Make your own bone broth with my easy-to-follow bone broth recipe, and learn about all the health benefits you get from drinking it! Also included: tips and answers to the most common bone broth questions.
You know that Old Wives tale that when you’re sick you should drink chicken soup?
Yeah. That’s true. And there’s actually science behind it.
SCIENCE!
But let’s get something out of the way first. I’m not talking about the chicken soup you get at some random restaurant. And I am also not talking about Campbell’s. Nope, I’m not even talking about buying organic chicken broth.
I’m talking about the homemade, real-deal bone broth!
What is Bone Broth?
Bone Broth is a savory, nutrient-rich soup made by simmering animal bones with filtered water, spices, vinegar, and vegetables, for a long period of time. No MSG. No processed leftover bits.
Bone broth thickens quite a bit when chilled thanks to the collagen-rich gelatin that is released while slow-cooking the marrow-rich bones. Hello there, meat Jell-O!
Homemade bone broth from any animal is one way our ancestors made use of each part of the animal. This is true nose to tail eating and there is deep knowledge in that ancestral wisdom
I’ve been drinking bone broth since I first joined the Weston A. Price Foundation when I was 21. I’m so happy to see it finally getting the attention it deserves (move over, green juice!).
Health Benefits of Bone Broth:
Bone broth is one of the most healing foods on earth. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. A partial list of the benefits of bone broth include:
- gut healing
- wrinkle reducing
- immune-boosting
- skin clearing
- mood boosting
- cellulite reducing
- skin toning
- anxiety/depression reducing
- bone and joint strengthening
- arthritis reducing
Sounds pretty good. Boosts immune system AND improves wrinkles and cellulite?
Bone broth is loaded with glycine, lysine, proline, and glutamine as well as amino acids that reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system. It’s also packed with magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and trace minerals.
These nutrients are what makes bone broth so beneficial not just for gut healing but also strengthening bone and joints.
This is one of the reasons our ancestors didn’t experience modern illnesses like arthritis, osteoporosis.
An Easy Bone Broth Recipe:
Bone broth is a wholesome and delicious staple food that is relatively easy and cheap to make in your slow cooker or crockpot.
For making my bone broth, I use about 3 lbs of bones – like the carcass left from my favorite roast chicken recipe.
Just throw the ingredients except for vinegar in your crockpot and let it run overnight. Bone broth for lunch!
Which bones are best for making bone broth?
- Beef, Bison and Lamb Bone Broths: A combination of neck bones, shanks, oxtails, and knuckles work particularly well.
- Poultry (Chicken, Duck or Turkey) Bone Broths: Use the whole bird, the carcass of a roasted bird and go ahead and toss in a few chickens, turkey or duck feet if you like.
- Pork Bone Broth: For homemade pork bone broth, the best bones to use are neck, hock, and feet. Pig ears also make for a nice broth – look for them at your Asian grocery store.
Do I need a crockpot to make this bone broth recipe?
Nope, you can make bone broth on the stove or in an Instant Pot.
Can you cook bone broth too long?
Yes, you can! If you let the bone broth got longer than 24-48 hours in your crockpot, it can turn and become bitter.
Can I make this bone broth recipe without vinegar?
You can but you will miss out on some of the health benefits. Adding an acid to homemade bone broth helps extract collagen from the bones.
What else can I add to bone broth?
Celery and/or celeriac root, carrots, leeks, and onions are my go-to add-ins and these are pretty standard.
You can get creative and take it into an Asian direction by adding star anise, garlic, lemongrass and ginger, cinnamon and cloves to beef broth for a quick interpretation of Vietnamese Pho.
For a Mediterranean twist, add parmesan rinds, some pepper, garlic, rosemary and thyme to the broth.
The possibilities are endless.
Tips for making this bone broth recipe:
- It’s best to use the bones of organic/pastured animals.
- You can flavor this bone broth any way you want using whole spices like lightly crushed peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and coriander.
- It takes time for the minerals and nutrients to be drawn out of the bones and into the broth so make sure to cook it for the whole 16, or AT LEAST 8 hours.
- To add extra flavor, consider roasting the bones in a 450?F hot oven. Take them right up to the edge of “burnt.” Once you’re ready to boil the bones, loosen the brown bits on the bottom of the roasting pan with a little water and add them to your soup pot. This adds even more flavor!
- Cool your homemade bone broth as quickly as possible. This prevents bacteria from entering and also will keep the broth fresher for longer. Once you’ve strained out the bones, add some ice cubes and transfer the broth to a shallow and wide container. Chill as soon as it’s cool enough to put in the fridge.
DID YOU MAKE AND LOVE THIS EASY BONE BROTH RECIPE? GIVE IT YOUR REVIEW BELOW!? AND MAKE SURE TO SHARE YOUR CREATIONS BY TAGGING ME ON INSTAGRAM!
How to make Bone Broth from Scratch in a Crockpot
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bones any kind, chicken feet are also a great addition because they’re loaded with collagen
- 1 onion sliced in half
- 2 carrots
- 2 pieces of celery
- sea salt
- 1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- filtered water
- salt and any spices you like I love to use Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute
Instructions
- Throw everything in the crockpot except the apple cider vinegar.
- Cover with filtered water.
- Simmer on low for at least 16 hours. I just let that bad boy go all night.
- When you’re ready to strain it, add 1-2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. This will draw out minerals from the bones.
- Strain through a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve. Or if, like me, you don’t have these things. Put your colander in a really big pot and strain it that way. I really need to get some cheesecloth.
Notes
- It’s best to use the bones of organic/pastured animals.
- You can flavor this bone broth any way you want using whole spices like lightly crushed peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and coriander.
- It takes time for the minerals and nutrients to be drawn out of the bones and into the broth so make sure to cook it for the whole 16, or AT LEAST 8 hours.
- To add extra flavor, consider roasting the bones in an 450?F hot oven. Take them right up to the edge of “burnt.” Once you’re ready to boil the bones, loosen the brown bits on the bottom of the roasting pan with a little water and add them to your soup pot. This adds even more flavor!
- Cool your homemade bone broth as quickly as possible. This prevents bacteria from entering and also will keep the broth fresher for longer. Once you’ve strained out the bones, add some ice cubes and transfer the broth to a shallow and wide container. Chill as soon as it’s cool enough to put in the fridge.
7 Comments
I’d like to find out more about bone broth healing qualities.
Who long does the broth last up too? Silly question. I just want to make sure.
About 5-7 days in the fridge, months in the freezer.
silly question but where do you get all the bones. Do I just buy a whole chicken from the grocery and stick that in or do I have to fish out the bones first…..
Do you use raw bones or cooked bones?
I enjoy the bone broth however I let the bones brown in an open pressure cooker and the house smell great then once it is browned , I add the other ingredients and cook 2 1/2 hours in the pressure cooker. My grand kids love it and call it brown soup.
I never heard of not adding the ACV till the end. I always add it at the beginning. What is the harm in doing so? Does it really act that quickly to extract the minerals?