Learn how to make the best nourishing homemade bone broth in the Instant Pot. Bone broth is gut healing goodness to drink on its own or use as a base for many recipes.
Healthy homemade chicken bone broth is so easy to make and literally uses scraps of food that otherwise would’ve been tossed into the trash or the compost pile.
Why make homemade bone broth?
Homemade bone broth was the main ingredient in Chicken Noodle Soup that was served when someone was sick – because it was actually a healing soup.
This is not the same as the canned soup on the grocery store shelves or the broth that you buy in a box.
Homemade broth gels as it cools. Slow cooking the bones in water pulls the gelatin out of the bones. This is very healthy and gut healing for your body.
Homemade bone broth holds a special place in my farmhouse. It is a way that I can use every bit of the vegetable I grew or the chicken that I raised.
I have been making bone broth on the stovetop for several years, but I have found a better way that turns out perfect every time! Let me introduce you to my Instant Pot. It is the key to the best broth you will ever taste!
What you will need:
Poultry Bones – I prefer chicken or turkey
Filtered water
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
Vegetable scraps – such as carrot tops and peels, onions, celery leaves and pieces, garlic
Spices – peppercorns, bay leaves are my favorites. Play around and see what you like best
Instant Pot
Jars to cool and store your broth in
How To Make The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth
- Start with roasting a chicken or turkey (or thighs or legs work well too). I love cooking my whole chicken right in my Instant Pot. Remove all of the meat that you can, but save the bones and the skin. You can freeze the bones to use later, or if you’re like me and dislike dirtying a ton of dishes, you can add the bones right back to the pot that you just cooked the chicken in!
- Add all of your vegetable scraps, bones, and spices. Combine filtered water to cover the bones and vegetables.
- Consider adding a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (to help pull the goodness out of the bones – do not worry – your broth will NOT taste like vinegar!).
Set The Instant Pot
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot to the sealing position.
- Push the pressure setting and adjust it to LOW pressure.
- LOW pressure cook for 2-1/2 hours and let the pressure release naturally. The LOW pressure is the key to getting this broth to gel every time! The lower temperature will not overcook the broth like you can on the stovetop.
- Wait for the pressure to naturally release before you open the Instant Pot.
Straining The Bone Broth
- After the broth has cooled enough to handle, carefully strain the bones and vegetables into a glass jar and use immediately or put it in the fridge to cool.
- The fat will rise to the surface, so skim if using immediately or wait until morning and it will harden and come off easily.
Scrape the fat layer off of the broth into a bowl.
Use this all-natural fat for frying eggs or potatoes. Chicken fat is called schmaltz and is a fantastic way to literally use almost every ounce of the bird. Schmaltz will not store long in your refrigerator, so freeze for a longer storage option.
Look at the GEL on this broth!!! You will not be sorry if you take the time to try this!
The broth keeps well in the fridge (usually about a week), freezes well in quart size baggies, or can be pressure canned and stored on your shelf.
More recipes from scratch that you will love:
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The Best Chicken Bone Broth In The Instant Pot
Delicious bone broth is a staple ingredient in any kitchen.
Ingredients
- Poultry Bones - I prefer chicken or turkey
- Filtered water
- Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
- Vegetable scraps - such as carrot tops and peels, onions, celery leaves and pieces, garlic
- Spices - peppercorns, bay leaves are my favorites. Play around and see what you like best
Instructions
- Combine all of the vegetable scraps, bones, spices, and enough filtered water to cover the bones and vegetables.
- Add up to 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot to the sealing position.
- Push the pressure setting and adjust it to LOW pressure.
- LOW pressure cook for 2-1/2 hours and let the pressure release naturally.
- Wait for the pressure to naturally release before you open the Instant Pot.
- After the broth has cooled enough to handle, carefully strain the bones and vegetables into a glass jar and use immediately or put it in the fridge to cool.
- The fat will rise to the surface, so skim if using immediately or wait until morning and it will harden and come off easily.
- Save the schmaltz (aka chicken fat) to fry eggs or potatoes.
Notes
Homemade chicken bone broth will store in the fridge for up to a week or can be frozen for later.
Tanya Murray says
Love this! Never thought about using the instant pot for bone broth! Usually use the crock pot! This is SO much better!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
I hope you love it as much as I do! Enjoy! ♥️
Errika Horner says
The Instant Pot truly is the best way to make bone broth. It works every single time!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Agreed! Works every time!
Ashley says
I have been wondering how long I should be cooking my broth in the IP! Thanks for taking the time to type this out. Also, I’m super jealous that you have your own birds!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
You’re welcome! Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy!
P.S. I hope you can raise some chickens someday. They’re so fun!
Julie says
Great tutorial! I will have to use this as soon as I cook my whole chicken. I need to heal my gut big time!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Thank you! Enjoy!
Jo says
I’ve just recently started making bone broth in the slow cooker, I can’t seem to get mine to turn like jelly though so I will definitely try this method.
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
I hope you enjoy this method!
Mariana says
Using the pressure cooker for broth is THE way to go! Great info!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
For sure!! Thanks for stopping by! ♥️
Diane Gail says
This recipe looks great! And the instant pot makes it so easy! Thanks for sharing 😉
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
You’re welcome! Enjoy! ☺️
Ada says
I have made mine in the slow cooker. I need to try instant post. Looks easier and faster to cook. Thank you so much for sharing!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Makes it so easy! Enjoy!! ☺️
Tammi Stea says
My instant pot doesn’t have a low pressure cooking setting . I can select manual or I have a soup/broth setting. Any advice on which setting to use?
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Tammi, Either will work fine. No need to worry about the low pressure, high pressure will produce a wonderful nourishing broth for you. Enjoy!!
Jenifer Workman says
Wondering if you have ever done this with frozen?? I have wings in freezer and frozen scraps of veggies.
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
YES!! I freeze bones and veggies all the time. It turns out perfectly. Enjoy!!
Justin Rice says
How do you initially cook the whole chicken in the instant pot? Like what steps do you do, what do you add with the whole chicken, and for how long on what setting? Thanks!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Great question!! To be honest, sometimes I thaw the bird, but sometimes it’s frozen solid too.
I place the whole bird into my Instant Pot, sometimes just the bird and water, sometimes I will add onion, garlic, celery, bay leaf, and anything else you have on hand.
I cook at high pressure for 30-60 minutes depending on the size and if it is thawed or frozen. After it has finished I will let the pressure naturally release for 30 minutes (or longer if you have time). If it’s not quite done, you can always put it back on high pressure for a little longer.
At that point, you should be able to release all of the pressure and pull everything out onto a platter. I let it cool until I can easily pick all of the meat off the bones.
Make sure you strain and keep all of the liquid that you cooked the bird in! That’s a great flavorful broth too!
Then, I return all of the bones and skin to the Instant Pot to make the broth that is in this recipe post.
Hope that helps! Happy bone broth making!! ☺️
Justin Rice says
That does help, thank you so much!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
You are so welcome! ☺️
Cj says
Love this recipe! I adopted a rescue dog that was extremely thin from being a homeless street dog. I say “was” because this bone broth got him nice and healthy! He has gained weight since he loves this broth on anything and everything! His coat is shiny and smooth. I know this bone broth helped to heal his him from the inside out. The vet asked me what I was feeding my new pup. I told him all about your bone broth! He was amazed. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
You are SO welcome. That blesses my heart!! I am SO HAPPY to hear this! Thank you for sharing your story and the wonderful healing powers of good bone broth! ♥️
Kassandra Waltenburg says
I did this recipe last night (my first time ever making bone broth) this morning I looked in the fridge at my containers and there is almost no fat layer and it definitely didn’t gel. What did I do? 🙁
I did put a lid on the container when I put it in the fridge and it was still pretty warm. Maybe condensation built up on the lid and dropped in? Would that affect it?
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Hi Kassandra!
First of all, congratulations on making your first bone broth! 😃
Next, if you didn’t add much for skin or fat, you won’t end up with much of a fat layer on the top of the broth, which is just fine and less to skim after it has cooled.
Most of the time mine will gel, but once in a while it will not. I don’t know the exact reasoning, but I believe it has to do with how the bird was initially cooked. If I toss the bones in for a second round to pull every last bit of goodness from them, it never gels. So, I think if it didn’t gel the first time, you might have gotten most of it out in the initial cooking. Hope that makes sense.
Regardless, even without gelling, your broth still has so many nutrients and is a wonderful superfood. Keep making it. You have an amazing product!
And no, I don’t believe the excess condensation would not have an effect on the gelling.
Enjoy!!! 🥰
Helen says
Kassandra – it won’t gel if there aren’t enough bones OR too much water. I save and freeze my bones. My broth is so thick that I could (literally) stand a fork in it. It might be “over the top”, but we eat lots of chicken hence the frozen
bone collection. AND I want my broth to be super nutritious for my family.
Jacqueline Whitsitt says
Was sad to check my broth this morning and see that I had no jiggle. I followed directions, 1st time in an 8qt IP – 2 carcasses, plus about 1.5 pounds of chicken feet, my veggies scraps( onion and garlic skins, one small carrot broke into 3 pieces… all the good stuff ginger, turmeric root, peppercorns… and ACV. fit 1 gallon of filtered water. Did 2.5 hours on low pressure. I let it naturally release, then let it sit for an hour or so while I made dinner and ate. I double strained it and then placed in my 6qt insert covered and placed it out in our bedroom for the night at about 36 degrees ( safe temp)
Woke up and not a lot of solid schmaltz on top which I know can just mean fewer fatty components in it.
But Sadly no jiggle at all. Shocked with all the bones and the chicken feet.
Any insight on why? 1st time doing this on low pressure and in 8qt
Thanks Jacki
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Hi Jacki,
Honestly I am surprised that it didn’t jiggle with the chicken feet added. I did just have a batch not jiggle, but I cooked the bird in the Instant Pot and I believe it pulled all of the collagen out at that point and when I cooked just the bones it just pulled the flavor and remaining nutrients.
Even without gelling, you still ended up with a very nutritious food. I would absolutely try again if you’re looking for it to gel and see if it will work for you. Sorry it didn’t work your first time.
Thanks for being here! Hugs, Niki
Kathy says
Hi! When we butchered…I deboned some of the chickens and kept the carcasses for this reason. Can I make bone broth from a raw chicken carcass or does it need to be cooked first?
Aunt Niki’s Farm says
Hi Kathy!
Uncooked bones are actually better! They will still have all of the goodness and will gel beautifully!! Cooked bones won’t always gel as well because some of that gets cooked out.
Enjoy your very nutritious bone broth!!
Cheryl says
If I made a whole chicken in an instant pot and wanted to make bone broth with the carcass (and anything else) right after, would I leave any juices from the initial cook in the instant pot, or would they still need to be taken out and saved separately?
Aunt Niki's Farm says
Hi Cheryl,
You can do it either way. The juices from cooking the chicken will be very flavorful and gelatinous. I generally save the cooking broth to use immediately or can it for later and then make a separate batch with the bones to stretch it farther.