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Home » Dinner » Chicken » Homemade Chicken Stock

Homemade Chicken Stock

Created: August 20, 2019 Updated: October 4, 2022 by Lyuba Brooke 8 Comments

3.8K shares
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Homemade chicken stock is super easy to make and so healthy. You can use any chicken cuts you’d like as long as it has bones in it and combine it with vegetables and herbs. There are few simple ingredients required for making chicken stock and it can be made on the stove, Crock Pot, or Instant Pot. 

Having your own stock is healthier and cheaper than buying cartons from the store. Use it in Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken and Wild Ride Soup, Vegetable Soup, or any other favorite soup recipe. 

homemade chicken stock in a jar with fresh rosemary on a wooden table

HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK

I keep chicken and beef stock on hand at all times because I use it several times a week. It’s not only soups that call for stock, many sauces and dinner recipes also require some addition of stock. That’s why I always several portions in the freezer ready to go. 

It’s very easy to make your own stock, not to mention that it’s also healthier than store-bough and cheaper. Packaged broth and stock is full of preservatives and other ingredients to help increase shelf life. When it comes to homemade, you know every ingredient used to make it and every ingredient is hand-picked by you.  

Any type of chicken can be used, as long as it’s bone-in. You can use anything from the whole chicken to a chicken carcass to make your stock. 

Whole chicken – if using a whole chicken, make sure to remove the giblets from the cavity first. Whole chicken can be seared as well, just make sure to sear it on all four sides. 

Chicken cuts – use bone-in chicken thighs, chicken legs, bone-in chicken breast, and/or wings and drums. When using bone-in chicken breast halves, I highly recommend that you also add some bone-in chicken thighs for the marrow bones. Marrow bones is what you need for the stock full of nutrient. 

Carcass – you can use leftover roasted chicken carcass to make stock as well. It is a good way to utilize the carcass but it is not my first choice for homemade stock. Since chicken bones have already been cooked, there won’t be as much nutrients available to be transferred into the stock. If you have access to raw chicken carcass, it would be much better to use.

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chicken stock in a bowl on a cutting board with carrots, celery and rosemary

WHAT IS BONE MARROW

Using marrow bones is what makes the best stock that is rich, meat-flavored, and nutritious. Bone marrow is the soft tissue found inside the large, hollow bones. Marrow is chock-full of nutrients like collages, iron, calcium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin A, and so much more. It is definitely a super-food that will give your soups cold-fighting super powers.

Nutrition in bone marrow helps promote skin health, joint health, digestive health, and boosts immune system. If you’ve ever wondered how a bowl of soup can actually make you feel better, this is how. When prepared with the best broth and lots of meat and vegetables, a bowl of soup can provide a lot of vitamins and nutritional benefits that will help your body fight the virus. 

By cooking meat with bones (and just bones) for a long time, it releases all these nutrients into the stock. You will have the best chicken broth your time and money can buy, even though there was minimal effort involved and it’s budget friendly. 

how to make chicken stock collage. first cook chicken in a bot then add veggies, next pour in stock, last cook it all together

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CHICKEN STOCK

For my chicken stock, I take an extra step of searing the chicken first for additional flavor. It takes a few extra minutes and it’s worth it. 

Preheat a large pot over medium-high heat, add some canola oil, and add chicken. Sear on both sides until chicken skin is golden brown. 

Add vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, salt, and water. Bring mixture to boil, lower heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for about 4 hours. 

Pour the stock through a fine strainer and let the chicken and vegetables sit in the strainer for 10-15 minutes so that all the liquid comes out. 

Separate chicken from bones and skin and save it to be used in soup. Discard the vegetables.

CAN I MAKE CHICKEN STOCK IN INSTANT POT?

Absolutely! Chicken stock can be easily made in an Instant Pot in about an hour. One thing to remember is that an Instant Pot can’t be filled all the way up, so make sure to fill it to the recommended fill line. Depending on the size of your Instant Pot, you may need to cut the recipe in half. 

Set Instant Pot to saute setting and preheat. Add some oil and sear chicken until golden brown. Combine vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, and salt in with the chicken and pour in water to the fill line. 

Close the lid on the Instant Pot until it’s latched, close the valve to “seal,” and set to cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Once time is up, let it release naturally for 10-15 minutes and then do a quick release. 

two jars of chicken stock on a cutting board

HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE STOCK

Store homemade chicken stock in the refrigerator, in glass jars with a lid. In the refrigerator, homemade stock will last for up to 3 days. I always recommend using the stock within a day or two or freeze it. 

Homemade stock should not be left of the counter for too long because bacteria will start to grow and it will lessen the shelf life. Refrigerate stock as soon as it cools down. 

HOW TO FREEZE HOMEMADE STOCK

Homemade stock is very easy to freeze large batches or divided into smaller portions. 

Freeze stock in zip-top freezer bags and plastic air-tight containers for larger amounts or, muffins pans and ice cube strays for smaller portions. Smaller portions can be used in sauces and other recipes that call for just a little bit of stock and broth. 

Larger containers – divide cooled stock among the plastic, freezer friendly containers or freezer bags. Make sure to fill them no more than 3/4 of the way full to allow room for expanding as it freezes. Seal, label, and place in the freezer. Plastic bags can be laid on a large cutting board to freeze and then stacked when frozen. That will save room in the freezer. 

Muffin pans and ice cube trays – ladle cooled chicken stock into the muffin pan cups or ice cube trays. Carefully place in the freezer and freeze for about 3 hours until completely frozen. Once it’s frozen, transfer the cubes into freezer zip-top bags, seal, label and freeze. (You can portion the cubes into several smaller freezer bags as well.)

Keep homemade stock in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

homemade stock in a bowl

RECIPES WHERE TO USE CHICKEN STOCK

Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

Italian Broccoli Cheese Soup

Parmesan Risotto

Salmon Piccata

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Crock Pot Beef Stew

homemade chicken stock in a bowl on a cutting board

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PIN THIS RECIPE

Homemade Chicken Stock

Easy and healthy homemade chicken stock made with bone-in chicken, vegetables, and herbs.
4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved! Rate
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours hours
Total Time: 4 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 16 Makes about 4 quarts
Calories: 111kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp canola oil
  • 2.5 lbs bone in chicken legs, thighs, or whole chicken
  • 1 large yellow onion peeled and cut in half
  • 2 large carrots peeled and cut in half
  • 2 celery bottoms (save stalks for soup)
  • 1 whole garlic bulb separated and peeled
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 10 springs of fresh thyme
  • 10-12 springs of fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp whole peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp salt (optional)
  • 16 cups water
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat a large pot over medium-high heat, add some canola oil, and add chicken. Sear on both sides until chicken skin is golden brown.
  • Add vegetables, herbs, peppercorns, salt, and water. Bring mixture to boil, lower heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for about 4 hours. 
  • Pour the stock through a fine strainer and let the chicken and vegetables sit in the strainer, over the pot, for 10-15 minutes so that all the liquid comes out.
  • Separate chicken meat from bones and skin and save it to be used in soup. Discard the vegetables and herbs.

Storing stock:

  • Store homemade chicken stock in the refrigerator, in glass jars with a lid. In the refrigerator, homemade stock will last for up to 3 days. I always recommend using the stock within a day or two or freeze it.
  • See post for freezing instructions.

Video

Notes

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.

Nutrition

Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 493mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1419IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles

chicken stock collage

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

3.8K shares

Filed Under: Chicken, Dinner, Instant Pot Main Dishes, Instant Pot Soups, Soup

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

Comments

  1. Melanie says

    May 4, 2023 at 2:50 am

    Canola oil is (and many other oils are) very unhealthy oil, full of Omega 6 which causes (among other things) insuline resistance. Which causes obesitas, diabetes II, high cholesterol, heart problems and many more deficiencies. Use avocado oil or MCT oil instead (and olive oil for cold dishes). Also butter from grass fed cows (not margarine etc) is better for your health. The good fats as you will 😉
    You can find lots of information about insuline resistance, what to eat and not to eat via Google and/or YouTube (dr. Mindy Pelz, Dr. Eric Berg, Dr. Sten Ekberg). I experienced a healthier less diseased life myself due to these doctors and their information. Therefore I like to spread the word as much as I can. Wishing you all a healthy and long lived life❤

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      May 4, 2023 at 9:57 am

      You are welcome to use olive oil or any other hight temperature-neutral oil you would like avocado would work well in this recipe.

      Reply
  2. Janet says

    October 10, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    is there much fat in the stock to skim off since you are cooking the stock with the skin on the chicken? Also, that is about how many garlic cloves you’re using (from 1 bulb)? Thank you! Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      October 24, 2022 at 10:08 am

      Hi Janet,

      It actually doesn’t have much fat. But if you want to get rid of what fat it does have you can put it in the fridge, once cool it will harden at the top and then you can just take it off that way. A head of garlic will have 10-12 cloves. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  3. Emily says

    January 31, 2021 at 8:24 am

    5 stars
    Turned out so delicious and so flavorful! Definitely making again. Thank you!

    Reply
    • LyubaB says

      February 2, 2021 at 6:38 pm

      Thanks! Glad it turned out well! 🙂

      Reply
  4. gabriella says

    October 6, 2019 at 4:39 am

    chicken stock seems to much delicious and gorgeous.

    Reply
  5. temple run 2 says

    September 18, 2019 at 6:26 am

    5 stars
    WOW! This looks gorgeous AND delicious!

    Reply

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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