Instant Pot Chicken Stock is intensely flavorful, nutrient dense, and budget friendly! Use it as a base for broth in soups, stews, and more. With just 1 extra hour of pressure cook time, it goes from delicious stock to healthy bone broth without any long simmering time.
Instant Pot chicken noodle soup or vegetable chicken noodle soup are just a few favorite ways to use homemade stock!
Table of contents
- Why Homemade Instant Pot Chicken Stock Is Healthier?
- Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Broth
- Difference Between Broth, Stock, and Bone Broth
- How to Make Bone Broth Recipe Instant Pot
- Optional Add-In’s and Variations
- Tips for Best Results
- FAQs
- What is Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth Good For?
- How to Store and Freeze Chicken Stock?
- More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Instant Pot chicken stock gives us a richer and more flavorful stock without the added sodium you would find in store bought brands. All nutrients are contained within the sealed pot plus the high pressure helps to extract all of the nutrients in a fraction of the time, add an extra hour and it goes from stock to even more nutrient dense bone broth!
Making homemade broth is effortless, budget friendly, and a great way to reduce waste by using all the leftover veggie scraps you’ve been putting aside in the freezer. No more keeping an eye on the stove, with the Instant Pot you just set and forget it for a few hours until it’s done!
Why Homemade Instant Pot Chicken Stock Is Healthier?
- Sodium levels: Store bought stock, whether cubes or in a can, can come with a lot of sodium, whether salt or MSG. We control the amounts when we make it from scratch.
- No more waste: A great way to use up veggie scraps as well as using leftover carcass from cooking a whole chicken in Instant Pot, no waste by throwing it away.
- Nutrient-dense: Good for hair, teeth, skin, gut and reduces inflammation. Drink a hot cup during the winter months to keep the sniffles away!
- Versatile: This stock has so many uses which mean the health benefits can be added to other recipes like rice for more flavor, as a base for gravies, chili, stew, and soup recipes.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Broth
- Bones: Chicken carcass or individual bones. Can use a raw chicken, rotisserie chicken, or leftovers from cooking Instant Pot frozen whole chicken.
- Veggies: Large carrots (with the greens on them, if possible), celery stalks, garlic head, and onion. I also like to use potato peels (but not potato flesh).
- Seasoning: Bay leaves, whole peppercorns, and salt.
- Water.
Veggie scraps. Have you been collecting your scraps and keeping them in the freezer? This is a great time to toss them in here for even more flavor!
Difference Between Broth, Stock, and Bone Broth
Stock: In a nutshell, the stock is essentially the base of a good broth for gravies, soups, and stews. Making a stock always involves the bones of the chicken, whereas broth is made with the meat and not necessarily the bones. A stock isn’t always seasoned but can be made with an optional mirepoix of onions, celery carrots, and bones.
Broth: A seasoned broth is used just like stock and can also be sipped on its own. It usually has a lighter consistency and weight to it as it is not simmered as long. A seasoned stock with added salt and other herbs, spices, and ingredients would then have evolved into a yummy broth.
Bone broth: This is a deeply nourishing liquid made from, you guessed it, bones! It’s made by simmering bones over a long period, sometimes up to 24 hours. Apple cider vinegar can be used to draw out the collagen which provides the protein gelatin from the bones and over time it creates a thick, almost gravy like consistency.
With the Instant Pot, these 24 hours are drastically reduced and you have delicious and healthy bone broth in just under 3 hours! It can be used for cooking, however, traditionally it has been sipped on and enjoyed for all of its nutrients and healing properties.
All three have similarities and each one has a place in our food and our bodies!
How to Make Bone Broth Recipe Instant Pot
- Add: In your 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, add all the ingredients into the pot except salt. Do not exceed the 2/3 max fill line.
- Cook: Close the lid and set vent to Sealing. Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 30-45 minutes.
Turn your homemade chicken stock into homemade bone broth. Increase the cooking time to 120 minutes.
- Pressurize: Instant Pot will take about 30 minutes to come to pressure. A bit of steam may escape out of the valve, so be careful not to get too close to it.
- Release: Let the pressure release naturally. This means don’t do anything to it until the pin drops.
- Drain: Open the lid and drain the stock into a mesh strainer over a large bowl or clean pot. Remove the meat, which should easily fall off the bone, and discard bones and veggies.
Does it need salt? Do a little taste test and season to your liking.
Optional Add-In’s and Variations
Something this healthy piggybacks on what our bodies produce and enhances its benefits. There are so many ingredients that help do this, so there is no one right way to make bone broth recipe Instant Pot!
- Vegetable stock: To make a vegetarian version, all you need to do is omit any meat. Continue with the recipe as directed, load it up with veggies and seasonings, and voila, a delicious and nutritious vegetable stock.
- Vegan bone broth: As you can imagine, there are no bones used for this version of bone broth recipe Instant Pot, but it is possible to make a vegan bone broth alternative. It’s a bit more involved than making a veggie stock as we you want to add some collagen to reap the benefits. Use tons of veggies, leafy greens, nutritional yeast, coconut oil, mushrooms, coriander, and turmeric.
- Apple cider vinegar: Adding some apple cider vinegar helps to extract the collagen from any bones used.
- Seasonings: Thyme, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, or spices like cayenne, or turmeric.
- Beef stock: Swap the chicken bones for beef bones and use this recipe for beef stock.
Tips for Best Results
- Waste not: Use what you have. You don’t have to chop veggies – I just used what I had and threw them in.
- High-quality bones: The higher quality of the bones, the more nutrients they contain. This means bones from organic, grass fed, free range/run chicken. It’s not a must, you can definitely make it with non organic chicken bones, but it’s a bonus.
- See the light: Use bones with dark meat. This will increase the flavor.
- Convenience: If your vegetable scraps and the chicken carcass is frozen, no need to thaw anything ahead of time.
- Grandma’s recipe: Everything is eyeballed and to taste. This recipe is foolproof in that there is no exact science to the amounts. You just have to know what you like!
- Color: Each stock will have a different appearance. This will depend on what veggies you add.
- Roast the bones: If you have the time or desire to add a little bit of a deeper color to your stock, roast the bones ahead of time.
- Use only meat: You can use boneless chicken thighs or breasts to make broth instead. I often use what is left from cutting a whole chicken.
FAQs
You want to make sure to cool your chicken stock before putting it in the fridge for storage. A big batch of Instant Pot stock will take a while to cool off, but if you have time to wait it out, you can cool it down and then portion it out. Otherwise, you can wait until it cools slightly, portion it out into mason jars and leave uncovered until cooled. Then, cover and refrigerate.
Using a large spoon or small mesh strainer, gently skim the top of the liquid where the noticeable fat has collected. Do this one stroke at a time and discard the fat each time.
You’ll know when you’re able to taste it at the end and decide how much you want to add. I don’t add salt initially because there is so much flavor already. I like to taste it at the end and then decide which is great for those who want a no sodium added broth.
It is quality over quantity, but I’d say about 3 lbs in total unless you’re also using the meat. Then it will probably be fewer pounds in just bones.
While most vegetable scraps can be used, there are a few that could result in bitter stock. That includes cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. Beets, while they can be used, will add an interesting color, save those for Instant Pot borscht instead.
What is Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth Good For?
Other than the many soups and stews mentioned throughout the post, here are just a few of the ways in which bone broth is good for us:
- Gut healing, our digestive system is our second brain!
- Anti-inflammatory properties which are great for joints, bones, and skin.
- Vitamins and minerals like calcium and magnesium.
Substitute Instant Pot chicken broth in any recipe that calls for water to add additional flavor! You can also use it for oil free cooking when sauteing vegetables or chicken in skillet meal recipes.
How to Store and Freeze Chicken Stock?
Storing: Chicken stock in an Instant Pot is perfect to make in big batches. It can be stored in jars or silicone resealable gallon size bags for up to 7 days in the fridge.
Freeze: Can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months in a freezer-friendly container, leaving room for expansion.
Reheating: You can reheat the stock on the stovetop. You want to thaw in the fridge overnight or simmer on low heat in a pot while covered.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Instant Pot Chicken Stock {Bone Broth}
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken carcass, bones and wings raw or rotisserie
- 2 large carrots scrubbed and with greens if possible
- 1 large onion peel on, halved
- 1 head of garlic halved
- 2 large celery stalks
- 1 cup veggies scraps like potato peels
- 5 bay leaves
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 10-12 cups cold water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, add chicken bones, carrots, onion, garlic, celery, veggie scraps, bay leaves, peppercorns and cold water not exceeding 2/3 PC Max line.
- Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual: for chicken stock – for 30 to 45 minutes, for chicken bone broth – for 120 minutes. After the stock/broth is ready, let pressure come down on its own until the pin drops down.
- Open the lid and first discard the vegetables with a mesh strainer. Then remove chicken and bones onto a large plate, let them cool down and remove meat from the bones. Season stock with salt to taste, and then drain through a fine mesh strainer.
- Add meat back in or use in other meals. Use stock or broth for making soups or drink hot with fresh herbs and freshly cracked pepper.
Notes
- Store: Let cool completely and refrigerate in Mason jars or resealable silicone bags for up to 7 days.
- Freeze: Let cool completely, transfer to Mason jars or resealable silicone bags (leaving some room for expansion) for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or simmer in a covered pot on low heat.
- Waste not: Use what you have. You don’t have to chop veggies – I just used what I had.
- See the light: Use bones with dark meat. This will increase the flavour.
- Convenience: Freeze veggie scraps and chicken carcasses. No need to thaw anything ahead of time.
- Grandma’s recipe: Everything is eyeballed and to taste. This recipe is foolproof in that there is no exact science to the amounts. You just have to know what you like!
- Colour: Each stock will have a different appearance. This will depend on what veggies you add.
- Roast the bones: If you have the time or desire to add a little bit of a deeper colour to your stock, roast the bones ahead of time.
- Use only meat: You can use boneless chicken thighs or breasts to make broth.
- Optional variations:
- Vegetable stock: To make a vegetarian version, all you need to do is omit any meat. Continue with the recipe as directed, load it up with veggies and seasonings, and voila, a delicious and nutritious vegetable stock.
- Vegan bone broth: As you can imagine, there are no bones used for this version of bone broth recipe Instant Pot, but it is possible to make a vegan bone broth alternative. It’s a bit more involved than making a veggie stock as we you want to add some collagen to reap the benefits. Use tons of veggies, leafy greens, nutritional yeast, coconut oil, mushrooms, coriander, and turmeric.
- Apple cider vinegar: Adding some apple cider vinegar helps to extract the collagen from any bones used.
- Seasonings: Thyme, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, or spices like cayenne, or turmeric.
- Beef stock: Swap the chicken bones for beef bones and use this recipe.
Can this chicken broth be canned with pressure cooker?
Sorry that has not been tested.
Made the most GORGEOUS bone broth after using your Whole IP Chicken from Frozen recipe. I can wait to make chicken and rice soup with this liquid gold!
That’s awesome! Love that liquid gold 🙂
I love when things don’t go to waste, this is perfect!
Yeah!