Ok guys, let’s talk BONE BROTH. Have you heard? It’s pretty much liquid, nutrient-dense gold. Packed with vitamins and minerals – this stuff is insanely good for your bod and a great immunity builder during cold and flu season.
If there are three things I know in the world they are: 1) dogs are children too 2) women are better drivers 3) bone broth is life. BOOM.
I won’t go on and on about how beneficial bone broth is, or how delicious it tastes, or that you don’t have to be an earthy tree-hugging DIY’er to make your own bone broth. I WILL show you how easy it is with these 10 foolproof steps and photos.
10 Easy Steps for Foolproof, Slow Cooker Bone Broth
Step #1: Gather your cooked or roasted chicken bones/carcass. I had one chicken carcass and about 20 saved bones from chicken thighs. These were frozen from meals prior and I thawed them before starting the bone broth.
Step #2: Place bones in a slow cooker (I lined mine with those handy slow cooker bags – makes clean-up a breeze!) and add just enough cold water to cover the bones. For the amount of bones I had, it was about 11 cups.
Step #3: Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar extracts all the good minerals out of the bones. Let sit for a half hour before turning slow cooker on.
Step #4: Add dried herbs. Turn slow cooker on low and cook for 6-8 hours.
Step #5: Chop and add the vegetables to the slow cooker.
Step #6: Cover and cook an additional 6-8 hours on low.
Step #7: Place a mesh strainer on top of a large bowl. Pour the broth mixture into the strainer (be careful, it will be very hot). Save the reserved liquid and discard the bones and vegetables. *Optional – keep the cooked, soft carrots for a recipe below.
Step #8a: If serving immediately, let cool slightly and take a large spoon and gently skim off the settled sediment on the top.
Step #8b: If saving for later, pour into glass jars and let cool to room temperature.
Step #9: Seal the top and refrigerate overnight.
Step #10: Take jars out of the refrigerator once chilled. Take a small spoon and gently skim off the top sediment and discard. Then tightly seal and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze.
And there you have it friends! Foolproof or what? You will never go back to buying packaged broth or stock EVER again. Plus the addition of two unconventional ingredients (cinnamon and nutmeg) gives the stock an incredibly subtle sweetness, combined with richness of the stock will make drinking this a treat.
When you’re feelin’ a little sniffle come on, you can drink this stuff straight from a mug. Don’t be scared, it simply tastes like the most amazing chicken noodle soup you’ve ever had, sans the noddles and chicken stuff. Speaking of chicken noodle soup, you can use this broth as a base for soup, pour it in your favorite comfort foods like mashed potatoes, or get creative. Spoiler alert – I’ll be sharing my creative recipe below.
Did you write down all the steps? Didn’t think so. Just to make it EVEN EASIER for you – check out this checklist for all your bone broth needs.
Bonus Recipe: Carrot Cheese Sauce
One night I was feeling adventurous (and by adventurous I mean I had my hair down for the second time this entire year and actually wore mascara). Anyhoo, I decided to experiment with my bone broth and the leftover (mushy) carrots strained from the liquid. Here is my “throw-it-together-carrot-cheesy-sauce” that ended up being delicious.
I placed the mushy carrots in a small saucepan on medium/low heat and added about 3 tablespoons bone broth, 1 tablespoon goat cheese and 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes. Once the goat cheese was melted and the mixture was warm, I transferred it to a small food processor and pulsed until well combined and creamy. YOU GUYS. I poured this over cooked chicken and steamed broccoli and it was like a creamy, healthy version of broccoli chicken cheesy goodness. Don’t be afraid to get creative!
PrintFoolproof Slow Cooker Bone Broth
- Yield: 6-8 cups 1x
Ingredients
- chicken bones (I used one whole chicken carcass and 20 thigh bones)
- water (just enough to cover the bones in your slow cooker, I used about 11 cups)
- 1–2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 – 1 whole onion
- 3–4 large carrots
- 2 stalks of celery or the tops (leaves included) of 4 stalks
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Carrot Cheese Sauce (serves 1)
- 3–4 of the reserved cooked carrots
- 3 tablespoons bone broth
- 1 tablespoon goat cheese
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Gather cooked or roasted bones and place them in a large slow cooker
- Pour cold water into the slow cooker, just enough to cover the top of the bones
- Add 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (one tablespoon if using one chicken carcass, two if using multiple carcasses or additional bones)
- Let sit for 30 minutes
- After 30 minutes has passed, add dried herbs and cook on low for 6-8 hours
- After 6-8 hours, chop vegetables and add to slow cooker. Cook another 6-8 hours
- Pour the mixture into a mesh strainer with a bowl underneath. Be careful – this will be hot
- Discard the bones and vegetables.*Optional – save the soft carrots for a side dish or carrot cheese sauce
- If serving immediately, let cool slightly and scrape off the sediment from the top
- If saving for later, let cool to room temperature then refrigerate overnight
- After broth has cooled, scrape the top sediment off and place into mason jars, seal tightly, and freeze up to six months
Carrot Cheese Sauce
- Combine carrots, broth, goat cheese, and nutritional yeast in a small saucepan. Cook on medium/low, stirring frequently until cheese has melted down. Transfer to a small food processor or blender and pulse until creamy
I’ve never actually tried bone broth, but your “liquid gold” rave reviews are starting to make me think that I should give it a try! 🙂 Love the checklist!
Thank you Blair! You must try it! I drink this stuff as an immune booster every time cold and flu season approaches. My one-year-old loves it too! So glad the checklist is helpful.
Look at you fancy infographic maker! Well done! Great post and I have been wanting to do a post on bone broth and now I can just repost yours! Really good work and relevant!
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Would be honored if you wanted to repost. Thanks Heather!
Wow this is great. I’m going to try this for lunch. Also, I love the formatting of your blog post, it makes it so easy to read and understand!
Beth x
http://www.ProFemaleBlogger.com
Thank you so much Beth! I am delighted when people give me feedback (good and bad) about my blog. Enjoy this uber healthy broth!
Exactly what I need for the coming cold months. Thank you for the tips! Very useful.
Bone broth to the rescue!!! Colds don’t stand a chance. Thanks Christine!
Might show this to my husband. He’d love such an earthy honest broth.
Earthy honest broth. I love that! I should have had you title this post!
Is it weird that those BONES really turn my taste buds on? LOL!
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Whatever works for ya girlfriend 🙂
What a foolproof simple recipe! Though I wont lie, chicken bones give me the creeps. Well, all bones in general. I cant eat meat off the bone at all – freaks me out!! But Im sure if I got someone else to de-meat the bones, I could totally handle this!!
Ha you are too funny Kat! Some people add chicken feet to their broth to get that extra nutrient-dense gelatin but I just can’t bring myself to do that. I’m sure you can bribe someone to de-meat your chicken bones. It might be a fair tradeoff for a mason jar of this amazingness….
Mmmm so easy, yet so delicious!! My dad always made me some soup using whole chickens when I caught a cold.
What an awesome dad you have Jess. I think my dad may have offered Doritos or something. LOL!
Love making my own stocks and broths! So much better than the store bought ones. I like how you add cinnamon and nutmeg. Perfect for winter and fall recipes!
Totally agree Evi. I will never buy store-bought again. The flavor in homemade bone broth is soooo much better than any packaged broth!
Love the checklist. 5 stars for bone broth!!!
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I knew you would like this post! 😉
I have yet to master bone broth. But I’m stoked that I could with your checklist in hand!
Rachel, not gonna lie, I’m kind of shocked to hear that! You are such a kitchen whiz! You can totally master this – I just know it girl!
I make bone broth once every 3 months and freeze it. It’s perfect for adding in stews and curries and even fried rice. Your detailed instructions and checklists are very usefull!
SAME! I seriously always have this brothy goodness on hand. I’m even the crazy lady that offers it to neighbors when their kids are sick. I love you suggestions on how to incorporate it into other dishes. Thanks Abeer!
I’ve pinned this recipe to try. I’ve made a few attempts at bone broth before, but I’ve been underwhelmed. I assumed that I was doing something wrong (wrong combination for herbs, or leaving the vegetables in for too long). This should make it easier.
Thanks for the pin love Jessica! I know you won’t be underwhelmed by this. I hope you give it a whirl and keep me posted with what you thought of it!
I actually really needed to read this. I know the benefits of broth are huge, but I’m so lazy to make it at home. Not really as hard as I was thinking!
Totally not hard Amanda. Luckily the slow cooker really does all the work for ya. 😉
I have beef “bones” – recipe just in time for fall soups!!
Perfect Shar! Beef bones are a little trickier than chicken bones, but make such a rich stock!
Must try to make some – Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.
It’s too easy not to try! 🙂 Thanks Amber – I appreciate the pin love!
Would the recipe be the same for beef bones? Could you mix chicken & beef together?
Thanks
Hi Pam – I have made both chicken and beef broth, and I wouldn’t suggest combining the two. If you want to make beef broth, make sure the bones are roasted and follow the same process, but you may need to cooke the beef bones longer in the slow cooker and ad quite a bit more seasonings and salt. I found that beef broth is tougher to nail the flavor than chicken broth. The good thing is that you can ALWAYS make the broth and continue to add dried herbs, salt, and spices to flavor as you go. Let me know if you have any other questions!
I am really looking to start making my own broth for health and diet reasons..this one looks so far to be the best I’ve seen. Do you a whole chicken or just whatever you have
Hi Kathleen – SO happy to hear that! Glad you found me. Sometimes I use a whole chicken and carcass, sometimes I just use the bones that I have (from thighs or drummies). I will say using a whole chicken carcass and its bones probably works the best (yields the best flavor). Let me know if you have any other questions!
If I made your recipe cooking the chicken in the crockpot and now am removing the chicken to remove the meat. May I put the chicken bones immediately back into the hot broth in the crockpot with the vinegar and start the bone broth right from there? Thanks for your assistance!
Hi there – you could do it that way, but if you wanted to get the most bang for your buck, I’d keep the liquid you made the chicken with, the do the bone broth separately with new water. That way you have a large stash of rich chicken stock, then another stash of bone broth!
Why do you skim the sediment off the top of the broth? I’ve never done that. Also, can you use the apple cider vinegar when using an instant pot for the broth? If you do, does it need to sit 30 minutes as well?
I find it’s murky and sometimes dirty. But not a necessity. I haven’t tried in my IP but I bet you could do it all at the same time.