Easy Chicken Bone Broth Recipe in a Slow Cooker [Homemade Broth] (2024)

If you think making homemade chicken bone broth recipe in a stock pot on the stove top or high pressure Instant Potis easy, making it in a Crock-Pot is pretty much effortless.

The key to making truly delicious chicken bone broth that extracts every last bit of goodness and rich flavor from the bones is a long, slow simmer for hours on end. For that reason, the slow cooker is the perfect vessel for the job, as it keeps the broth cooking at an even temperature for a long cooking time.

The Benefits of Bone Broth

Some of the many benefits of homemade bone broth include supporting your gut and joint health, your immune system, and even your hair, skin, and nails.

The key ingredients in bone broth that contribute to these benefits are the collagen and gelatin that are released from the bones during the cooking process. Since collagen and gelatin are derived from the same sources, they have identical amino acid profiles. Most of the amino acids found in gelatin and collagen have anti-inflammatory properties, which makes them beneficial for supporting overall well-being.

Collagen is a structural protein, and the most plentiful protein in the body. It’s a building block for bones, hair, skin, and nails, and plays a role in forming animal tissue. In its raw form, collagen isn’t ideal for consumption and needs to be processed before we can enjoy eating it.

Gelatin is a processed form of collagen. Well-made bone broth contains gelatin because the process of boiling animal bones for a long period of time breaks the collagen down into gelatin. While they aren’t exactly the same substance, you can’t really have gelatin without collagen. Think of gelatin as the processed form of raw animal collagen.

While you could choose to consume a supplement in powder or capsule form, you can also get collagen and gelatin in your diet the original way: by drinking bone broth. In fact, the jury is still out on whether or not supplemental collagenis as effective as consuming it in whole foods. With bone broth, the simmering time of the bones (up to 24 hours) allows collagen and gelatin to be released into the broth, which many believe is digested quicker than a powder.

Homemade or Store Bought?

While there’s no “correct” answer, there are both pros and cons to buying or making bone broth. If you don’t have time to make a quality bone broth, you may have considered purchasing powders or concentrates. But can bone broth supplements provide the same health benefits as a traditional liquid broth? Here is a helpful overviewof each option.

Regularly making bone broth is a great way to help you maximize ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen. Plus, keeping a batch of bone broth on hand either in the fridge or freezer can save time during your weeknight meal prep. Keep a large freezer bag handy to store veggie and meat scraps and bones (chicken carcass, ribs, chicken bones) from prior meals to prepare for cooking.

Here’s how we make bone broth in our kitchen. We even made a video to show you how it’s done so you can easily make it in your own kitchen, too.

With a Crock-Pot, fully-flavored chicken bone broth no longer has to take up your entire day as you watch the stove. All you have to do is toss some leftover chicken bones into a slow cooker with a few vegetables, add a handful of herbs and a touch of sea salt and pepper, and set it overnight or before you head out for work. By the time you’re back, you’ll have a solid supply of chicken broth for sipping or adding to your favorite soup recipe in place of chicken stock or store-bought broth.

This chicken bone broth is tested and true, and we’d highly recommend you give it a try. It’s gluten-free and keto-friendlyand beneficial for many autoimmune disease diets. Want to try our beef bone broth recipe as well? We’ve got you covered.

Slow Cooker Chicken Bone Broth Recipe

This is a Kettle & Fire tested and true slow cooker chicken bone broth recipe that features organic chicken bones, fresh vegetables, and herbs.

CourseBone Broth

CuisineAmerican

Keywordhomemade chicken bone broth, how to make bone broth, slow cooker bone broth recipe, slow cooker chicken bone broth recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 hours

Total Time 12 hours 15 minutes

Servings 16 cups

Calories 13 kcal

Author Kettle & Fire

Ingredients

  • 2poundschicken bonesleftover from roasted chicken, preferably organic
  • 2stalksceleryroughly chopped
  • 2carrotsskin on, roughly chopped
  • 1yellow or white onionroughly chopped
  • 1green bell pepperroughly chopped
  • 1headgarlic
  • 1/2cupfresh parsley
  • 1/4cupfresh thyme
  • 2sprigsrosemary
  • 2bay leaves
  • 1tablespoonwhole peppercorns
  • 8-10cupsfiltered wateror enough to cover ingredients

Instructions

  1. Rinse vegetables and herbs and place into a slow cooker.

  2. Add chicken bones and all remaining ingredients to slow cooker and cover with enough water so that all ingredients are submerged.

  3. Turn on slow cooker to low heat and let cook for 12-18 hours.

  4. Remove from heat and carefully separate the vegetables and bones from the broth.

  5. Strain the broth into a bowl through a colander, and strain once more through a cheesecloth to remove any remaining particles.

  6. Pour broth into an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Paleo | Gluten Free

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Chicken Bone Broth Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 13

% Daily Value*

Sodium 17mg1%

Potassium 90mg3%

Carbohydrates 3g1%

Vitamin A 1520IU30%

Vitamin C 11.2mg14%

Calcium 22mg2%

Iron 0.4mg2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Enjoy Your Homemade Broth

Sipping a delicious mug of hearty bone broth adds nutritious element to your day. It only requires a few steps to make and minimal prep time when you use a slow cooker, but the result is endlessly rewarding!

Bone broth can add depth to your cooking in addition to standing alone as a warming beverage or meal. It comes with amazing health benefits and contributes to an overall healthy lifestyle. So don’t miss the most critical step of making bone broth: enjoying the fruits of your labor!

Pin for later:

Easy Chicken Bone Broth Recipe in a Slow Cooker [Homemade Broth] (2)

Easy Chicken Bone Broth Recipe in a Slow Cooker [Homemade Broth] (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to make bone broth in a slow cooker or pressure cooker? ›

In conclusion, we enjoyed the flavor and the yield of the slow cooker the best! But, the Instant Pot version was the all-around best for time, taste, and yield. And stove top is a classic method which get's the best of both flavor and time.

What is the ratio of bones to water in chicken bone broth? ›

Think of your pot filled with bones as a cup filled with ice. You add water to the ice which fills in the nooks and crannies. The ice is the bones you're using in this case. For chicken bone broth we recommend 1.4:2 ratio of bones to water.

Which bone is best for bone broth? ›

Traditional recipes recommend using bones rich in marrow and flavor, such as beef marrow bones, oxtails, beef feet or beef neck bones. For this article, we will focus on beef marrow bones. To make a nutritious and delicious beef bone broth, we recommend using beef marrow bones or beef oxtails.

What's the difference between bone broth and chicken broth? ›

Bone broth is different from chicken broth. It is a liquid that has more protein, collagen, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals than chicken broth. Chicken broth may be ok for cooking, but bone broth is much for concentrated and delicious. Bone broth also gives you nutritional benefits, while chicken broth does not.

Can you overcook bone broth? ›

Canora cautions against overcooking your bone broth, which can actually seriously hamper the flavor. Once you go past the 16-hour mark or so, “you start breaking down the bone itself and it starts infusing a bad flavor to your broth,” he explains.

What makes bone broth better? ›

The longer you simmer broth, the more flavor it will take on from the bones and tissue. Add flavor to your bone broth with ingredients like onion, celery, carrot, parsley, thyme, and garlic. Add these before you boil the broth. You can also prepare bone broth in a pressure cooker or slow cooker.

What is the downside of bone broth? ›

"Depending on how it's made or what's in it, (bone broth) could have large amounts of sodium. That's the only downside," says Zumpano.

What should you not put in bone broth? ›

However, do not add onions, carrots, celery or herbs to your initial pot of simmering bone broth. Instead, enjoy the pure, rich flavor that comes from just the bones, fat, connective tissue and any small amount of meat that may still be on the bones; it is not something that needs or wants amending.

How long should you boil bones for broth? ›

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for at least 10-12 hours, or until reduced by 1/3 or 1/2, leaving you with 6-8 cups of bone broth. The more it reduces, the more intense the flavor becomes and the more collagen is extracted. We find 12 hours to be the perfect cook time.

Can you buy bone broth at the grocery store? ›

In-store. The best store-bought bone broth is likely on a grocery shelf near you! That's because Kitchen Accomplice partners with grocery stores and specialty stores across the country to bring you delicious bone broth options.

How do you make bone broth taste better? ›

HERBS. 🌿 Whether dried or fresh from your garden, the best bone broth herbs make each mug a new adventure. Think: rosemary, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, oregano, sage, tarragon, and even lavender.

What is the healthiest bone broth to buy? ›

What is the healthiest bone broth on the market? The healthiest bone broth on the market is the Organic bone broth made by Bluebird Provisions because it is the highest protein with 12 grams with 300 mg potassium and no added filler ingredients. It is also low in sodium and tastes absolutely delicious.

Does pressure cooking destroy nutrients in bone broth? ›

A pressure cooker will save you batch time and get you 75% of the nutrition benefits of bone broth. That being said, it will lack the additional nutrients and minerals which require long and slow simmer times to harvest from the bones and animal parts.

Is it better to slow cook or pressure cook? ›

Slow cookers are much better for cooking root vegetables and tough cuts of meat because the long, low-temperature cooking process is great for adding moisture and breaking down fat. Pressure cookers can get hot enough for meats and vegetables to brown in them when cooking, but slow cookers can't.

Does pressure canning bone broth destroy nutrients? ›

Does pressure canning destroy or take away the nutritional properties of bone broth? No! The appearance of the broth may look different (especially from the outside of the jar), but the jiggly gelatinous broth is the same in both the pressure-canned jar and the non pressure-canned jar.

How long should I pressure can bone broth? ›

Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight. Process the beef stock in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool.

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