Make this Homemade Chicken Stock recipe from rotisserie chicken and vegetable scraps for just pennies! Easy, healthy, and delicious, chicken bone broth is perfect for making soups and sauces and countless other recipes.
Jump to:
Why Make Your Own Chicken Stock?
Soups are a personal specialty of mine, but I never would have learned to make delicious soups if I hadn't first learned to make a good soup stock. Canned broths and stocks just don't cut it.
Using homemade chicken stock (or bone broth as it is currently being touted) in your recipes will raise your cooking to a whole new level, giving depth and rich flavor to soups, sauces, braises, curries, stir-frys, gravies, casseroles, and anything else for which you normally use chicken broth.
Homemade chicken stock can be made entirely from scraps: leftover chicken bones, carrot peelings, onion peels and ends, celery tops and roots. The things many people throw away are the source of some of the best soup stock you can make!
This chicken stock recipe couldn't be easier to make, and the results are always amazing. It's nearly foolproof, too. (One time, I fell asleep while the stockpot was simmering and it boiled down too far because I slept an hour and half past when I was supposed to take it off the heat; but as long as you stay awake, it's foolproof.)
Homemade Chicken Stock Ingredients
Three Key Elements of Great Soup Stock
Homemade chicken stock has three basic ingredients: water, chicken and/or chicken bones, and aromatics. (Salt is optional.)
This chicken stock recipe gives you ample leeway to tweak your ingredient list to fit your needs.
- Water: The water you use matters. Be aware, if your water is treated and has an overpowering taste because of it (i.e, municipally added chlorine, chloramine, etc.), that flavor may taint your chicken stock, which will in turn negatively flavor whatever you make with it.
- Chicken: I prefer to make homemade chicken stock from rotisserie chicken, but you can use chicken bones from any cooked chicken.
- Aromatics: Aromatics are a combination of vegetables and herbs release and impart deep, rich flavors into the dish as it is cooking.
Herbs & Veggies
The veggies you use to flavor your stock are completely up to you. I tend to stick with the basic onion-carrot-celery combo for most stock - it's perfect for my homemade chicken pot pie.
As far as herbs are concerned, Herbs de Provence is my go-to herb mix when making homemade chicken stock; however, you can use whatever makes you happy: fresh sage and thyme are also good choices.
Salt: I usually add a little salt to my stock, but it's personal choice; much like using salted versus unsalted butter. I've included it as an optional ingredient in the recipe.
How to Make a Chicken Stock
To make homemade chicken broth, you must first debone the chicken. Set chicken meat aside to use for chicken pot pie, chicken salad, soup, or other purposes.
If you are not using vegetable scraps to make your stock, roughly chop vegetables. (i.e., onions, carrots, celery.)
Put the chicken carcass, skin and all the juices from the rotisserie chicken into a medium stockpot. Add the chopped vegetables or vegetable scraps. Season with Herbs de Provence and salt.
Add enough water so that it comes to about an inch above the chicken and vegetables. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove the pot from heat and it let steep, covered, for at least 1 hour.
After the stock has steeped and cooled, strain it through a metal colander to remove bones and vegetables.
If you'd like to remove the fat from the stock, let your stock cool until the fat settles at the top; or, allow it to chill in the fridge for about an hour, and then simply lift the fat off the top.
We prefer a more rustic stock; however, if you don't want any little bits in your stock, you can also strain it through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve.
At this point, you should have about 2 quarts of chicken stock, give or take.
For a more robust, concentrated chicken stock, return the strained stock to the stockpot.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat, and continue to boil uncovered for an additional 30 minutes to one hour, or until it has reduced by half (or more, depending on your preference).
Concentrated Homemade chicken stock, ready for cooking, freezing, or canning.
Substitutions
Herbs de Provence: Combine 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 2 teaspoons dried savory, and 1 teaspoon dried marjoram. Use 1-2 teaspoons of this mixture to make one batch of chicken stock.
Variations
Beef Bone Broth: This basic stock process can be used to make beef bone broth, pork bone broth, or seafood stock. Simply substitute in meaty beef bones, pork bones, or seafood shells for the chicken bones.
Garlic Chicken Broth: For garlicky recipes, add a small handful of garlic cloves garlic.
Easy Asian Chicken Broth: If I'm making a recipe with an Asian flare, omit the Herbs de Provence and throw in extra celery, sliced scallions, and sliced fresh ginger.
Citrus Chicken Stock: I occasionally throw an orange peel in my stock if I'm planning to make something like our Cranberry Orange Pearl Couscous. Use your imagination!
Equipment
For best results, make chicken bone broth in a heavy, durable stainless steel stockpot or large enameled Dutch oven.
Storage
Refrigerator: Homemade chicken stock can be stored in the refrigerator 4-5 days.
Freezer: Seal homemade chicken stock in an air-tight freezer-safe container. For best quality, use within 6 months. For small portions, first freeze stock in ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer to resealable freezer bags.
Canned: Homemade chicken stock can also be pressure canned. For best quality, use within 1 year.
Top Tip
Soup stock is a great way to use vegetable trimmings!
We keep a gallon-size resealable bag in the freezer at all times. Whenever we peel a carrot or cut an onion, the trimmings go not into compost or garbage, but into the freezer bag. Other candidates for the Soup Bag include wilted celery, that last handful of greens, cabbage cores, and apple peels.
Then, when we are ready to make stock, we just pull the bag out and pour it frozen into the stock pot.
Always consider the source when using fruit and vegetable trimmings; and be mindful of possible pesticide residue.
FAQ
While they can be used interchangeably in most recipes, there is a difference between broth and stock.
That stuff you buy in the can - that's broth. It's very thin: nearly water. Chicken Broth is made from chicken meat, simmered for a shorter period of time. (You can make it at home, too, but this isn't it.)
Stock is usually made from bones that have been cooked or roasted, and simmered for a long time, which yields deeper, richer results.
Some years ago, my hometown was abuzz with a new health drink trend - Bone Broth. It was everywhere: you could even take class in the Sellwood District on how to make it. When I first saw it being touted as a health drink, I thought I must have something extra or different that set it apart from regular soup stock. But no.
The truth is, Bone Broth is really just traditional stock - richer and thicker than broth by virtue of the collagen that drains out of the bones and joints during the long simmering process. You can make bone broth using bones from just about any animal; wild, domestic, mammal, fish, or fowl.
Recipes Using Chicken Stock
There are countless ways to use this homemade chicken stock recipe. Here are just a few of our favorites!
Want More Free Recipes?
Subscribe to our newsletter to get family-friendly recipes and cozy living ideas in your inbox each week!
Find us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too.
Homemade Chicken Stock
Equipment
- 1 Medium Stockpot 6-10 quarts
- 1 Colander
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken carcass including skin & juices
- 1 pound trimmings from onions, celery, and carrots give or take
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence or ½ tsp. dried sage + ½ tsp. dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt OPTIONAL
- water
Instructions
- Debone chicken. Set chicken meat aside to use for another purpose. If you are not using vegetable scraps to make your stock, roughly chop vegetables. (i.e., onions, carrots, celery. SEE NOTES)
- Put the chicken carcass, skin and all the juices from the rotisserie chicken into a medium stockpot. Add the chopped vegetables or vegetable scraps.Season with Herbs de Provence and (optional) salt.
- Add enough water so that it comes to about an inch above the chicken and vegetables. Cover and bring to a boil over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Reduce heat to LOW, and simmer for 1 hour.Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for at least 1 hour.
- Strain through metal colander to remove bones and vegetables. If you'd like to remove the fat from the stock, let your stock cool until the fat settles at the top; or, allow it to chill in the fridge for about an hour, and then skim the fat off the top. Personally, we prefer a more "rustic" stock; however, if you don't want any little bits in your stock, you can also strain it through cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve.
- At this point, you should have about 2 quarts of chicken stock, give or take.
- For a more robust, concentrated chicken stock, return the strained stock to the stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, and continue to boil uncovered for an additional 30 minutes to one hour, or until it has reduced by half (or more, depending on your preference).
- Concentrated Homemade chicken stock is ready for cooking, freezing or canning.
Notes
- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
- 2 or 3 carrots, roughly chopped
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Thank you for visiting the Good Hearted Woman. Remember to bookmark this site, and come back soon!
Originally posted October 31, 2012. (My 2nd post!)
Anjali says
I had no idea how easy it was to make chicken stock at home! I'll never be going back to store bought again!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
A very helpful post and it is a must make recipe to keep in hand. Homemade chicken stock is so much healthier and delicious than the store bought ones.
Beth says
This looks so delicious and easy! I can't wait to make my own! So excited!
Angela says
Perfect use for the leftover rotisserie chicken carcass! Bone broth is so good for you and I'm happy to have found a recipe that's easy to make too!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
Homemade chicken stock is perfect - and this sounds so good! I love using it in soups and stews!