Instant Pot Chicken Broth

Homemade chicken broth is easy to make, it’s rich and concentrated and is so much faster to prepare in the Instant Pot. When you make the broth yourself, it’s really inexpensive and you can adjust the flavor of the broth by adding whatever vegetables, herbs and spices that you like. 

Is it worth making your own chicken broth? Absolutely!

It’s so much more flavorful, it’s really easy to make and the Instant Pot makes the process so much faster too. You can make a big batch that you can use for so many things – soups, stews, sauces and may main courses too. It adds a depth of flavor to so many recipes. Making it yourself is also really inexpensive.

I also have a terrific recipe for Stovetop Chicken Broth, as well as Vegetable Broth and Beef Broth.

What is the Difference Between Chicken Broth and Chicken Stock?

In most cases, chicken broth is made of mostly chicken meat whereas chicken stock is made with both meat and bones. Chicken stock has a richer and more concentrated flavor because of the bones and the collagen. Technically, this recipe is chicken stock, because I always use some sort of bone-in chicken when making homemade “broth”.

What Part of the Chicken Should You Use For Chicken Broth?

I have the 6 quart Instant Pot, so I use about 1 pound of chicken for 1 full pot of broth. I have found that 3-4 chicken drumsticks works really well for this amount of broth, but you can use any part of the chicken.

I also save chicken wing tips when cutting up whole chicken wings or chicken backbones when I’m cutting up a whole chicken or preparing Butterflied Chicken, so if I have any of that in my freezer, I’ll add it to the broth as well. If you want a really rich and concentrated broth/stock, you can add more than 1 lb of chicken, or even a whole chicken.

I prefer using chicken drumsticks or wings for broth, but you can also use chicken breast, although it cooks much faster and has a tendency to dry out much more quickly, so I usually save chicken breast for other recipes.

What Other Ingredients Can You Add To Chicken Broth To Add More Flavor?

For the most basic chicken broth, I usually add a few dry bay leaves and a small handful of whole black peppercorns. I also like adding an onion and some garlic. Of course, wash the veggies before adding them to the broth. The onion peel will also add a beautiful golden color to the broth, so that is an added bonus.

I also have a stash of veggie scraps in my freezer that I keep on hand just for adding to broth. Whenever I prep vegetables to use in other recipes, I’ll save carrot peels, ends of celery, leek tops, mushroom stems, parsley or thyme stems, etc. (I also wash the veggies first before peeling them, cutting them and then putting them in my freezer storage bag or container.) The veggies add so much flavor to the broth and it’s a great way to get the most use out of your produce.

How To Cook Chicken Broth in the Instant Pot:

It’s so easy to make chicken broth in the Instant Pot. You can even use frozen chicken! Since I make broth so often, I store 3-4 chicken drumsticks in my freezer, so I have it ready to make into broth anytime I need and don’t even need to defrost it.

Place all the ingredients for the broth into the Instant Pot inner chamber. Fill the pot with water up to the maximum capacity. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and set the valve to “Sealing”.

Cook on Manual Mode on High Pressure for 35 minutes. Older Instant Pot models have the “Manual” button, but newer Instant Pot models just have the Pressure Level. Manual mode is the all purpose or default setting. If you’re using frozen chicken, you don’t have to add extra time, 35 minutes is more than enough, but if you add significantly more chicken, you can add a bit more time.

You can manually release the pressure or allow it to naturally release. It doesn’t really matter. If you do want to release the pressure yourself, keep in mind that it’s filled all the way to the top, so it may squirt out some broth, so release it gradually.

Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with a cheesecloth or a paper towel. This will ensure that your broth is perfectly clear.

What to Make With the Cooked Chicken From the Broth?

You can take the meat off the bone and add it to soups, stews, casseroles, make a small amount of chicken salad, add to rice or pasta dishes. My favorite recipes to use the chicken after making broth:

• Chicken and Mushroom Crepes

• Chicken Quesadillas

• Navy Style Macaroni

• Chicken, Rice and Mushroom Baked Burritos

Storing Chicken Broth

Store the chicken broth in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

I like using glass mason jars for storing the broth in the refrigerator and these plastic twist top containers for the freezer. They are a great size, either 2 cups portions or 4 cup portions, there’s no chance of the containers breaking, like glass ones and they don’t spill or pop off. Make sure to leave a little bit of room a the top since the broth will expand when frozen.

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