Description

This Instant Pot Chicken Bone Broth recipe is full of flavour, nourishing and a great staple to have on hand. It is also super easy to make thanks to the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) which cuts down the cook time significantly over traditional methods.

Ingredients

Scale

2–3 lbs or 1-1.5 kg chicken bones (see note)
2–4 cups roughly chopped onions, carrots and celery (or collected scraps)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, lightly smashed (optional)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Optional: handful fresh herbs (i.e. parsley, thyme, sage, rosemary)
Cold filtered water, to cover
Salt or seasoning (see note)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Add the chicken bones, vegetables, aromatics and apple cider vinegar to the Instant Pot. Fill with water until it just covers the bones or reaches 1 inch below the Max Fill line (whichever comes first). Be careful not to overfill – it is ok if the bones are not fully covered with water. Secure the lid and set the steam release valve to the “Sealing” position.
Press the “Soup” button (or Manual/Pressure Cook button) and set to cook for 120 minutes or 2 hours (high pressure) followed by a natural release.
Strain the broth by first using tongs to pull out all the large pieces and then pouring the rest through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl, pitcher or pot.
Cool down the strained broth quickly before storing by using an ice bath. Simply fill a sink or big bowl with ice water and place your bowl or vessel containing the strained broth into it. Alternatively, you could also add a few ice cubes directly into the broth. Quick chilling prevents bacteria from growing and your fridge heating up.
Pour into storage containers and store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months. Once cold, the chicken bone broth should be jiggly with a solid layer of fat on top. Scoop off the fat or mix back in when reheating (will turn back to liquid when reheated). Season to taste when using for added flexibility.

Optional Roasting Step: If the bones are from a cooked chicken, then just follow the steps outlined above. However, if you are using raw chicken pieces, you can either roast or sauté them first for more flavour. To roast, toss them in a bit of oil and then place on a lined baking sheet in a 400F oven for 20 minutes. To sauté, simply use the Sauté setting on the Instant Pot and stir bones in a bit of oil until browned. Just remember to deglaze the pot by pouring in 1/2 cup of water and scraping up all the bits with a wooden spoon before continuing (or you could get a Burn notice later). You can also just use raw chicken bones but roasting will enhance the flavour.

Notes

Chicken Bones: You can use the saved bones from roast chicken or purchase bones from a local farm or butcher (i.e. chicken carcasses, backs, necks, wings, and even feet if you dare). Store bones in the freezer until ready to make bone broth. I tend to use a combination of the saved carcasses from roast chicken with a few wings or chicken backs added in.
Vegetables: You can either use some fresh chopped onions, carrots and celery or you can use scraps. To use scraps, simply save the peel from carrots and ends of onions and celery in a freezer bag designated for broth.
Salt + Seasoning: I prefer to add salt and seasoning afterwards when using the broth since it provides more flexibility. I tend to season with either himalayan pink salt or Herbamare or this delicious homemade bouillon powder.
“Soup” Button: I usually use the “Soup” function on my Instant Pot when making broth/stock since this setting controls the pressure and temperature to ensure that the liquid never goes into a heavy boiling state. However, you can also simply use the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button.
Storage Tips: Portion out into various size storage containers for different uses. I like to store in mason jars and silicone molds. Wide mouthed mason jars (like these Ball 16 oz, 24 oz and 32 oz ones) with plastic storage caps are great for storing larger quantities that will be used in soups or stews. Silicone molds like muffin trays, baby food freezer storage containers and Souper Cubes are all great for freezing smaller portions to be used in a variety of recipes (freeze them on a baking sheet and then once frozen pop them out and store in a freezer bag).
Freezing In Glass Mason Jars: Prevent cracks by following these tips for freezing food in mason jars.
Special Strainer Insert: Instead of using a fine mesh sieve to strain your broth, you could also use a special insert for the Instant Pot like this mesh steamer basket. You would place it into the inner pot of the Instant Pot and then add all the ingredients into it. Once cooking is finished, you simply lift the special insert out containing all the chunky bits and will be left with strained broth.
Mine Didn’t Gel?: Don’t worry if your broth doesn’t gel up after chilling in the fridge. It just has a lower gelatin content but is still delicious and nutritious. This could be due to adding too much water or not using enough collagen rich bones. Next time, try adding in a few bones that are full of connective tissue like chicken wings, necks, backs (or feet if you are brave). I usually keep some chicken wings and backs in the freezer and add in a few with my saved carcasses from roast chicken. You can also add in some quality gelatin (I like this one) for an added boost.