I know “bone broth” is all the rage lately, but the truth is, it’s the same stuff your grandma made 50 years ago to make soup, stew, casseroles, etc. It’s far more flavorful, thicker (in the best way possible), and so, so good for you. Bone broth is the reason doctors recommend chicken soup to help you feel better– it’s stuffed with all kinds of nutrients AND it’ll help keep you hydrated. The thing about bone broth is that it SHOULD, when done right, take hours and hours to make. This Instant Pot bone broth recipe has all the goodness of the traditionally-made version in a fraction of the time (and none of the watching-the-pot-ness).
Calling this Instant Pot bone broth recipe a “recipe” is a little generous. Part of the beauty of bone broth is that you can make it with what’s already in your fridge and pantry. That’s why it’s been popular for hundreds, if not thousands, of years– it costs virtually nothing to make, but can fill up a belly quickly. I freeze the bones from whatever I’ve made– a roast chicken, the Thanksgiving turkey, beef ribs– as well as the scraps from veggies I use routinely– the tops of celery or the peels of carrots get tossed into a gallon-sized baggie that just stays in my freezer– and pull them out when I have an afternoon at home. Choose a type of bone (so you have chicken, turkey, or beef broth, not mixed), drop them into your Instant Pot, add the scraps along with a quartered onion and a tablespoon of white vinegar, top with water, and hit go. Seriously, that’s it. Let it cook for a couple of hours, strain it, toss it all back in, and make another round. Yep– you can get two great batches of broth from the same ingredients.
So, what do you use this amazing liquid in? A glass, a recipe, or a spoon. Literally anything you’d use broth in, but Instant Pot Chicken Soup with Butternut Squash and Kale or Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana are two of my all-time favorites, whether I’m sick or not!
Ingredients
- Chicken, turkey, or beef bones-- enough to fill the Instant Pot about 2/3 of the way
- 2 c Celery/Carrot Scraps (or fresh if you didn't save them)
- 1 onion, quartered, skin on
- 1 T white vinegar
- Enough water to cover the bones and veggies (probably 8ish cups)
- Cheesecloth
Instructions
- Into your Instant Pot, place the bones, veggies, vinegar, and top with water.
- Close and lock your lid before setting the Instant Pot to manual, high pressure, for 120 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, allow it to natural pressure release so that you don't end up with broth all over your kitchen.
- While the pressure is going down, take your biggest mixing bowl and set a colander in it. Over the colander, lay cheesecloth.
- Open the lid and CAREFULLY lift the pot out to pour into the mixing bowl via the cheesecloth/colander contraption (say that three times fast!).
- Dump all the bones, veggies, etc. back into the pot, add another tablespoon of vinegar, top with water, and re-do the recipe a second time before trashing the bones and veggies.

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