Homemade Chicken Stock
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Making homemade chicken stock is incredibly easy and inexpensive, not to mention it's bursting with flavor and good-for-you nutrients. The next time you have a roast chicken (or buy a rotisserie chicken) for dinner, save the bones and give this chicken stock recipe a try!
Also, check out these beef bone broth and shrimp stock recipes!
All hail chicken stock! This is what the greatest of soups are made from, like your family recipe for chicken noodle soup or your bubba's matzo ball soup. It's warm and delicious and all kinds of nourishing.
This chicken stock recipe will come in handy this fall or winter when you're in full-blown soup mode, or the next time someone in your household comes down with a cold. It's packed with vitamins and minerals, and really just tastes like home.
What is chicken stock?
Let's start from the top. What is chicken stock?
Chicken stock is made from the bones of a chicken that you simmer with vegetables and water for several hours until a rich, flavorful, and nutrient-dense liquid is created. You can use it in soups, sauces, and any dish that calls for stock or broth.
Chicken stock vs broth
You might be wondering, āIs chicken stock the same as chicken broth?ā
Great question!
Stock is usually made from bones, whereas broth is typically made from raw meat. In this instance, you are making chicken stock, since you'll be using the bones. Chicken stock made from bones delivers a deeper flavor and richer color than the broth made from raw meat.
As far as cooking with stock vs. broth goes, you can use them interchangeably in any recipe that calls for either option.
Chicken stock vs bone broth
There are two main differences between chicken stock and bone broth:
- Time needed to cook: While chicken stock can be made in 4 hours, bone broth is simmered on low heat for 24-48 hours.
- Consumption: chicken stock can be slurped up on its own or added to other dishes. Bone broth, on the other hand, is usually sipped while hot.
Ingredients to make chicken stock
In its simplest form, you can use chicken bones and water to make chicken stock. And that's it!
You can also optionally add in vegetables and herbs to give an abundance of flavor to your stock:
- Vegetables: Chopped onion, celery carrots, and garlic
- Herbs: Rosemary branch, sage leaves, sprigs of thyme, and a handful of parsley
How to make chicken stock
If the idea of making homemade chicken stock sounds too time-consuming, especially when there are premade store-bought options available, we applaud you for rethinking this misconception.
Making your own chicken stock is super simple, and the majority of the time needed to make it is stove-top time when you don't have to babysit it.
Here's what you'll do:
- Throw all the ingredients into a big pot and pour cold water over the top.
- Turn up the heat and keep it at a gentle simmer for 4 hours.
- Remove from the heat and strain the stock twice to remove the bones and sediment.
Ta-da! Just like that, you've got homemade chicken stock!
Is Stock Wasteful?
This chicken stock recipe is the opposite of wasteful. By making your own chicken stock you'll be using as much of the bird as possible, including leftover bones, plus any scraps of vegetables that you would have otherwise composted a long time ago. It extends the value of both the chicken and vegetables to make something wholesome and delicious. Win-win!
That said, many homemade chicken stock recipes out there are wasteful. We've seen recipes that call for several whole chickens to be used and then discarded as waste. Unless you have a very large budget and don't mind throwing away perfectly good food, use this chicken stock recipe instead.
Resourceful tip
Instead of throwing out bones after dinner, save them! We have a ābone bag' in our freezer all the time. If we eat bone-in chicken, steak, or pork, we take the bones off our dinner plates and put them into the bone bag. (Make sure to rinse off any sauce first.)
Also, instead of tossing onion, celery, garlic, and carrot scraps into the compost, put them into the bone bag. And if that parsley you bought last week is looking pretty sad, put it in the bone bag, too.
Once the bag is full, tip it out into a pot and make stock!
What kind of chicken bones should I use?
You can use the entire chicken carcass from a whole chicken; the neck, feet, and chicken wings also deliver a lot of flavor.
You can use raw chicken bones or the bones from a cooked chicken.
It's not suggested to use chicken meat to make stock. If you would like to later turn your stock into a soup, you can save any leftover cooked chicken meat and add it to your soup recipe after using the bones to make the stock. But don't worry about the small bits of meat left on the bone ā they'll add flavor to the stock.
No matter what bones you're using, you will simmer them in water for many hours to extract all the goodness and create a soul-warming chicken stock.
Recipe FAQs
Do I need to add vegetables?
We list the vegetables as optional as we've made incredible stock many times using only bones.
Can I add other bones?
Yes! We keep a bone bag in our freezer where we store all of our leftover bones until we have enough to make stock. If we've eaten a bone-in pork chop or steak, we'll toss those bones in there, too. Of course, it won't be chicken stock anymore. But it will be a super delicious stock that is perfect for making soup!
NOTE: Don't add seafood bones or lamb bones to the bag as both have very strong flavors. If you'd like you can store them separately and make stock from them. But as the flavors are so strong it won't be a versatile stock.
How should I store homemade chicken stock?
Store chicken stock in airtight containers or jars with lids, like mason jars. It will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and in the freezer for at least 6 months.
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
Yes! This is something we do all the time. Instead of putting everything into a pot, put it into your crockpot and cook it on low heat for at least 8 hours. You can see our crockpot turkey stock recipe for more information!
More homemade stock recipes
Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 lb chicken bones (or enough to fill your pot halfway full of bones)
- 16 cups cold water (or enough to cover the bones with 2-3 inches of water)
Optional vegetables
- 1 cup chopped onion (leave the skin on for color!)
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 6 cloves garlic (unpeeled and crushed with the side of your knife)
- Rosemary branch, a few sage leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, a handful of parsley
Instructions
- Break the bones into smaller pieces and then add them to the pot. If you're using vegetables and herbs, put them on top of the bones. Add the water, making sure to cover the bones by 2-3 inches.4 lb chicken bones, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup chopped carrots, 6 cloves garlic, Rosemary branch, a few sage leaves, a few sprigs of thyme, a handful of parsley
- Bring the pot to a simmer over medium-high heat. DO NOT let it boil or your stock will be dirty-looking. Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and let it simmer very gently for 3-4 hours.
- Use a pair of tongs to remove any larger bones from the pot. Set a colander over a large bowl and then strain the stock.
- Set a fine-mesh sieve over another large bowl and strain the stock once more to remove any small pieces.
- OPTIONAL STEP: for extra flavorful stock, return it to a clean pot and boil rapidly until it reduces by ā to condense the flavor.
- Cool the stock for no more than 1 hour on your counter then put it into your fridge to cool completely. If a fat-layer forms on top of the cold stock, remove it before using the stock. The stock will keep for 3 days in your fridge. Or transfer it to freezer-safe containers and freeze it for up to 6 months.
Slow Cooker Method
- Add all the ingredients to your slow cooker then set it on low for at least 8 (or up to 24) hours. Follow the instructions above to strain and store the stock.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our soup recipes!
