Instant Pot “Better Than Botox” Bone Broth is full of natural collagen! Make chicken, pork or beef stock using kitchen scraps and your electric pressure cooker.
I talked in this post about how you’ll almost always find a mysterious bag of bones in my freezer. There’s also probably some onion peels, carrot nubs, parsley ends and celery leaves in there – it’s my bag of bone broth making goodies. All that stuff that you’d typically throw away in the garbage is perfect for making bone broth, or stock as it’s otherwise known.
So, whenever I’m chopping up some veggies for dinner, I’ll pull out that ziploc freezer bag and just load those peels, ends and leaves in there. And, when I’m making something like this Easy Roasted Chicken or these Short Ribs, those bones will find their way in there too. When the bag is full, I just empty it into my Instant Pot, add a good glug of apple cider vinegar (it helps pull the nutrients out of the bones) and add water to 1-inch below the fill line. Then, I just set it to cook on high pressure for 120 minutes. Once the 2 hours is up, I let the pressure release naturally (it takes about 15 minutes) and voila! Strain the broth and discard the bones and veggies and you’re left with the most beautiful, golden broth!
Typically, I’ll cook up a batch of Instant Pot bone broth once a week. It’s so much cheaper to make your own bone broth, rather than buying those cartons in the store – plus it tastes SO much better. So, good in fact that I normally just drink the bone broth, straight up, sipping it out of a coffee cup – especially needed in the Oregon wintertime when it rains for months on end! I also love to doctor it up with a bit of white miso paste and a squeeze of ginger from those little tubes that you find in the refrigerated sections at stores like Trader Joe’s. (You could also grate in some fresh ginger, but the tube is so much easier)
What else can you do with your Instant Pot bone broth?
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- Use it instead of water when you’re cooking rice or pasta – It adds flavor and nutrients.
- Cook your vegetables in it.
- Use it as a base for your favorite soup recipes.
- Add it to your mashed potatoes to keep them moist.
I like to freeze my Instant Pot bone broth in these silicone ice cube molds for easy use in recipes. Once the cubes are frozen, I package them up into a large ziploc bag. Each cube is about 1/3 cup of broth. If I need to thaw some bone broth quickly, it’s easy to just pop a few of these cubes into a small saucepan or into a microwave to thaw them quickly. It’s much faster than thawing an entire mason jar of bone broth.
Bone broth has been touted as being “better than Botox” because it’s full of goodies like collagen and gelatin. They’ll help plump your skin, coat your digestive tract and cushion your joints. That’s why it’s highly desired for your Instant Pot bone broth to gel after it’s cooled. The way to be sure it gets that high concentration of collagen and gelatin is to be sure that your ratio of water to bones is just right, and to be sure that you’re using organic bones that have a good amount of collagen to them. Conventionally raised chickens don’t have as much collagen in their joints and bones as an organically raised chicken. Marrow rich beef on the other hand, will produce plenty of gelatinous goodness.
However, don’t worry if your bone broth doesn’t gel, it’s still got loads of minerals and nutrition in there. Enjoy!
The BEST Instant Pot Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds assorted organic meat bones
- 2 carrots chopped medium
- 2 celery stalks chopped medium
- 1 onion halved, skin left on
- 2 cloves garlic skin left on
- Assortment of fresh herbs
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Generous pinch of whole black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 cups of water enough water to come to 1-inch below MAX fill line
Special Equipment: 6 quart Instant Pot or pressure cooker
Instructions
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Place the bones in the Instant Pot, filling it about half full with bones. Add in the vegetables, herbs, apple cider vinegar, peppercorns and salt.
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Fill the Instant Pot with water to 1-inch below the MAX fill line.
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Make sure your sealing ring is in place on the lid. Lock the lid onto the Instant Pot and set the steam release knob to the "sealing" position.
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Press the "manual" button and set your Instant Pot for high pressure for 120 minutes. (I find it easier to decrease the time because the timer resets at 120 after you decrease to zero.) It will take about 15-30 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to full pressure, then the display will show a countdown timer.
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Once the two hours is up, allow the pressure to release naturally. It will take about 15-30 minutes, then the float valve will drop.
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Strain the broth through cheesecloth or a strainer and cool. A good broth will usually have a layer of fat on the top, and will gelatinize when thoroughly cool. Remove the fat with a spoon and discard.
Recipe Notes
Your Instant Pot bone broth will keep fresh in the refrigerator for up to five days. For longer storage, I like to freeze 1-cup portions for easy use in recipes.
Don’t have an Instant Pot? You can make this bone broth in your slow cooker too!
Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Be sure to try these too:
Instant Pot Steamed Artichokes
Instant Pot Glazed Corned Beef & Cabbage
The Best Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Sausage & Kale
Instant Pot Cheesy Southwestern Lentils & Brown Rice
I also always have bags of veggie scraps and bags of random discarded bones from meals in my freezer. My kids like to joke that they are mom’s lab experiments 😉 Your bone broth looks great! I’ve made bone broth many times before but now am excited to make it in my IP. Love the “better than botox” line!
So excited that you got an Instant Pot Marlynn! Can’t wait to see more of your recipes using it!
I have not tried making bone broth, but it looks like a good recipe made easy by using an Instant Pot!
The Instant Pot definitely makes bone broth easy (and so much quicker)!
Your tip about the apple cider vinegar is such a good one! Also I haven’t used the tubes of ginger but I’m def looking for them next time I’m at TJ’s.
Yes! The tubes of ginger are SO handy (and cheap too)!
Can I use bones from a whole cooked chicken?
Definitely! That’s what I usually make my bone broth with. Enjoy!
ok. i NEED an Insta-pot, don’t I?!!! I see them everywhere and LOVE the idea of a quick and tasty meal. And I do use a ton of broth in my everyday cooking… OK! I’ll investigate… 😉
I say go for it Melissa – I love my Instant Pot and use it WAY more than I thought I would! So much so, that I’m considering investing in a second one.
First off, I HAVE to get an instant pot. I’ve been seeing so many good recipes using one lately! Secondly, you’ve inspired me to make my own bone broth this weekend! I didn’t realize how simple it was 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Hillary – Yes, it’s super simple to make broth at home! I almost never buy it at the store anymore. Enjoy!
This is a good reminder to keep my root vegetable scraps (I don’t like to add bits or cruciferous veggies that I love eating) for use in making stock. I usually do it in my slow cooker but if I had an Instant Pot, I’d do it there. It’s such a versatile appliance! When I make stock I also add some vinegar to pull out the minerals – something I learned from my raw milk/Nourishing Traditions days.
Hi . I’m posting this as I’m a novice user, second day of owning the pot. I’m using the IP Ultra. I read in you best instant pot bone broth about the ingredients and the instructions and then read that you just put the instant pot at 120 minutes (2 hours on my version) and put it on high and then start cooking. However, you did not mention which menu setting you were starting with. I tried the Pressure cooking setting, but that allowed only 35 minutes max. So I went to the soup/Broth setting and was able to program the time at two hours; programmed the temperature to the high setting and that was it. A few hours ago, I used beef knuckles, four of them and the basic onions, carrots, celery, parsley, a bit of salt and pepper all cut up and into the mix. I covered the bones about an inch above them and cooked on the soup/broth setting and on low for 90 minutes. This yielded a golden color mixture. Oily looking on top. No scum at all on top or anywhere. Currently, I have the second batch using the same bones. I did bake three of the four bones for 30 minutes; the other is fresh from the farm. Hoping that your recommendation for the bone broth at 120 on high was on the soup/broth setting for the ultra. Please respond. Thank you so much.
Hi Alex – I don’t have the Instant Pot Ultra, but I’m guessing that what you did was perfect! The soup/broth setting should be high pressure as well and get you the right result.
Hi, I am wondering how you actually use the bone broth. Once you are ready to add it to lets say a soup would you put the whole bone broth recipe yield for one soup recipe? Or would you dilute the bone broth for the soup base? thanks!
Hi Katie – I just use the bone broth as I would for any recipe calling for stock. 1 cup bone broth equals 1 cup stock.
What if you only have the carcass of one chicken? I halved evrything else but should it still cook at 120 minutes? That seems like a long time! I have seen other IP recipes that call for much shorter amounts of time? Curious about your thought process on time?
Hi Annie – Even at 90 minutes, you should get a tasty stock. It may not “gel” but you’ll still have a nutritious, flavorful broth.
A little tip I use in my chicken bone broth that takes it over the top: I put a piece of kombu seaweed in, and I get chicken feet at the local farmer’s market – the amount of collagen is amazing. Similar results if you buy a bunch of wings and throw them in. Also, toss a couple bay leaves in there! I also cook mine down on the stovetop after it comes out of the IP. Stores smaller, and you can just add hot water to get to the body/strength you want for recipes or soups!
I recently bought a side an beef and got soup bones. Since they aren’t cooked should I add more time to them if I want to use them in this recipe?
Hi Shayna – You should be find with the same amount of time. However, you may want to roast them first to add some extra flavor.
You should roast the beef bones for 1 hour @400 in the oven before placing them in the pot, flip them if you can at 30 min. This brings out more beefy flavor. I tend to run the pot longer for beef as the bones are much harder, sometimes as long as 8 hours. They should fall apart when done in the pot. You can’t really over cook these, in my experience.
You should roast the beef bones for 1 hour @400 in the oven before placing them in the pot, flip them if you can at 30 min. This brings out more beefy flavor. I tend to run the pot longer for beef as the bones are much harder, sometimes as long as 8 hours. They should fall apart when done in the pot. You can’t really over cook these, in my experience.
I’ve been making bone broth (formerly called “stock”) for about 50 years – from stock-pot to crock-pot to Insta-pot. I drink it and use it for many things, including the liquid in my homemade bread and buns.
Isn’t it so nice to have on hand Carol?
Am I to assume that the bones you are using are from a previously cooked roast?
I have made bone broth before, from beef bones purchased raw from the butcher, and I have always roasted the raw bones before adding to the pot, as it brings out a lot of flavor.
Hi Tim – Most often I am using leftover bones from a cooked roast or chicken.
I love the tips about roasting the bones first for better flavor.
We just started using our Instapot for bone broth…I can’t believe it took us so long to learn to make bone broth so fast.
I love your recipe! That’s how I make stove top broth. Unfortunately, I found your recipe aftet I made the broth.
I used 5 3 “ pieces of beef bone and covered to an inch below the max line with water. 90 minutes later, I allowed it to naturally release for 10 minutes. When I put it to manual release, the steam balve shot fat driplets along with the steam. What did I do wrong?
I just tried your slow cooker bone broth version – EXCELLENT! Ordering my trays & loving how much i will save and the quality well get from the broth. Try next time in my 10qt instant Pot.
Thanks so much,
Melisa
So happy you liked it Melisa! I make a batch of this at least twice a month and love freezing it as cubes for easy use in recipes!
I love making bone broth at home in my instant pot. But I have to say, organic chickens don’t have any more collagen than regular chickens. It’s perfectly fine to use regular chicken, you’ll still get great bone broth!
Thanks for the recipe! Do you put the bones in frozen, or do you have to thaw them?
Hi Janine – You can put the bones in frozen! So easy!
I love to buy Organic Rotisserie Chickens and make stock out of it. I feel it justifies the expensive price tag on the chicken. I also keep the fat in my stock instead of discarding it.
Hi,
Quick question….years later. I want to start making beef bone broth, specifically for the collagen and all the other amazing benefits! Can the instant pot really get out, in that short of time, all the nutrients and collagen OR is the slow cooking pot alternative better when one is trying to get the most from the collagen and nutrients…? I need to make a purchase and need to know the best option for my goals – if you can help..?
Kind regards,
Nicole
Hi there! Thank you for the recipie. I am currently using it to make my first broth batch! Thanks to the IP.
I had a question though, when freezing it, do you first let it cool after straining, scrape off the fat and then freeze it or do you just place the fresh bone broth from the pot into the molds and freeze it?
Hi Tatyana – I normally skim off the fat prior to freezing, but either way will work!
Hi Im new to making bone broth and have been intimidated to try it. I just got an instapot and this seems so much quicker and simple then waiting 24 hours. When it comes to collecting bones for your broth do you just lets say make a whole chicken one night and save the bones in the freezer , then lets say you make turkey thighs the next night you would save those bones too. Once you have enough chicken bones in the freezer do you make your broth? Do you throw the frozen bones in the instapot or defrost them first ? Do you mix bones from different meals ? Do you roast your bones first? Sorry for all the questions !
Also, I just bought fresh meat bones that i put in the freezer , can i used those uncooked bones to make my broth?
Hi Chantal. I’ll often mix poultry bones (turkey, chicken) but keep the beef bones separate in case I want chicken broth vs. beef broth. You do not need to defrost the bones first. Roasted bones give the broth more flavor, but it’s not necessary to roast them first. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Hi. I just wanted to mention that the bone broth is excellent added to your dog’s food. The collagen is especially helpful for your older dog’s joints. The “on the stove” method tells you to cook for 24 hours! The only thing you need for the recipe for dogs is the bones, water and the vinegar. My dogs love it.
I’m super disappointed, I used vines from a whole chicken I boiled so the meat would fall off and it tasted like water. Was really hoping to cut my chicken noodle soup recipe down by a few hours so I don’t have to wake up at a ridiculous hour to start making soup, but this kinda ruined my day 😭 the stock looked like stock but tasted like water. Ugh. Now bones that were disintegrating are in my trash as I can’t do anything with them now and my soup recipe for the day is not happening. Ugh
Brilliant idea !
I’m just wondering if it “gel”?
Either way with chicken or veal !
Thanks so much
2hrs isn’t enough to extract everything from the bones if your going into this for nutrients and not just flavor. Instant Pot’s do it quick, but not that quick.