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Turn your kitchen scraps into treasure with this simple recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Stock! Made with chicken bones, vegetable scraps, and seasonings, this recipe comes together effortlessly and is more flavorful than ANYTHING you can purchase! Directions for how to make Instant Pot Bone Broth as well.
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
- 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.
- 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!
- Strain. At this point, strain off the chicken stock using the strainer insert or a fine mesh strainer over a 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.
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Smoked Sausage and Potatoes
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
Video
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
- Electric Pressure Cooker (6 or 8 quart) (the least expensive, most reliable model)
- Strainer for Instant Pot (makes the process so easy!)
- Stock Containers (these freezer cubes are the ultimate space saver)
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post has been modified with new tips and a video in 2023 but was originally published in 2017.
Thank you for sharing! Have you ever tried this using a frozen carcass/bones? If so, did you add any time?
Hi Lori! It will work great, no need to change the timing, it will just take longer to come to pressure. Enjoy!
Chicken stock vs. bone broth? If Iβm using the leftovers from a rotisserie chicken, can I assume itβs chicken stock?
Hi Gerry! Stock is made from bones, while broth is made mostly from meat or vegetables. Bone broth is stock that is cooked longer.
If you use fresh veggies, do you have to throw all of that away?
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.
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!
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!
Can you use leftover broth from a roast instead of water?
I would think that would add flavor, but if overly salted, you will want to cut out the added salt.
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. Iβm 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.
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.
Iβve been making stock stove top for years. Then I read this tip for using an instapot. I donβt know where I read it, but wrapping the meat and aromatics in cheesecloth is a game changer. It is so easy to clean up and produces pretty clear stock. Hope this is helpful!
Thank you for sharing!
You note to not use store rotisserie chicken as it might be too salty. My Jewel sells a No salt added rotisserie chicken. When comparing the No salt added cooked chicken sodium at 60g per serving and the uncooked whole chicken at 80g sodium per serving before you add any seasonings it seems that the No salt added cooked rotisserie chicken would be less sodium. Any reason why I could not use that?
I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how one would know what the sodium nutritional value might be for this recipe? I'm trying to find a way to get a good, somewhat low sodium chicken stock to use with risotto and other dishes I make at home. The "low salt" broths/stocks at the store are VERY high in sodium in my opinion........and I'm on a somewhat low sodium restrictive diet. Thanks.
Hi Ronald! Made with a full tablespoon of kosher salt, this recipe has 580 mg of sodium per cup--which is fairly standard. However, you can make this with half the salt (or omit altogether) for a very low sodium recipe. Half the salt would equate to 240 mg.
I made this Instant Pot stock with a rotisserie chicken carcass and so did my daughter. Neither one was too salty. The stock is delicious and inexpensive to make. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing that Sandra
Your recipe is excellent. I use it all the time. I also use it to make Turkey stock. Thanks!
I use Costco's rotisserie chicken all of the time to make my stock for canning. Have for years with no issues with flavor/salt.π€·ββοΈ
Thanks for sharing that feedback Jennifer.
I often use the bones from a rotisserie chicken. I just add water and veggies, no seasonings. This way there is not too much salt. I adjust for flavoring when I use the broth to make a soup or whatever I am using the broth for.
will the chicken bones from an insta pot whole chicken work?
Absolutely! I use my recipe for Rotisserie Chicken 90% of the time myself.