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!

Instant Pot Chicken Stock dished out in white bowl with herbs and peppercorns on the side.

Probably the number one ingredient I use in my kitchen is chicken stock.

From Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Rice to Chicken Pot Pie to Potato Soup, I use chicken stock as the base of endless meals.

But instead of purchasing chicken broth from the store, I have been making homemade chicken stock for decades. And using the Instant Pot makes the process so much easier.

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 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.

Ingredients Needed

Ingreidents for chicken stock on counter.

Chicken Bones: Use a chicken carcass or chicken bones of choice. Bones from a rotisserie chicken, Instant Pot whole chicken, or split chicken breasts. Feel free to swap out the chicken bones for bones from a roasted turkey as well.
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

The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Add a Metal Strainer Insert (Optional) and place it inside the instant pot. While this makes straining the broth so easy, it is completely unnecessary.
Layer Ingredients. Place chicken bones or carcass into the inner pot. Add in the vegetables (or veggie scraps) and 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.

Chicken bones, vegetables, herbs and water in the inner pot in the instant pot.

Pressure Cook. 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.
Let Pressure Release. 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!

Broth inside the inner pot before straining and after pressure cooking.

Strain. At this point, strain off the chicken stock using the strainer insert or a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.

Fine mesh strainer straining off bone broth solids over large bowl.

Storage Instructions

After straining the chicken stock, let it cool slightly, then transfer to storage containers and refrigerate overnight. Once chilled, it is completely normal for fat to solidify on top of the stock. You can skim it off with a spoon and discard or use as desired.

Refrigerate: Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
Freeze: Freeze in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. My favorite storage container for freezing Instant Pot chicken stock (or soups of any kind) are Souper Cubes. These silicone containers have four 1-cup molds that you can freeze the stock in and pop out and transfer to a large storage bag, saving space in your freezer.

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.

Ways to Use Instant Pot Chicken Stock

Use this homemade instant pot chicken stock in any recipe that calls for broth, stock, or bone broth. Below are a few of my favorite Instant Pot Recipes that call for chicken stock.

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!

This post has been modified with new tips and a video in 2023 but was originally published in 2017.

Comments