healthy homemade chicken broth

Healthy Homemade Chicken Broth – Using Leftover Chicken & Vegetables

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve been buying chicken broth for years from the grocery store without thinking twice about it. Luckily, I stumbled across a post on insta of a mom making her OWN chicken broth! I was completely intrigued; I didn’t know that was a thing?? Buckle up because healthy homemade chicken broth will rock your world. Homemade broth requires very little effort on your part, is filled with incredible flavor and nutrients, and reduces food waste. It’s a winner in my book!

This post is part of our Basic Cooking Skills series. Each week we will be doing a deep-dive into one basic cooking skill and a brand new recipe to accompany it to practice that newfound skill. Check back throughout the series for updates and new posts.


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Benefits of homemade chicken broth

To put it simply, homemade chicken broth is a game changer and you’ll never want to buy store-bought broth again. 

In Making Homemade Broth, we touched on some of the great benefits to making broth yourself that are worth repeating here. They’re THAT good.

  1. Lots of Nutritional Benefits

Like all homemade goods, you know exactly what goes into your homemade broth and don’t have to worry about any harmful additives or preservatives.

Due to it’s few contents of a roast chicken, veggies, herbs, and water, homemade chicken broth is bursting with nutrients like collagen, calcium and magnesium. Healthy homemade broth boosts immunity, fights inflammation, and is easily digestible to support gut health.

  1. Reduces Food Waste

Tasty broth uses ONLY food scraps and water! It truly reduces food waste and can use up meat scraps, bones, vegetable trimmings, and more. 

Of course fresh herbs and vegetables can be used to supplement your broth but aren’t necessary if you can store up enough leftovers!

  1. Stores Well

I love being able to make something in bulk and make it last. Homemade broth can last in your fridge for a week, frozen in portions and stored in the freezer for months, or if you’re into canning it can last for upwards of a year!

  1. It’s SO Easy!

The ease of this recipe cannot be stressed enough!

It requires a large pot filled with water, vegetable trimmings, and leftovers from a roasted chicken.

Within an hour you’ll have incredibly tasty broth and your house will be smelling amazing!

how to: prep the vegetables and chicken

If you’re planning on making broth, the few weeks ahead start storing any vegetable trimmings and chicken scraps in a storage bag in your freezer. I usually plan to make broth after every time I roast a whole chicken.

Doing this allows none of the chicken bones or meat to go to waste and I can reuse them fresh.

Large chunks of ingredients are totally okay flavor-wise, but it may be easier to stir if you halve large carrots or celery and separate the chicken bones.

Some of my favorite scraps to save are:

  • Onion skin and bulbs
  • Garlic skin
  • Carrot peels and ends
  • Celery leaves
  • Juiced lemons
  • Peppercorns
vegetables in a pot

how to: make healthy homemade chicken broth

Add all ingredients to a large stockpot and fill with water. There should be enough water to cover the contents of the pot.

Toss in additional fresh vegetables and herbs to supplement the flavor.

Some of my favorite add-ins are:

  • Mushrooms
  • Extra carrots, celery, and onions if needed
  • Fresh sprigs of oregano and thyme

Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Once cool, strain thoroughly and store.

(To get more life out of the strained vegetables and meat, try composting! Just don’t compost the bones, they should be tossed)

Stir into your favorite soups and sauces, or enjoy plain for a flavorful pick-me-up!

Equipment Needed

healthy homemade chicken broth

Healthy Homemade Chicken Broth

Create delicious chicken broth at home using leftover roast chicken and vegetable scraps. This broth will comfort you like no other and enhance your favorite soups and sauces.
4.86 from 7 votes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1 roasted chicken leftovers meat and bones
  • 4-8 cups combination of vegetable scraps and fresh vegetables onions, celery, carrots, garlic, mushrooms, lemon, oregano, thyme, pepper
  • 8-10 cups water as needed to cover stockpot contents

Instructions
 

  • Add chicken leftovers and vegetables to a large stockpot over high heat. Fill with water until covered.
  • Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.
  • Let cool and strain.
Keyword broth, chicken, healthy, homemade, stock

Pin me!

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healthy homemade chicken broth pin
healthy homemade chicken broth pin

What are your favorite ways to use chicken broth? Share in the comments below! I love using chicken broth to thin out Italian sauces and to serve as the base for lots of soups!

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64 thoughts on “Healthy Homemade Chicken Broth – Using Leftover Chicken & Vegetables”

  1. My mum always used to do this when I was a kid, I could never remember how though, and yet it’s so simple haha! I love it, really nice to have a reminder and I’ll definitely stop just buying it from the shops now! Nice post, thanks for sharing x

  2. Great post. Ive always looked at ready made soups in supermarkets and has shocked me as to what goes in it. I always love creating a carrot and coriander soup. But I will now have to make a chicken broth

  3. 5 stars
    Wow, I didn’t know this was actually a thing either. And how great is it that it can be frozen! Thanks for sharing, I will try this one out as well.

  4. I’ve actually never made homemade chicken broth before… but it doesn’t seem too hard! Maybe I should! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  5. I live for your recipes now. This looks amazing and as you post these I pass them on to my sister. With the cold weather around the corner here in NYC, this would be a great meal on those snowy days. Can’t wait to try this.

  6. I have never made homemade broth before. I usually just buy it, but this recipe looks easy enough. I may try it out! Thanks for sharing!

  7. Kalin, It’s really important to start cooking at home amazing thought. I am a big fan of broth (soup) which I used to buy sachets and mix with hot water whenever I felt to have it.
    But after reading your article I want to try preparing at home once, the way you explained was easier and pinpointed.
    Thanks for sharing this wonderful post😍😍

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  9. We just used up TWO rotisserie chickens and I wish I had thought to keep the “remains” so I could make this. I always forget that this is such a good option. I guess this was my reminder to do it next time!

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