How to Make Instant Pot Bone Broth

Instant pot bone broth is so easy, nutritious and deeply flavored, you’ll be making and freezing this by the gallons. This recipe shows you how to make chicken or pork bone broth including all the tips and tricks you need to become an instant (pot) expert.

Food fads come and go, it is just how long they linger that we can’t always predict. I am fascinated how recipes and cooking techniques that my grandmother and great grandmother mastered daily are now all the rage.

Preserving foods and hot water canning is one these trends. Passing on processed foods and making everything from scratch, from crackers to bread is another. And now comes another popular food trend, learning how to make bone broth.

There are multiple ways to bone broth. This post will share how to make instant pot bone broth as well as the traditional way, in a pot on the stove.

Ingredients you need

Bones

You can make bone broth from just about any animal—beef, pork, chicken, lamb, even fish—and each one brings something different to the table. You can even mix and match! For the richest, most collagen-packed broth, use bones with a lot of connective tissue like knuckles, feet, necks, and wings. And don’t skip the meatier bones—they add loads of flavor.

For chicken and turkey, save the carcass from a roasted bird and toss in some necks, wings, or feet if you can find them (check your local Asian market or butcher). For beef and lamb, go for oxtails, shanks, knuckles, or neck bones. Pork neck bones, hocks, and feet are all great—and budget-friendly too.

Even if you’re not focused on collagen, bones like pork shoulder blades can still make a tasty broth. Just know that for that rich, jiggly texture, connective tissue is key.

Want deeper flavor? Roast the bones first! You’ll get a darker, more robust broth. But if you’re short on time, raw bones will still work—just expect a lighter color and taste.

And finally, don’t forget your aromatics! Onions, carrots, and celery bring it all together and boost the flavor.

Other ingredients

• Vegetables: I used carrots, celery and onion. Any vegetable scraps you have can add wonderful flavor to your homemade bone broth, like sweet potato peels and parsley stems.
• More flavor: I used bay leaves, but you can also use parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, or lemongrass, to name a few of my favorites. Add some garlic, ginger, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cloves and/or coriander seeds for even more flavor.
• Acid: It is recommended to add an acid, like lemon juice, vinegar or wine when making bone broth. The acid helps extract the collagen from the connective tissues during the cooking process. For this instant pot bone broth recipe, I used apple cider vinegar.

Step-by-step directions

For a bone broth that is richer in flavor and color, roast your meat bones before cooking them in the instant pot for bone broth. This step is optional, as you can make bone broth starting with raw meat bones. You can also sauté the meat bones in the instant pot before pressure cooking.

1. Add bones. Fill a 6-quart instant pot half full of bones.
2. Add aromatics. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, vinegar and peppercorns.
3. Add water. Add 8-10 cups of water, enough water to cover the bones entirely and still be approximately 1-inch below the MAX fill line.
4. Seal and cook. Lock the Instant Pot lid and set steam release knob to the “sealing” position. Cook on the “soup” function, high pressure for 120 minutes. It will take an additional 20-30 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to full pressure. Allow pressure to release naturally, which takes an additional 45 minutes.
5. Strain. Place a mesh colander over a large pot and pour the contents of the instant pot through the colander to strain out the solids.
6. Skim fat. Once bone broth has cooled, use a fat separator to skim the fat. You can also refrigerate the bone broth and then remove the fat that rises to the top. Bone broth will gelatinize when thoroughly cooled.

Expert tips and recipe FAQs

How to use bone broth

Many people enjoy drinking a cup of bone broth everyday for the nutrients and gelatin. I like to use my homemade stock and bone broth in soups. For the pork bone broth I made with my shoulder blade, I made a wonderful spicy pulled pork ramen.

I have been making pots of chicken noodle soup with lemon every week for over 10 years so my kids can take a thermos of soup to school for lunch everyday. Middle Child’s current soup obsession is my chicken tortilla soup or this Turkish chicken lemon soup.

Stove top directions

You can also make bone broth in a pot on the stove. First bring everything to a rolling boil then lower the temperature to simmer. How long you simmer your stock depends on the types of bones you are using. Smaller bones cook up faster than bigger, thicker bones.

While your broth is simmering, you might find foam floating at the top. Don’t worry about that. Just skim it off as it is just impurities being pulled out of the bones. Keep simmering your broth in an uncovered pot.

I have found the following suggestions for cooking bone broth, for optimum flavor and nutrient extraction:

• For chicken and turkey bones, simmer between 5-12 hours.
• For pork and lamb bones, simmer 6-18 hours.
• Beef bones require the longest time, so simmer 8-24 hours.

For me, I am making bone broth for flavor first then nutrients second so simmering over the stove for up to 12 hours is more than enough time.

Those that drink bone broth for health reasons want to insure they are extracting all of the collagen and nutrients from the bones. And that’s when you hear about simmering the bones, especially beef bones, for 24 or even 48 hours.

The time is significantly cut if you make it in the instant pot. For chicken bone broth, I cooked it for 2 hours in the instant pot and let it decompress naturally, which can take an additional 45 minutes — This is equivalent to roughly 32 hours of slow cooking!!

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Instant Pot Bone Broth

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

Instant pot bone broth is so easy, nutritious and deeply flavored, you’ll be making and freezing this by the gallons.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Additional Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 3 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Soups

Cuisine American

Servings 16

Calories 265 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2-3 pounds assorted meat bones see note
• 2 medium carrots coarsely chopped
• 3 celery stalks coarsely chopped
• 1 medium onion peeled and quartered
• 2 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• 8-10 cups water

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

 

• For a bone broth that is richer in flavor and color, roast your meat bones before cooking them in the instant pot for bone broth. This step is optional, as you can make bone broth starting with raw meat bones. You can also sauté the meat bones in the instant pot before pressure cooking.
• Place the bones in 6-quart instant pot. Pot should be about half full of bones.
• Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, vinegar and peppercorns.
• Add 8-10 cups of water, enough water to cover the bones entirely and still be approximately 1-inch below the MAX fill line.
• Lock the lid onto Instant Pot and set steam release knob to the "sealing" position.
• Press the "soup" button and set your Instant Pot for high pressure for 120 minutes. It will take an additional 20-30 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to full pressure.
• All pressure to release naturally, which takes an additional 45 minutes.
• Place a mesh colander over a large pot and pour the contents of the instant pot through the colander to strain out the solids.
• Once bone broth has cooled, use a fat separator to skim the fat. You can also refrigerate the bone broth and then remove the fat that rises to the top.
• Bone broth will gelatinize when thoroughly cooled.
• Bone broth can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days and up to one year.

Notes

For bone broth high in collagen, be sure to use an assortment of meat bones and connective tissues. Read full post for more information about this.

For this chicken bone broth, I used the leftover carcass of a Costco roasted chicken plus 5 or chicken feet.

If you want to make pork bone broth with a pork shoulder blade, add some some pig neck bones for the collagen.

Stove top directions: First bring everything to a rolling boil then lower the temperature to simmer. How long you simmer your stock depends on the types of bones you are using. Smaller bones cook up faster than bigger, thicker bones.

While your broth is simmering, you might find foam floating at the top. Don’t worry about that. Just skim it off as it is just impurities being pulled out of the bones. Keep simmering your broth in an uncovered pot.

TO STORE: Store your bone broth in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

TO FREEZE: You can also freeze bone broth. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months. Consider freezing bone broth in silicone ice molds. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer safe bag. You can reheat these ice cubes on the stove or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 265kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 32gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 156mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1g

Keyword how to make bone broth, instant pot bone broth, pork bone broth

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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