How to Make Chicken Stock in In the Instant Pot

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 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, it is at least $2.50 for 4 cups. Considering I use stock several times a week if I purchased stock from 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

• Broth: A cooking liquid that has been flavored with something (like vegetables, fish, meat, etc). 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, 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. 

Today, I am showing you how to make both Instant Pot Chicken Stock and Instant Pot Bone Broth.  

Ingredients Needed

• Water
• Chicken Bones: Use the bones from a roasted chicken, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, 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--DO NOT use the 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 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 to your vegetable scrap bag as you accumulate scraps. Of course, you can make this stock with fresh vegetables as well.
• 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 and Bone Broth

• If using a metal strainer insert (this makes clean-up SO much easier!), place inside instant pot.
• 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 lid on pressure cooker and be sure 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.
• Allow Instant Pot to release pressure naturally for AT LEAST 30 minutes, before releasing pressure manually.

• Strain chicken stock using strainer insert or over a large bowl using a strainer.

• 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.

Use Bone Broth to Make

• 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 Bone Broth/Chicken Stock

A recipe for the easiest, richest Chicken Stock and Bone Broth using kitchen scraps and the Instant Pot.

4.87 from 50 votes

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Pressure Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings: 12 cups

Calories: 50kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 chicken carcass or bones from roasted chicken
• ▢ 2-3 cups vegetable scraps carrot peels, onions, celery, garlic, etc
• ▢ 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

• Electric Pressure Cooker (6 or 8 quart)
• Strainer for Instant Pot

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.
• If you don't have vegetable scraps use 1 whole carrot, 1 onion that has been quartered, and 2-3 stalks of celery. 
• While you can use the bones from Homemade Rotisserie Chicken--DO NOT use the bones from a store-bought rotisserie chicken or your broth will be WAY too salty!
• Feel free to add in 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, ¼ cup fresh parsley, or 2-3 cloves of garlic as well. 
• Store in fridge for 7 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 50kcal | Sodium: 581mg | Potassium: 4mg | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 2mg

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This post has been modified with new tips and a video in 2020 but was originally published in 2017.