The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth

Learn how to make the best bone broth in the instant pot with this simple tutorial. Bone broth is nourishing, gut healing and the perfect liquid, in which to simmer away vegetables and meat into a delicious homemade soup.

Learn how to make the best, nourishing, and healing bone broth in the instant pot with this quick and simple tutorial.

The Health Benefits Of Bone Broth

There’s a reason your momma always reached for chicken noodle soup during childhood sicknesses. Broth is an effective immune booster. Homemade bone broth is even more beneficial than your average box of broth from the grocery store. Unfortunately, those broths just don’t contain the same healing properties as the homemade version.

Bone broth isn’t supposed to be liquid. When bones are simmered for long periods of time, gelatin is pulled from them, causing the jello like consistency. This kind of consistency is only possible via expensive health food stores or by making it yourself.

Here’s a quick rundown of why bone broth is so beneficial for your health:

Reduces joint pain and inflammation.
Helps skin elasticity.
May help support the immune system.
Helps gut health including leaky gut by tightening the junctions
It is very nutritious and full of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Each batch will vary on how much nutrients are in it.

How to Make The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth

While making bone broth on the stovetop is possible, it takes an immense amount of time to process. Thankfully, the Instant Pot takes much less time and frees up your stovetop for other cooking endeavors.

Ingredients:

Chicken or Beef Bones: I prefer chicken. They are easier to come by since I’m constantly making whole chicken for dinner and tend to be cheaper.
Filtered Water
Apple cider vinegar: Optional. This adds flavor and can help draw out the minerals in the bones.
Vegetable scraps: Like celery leaves and carrot peels: Optional. It adds flavor, color, and nutrients to the stock. When you are chopping veggies for other meals you can place the bottoms of tops of the veggies (that would normally be tossed in the trash anyhow) into a zip-lock bag and place in the freezer. When you go to make broth you have free veggies to use.

Needed Supplies:

Instant Pot
Mason Jars (I prefer half gallon jars, but smaller jars work as well)
Funnel
Cheese cloth or stainless steel strainer

Instructions:

Fill the Instant Pot with your bones of choice. I fill the stainless steel pot about 3/4 of the way up with bones.
Cover the bones with water. Make sure the water isn’t too high above the bones. For the broth to gel, it is important to have a water to bone ratio that isn’t too high.
Add a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. The acidic vinegar pulls nutrients from the bones into the broth water.
Press the soup button on the Instant Pot. Set it to low pressure and the maximum cooking time of 120 minutes. Repeat two times.
Once the broth is cool enough to work with, place a stainless steel strainer over a large bowl. Strain off the bones.
Pour the broth into half gallon jars. I find that a funnel is helpful for this.
Store them in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze for a month or more.

FAQ About Making Bone Broth

1. Can You Freeze It?

Yes! I keep extra bone broth in my freezer and pull it out to thaw the day before using it. Simply store the broth in a mason jar or freezer safe container.

If freezing it in a glass mason jar, leave about 2 inches of headspace and avoid screwing the lid on tightly. This will give the liquid some room to expand without bursting the jar.

2. Where Do You Get the Bones?

Here are a few ideas for gathering enough bones to make bone broth:

Cook a whole chicken or cuts with bones in them. Simply save the bones in a ziplock bag in the freezer until you’ve gathered enough for a batch of broth.
Find a local farmer who you can purchase meat from. Meat processors usually charge a very small amount to throw in the bones.
Ask local farmers what they do with the extra bones that people don’t want.
Some grocery stores sell bones in the freezer section. This will probably be the most expensive way to accumulate bones, but it is an option to look into.

3. How Do I Use the Bone Broth?

Adding broth to dishes helps boost flavor and nutritional value. Some of my favorite ways to use it in cooking include:

Soup
Stews
Cook rice, couscous, risotto, quinoa, etc. in broth for added flavor.
Baste a chicken or turkey in it.
Use it in place of water in savory Instant Pot or Crock-Pot dishes.
Incorporate into any dish that calls for some type of broth.

4. Which bones are best for homemade bone broth?

I like the taste of chicken broth best. Any bones will work.

Beef soup bones usually have more fat. There will be a thick layer of tallow at the top of the jar, after it is refrigerated.

If you make this recipe and love how it turned out, feel free to come back and comment about your experience. I’d love to see your creation and how you served it!

The Best Instant Pot Bone Broth

The Health Benefits Of Bone Broth