Easy Homemade Bone Broth in the Crockpot

Homemade bone broth is nourishing, helps to heal and seal the gut and provides you with lots of minerals and nutrients like collagen. Learn how to easily make homemade bone broth in the Crockpot with very little effort, and a lot of payoff!

Do you ever wonder why when you’re sick you’ve been taught to eat soup? Is it a silly tradition or did our grandparents and those before us know something we don’t? In the generations before us, people cooked with real ingredients. They didn’t have the convenience of store bought, ready-made ingredients. Instead, they made everything from scratch.

Over the years, our lives have gotten busier and we’ve relied more and more on the grocery store for our food, instead of our own kitchens. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things I buy at the grocery store for convenience reasons. It’s not realistic for most of us to make everything from scratch. BUT, there are some things that really should be made from scratch, including bone broth.

For years I put off trying to make my own bone broth because I thought it was hard, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Homemade bone broth is simply roasted bones simmered in water, vegetables and aromatics for a long period of time. That’s it! Let me show you how you too can start making your own homemade bone broth. Trust me, you won’t want to go back to the store bought stuff once you try this!

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VIDEO TUTORIAL

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BROTH, STOCK AND BONE BROTH?

If you’ve ever made homemade soup you’ve probably bought stock or broth from the store. You may wonder if bone broth is the same thing, and it’s actually not. What is broth, versus stock, versus bone broth? Let’s find out!

Broth: Broth is meat and some bones, vegetables and aromatics simmered in water for a short period of time, usually one to two hours. The result is a nice light and flavorful base for homemade soup. This is typically what you find in the store.

Stock: Stock is roasted bones, that may have some meat left on them, vegetables and aromatics simmered in water for a longer period of time, usually 4-6 hours. The goal is to extract collagen from the bones, which results in agelatinous finished product when its cooled. You can use stock to deglaze pans and to thicken dishes, as opposed to using it as a soup base.

Bone Broth: Bone broth is made with roasted bones, that may have some meat left on them, vegetables and aromatics that are simmered in water for a long period of time, usually 12-24 hours. The simmering time allows natural collagen, vitamins and minerals to be extracted from the bones, which results in a nourishing bone broth.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF BONE BROTH?

• Bone broth is full of nutrients.
  • It contains vitamins and minerals like Vitamin A, zinc and iron.
  • Bone broth also contains natural collagen.
• Bone broth is good for joint and bone health.
  • As we age, the collagen in our body depletes, which can result in joint issues and bone issues. By consuming collagen, especially natural collagen, that can help increase collagen levels in the body and help improve joint issues.
  • Consuming collagen can also help strengthen the bones.
• Bone broth can help promote gut health.
  • Bone broth consumption can help reduce inflammation in the gut, which may help to heal issues like leaky gut.

To find out more, check out this article!

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BONE BROTH

TOOLS YOU MAY NEED

• 7 qt Crockpot
• Measuring cups
• Ladle
• Fine mesh strainer (see notes for alternatives)
• Glass containers with lids

INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE BONE BROTH

• 1-2 pounds of roasted chicken bones
• 2-3 cups of vegetable scraps from celery and carrots
• 1 medium onion (diced or quartered)
• 4 (or more) peeled and smashed garlic cloves
• Optional: aromatics (rosemary, thyme) 
• 2.5 quarts of water (10 cups)

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• I’ve had great success with using whole chicken carcasses and chicken legs, but you should be successful with almost any part of the chicken. This recipe should also work with beef bones as well!
• Using a rotisserie chicken carcass is a quick and affordable option. You could also cook a whole chicken either in the Crockpot or in the oven, pick the meat off the bones and then make your bone broth with those bones.
• I like to roast chicken legs in the oven, pick the meat off the bones and then use those bones to make bone broth.
• If you’re not ready to use your bones right after cooking them, simply place them in gallon freezer bags and freeze until you’re ready to make bone broth!
• You can also freeze your veggie scraps in gallon bags and use them as you need them.
• I like to dice up onions and freeze them ahead of time and have found great success that way, but you could also use quartered onions as well!
• Season the bone broth to taste with salt and pepper once it’s finished and you’re ready to use it.

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING HOMEMADE BONE BROTH

Place bones (in this case I used chicken bones), veggie scraps, onion, garlic, aromatics and water into a Crockpot.

Add the lid to the Crockpot, turn it to low and allow everything to simmer for 12-24 hours.

After 12-24 hours, use a handheld strainer like a slotted spoon and remove as many bones, veggie scraps as you can and place them in a separate bowl to cool.

Using a fine mesh strainer or a colander lined with coffee filters, strain the bone broth to remove any other bits of bones, flesh, veggies, et cetera, to get a nice filtered bone broth.

That’s it! Use right away, place in an airtight container for 5-7 days or freeze for 6-8 months! See notes for more info on freezing! Also, please note my broth has a bit of a red tint because the bones I used were seasoned with red spices. The taste is still just as delicious!

NOTES

• Homemade bone broth is gelatinous when it’s cold, but turns to liquid once it’s heated up!
• Straining methods:
  • Use a slotted spoon to remove most of the bones and veggie scraps.
  • Use a fine mesh strainer, or in my case a mesh coffee filter, to strain any remaining bits that were missed.
  • You can also line a colander with coffee filters and place over a large bowl and strain the bone broth that way.
• Storage:
  • Refrigerator: If I know I’ll use my bone broth within the week, I’ll store some in the refrigerator in a quart sized mason jar with an airtight lid.
  • Freezer: To have a reserve of bone broth, I like to freeze it in quart sized mason jars with airtight lids.
    • The important note when freezing in glass is to leave enough headspace to allow the liquid to expand.
    • The headspace is the amount of space from the top of the broth to the top of the jar. I like to leave about 2 inches or so of headspace.
• Uses:
  • Use this homemade bone broth in homemade soup recipes and other dishes that require broth or stock.
  • Drink homemade bone broth by itself as a nice warm drink that is full of nutritional benefits! It may sound weird, but it’s absolutely delicious!

Continue to Content

Homemade Bone Broth

Yield: 2.5 Quarts

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 12 hours

Total Time: 12 hours 5 minutes

Homemade bone broth is nourishing, helps to heal and seal the gut and provides you with lots of minerals and nutrients like collagen. Learn how to easily make homemade bone broth in the Crockpot with very little effort, and a lot of payoff!

Print

Ingredients

• 1-2 pounds of roasted chicken bones
• 2-3 cups of vegetable scraps (carrots, celery)
• 1 medium onion (diced or quartered)
• 4 (or more) peeled and smashed garlic cloves
• Optional: aromatics (rosemary, thyme)
• 2.5 quarts of water (10 cups)

Instructions

1. Place bones (in this case I used chicken bones), veggie scraps, onion, garlic, aromatics and water into a Crockpot.
2. Add the lid to the Crockpot, turn it to low and allow everything to simmer for 12-24 hours.
3. After 12-24 hours, use a handheld strainer like a slotted spoon and remove as many bones, veggie scraps as you can and place them in a separate bowl to cool.
4. Using a fine mesh strainer or a colander lined with coffee filters, strain the bone broth to remove any other bits of bones, flesh, veggies, et cetera, to get a nice filtered bone broth.
5. That's it! Use right away, place in an airtight container for 5-7 days or freeze for 6-8 months! See notes for more info on freezing!

Notes

NOTES

• Homemade bone broth is gelatinous when it's cold, but turns to liquid once it's heated up!
• Straining methods:
• Use a slotted spoon to remove most of the bones and veggie scraps.
• Use a fine mesh strainer, or in my case a mesh coffee filter, to strain any remaining bits that were missed.
• You can also line a colander with coffee filters and place over a large bowl and strain the bone broth that way.
• Storage:
• Refrigerator: If I know I'll use my bone broth within the week, I'll store some in the refrigerator in a quart sized mason jar with an airtight lid.
• Freezer: To have a reserve of bone broth, I like to freeze it in quart sized mason jars with airtight lids.
• The important note when freezing in glass is to leave enough headspace to allow the liquid to expand.
• The headspace is the amount of space from the top of the broth to the top of the jar. I like to leave about 2 inches or so of headspace.

Nutrition Information

Yield 10 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 278Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 69mgSodium 114mgCarbohydrates 15gFiber 5gSugar 4gProtein 25g

Nutrition facts can vary based on different brands of ingredients and does not account for substitutions. This nutrition information is only an estimate.

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ARE YOU LOOKING FOR MORE CROCKPOT RECIPES?

Looking for more easy recipes that you can make in the Crockpot? Check these out!

• Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot
• How to Cook a Whole Chicken in the Crockpot
• Homemade Apple Butter in the Crockpot
• Crockpot Chili

Did you make these easy homemade bone broth? If you enjoyed it, I’d really appreciate if you came back and gave the recipe a five star rating! Tag me on Instagram (@thesimplehomeplace) to show me your own recreation of this recipe!