Chicken bone broth (4 different ways!)

Learn how to make this super nutritious and collagen rich chicken bone broth 4 different ways using a store bought rotisserie chicken or any leftover bones that you have on hand. You can make this recipe in the instant pot, in a manual pressure cooker on the stove top, in a stock pot or in a slow cooker! Watch the full video below.

What makes chicken bone broth so good for us?

Bone broth has been super popular lately with stores selling containers of this elixir at exorbitant prices. But why is bone broth getting so popular?

Bone broth is a nutritionally dense super food exceptionally high in collagen and works great in improving our immunity and overall health.

You must be thinking, OK that’s great. But why do we need collagen?

Collagen is the most plentiful protein in the body. It’s one of the major building blocks of bones, skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments etc. It is the glue that holds all these parts together. As we age, our bodies produce less and lower quality collagen. This is what causes our skin to become less firm as we get older.

Chicken bone broth is a great way to add good quality collagen back into our bodies. It makes a great replacement for chicken broth is most recipes. You may even enjoy sipping warm broth in a cup.

Do I need a rotisserie chicken to make this bone broth?

I love using a store bought organic rotisserie chicken for this recipe. The roasting of the chicken gives it deep flavor and enhances the taste of the broth. I also love that I can put something that I would have normally thrown away to good use, all while reaping the benefits of this amazing broth.

You don’t need a rotisserie chicken for this recipe. Feel free to use any other organic chicken bones that you have on hand. A good practice is to collect chicken bones every time you have some on hand and add them to a bag/box stored in your freezer. Once you have a big enough stash of bones, you can proceed to make this broth. If you want a richer flavor, you could season and roast the chicken bones in a 400F/200C oven for 20 minutes before proceeding to make this broth.

It is however important to buy the best quality organic chicken you can find. Since you are going to be cooking this broth for a very long time and want to extract all the nutrients from the bones, it is important that the chicken be of the best quality possible.

What do I do with the rotisserie chicken meat?

If I am not going to use up the entire chicken immediately, I shred up the the white meat and dark meat into separate bags/boxes and freeze the leftovers.

This makes it so easy to pull out portions of meat whenever I need a small amount to add to stir fries, noodles, fried rice, pastas etc. Over the years, I have used rotisserie chicken meat in countless dishes and some of these dishes taste even better than they would if I had cooked the chicken myself. It must have to do with how juicy and tender rotisserie chicken usually is!

I will soon be posting more recipes to make easy weeknight meals using leftover rotisserie chicken

Can I make this chicken bone broth without an instant pot?

In the video, I show you how to make this chicken bone broth using an instant pot. If you do have an instant pot, I highly recommend using it for this recipe as it cuts down the cook time tremendously.

Bone broth has to be cooked for many many hours over the stove top to extract all the nutrients out of the bones. Using an instant pot cuts this time down to just 2 hours since the high pressure does a great job of extracting all the nutrients.

However, you absolutely don’t need an instant pot to make this recipe. Below, I have provided instructions to make this bone broth using a stove top pressure cooker, a stock pot on the stove and a slow cooker. Use whatever you have on hand and don’t be afraid after reading the cook times. The long cooking time really does make a difference in make the richest tasting broth.

Storage instructions for this chicken bone broth

If you don’t plan on using this chicken bone broth immediately, you can portion it out into jars and refrigerate them after the broth has cooled down. The next day you will notice that the broth has gelatinized and a fat layer has formed on top. I like to scoop out the fat and discard it (or sometimes save it to make roasted potatoes) and then either return the containers back to the fridge or freeze them for future use. The broth will stay good in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 3 months.

To thaw the broth, just leave the container in the fridge overnight and use it the next day in any of your recipes calling for chicken broth.

I hope you like this recipe as much as I do. Please leave a comment below to let me know what you think and subscribe to my social media if you would like to see more easy and delicious recipes.

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Chicken bone broth (using rotisserie chicken)

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Learn how to make this super nutritious and collagen rich bone broth 4 different ways using a store bought rotisserie chicken or any leftover bones that you have on hand.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 2 hrs

Total Time 2 hrs 5 mins

Course Appetizers, Soup

Servings 8 cups

Equipment

Pressure cooker

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• bones and gelatin from leftover rotisserie chicken (or use bones from uncooked chicken, see notes)
• 1 large onion quartered
• 2 large carrots chopped roughly
• 1 stalk green onion
• 1 cup cilantro stems
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger root thickly sliced
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 bay-leaf
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• water

Instructions

 

• Put all the ingredients in the pot. If using a rotisserie chicken, make sure to scoop out all the collected gelatin in the bottom of the container. Pour enough water just so it reaches the top of the chicken bones.

Instant pot instructions:

• Select the custom option and set the timer to 2 hours on high pressure. Press start to begin cooking. When the cooking is complete, let the instant pot depressurize naturally (around 40 minutes).
• After the broth has cooled down, strain & store it in mason jars or glass containers.

Manual pressure cooker instructions:

• Set the pressure cooker on high flame until pressure builds inside it. Then reduce the flame to low to keep the cooker at high pressure and cook for 2-3 hours. After it is done cooking, let the pressure cooker depressurize naturally.
• After the broth has cooled down, strain & store it in mason jars or glass containers.

Stove top instructions:

• Set the pot on high flame until it comes up to a boil. Now reduce the flame to maintain a constant low simmer. Let the broth simmer for 8-12 hours and keep checking the water level to make sure it doesn't dry up.
• After the broth has cooled down, strain & store it in mason jars or glass containers.

Slow cooker instructions:

• Set the insert into the slow cooker and cook on low for 15 hours or overnight.
• After the broth has cooled down, strain & store it in mason jars or glass containers.

Video

Notes

1. If you are using bones from an uncooked chicken and want a richer flavor in your broth, you could season and roast the chicken bones in a 400F/200C oven for 20 minutes before proceeding to make this broth.
2. If you don't plan on using this chicken bone broth immediately, you can portion it out into jars and refrigerate them after the broth has cooled down. The next day you will notice that the broth has gelatinized and a fat layer has formed on top. I like to scoop out the fat and discard it and then either return the containers back to the fridge or freeze them for future use. The broth will stay good in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for 3 months. Freeze in ice cube trays or small containers to make it easy to pull out smaller portions when needed.

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