Bone broth is just one of those things that I never thought I would be making, cooking with, or drinking but here we are! I’ve made several batches of instant pot bone broth and always have some in our freezer to use in recipes or turn into soup.

I first heard about bone broth from Karalynn from Just Ingredients. She kick started my non-toxic journey and was always talking about the kettle & fire bone broth. She used it in place of broth for all of the recipes that she was making. I started with store bought like her but then branched out into making my own. This is also how I learned how to cook my first full chicken too! It was so exciting to finally be able to use all of every little bit of the animal and I took so much pride in learning these new skills.

Why Bone Broth?

Think of how our ancestors cooked. They used every piece of the animal that they could to get every last little bit of nutrients out of it. They worked hard to get and gather their food so that had to make sure that they used everything they could. A lot of people don’t realize that the bone marrow in bones is packed full of nutrients. Our ancestors would actually store the bones waiting for them to get soft so they could extract the bone marrow and eat it. By heating the bones we are able to get those same nutrients in our broth.

Should You Add Vegetables?

You can use just leftover bones to make your bone broth and it will be just fine. The cool thing is there are ways to add even more to nutrients to your broth though too. You can cut up vegetables to put in with your broth and cooking them will add the many nutrients to your broth. The other way to do this is to use all of the scraps that you’ve got leftover from cooking everything else. Every time I cut up carrots, celery, garlic, onions, etc. I save all of the scraps in a big freezer bag. When it comes time to make a batch of broth I pull out all my scraps and throw them in with the bones. This also makes me feel good because it’s another great way that we are further reducing our waste.

Instant Pot Basket Inserts

The first time I made bone broth I just threw it all in the pot. Vegetable scraps, bones, and water. Then when it was done I would use a cheesecloth to filter it and put it into the freezer containers. Then I saw someone using these basket inserts for their instant pot and I ordered them right away! They are a total game changer. Once the broth is done I just pull the basket out and toss what is left into the compost pile. It makes cleaning up a breeze and it’s a huge time saver too.

Instant pot bone broth using basket inserts.

If you don’t get the basket you need to make sure you filter your broth. You can do this by using cheesecloth over a bowl or mason jar. The last thing you want is a chunk of bone in your chicken noodle soup!

Instant Pot Bone Broth Ingredients:

Bones- you can use one whole chicken or you can also use beef bones for beef broth

Vegetables or Vegetable Scraps- optional but you can add more for flavor and nutrients

2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar- not optional, this is needed to pull the nutrients from the bones

Herbs- optional but will add a ton of flavor if you want to add more

Seasoning- optional but another way to add more flavor

Directions:

Put your basket insert in your Instant Pot (or Ninja Foodie).
Add all of your bones and vegetable scraps to the basket (or pot if you aren’t using a basket).
Fill the remainder of the pot with water and add the apple cider vinegar, herbs, and seasonings.
Place your lid on the Instant Pot and make sure it is sealed.
Set your timer to 120 minutes on high pressure.
Let this naturally release. This can take 20-30 minutes.
Remove basket insert if used.
Allow it to cool before adding to storage containers. If you did not use a basket make sure you filter the broth before putting it in storage containers.

Instant pot bone broth can be kept in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. It an also be frozen for up to a year. I like to freeze mine in the form of ice cubes to be able to take out as needed.

This is a recipe that you don’t need to be exact on. It’s one of those things where you can totally wing it and figure it out along the way. I’ve tried several different things and I still haven’t been able to ruin it yet. The key is the apple cider vinegar though.

You want your broth to come out gelatinous when it cools down. It should be almost like bone broth jello just because it pulled out the marrow (gelatin) from the bones. Don’t be discouraged if it comes out watery though. It’s still good broth and can still be used in. This typically just means that there wasn’t enough gelatin that made it out of the bones or the bone to water ratio was too high for the gelatin to make a difference. I’ve had versions of both where it was super thick and also super thin. The only difference between the two recipes were the bones and the size of the bird so water to bone ratio does matter.

Instant Pot Bone Broth

Broth that is PACKED full of nutrients.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 2

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Ingredients

Water
Animal Bones
Vegetable Scraps
2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions

Put your basket in your instant pot.
Add your bones and vegetable scraps to the basket.
Fill the pot up with water to the "max" line.
Add the apple cider vinegar.
Pressure cook for 2 hours and allow to natural release.

Notes

You don’t have to use vegetable scraps, you can also use fresh veggies if you want too.

Keyword Broth, Instant Pot

Recipes bone broth instant pot ninja foodie