Instant Pot Bone Broth

Delicious healing bone broth made in the pressure cooker. This Instant Pot Bone Broth recipe is easy and much quicker to make than on the stovetop while still retaining all its beneficial properties.

Use chicken carcasses, turkey bones leftover from Thanksgiving, beef, or any other bones for this homemade bone broth.

What is bone broth

Bone broth is a type of stock made from bones, vegetables (scraps), herbs, and spices. These are typically boiled and simmered in water for a very long time (10-48 hours!).

This long simmering process releases gelatin, collagen, minerals, and amino acids into the water.  So that the final broth is a nutrition packet powerhouse.

Making bone broth in the Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker) allows to significantly cut down on the cooking time.

What is bone broth good for

You may have heard about bone broth but maybe you are still wondering - why is bone broth good for you? 

The list of bone broth benefits is long:

• improves appearance of hair, skin, and nails

• soothes digestive inflammation (some go as far as saying it heals leaky gut lining)

• supports joint health
• boosts the immune system

If you want to learn more about all the benefits and nutrients of bone broth, this article on Dr. Axe is very detailed and insightful.

What bones to use for bone broth

Any bones could be used for making homemade bone broth. Whichever ones I use though, I try to make sure they come from a good source. Either organic or grass-fed from the store, or from free-range chickens raised in our neighbouring community.

My personal preference are chicken bones and carcasses that I save whenever we make roasted chicken. Ever since I discovered how to make bone broth and how easy it is, I save every single bone, carcass and also the chicken backs from spatchcock chicken.

I freeze them and once I have at least 2 pounds (better yet 4 pounds) collected, I make bone broth. If your whole chickens come with a bag of organs, the neck, and/or feet inside you can absolutely add those in too. Same goes for any chicken skin - it has LOTS of collagen!

After Thanksgiving when you have that big turkey carcass and turkey bones, of course don’t let those go to waste and use them to make yummy turkey bone broth.

Sometimes I also use beef bones or add them to whichever other bones I have on hand (or in the freezer). To give them extra delicious flavour I like to roast raw beef bones, either on a baking tray in the oven at 375°F or I simply brown them in the bottom of the pot I make the stock in.

Other poultry, fish, lamb, venison (and other game) bones can also be used.

How To Make Bone Broth in the Instant Pot

Bones

To make Instant Pot Bone Broth start with your bones. When using raw (beef) bones I like to either roast them in the oven first or brown them in the bottom of the Instant Pot on the sauté function.

The roasting/browning adds great flavor. If you are using any organ meats you can brown them first too.

Add the roasted/browned bones, organ meats, and/or any previously roasted bones (like chicken carcasses) to the Instant Pot. Use 2-4 pounds of bones. The more you add, the thicker and more gelatinous the broth will be.

Vegetables/Scraps

For flavouring and additional nutritional value I like to add vegetables to my bone broth. Typically I use carrots, celery, onion, and a couple garlic cloves.

There is no need to peel any of the vegetables. The peels hold lots of nutrients. Just make sure they are well washed and clean, and cut them up into big chunks.

I also collect vegetable scraps (ends and peels) from my day to day cooking and freeze them for use in bone broth. If you have lots of scraps, you could probably get away without any added vegetables. I usually use a mixture of whole vegetables and scraps.

Herbs and Spices

For even more great flavour and nutrients I also add herbs and spices to my broth. The specifics can totally be adjusted to what you like and have on hand.

Here is what I usually have and add:

• rosemary and/or thyme sprigs

• small bunch of parsley/basil

• bay leaves

• black peppercorns
• star anise

Salt is also needed to make bone broth taste good. I use pink Himalayan sea salt.

You can add salt together with all the other ingredients, or leave it until serving when you can add salt to taste for each serving.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Adding apple cider vinegar before cooking is very important. It helps to draw out all the awesome minerals from the bones and infuses them into the broth.

Pressure Cooking

Add all the above mentioned ingredients to the Instant Pot’s inner liner and fill it up with water. You want to cover most of the ingredients but also stay within 2 inches from the top (or 1 inch from the maximum fill line).

I can usually add about 10 cups of water.

Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing position. Cook either on high pressure for 2 hours (120 minutes) or on low pressure for 4 hours (240 minutes).

The pot will take about half an hour to build pressure before the timer starts to count down. At the end of the pressure cooking cycle let the pressure release naturally (NPR). This takes about another half hour.

Straining

Remove the lid and get a large pot or bowl and strainer ready. You can also use cheesecloth to line the strainer for extra clear bone broth.

Ladle the pot’s contents into the strainer. The nutritious bone broth will collect in the bowl or pot underneath.

Once you have removed most of the large bone pieces, you can also lift out the inner liner and pour the remaining broth straight into the the strainer. With the bones still inside there is too much risk of hot broth splattering while pouring.

How to Store Bone Broth

Let the strained broth cool down a little bit, then fill it into mason jars or any other storage container. Store the bone broth in the fridge or freezer (be sure to use freezer-safe containers and fill them only ¾ of the way).

The fat in the broth will settle at the top and solidify. This actually creates a protective layer for the broth.

With this fat layer intact you can store bone broth in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Without that layer it lasts only 3-4 days. So don’t remove the fat layer until you are ready to use the bone broth.

In the freezer the fat layer protects the broth from freezer burn. Bone broth lasts about 6 months in the freezer.

What to do with bone broth

You can simply sip bone broth as is (with salt added to taste) from a mug. Or use it to make bone broth based beverages.

Another way to use bone broth is cooking with it. Use it as the base for delicious soups by replacing the stock or water called for in a recipe with bone broth. Here are some of my best soup recipes you can use bone broth in:

• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
• Beef Noodle Soup
• Leek Vegetable Soup

Items I use for Making Bone Broth

I have this 6-quart Instant Pot Duo60 and love it. Check out all the Instant Pot Recipes I make in it.

My sturdy large KitchenAid strainer came with my stainless steel pot set. It is great for holding all the heavy bones and vegetables without bending and wobbling. This strainer looks just like the one I have.

Here are freezer safe mason jars you can use for storing bone broth in the freezer.

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• Chicken Noodle Soup

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