Instant Pot Bone Broth

I’m so in love with my Instant Pot. I tell people that if I only ever used it for eggs, rice, and beans, I’d get my money’s worth. However, I’d been a little hesitant on venturing into bone broth. I felt like I need to see it cooking away in my slow cooker for two days. But after hearing how easy it was in the Instant Pot, and realizing it was the same size as my slow cooker, I caved. The slow cooker was donated, I had one less appliance taking up space on my counter, and I fell in love with Instant Pot Bone Broth.

Mmm… feet!

Some of you may be like me if you keep a bag in the freezer for “spare parts.'“ I use this bag as a collecting place for scraps of veggies (asparagus & mushroom stems, left over herbs, and miscellaneous bones). When I’m making broth, I pull out the bag, and dump it into my Instant Pot. No two batches are exactly the same, which occasionally is a bummer and leaves me wondering what I ate a lot of that month that created the delicious blend I was graced with!

After they’ve been baked, and the claws cut off.

Since I don’t cook whole chickens often, I do tend to use chicken feet (and sometimes necks) as most of my bone broth bones. I purchase the majority my meat from a local farm, and they sell chicken feet for a great price. I always have several packs in my freezer. On broth day, I bake up a pack for about 30 minutes which gives the broth great flavor. Of course, I do season them with olive oil & spices after cutting the claws off at the knuckle. Someone mentioned to me that cutting the claws at the knuckle helped get all the good stuff out of the bones, and I suppose it’s also helpful to not have some random claw floating around in your pot!

You will notice from my recipe that I like to add a little kombu in my mix of veggies. Kombu is a sea vegetable that can aid in digestion, has some cancer fighting properties, and is iodine rich. You don’t need to add it, but I also think it adds a nice flavor.

Everything in the Pot!

I use bone broth pretty much daily. I will use it to make soups & stews, I freeze some in cubes to add to rice when I’m steaming it, and some nights I just sip it straight from a mug. If you haven’t heard why bone broth is so amazing, get out from under that rock because it’s great for your skin, nails, joints, gut health and immune system. It does it all! And you need to try it!

Below is a basic, modifiable recipe for Instant Pot Bone Broth. Feel free to mix up the veggie and bone combos. I tend to use lots of mushrooms, asparagus & tons of rosemary. I usually have these in my freezer bag, but I also love the flavor fresh rosemary gives to the broth. Use whatever floats your boat!

Instant Pot Bone Broth

Ingredients:

Chicken Bones- up to 4 lbs, depending on how many veggies you’re adding (feet, necks, etc.)

Egg Shells (rinsed)- I usually toss in 2-3

2 Medium Carrots, roughly chopped

2 Ribs Celery, roughly chopped

1 Large Onion, quartered

6-8 Cloves Garlic, Smashed

Other chopped veggies- these come from my freezer bag, but can also be fresh

Herbs (my favorite is Rosemary)

1 Lemon, halved

1 Tbl Apple Cider Vinegar

A few pieces of Kombu Seaweed

Handful of Peppercorns

Sea Salt, to taste

Water, covering bones & veggies 1 inch from the top of the Instant Pot

Pin me for later.

Directions:

Roast the Bones, Onions and Garlic if desired. I roast them on low heat in the oven to carmelize them.

Add all of the Bones, Veggies, and Herbs into the Instant Pot.

Cover with water up to about an inch from the top. Be sure your Instant Pot is sealed, lock it and set it on high for 120 minutes.

Once the timer goes off, you can let it naturally release for about 30 minutes. Once it’s cooled, strain the broth. Place in containers and/or make some broth cubes in an ice cube tray.

You an freeze what you don’t need immediately. The broth will stay in the fridge for about 5 days.

Let me know if you’ve tried this recipe, and what variations you like to add in the Comments!