Crockpot Bone Broth

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Crockpot bone broth is such an easy way to take the leftovers from a roast chicken meal and turn them into a collagen-rich broth that can become the base of so many other meals.

A jar of bone broth sitting on the bench surrounded by scattered onions, carrots and celery with a croc pot in the background.

Why This Recipe Works

Waste-not want-not: Reduces food waste. You can make more than one meal from your roast chicken dinner.
Easy method: Slow cooker bone broth is an easy way to make bone broth, The slow cooker does all the work while you sleep, work or play.
Nutrients: Bone broth can be a source of: Protein, (collagen) Vitamins and Minerals including Iron and Zinc. (batches of bone homemade bone broth are individual so exact nutrition is difficult to provide).

Table of Contents

Ingredients you will need

To make my crock pot bone broth you will need:

chicken frame (bones + skin)
onions
carrots
celery
thyme
water

A bowl of chicken bones on a bench sitting next to a jug of water, two sticks of celery, two carrots, a small bowl of thyme and two onions.

Ingredients Notes & Substitutions

To make bone broth you really only need bones, water, heat and time. You can of course flavor your broth by adding vegetables, aromats and herbs. You can also make bone broth with any bones. Beef bones, lamb bones, turkey bones and fish frames all work but will all have their own flavour profile.
Herbs: I usually use thyme in my broth, but parsley and rosemary also add a nice flavor.
Salt: You might notice there is no salt listed in the ingredients. I do not salt my bone broth and instead, season it when I use it.

How to make chicken bone broth in your slow cooker

Below are illustrated step-by-step instructions to make my slow cooker bone broth recipe, if you prefer just the written instructions then head straight to the printable recipe card below.

Prep: Roughly chop the vegetables

A large croc pot sitting on a bench, with chopped up carrots, celery and onions inside of it.

Step one: Place all the ingredients into your slow cooker, vegetables, herbs, bones, skin and water.

A croc pot sitting on the bench with chopped up vegetables, chicken bones and sprigs of thyme inside of it.

A croc pot sitting on the bench with chopped up vegetables, chicken bones and sprigs of thyme covered in water.

Step two: Cook on high for 12-24 hours or low for 24-48 hours. You want the liquid to have reduced by one third.

Step three: Strain the bone broth using a fine mesh strainer. For clearer bone broth lay cheesecloth or muslin cloth inside the strainer.

A large bowl sitting on the bench with drained bone broth inside of it, with a hand holding a sieve full of cooked vegetables and bones.

Step four: Cool then store in glass jars in your refrigerator for up to five days.

3 mason jars sitting full of bone broth sitting the bench with a hand screwing the lid onto one of them.

Step five: Optional: Skim the fat. Once cooled you should see two distinct layers in your bone broth jars. At the top there will be a hard layer of fat, this can be removed if desired. Below will be the bone broth which should be golden in colour and have a jellied consistency.

An onion, chopped celery and carrot sitting on the bench next to a mason jar full of bone broth with a hand holding a spoon stopping a layer of fat off the top.

Enjoy!

Top Tips

Here is how you can make this chicken bone broth perfectly every time!

Collagen extraction: Collagen/gelatin is what will give your bone broth a gel jelly-like consistency. Collagen extraction from bones requires heat and time, the lower the heat the longer the time. I find my slow cooker on high for 24 hours yields the best bone broth. At this setting, my slow cooker is at a continuous simmer which is perfect for collagen extraction.
Limit the liquid: You just want enough water to surround and just cover the carcass and vegetables. More than this and you just end up with more dilute bone broth.
During cooking you want the volume to reduce by approximately one-third so you will end up with approximately 600 millilitres of bone broth.
Salt: Don't salt your bone broth during cooking. Otherwise, you can end up with a salty broth that is high in sodium. I find it best to store the bone broth un-salted, then season it when you are using the broth to create a dish.
If you have used my crockpot roasted chicken recipe, leave the juices from roasting the chicken in your crockpot to get an even more flavorful broth.

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A spoon full of bone broth being held above a a full jar full of broth with a chopping board and vegetables laid out next to it.

FAQs

Is it safe to simmer bone broth overnight?

Leaving a saucepan unattended on the stovetop is never safe. It is however to simmer your bone broth in a slow cooker overnight.

Is it better to boil or simmer bone broth?

A slow simmer is perfect for making bone broth.

How to store bone broth?

Store your homemade bone broth in a lidded glass jar for up to five days in the fridge.

Can I freeze bone broth?

Bone broth can be frozen and stored in the freezer for up to 4 months. It can be handy to freeze bone broth in small portions in a silicone muffin tray before transferring the frozen portions to an airtight container.

A jug full of bone broth being poured into a 6 case muffin tin sitting on a bench with a chopping board and a tea towel next to it.

A glass jar of golden brown broth sitting in front of a slow cooker and vegetables on a marble bench top.

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