Chicken Broth Recipe

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Making homemade chicken broth is so easy. You simply place the ingredients in a large pot, bring to a boil, then simmer.

The longer you simmer, the richer the broth. You can enjoy it as is, or use it as the base for many different recipes.

Homemade chicken broth served in a white bowl with a spoon.

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.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Expert tip
Frequently asked questions
Variations
Serving suggestions
Storing leftovers
Related recipes
Recipe card

Ingredients

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: I use 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.

The ingredients needed to make homemade chicken broth.

Instructions

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:

Simply place the ingredients in a large stockpot and cover them with water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, partially cover, and simmer for 3 hours.
Remove the solids from the broth with a large slotted spoon, then strain it. That's it!

A six-photo collage showing the steps for making a homemade chicken broth.

Expert tip

It's important to use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces in this recipe. They give the broth flavor and richness. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, for example, will not work in this recipe. They are too lean.

Frequently asked questions

Can I eat the chicken and 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 broth. You can see the white fat layer on top:

Is making your own chicken broth really worth it?

I think it is, yes. If you're going to use the broth as a base for other recipes perhaps it's not.

But if you're going to drink it in a mug, or use it to make, say, chicken noodle soup, it's definitely worth it. The homemade version is richer and tastier than store-bought broth.

Variations

The best way to vary this recipe is to use different vegetables. I almost always use onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and parsley. But other options include leeks, mushrooms, and fresh herbs such as oregano and thyme.

These certainly produce a broth that tastes quite different than the one of my childhood, but they do make a nice variation on the classic recipe.

Serving suggestions

This rich broth is 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:

Chicken noodle soup served in a white bowl with a red napkin.

Or with matzo balls:

Matzo ball soup served in a white soup bowl.

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 it into a very flavorful egg drop soup.

Storing leftovers

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.