
A long, slow cook or a short, high-pressure cook turns the collagen in the chicken bones into gelatin, which our body processes as protein. Chicken bone broth has about 8-10 grams of protein per cup, compared to traditional chicken broth with less than 1 gram.
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
As I mentioned earlier, this chicken broth makes a great base for soups like gochujang chicken ramen and easy rotisserie chicken ramen. I also have used it in my chicken burrito bowls.
I call for vegetable broth in my mushroom potato soup, but you could easily use this chicken bone broth if you wanted a little more protein per bowl!
Dish Cleanup: Piece of Cake
I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.
This chicken broth made in the Instant Pot has a cleanup rating of a 1. There’s the bowl of the Instant Pot, the lid, a strainer, and whatever containers you had your veggie scraps in. That’s it! I recommend waiting an hour or so to dump out the scraps left in the pot, but not much longer than that. The scraps can dry onto the sides of the pot and make scrubbing it clean a huge chore!
Instant Pot Chicken Broth Recipe
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Homemade Chicken Bone Broth (Instant Pot)
Chicken stock couldn't be faster or easier to make at home: This Instant Pot chicken bone broth is packed with flavor but takes less than 3 hours to make. Add vegetable scraps and herbs to make this delicious base for all your favorite soups!
Ingredients
- Roasted or rotisserie chicken carcass, with a little meat left on it
- 2-3 cups vegetable scraps (celery, carrot, onion, etc)*
- Fresh or dried herbs (garlic, sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary, etc)
- about 8 cups water
Instructions
- Place the bones, skin, and any leftover meat from a roasted or rotisserie chicken carcass in the pot of an Instant Pot. Add vegetable scraps and sprigs of any fresh herbs you have on hand (or substitute with about ½-1 teaspoon each of dried herbs).
- Add 8 cups of water to the Instant Pot. For a milder flavor, add an extra cup or two of water to the "max fill" line.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, and ensure that the steam release valve is set to sealing. Pressure cook on high for 2 hours. Once done, you can use either the natural or manual release.
- Strain the bone broth into jars and use immediately, or seal and store in the fridge.
- Optional: Before sealing, skim the fat off the top of the jar.
Notes
*So I can make broth any time I come home with a Costco rotisserie chicken, I started saving my vegetable scraps in a bag in the freezer. Once I'm done prepping a meal, I place all my vegetable scraps (onion tops and skins, carrot skins, celery tops, garlic skins, etc) in that bag, then return it to the freezer.
This rotisserie chicken bone broth will last in the fridge for up to 5 days with an intact fat cap (a layer of fat that has formed an airtight seal at the top of the broth) or up to 3 days if the fat cap has been broken. For long-term storage, freeze for up to 6 months.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 70Total Fat: 4gProtein: 9g
I’d love to see how your Instant Pot chicken bone broth turns out: Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @floralapronblog to share with me, or use the hashtag #floralapronbakes.