Making homemade chicken broth is so easy. Place the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, then simmer. The longer you simmer, the richer the broth.
Once you’ve made this amazingly flavorful soup from scratch, you won’t be able to ever go back to canned (except maybe as a base for other recipes). There’s simply no comparison!
And the best part? Making this homemade chicken broth recipe is so easy. You simply dump a few ingredients into a large pot, fill it with water, turn on the heat, and a few hours later, you can enjoy a cup of a rich, warm, comforting broth.
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this flavorful soup. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Fresh chicken: For the richest and most flavorful soup, use bone-in and skin-on chicken pieces, and use dark meat. I often use drumsticks or thighs.
Vegetables and herbs: Onion, garlic cloves, carrots, celery, and parsley.
Kosher salt and whole black peppercorns: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use, or the soup could end up too salty.
But isn’t it a lot of work?
No! It’s so easy to make homemade chicken broth. As mentioned above, you literally dump a few ingredients in a large stockpot, then pretty much leave them alone for three hours. The detailed instructions are listed in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:
1. Simply place everything in a large stockpot and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, partially cover, and simmer for 3 hours.
3. Remove the solids from the broth with a large slotted spoon, then strain it. That’s it!
Can I eat the chicken and the vegetables?
That’s up to you. The longer you simmer the broth, the richer and tastier it will be, and the drier the meat will end up.
So one option is to just throw the chicken out. But if you can’t bring yourself to do that, try using it in a recipe such as these chicken patties or maybe these turkey patties.
The same goes for the vegetables – at this point, they will be limp and lifeless. If you want to serve your soup with vegetables (such as carrots, for example), it’s best to add them to the stockpot about 30 minutes before it’s ready, to keep them tender-crisp.
Should I remove the fat layer?
I don’t. I think it’s delicious. But many people do remove it. If you want to remove it efficiently, it’s best to chill the soup first. Once it’s chilled, you can easily remove the congealed fat layer from the top. Here are my refrigerated jars of homemade chicken broth – you can see the white fat layer on top:
What to serve with homemade chicken broth?
It’s really good as it is. I keep portions of it in mason jars and reheat them in the microwave. I simply drink it. But you can obviously serve it in a soup bowl and add all kinds of things to it.
My Israeli grandma used to serve hers with egg noodles:
Interestingly, my Dutch grandma served it with tiny cooked meatballs and no starches or veggies. My father loads his with cooked shredded chicken and with lots of vegetables. And my mother in law serves hers with cooked white rice.
Want more ideas? You can try adding some plain cooked shirataki noodles (omit the butter and Parmesan), or spiralized zucchini – add it raw and it will gently cook in the hot broth.
You can also turn your homemade chicken broth into a very flavorful egg drop soup.
How long does it keep?
This broth keeps well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for about 5 days. You can also divide some of it into individual portions and freeze them in 1-cup containers. 8-ounce mason jars work well for this purpose.
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Homemade Chicken Broth
INGREDIENTS
- 4 lb. chicken pieces, bone-in, skin-on
- 1 large onion quartered
- 4 garlic cloves unpeeled
- 2 large carrots
- 2 stalks celery cut into thirds
- 1 small bunch parsley
- 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (not table salt)
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 3 quarts water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place all the ingredients in a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot. Bring to a boil. This will likely take about 20 minutes.
- Skim the foam layer from the top, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Partially cover the pot, and simmer for 3 hours. Check on the soup periodically to make sure it maintains a steady slow simmer rather than reaching a boil.
- Remove the solids using a large slotted spoon, then strain the broth through a colander. If you can’t bring yourself to discard the meat, keep it and use it (without the skin) in these chicken patties.
- You can serve the broth immediately. Or cool completely, refrigerate overnight, and the next day, remove the fat layer from the top before reheating.
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NOTES
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.