This recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Stock is the easiest, most economical way to prepare chicken stock at home. Directions for how to make Instant Pot Bone Broth as well.
Turn your kitchen scraps into treasure with this simple recipe for Instant Pot Stock. Made with chicken bones, vegetable scraps, and seasonings, this stock comes together effortlessly and is more flavorful than ANYTHING you can purchase!
So the next time you have chicken bones from an Oven Roasted Rotisserie Chicken, Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken, or even bones from a Roasted Turkey, save them to make the most flavorful bone broth you have ever had!
Probably the number one ingredient I use in my kitchen is Homemade Chicken Stock.
From Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Rice to Chicken Pot Pie, to Potato Soup, I use chicken stock as the base of many meals.
I started making homemade broth decades ago, when I needed to have Gluten-Free, MSG-Free, Corn-Free, and Dairy-Free Stock.
You would think that would be easy to find at the store--well, 15 years ago it wasn't so easy! And while it is easy to find a stock that meets my dietary needs now, I still choose to make my own at home.
Why is Homemade Better?
- More Flavorful. The instant pot really develops the flavors in stock, making it much richer than store-bought stock.
- Economical. Using my frugal tip for using vegetable scraps to make this stock, it can be made essentially for free! Quality stock is at least $2.50 for 4 cups. Considering I use stock several times a week if I purchased stock solely from the store, I would quickly spend a small fortune.
- Quality Control. By making stock or bone broth at home, you know exactly what goes into your stock! No yeast extract, no msg, no caramel color, no gluten. Plus you can control the amount of sodium.
Difference between Broth, Stock, and Bone Broth
Today, I am showing you how to make both Instant Pot Chicken Stock and Instant Pot Bone Broth and the only difference between the recipes is the length of cooking time.
- Broth: A cooking liquid that has been flavored with something (like vegetables, fish, meat, etc). The broth is typically more clear and not simmered as long as stock.
- Stock: Cooking liquid simmered for a long period of time with bones. Stock is typically rich in color.
- Bone Broth: Bone broth is made with bones (which are typically roasted) and simmered for such a long time, that gelatin and trace minerals are released from the bones and the bones are able to be broken or crumble easily after cooking.
You can read more about the technical differences here.
Ingredients Needed
- Water
- Chicken Bones: Use the bones from a roasted chicken, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or even chicken wings. You can also make stock using the bones from a turkey or turkey breast. One tip: While you can use the bones from Homemade Rotisserie Chicken, but use caution and reduce the added salt if you use bones from a store-bought rotisserie chicken or your broth will be WAY too salty!
- Vegetables or Vegetable Scraps: A HUGE money-saving tip is to save the peels from carrots, ends of onions, and celery scraps and store them in a freezer-safe bag to use to make homemade stock. Just be sure to wash your vegetables well before peeling or chopping and add them to your vegetable scrap bag as you accumulate scraps. Of course, you can make this stock with fresh vegetables as well, I provide quantities for both options in the recipe card.
- Seasonings: I use bay, thyme, peppercorns, and salt to season my stock and bone broth. You can use garlic cloves, parsley, ground pepper, or rosemary as well.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Stock
- If using a metal strainer insert and place it inside the instant pot. While this makes straining the broth so easy, it is completely unnecessary.
- Place bones of leftover roasted chicken in Instant Pot or strainer.
- Place scraps of carrots, celery, onions, or full vegetables in Instant Pot or strainer.
- Season with salt and herbs.
- Cover with water. Be careful NOT to overfill Instant Pot. You do not want to fill your instant pot more than two-thirds of the way full. It is okay if the bones and stock are not fully covered.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and be sure the vent knob is pointed towards sealed.
- Cook on High Pressure for 45 minutes for chicken stock and 120 minutes on high pressure for bone broth.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the Instant Pot to release pressure naturally for AT LEAST 30 minutes, before releasing pressure manually. This is so important so your vent knob doesn't spew stock all over your kitchen and you!
- Strain the chicken stock using the strainer insert or a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.
- Cool before transferring to storage containers.
- Once cooled, refrigerate until fully cooled.
- If desired, skim off any fat with a spoon and discard.
- Store in the fridge for 7 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Ways to Use Instant Pot Chicken Stock
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Smoked Sausage and Potatoes with Green Beans
Save yourself money and make your meals taste better with this homemade instant pot stock! I hope you enjoy the taste and savings this recipe will deliver to your family!
Instant Pot Chicken Stock
Ingredients
- 1 chicken carcass or bones from roasted chicken
- 1 carrot washed and cut into quarters
- 2 large onions peeled and cut in half
- 2 stalks of celery, leaves included cut into quarters
- 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme optional
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 10 cups cold water
Instructions
- If using the strainer insert, place the insert into the inner pot of the instant pot.
- Place the chicken bones, vegetables, herbs, salt and peppercorns in the strainer or directly in the inner pot of the pressure cooker.
- Pour the water over the scraps. Feel free to add more water, but DO NOT let the water reach above two-thirds of the way full.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and be sure the vent knob is pointed towards sealed, not venting.
- Set cook time for High Pressure by hitting manual or pressure and using the plus or minus buttons to read 45 minutes for chicken stock and 120 minutes for bone broth.
- Once cook time has elapsed, let naturally release for at least 30 minutes.
- Strain stock and allow to cool slightly before transferring to containers to store.
- Once the stock has cooled and has been refrigerated, you may notice a layer of fat form on top of the stock. Simply use a spoon to skim that off the stock and discard.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Time to Get to Pressure: 20-25 minutes
- Time to Cook: 45 minutes for stock and 120 minutes for bone broth
- Time to Release Pressure: 30 minutes
- Total Time: About 2 hours for stock and 3 hours and 15 minutes for bone broth.
Nutrition
This post has been modified with new tips and a video in 2022 but was originally published in 2017.
Kristina Canale
First time chicken bone broth maker here! Was a tasty and satisfying way to deal with sickness in our household. Appreciate the recipe! Will definitely be saving for another time.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kristina! I am sorry to hear that your family is not feeling well! I hope that you are back to yourselves very soon. In the meantime, glad you enjoyed the chicken stock!
Ashley
Every time I buy a rotisserie chicken the next day I make this stock! Love this recipe and the stock is delicious. Thanks for sharing =]
Kristen Chidsey
You bet! So happy to hear this is a staple at your house, Ashley!
Jenny G
May be a silly question, but I just boiled a whole chicken (not roasted)- will that still work for this recipe? Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely! Any leftover chicken bones from cooked chicken will work well 🙂 Enjoy
Katie
Approximately what weight of bones should you use? Not using a whole carcass - wanted to use leftover chicken backs from cutting up whole chickens.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Katie! It won't weigh much, just about 1/4 of a pound or would use about 3 ounces.
Debbie
This recipe has made me love my instant pot! I have been afraid of it for years and just started using it. This recipe was SO easy and the flavor of the chicken broth was perfect! I used a rotisserie chicken so skipped the salt. Future recipes will get seasoned appropriately. Thanks so much for helping conquer my fear!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY! I am so so happy to hear you conquered your fear of the Instant Pot! I hope you find many more recipes here to enjoy!
Karen
I put my chicken bones in cheesecloth. When separating bones from meat, there is no chance of leaving a bone in your soup
Kristen Chidsey
Great tip!
Rhonda
Ive used the bones from store bought rotisseries and never had an over salted issue. If someone is concerned about that just Omit the 1 tbsp that is in the recipe
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing Rhonda!
Lori
Thank you for sharing! Have you ever tried this using a frozen carcass/bones? If so, did you add any time?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Lori! It will work great, no need to change the timing, it will just take longer to come to pressure. Enjoy!
Gerry
Chicken stock vs. bone broth? If I’m using the leftovers from a rotisserie chicken, can I assume it’s chicken stock?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Gerry! Stock is made from bones, while broth is made mostly from meat or vegetables. Bone broth is stock that is cooked longer.
Leslie
If you use fresh veggies, do you have to throw all of that away?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Leslie! You certainly can eat them, but they will be pretty mushy and all the nutrients will have been leached out into the broth, so they don't hold much nutritional value.
Kaitlyn
This recipe has become instantly (haha see what I did there) a family favourite! I add some all spice berries, about 6 to 10 whole (Jamaican Pimento) to add that touch of fragrant warmth (I call it my hug seasoning). I used the carcases from two grocery store rotisserie chickens, including some of the skin, and use only half the amount of salt the recipe calls for, to offset the salt from the skin.
This is THE BEST way to fully use up all of the scraps from the chicken dinner the night before! I save my peels all week and keep them in a container in the freezer. I've saved so much food from going to the bin, and with grocery prices soaring, I couldn't feel better using this recipe that literally uses scraps to turn into amazing broth!
I'll add, while we had covid, this was the only thing we could stomach, and satisfied us to the point of feeling full and nourished. We credit it, and share the recipe with anyone we know who's come down with any bug. It's miracle bone broth! Thanks so much!
Kristen Chidsey
Aww, I am so glad to hear this helped you on your road to recovery!! And I love that this is helping you save money as well! Thanks for sharing, Kaitlyn!
Jamie
Can you use leftover broth from a roast instead of water?
Kristen Chidsey
I would think that would add flavor, but if overly salted, you will want to cut out the added salt.
Sarah
I typically get a double batch of veggies. The first batch gets cooked the longest and is typically tasteless. The second batch goes in at almost the end to have yummy veggies in my stock (or bone broth). I have done this before on the stove. I’m trying it out in the instapot for the first time. I made do the second batch of veggies on the stove or in the microwave.
Tracey
Leslie, I keep a bread bag (or use a plastic container) to hold my daily vegetable trimmings. When it's full, I make a batch of broth. You can strain it and throw away the scraps with no guilt. I then freeze the broth in 8 oz containers for when I need it. I love using it for rice as well as for all my recipes that call for stock.