There is nothing quite like the rich, savory depth of homemade chicken broth to elevate your favorite soups, stews, and risottos. This classic recipe features bone-in chicken and a fragrant bouquet garni, slowly simmered to create a clear, flavorful base that surpasses store-bought alternatives. It’s a simple kitchen essential that brings professional-quality taste and nourishment to every dish you create.
Jump to:
🌿 The Ingredients
This recipe relies on a thoughtful blend of protein, hearty aromatics, and fresh herbs to achieve its signature depth and richness. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
📝 Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chicken Parts: Using bone-in, skin-on pieces is essential for a rich flavor and a gelatinous body; you can also use a leftover roasted carcass or extra chicken wings for added collagen.
- Aromatics: The combination of onion, carrots, and celery creates a classic flavor base, but you can easily swap or add leeks, parsnips, or garlic cloves for a different flavor profile.
- Fresh Herbs: A bouquet garni of fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley provides the best aroma, though you can substitute with dried herbs (use about one-third of the amount) if fresh ones aren’t available.
- Peppercorns: While the recipe calls for pepper, using whole black peppercorns instead of ground pepper helps keep the stock clear and prevents it from becoming cloudy.
- Salt: It is best to season lightly while simmering, as the saltiness will concentrate further when the stock is reduced or used in other recipes.
Refer to the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🔥 Tips and Tricks for the Best Broth
- Don’t Waste the Meat: Since broth is made with meaty chicken parts, the meat can often be salvaged! After simmering, remove the chicken and shred it to use in chicken salad, tacos, or the very soup you’re making with the broth.
- Keep it at a Bare Simmer: To ensure a clear, golden broth, never let the pot boil vigorously. High heat emulsifies the fats and proteins, resulting in a cloudy, greasy broth rather than a clean one.
- Season at the End: While you add salt at the beginning, wait until the very end of the 2–3 hours to do your final seasoning. As the liquid reduces, the flavors concentrate, and you don’t want the broth to become overly salty.
- Avoid Stirring: Once you add your vegetables and bouquet garni, resist the urge to stir the pot. Stirring breaks down the softened vegetables and herbs, which can make your broth murky.
- Quick Chill for Safety: To preserve the fresh flavor and ensure safety, transfer the strained broth into smaller containers or an ice bath to cool it down quickly before placing it in the fridge.
👩🏼🍳 How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth
- Step 1: Place the chicken pieces in a large stock pot and cover with cool water.
- Step 2: Bring to a simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, skimming impurities from the surface of the liquid occasionally.
- Step 3: Make a bouquet garni by adding fresh herbs to a square of cheesecloth tied together by kitchen twine (see NOTES).
- Step 4: Add the bouquet garni, carrots, celery, and onion to the simmering broth. Gently simmer for about 2 hours.
- Step 5: Use tongs to remove most of the chicken from the broth, then strain it through a sieve into another pot.
- Step 6: Chill and then remove the congealed fat from the surface. The broth is now ready to store in the fridge (or freezer) until ready to use.
Expert Tip: Repurpose the Meat
Don’t let the chicken go to waste! While the long-simmering process draws out the moisture and leaves the meat a bit stringy, it is still perfectly delicious when repurposed in dishes like chicken salad, tinga tacos, or chicken enchiladas, where it can be shredded and mixed with flavorful sauces or dressings.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
This broth is made using meaty chicken parts and is simmered for a shorter amount of time, resulting in a lighter, more seasoned liquid that is perfect for sipping or using as a base for delicate soups.
Yes! Simply pour the strained and cooled broth into freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty bags, leaving about an inch of headspace for expansion, and store it for up to six months.
Cloudiness usually occurs if the liquid is allowed to reach a rolling boil or if the surface isn’t skimmed during the initial stages. To keep it clear, always maintain a very low, gentle simmer.
Once the broth has been strained and chilled, it will stay fresh in an airtight jar or container for three to four days.
Absolutely. You can place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours to achieve a rich, savory flavor with minimal hands-on effort.
🍲 Perfect Recipes for Homemade Chicken Broth
Ready to make the best soup base in the world? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Homemade Chicken Broth
Video
Equipment
- 10 to 12 quart stock pan, plus another large pot for straining into
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken pieces, skin-on, bone-in
- 1 gallon water
- 3 bay leaves fresh, (if dried, use 2)
- 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper optional
For the Bouquet Garni
- 2 sprigs rosemary fresh
- 2 sprigs thyme fresh
- 2 sprigs parsley fresh
For the Mirepoix
- 3 medium onions peeled and quartered
- 3 large carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 4 stalks celery roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a large stock pan and fill with water until the chicken is covered by about 1 inch (usually about 1 gallon of water). Add the bay leaves, salt, and pepper.4 lbs chicken, 1 gallon water, 3 bay leaves, 2 teaspoon Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Bring water to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook for 30 minutes, skimming any impurities that float to the top.
- Make the bouquet garni by placing the herbs on a square piece of cheesecloth and folding up the edges to form a pouch. Tie together with a string, allowing enough string to easily pull the bouquet garni from the pan when needed.2 sprigs rosemary, 2 sprigs thyme, 2 sprigs parsley
- Carefully add the mirepoix (onions, carrots, and celery) and bouquet garni into the pot. Simmer for an additional 2 hours, skimming impurities that rise to the surface.3 medium onions, 3 large carrots, 4 stalks celery
- Use a pair of tongs to remove the large pieces of chicken from the broth into a large bowl (the chicken can be pulled from the bones and saved for another use). Carefully strain the broth through a colander into a separate pot. Season with salt.
- Place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Remove from the fridge and use a spoon to skim off the congealed fat that has formed on the surface. The broth is now ready to use.
Regina says
I can pull off the chicken meat to use in your Chicken Tortilla soup?
Kris Longwell says
Absolutely!!
CATHY C TARR says
In step 6 it says “the broth is not ready to use”. Is there something else that needs to be done before use?
Kris Longwell says
Hi Cathy!! Wow!!! Thank you SO MUCH for pointing that out to us! That is definitely a typo. It should read: “the broth is NOW ready to use.” LOL! What a difference one letter can make! Thanks again, we’ve updated the recipe to the correct wording!
Susan-Jane says
I only use enough water to submerge the chicken in the pot plus an additional 2 inches for a strong broth. I also add 3 nice sized parsnips in addition to the celery carrots and onion, plus 2 heaping tablespoons of minced gar,ic and one tablespoon of sugar. The only herb I use is about 2/3 cup chopped parsley. Lowrey season salt and lemon pepper. When i skim off the rendered fat the next day, I use it to make chopped chicken liver.
Kris Longwell says
Sounds great! Thanks for letting us know! Best, Kris & Wesley