If you happen to have any leftover chicken bones or wilted vegetables in your refrigerator, why not combine them and create your own homemade chicken stock? The process is quite simple and requires only a pot, a few essential ingredients, and a bit of time. It’s as easy as can be!
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A pot of simmering chicken stock will fill your kitchen with a delicious aroma that’s good for just about anything. Whether you want to make a sauce, enhance the flavor of your rice or use it as the base for a nourishing soup like this Chicken Corn Soup, the possibilities are endless. It’s the kitchen multitasker you didn’t know you needed — versatile, fuss-free and bound to make you feel like a culinary pro.
What Is The Difference Between Chicken Stock And Chicken Broth?
Chicken stock and chicken broth are frequently used interchangeably in everyday cooking. In many recipes, either can be used depending on personal preference and ingredient availability.
Chicken stock is made by simmering chicken bones, vegetables, and aromatics over an extended period. This longer cooking time allows for deep flavors and collagen extraction from the bones, resulting in a richer and more intense flavor. Chicken stock is a robust foundation for sauces and heartier dishes, lending them a full-bodied flavor.
On the other hand, chicken broth is made by simmering chicken meat alongside vegetables and seasonings, but for a shorter duration than stock. This results in a lighter flavor profile that emphasizes the taste of the chicken meat itself. Chicken broth is commonly utilized as a standalone soup or in recipes where a lighter touch is desired, bringing a more subtle chicken flavor to the forefront.
Recipe Highlights
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cooking time: 3 hours
- Cooking method: Stovetop
- Skill level: Easy
- Freezable
Ingredients And Equipment for Chicken Stock
To make your own tasty homemade chicken stock, first things first: grab chicken bones, some aromatic veggies, a big ol’ stockpot, and don’t forget a fine-mesh strainer.
- Chicken parts: You can use the meat, skin and bones from a chicken carcass, bones from chicken pieces, or a combination. Once this roasted chicken has been carved, I freeze the bones for later. Chicken wings are also a good option.
- If you have pieces of cut chicken, freeze them to add to the stock later.
- Vegetables: These are an essential component for flavor. Onions, carrots and celery are staples in stock, but you can also use a variety of other vegetables.
- Aromatics: Garlic, herbs and spices are needed for flavoring. For great flavor, try using whole peppercorns and anise seeds.
- Water: Use plenty of water to submerge the stock ingredients.
- Stockpot or slow cooker: Use a large enough pot to hold the water and ingredients.
- Strainer: This is necessary for straining out the solid ingredients.
“Simplicity is key when making homemade chicken broth. I like to place chicken bones or a leftover carcass into my crockpot and add onions, carrots, celery and a handful of fragrant herbs such as thyme and parsley. Then, I let the slow cooker do its work. The broth is a staple in my home for making soup, rice and gravy.”
— Jessica Haggard,
How To Make Chicken Stock
In making your homemade chicken stock, follow these seven simple steps for a delicious and versatile addition to your kitchen. You’ll love the amazing smell of the broth as it simmers in your pot.
- Add the chicken pieces, vegetables and herbs to a stockpot.
- Cover the ingredients with cold water.
- Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered for three to four hours. The longer you let the broth simmer on the stove, the better the flavor you will have.
- Stir the pot occasionally to distribute the ingredients, and add extra water if necessary to submerge everything.
- Let the broth cool, then carefully remove the chicken bones from the liquid. Strain the stock to capture the vegetables and remaining bits, leaving you with a clear, golden stock.
- Taste the stock to determine if any additional seasonings are required. However, keep in mind that this stock will likely be used in other recipes that will also require seasoning.
- Allow the stock to cool completely, then transfer it to storage containers and refrigerate. You can also pour it into freezer bags to put in the freezer, which will last several months.
This is your broth after hours of simmering. It’s deliciously rich and savory, and it smells so good.
Since we used the remnants of a chicken, it does render grease. Once I strain the broth, I will put the bowl in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to harden the grease, and then I can easily remove it.
You can see here that the grease has risen to the top of the bowl. In this case, it isn’t really much, so I didn’t remove it. If there are large pieces of cold grease, then, by all means, remove them.
Customize the stock
Homemade chicken stock is incredibly versatile. Feel free to use different herbs, spices, and veggies to match your taste, and use what you have in the fridge. I’ve even made flavored broths, adding jalapeno for a spicy broth and basil for Italian-flavored broth. It’s flexible and fun to play around with flavors.
Learn how to freeze vegetable scraps. When preparing herbs and vegetables, such as carrots and onions, save the peels, ends of tomatoes and peppers and stems of herbs in a freezer bag. These scraps can be stored in the freezer and used later for making broth.
“I always save scraps from chopping vegetables to use for making chicken broth. It’s so easy to save the ends of carrots, celery, onions and more in the freezer! It saves me a lot of time during the day, adds flavor and reduces food waste. An all-around win!”
— Megan Myers, Stetted
Recipes Using Chicken Stock
- Turkey and Rice Casserole – Use two cups of stock for flavor and cook the rice.
- Crockpot Ham and Potato Soup – Use chicken stock for this creamy soup that cooks up thick and hearty.
- Cheesy Mexican Corn and Bean Soup – Make a creamy broth that starts with plenty of chicken stock for this hearty soup.
- Creamy Tomato Basil Soup – This classic recipe mixes chicken stock and tomatoes for a flavorful soup.
Want To Store For Later, Here’s How
Homemade chicken stock can typically be stored in the refrigerator for about 4 to 5 days. To prevent bacterial growth, it’s essential to ensure the stock is cooled to at least 70 degrees F. before placing it in the refrigerator.
If you want to freeze chicken stock, pour it into freezer bags once it has cooled and freeze flat. You can also freeze the stock in food prep trays.
The Benefits Of Homemade Chicken Stock
Using homemade chicken stock in your dishes gives them a special flavor boost. It makes everything taste richer and more authentic.
Rich in nutrients: Homemade chicken stock is packed with essential nutrients derived from the simmered bones and vegetables, offering a wholesome and nourishing addition to your diet.
Provides a natural source of collagen: The slow cooking process extracts collagen from the bones, contributing to the broth’s natural richness.
You can control the flavor: Making your stock allows you to adjust the seasoning to match your taste buds, guaranteeing it’s just right — not too salty or bland.
Better flavor: Compared to store-bought versions, homemade chicken stock delivers a depth of flavor that’s hard to match, elevating the taste of your soups, stews and other dishes to a whole new level.
Hungry For More Delicious Recipes? Try these
“I love to use homemade chicken broth to infuse flavor and nutrition into simple foods. I use broth as the cooking liquid for rice, most grains and potatoes.”
— Michelle Goth, Blackberry Babe
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How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock
Equipment
Ingredients
- chicken bones the bones from a rotisserie chicken work great, chicken wings, or bones from a roasted chicken.
- 1 large onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- aromatics garlic, herbs, peppercorns, star anise, rosemary
- 6-8 cups water enough to cover the ingredients in the pot.
Instructions
- Peel the onion and cut in half or quarters. Cut the end off of the carrots and celery.
- Add all of the ingredients to your stockpot and cover with cold water.
- Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down to a slow steady simmer.
- Cook the stock for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Add more water to keep the ingredients submerged.
- When done, let the stock cool a bit then remove the chicken bones and vegetables. Using a large mesh spoon is helpful. When the bones are removed, set a strainer over a large bowl and strain the rest of the ingredients from the stock.
- Let the cool to at least 70℉ before placing the stock in the refrigerator. You can keep the stock in the bowl and cover it with a lid, or place it in other airtight containers.
- If you want to freeze the stock, pour the cooled stock into plastic freezer bags or other types of freezer storage containers.
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Nutrition
First published: Jan. 7, 2024. Last updated: Aug. 12, 2024 for better readability.
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About Jere’
Jere Cassidy is the writer and recipe developer behind the blog One Hot Oven. A passion for all things food-related led her to culinary school to expand on her baking skills and now to sharing easy recipes for all home cooks and bakers of all skill levels. When not in the kitchen, Jere’ likes to travel far and wide to find delicious food.
This article originally appeared on Food Drink Life.
I freeze my stock in ice cube trays. Most trays have 16 – 1 ounce cups.
After they are frozen, I transfer them into a quart freezer bag. This gives me two cups of stock portioned out in one ounce cubes. Easy to measure. Easy to use.
I meant to hit five stars, not four.
Thanks for rating the recipes. Glad you liked it.
Love that idea, so you always have the right amount of broth.
This Homemade chicken stock is hearty an easy to make. Tastes so much better than store bought stock! I like to make a big batch and freeze in portions! Life saver.
You are right, having chicken stock in the freezer makes it easy to pull out when needed.
The broth is rich, savory and also packed with flavor. It’s a great way to use up some leftover chicken bones and veggies. I’ll never go back to store-bought stock again!
I had a bunch of chicken bones from deboning chicken thighs that I didn’t want to just toss. This stock was super easy and so much better than store bought!
Glad you liked it, yes, it is way better than the store bought stuff.
I let my broth simmer for a few extra hours, and it was worth the wait! The longer cook time really intensified the flavors and made the stock extra flavorful.
Used leftover chicken bones and veggies from the fridge, and they gave the stock such a rich flavor! Love how versatile this recipe is for using up ingredients. Making homemade chicken stock is so satisfying and rewarding.
Loved this recipe. I had some chicken bones and thought to make stock with it. I found your recipe and decided to try it out. It came out perfect. Will use it tomorrow for potato soup. Thanks so much, x
This was sooo much better than storebought stock! It had so much flavor and it was easy to make! Thanks for the recipe.