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)
Uses for Bone Broth
- 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.
How Do You Freeze Bone Broth?
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.
You can also freeze the bone broth in the same silicone mold that I use to make these Instant Pot Sous Vide Egg Bites!
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
- 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.
- Fill the Instant Pot with water to 1-inch below the MAX fill line.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
More Instant Pot recipes:
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!
The naysayers warn about the amount of lead in the broth? No way to be sure? How do you protect yourself from getting bones that will not contain too much lead?
I would love to see the benefits proven and suggest the Veterans Hospitals include in their menus. It would be a fantastic bonus.
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!
Brooke,
What do you mean when you wrote “the amount of collagen is amazing” for the chicken feet?
Do you actually see this in the thickness or the amount of gelatin resulted in the broth?
Do you see in the the difference it had benefited you as in your hair, skin ( how so? is it firmer ? ) etc after ingesting it ?
I am excited about bone broth and its benefits but like to know about your experience.
Thanks.
Put the Chicken feet in a cheese cloth bag before you add them to the pot. They will cook just as well but not look so gross.
Thanks for the tip Charlotte!
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?
Linds – You need to allow the IP to natural release longer. Filling the IP to that close to the max line means that you have a much larger quantity of heat and steam. When making broth, I fill my IP to the actual max line and once done cooking, I have to allow it natural release for at least 90 minutes before I can carefully manual release the remaining steam.
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!
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?
No need to add extra time!
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
Nicole,
As a 30+ year fan of the crockpot, I just (Christmas 2018) got an Instant Pot (IP). I am a convert! While slow cookers are great for general fix-it & forget-it meal prep, they have some drawbacks for stock (bone broth) prep, the biggest one being time (2 hours vs 24/2 days), then loss of water (few crockpots seal completely, whereas IP do seal for the pressurization, so the liquid you put in is the liquid you end up with).
If you haven’t obtained an InstantPot yet, I strongly encourage you to do so.
As far as the recipe I add a bit more ACV & only just enough water to cover my “science experiment” (kids also had less cheerful names for the vegetable & bone packages in my freezers. 😉
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
Alex,
Since you boiled the chicken already, you already took most of the flavor out. This method works best for raw or roasted bones. Personally, I use this method for when I roast a chicken for dinner one night, then in the next day or two, I cut off all of the meat for shredded or cubed chicken, and throw the leftover carcass in the Instant Pot. I will also throw in any leftover juices from roasting the chicken if my husband didn’t toss them out already.
If you prefer boiling your chicken before making soup, perhaps save the water from boiling it and add it into the Instant Pot with the rest of the water needed. I haven’t tried doing that myself, but in theory, your broth should have more flavor. Another suggestion would be to throw the boiled carcass in with lots of vegetables to focus on making a flavorful veggie broth instead. It will have a hint of chicken flavor, but tons of vegetable flavor. If all else fails, just use the failed broth (it happens to all of us!) to reheat leftovers or cook pasta/rice.
Happy cooking!
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.
Not going to rate yet, as I have no experience. I come from the “old” school, where I debone/skin the chicken after roasting. After removing such, I load into a crock pot with aromatics and cook overnight. strain the next morning, reduce and cool. Place in refrigerator. Next day, remove and peel off the fat that has solidified from the surface. Result? great stock.. OK, so, I purchased an IP Black Friday, and will be taking it out of the box pretty soon. Will try making stock with it to see how it compares with my tried and true conventional methods (I think the “conventional’ methods are going to be outdated). Kudos to all those that commented on the difference in quality of the stock when ensuring that the bones be roasted first! It’s just one of those things that separates the men from the boys or the ladies from the girls (trying to be PC… 🙂 ) I think my initial reaction is going to be cooking it a bit longer, as rib bones from beef are considerably larger than chicken bones. I find that stock from prime rib makes one hell of a French Onion Soup…..
HELP I have an 8 quart . Need conversion. Thank you
You would just add more bones and the rest of the ingredients.
HELP. I HAVE AN 8 QUART INSTANT POT. NEED CONVERSION DIRECTIONS FOR THIS RECIPE. THANK YOU
Hi Diane – You will be OK with the 8 quart as well! Just fill it half way with the bones and veggies and add liquid to 1-inch below the max fill line. Hope that helps!
This recipe is amazing. Thank you, Erin for sharing. I just made this recipe with grass fed beef femur bones and a few modifications that worked out really well so I thought I would share. Aside from adding a few sprigs of rosemary, I also decided to throw in some star anise, cardamom pods, cloves, fennel seeds, cassia (cinnamon) chips, and ginger I had left over from a tea I made. This addition was incredible and many of my coworkers were impressed thinking I had mimic’d the Pho broth from across the street 🙂
Thank you for posting this recipe. It truly is the BEST beef bone broth. I made it less than a week ago and it really was fabulous. The house smelled so good I could hardly wait until it was done- I just stood near the Instant Pot and took in the mouth-watering aroma. Since I used soup bones, there was some meat left which my husband couldn’t resist while I was finishing the prep on our dinner. I am making it again already because there’s nothing quite like curling up with a hot bowl of homemade soup when it’s 20 degrees outside!
[…] and methods for making your own bone broth (I toss in a tablespoon of whole black pepper corns): 1. Instant Pot Bone Broth – Platings + Pairings 2. Slow Cooker Bone Broth – Platings + Pairings 3. Stove Top Bone Broth – A Pinch of […]
Can you use the bones from a chicken cooked in the instant pot first…not roasted in the oven?
Made this today and can’t believe the flavour after only 2 hours. I will only be making bone broth this way going forward. Thank you for the recipe!
Of course – I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lily!
I have made both versions of your bone broth recipe, one in the slow cooker (for about 60 hours, and one in the Instant Pot for the standard 2 hours with natural release. Both were excellent, but the crockpot version was so instense it had to be watered down dramatically plus involved me babysitting the crockpot timer over a few days and taking up counter space.
The Instant Pot version, I made last night with bones from my local butcher and my freezer bags of veggie and herb scraps, was absolute perfection, it tasted like chicken noodle soup and it was just broth! Definitely my go to broth recipe now!
I followed your instructions using fresh uncooked turkey wings, but realized too late that I used medium pressure instead of high pressure. Will I get bone broth using medium pressure? It looks rich, but is still cooling. Is this batch broth or bone broth? I still have some fresh turkey wings will be cooked tomorrow. Do you think I will I see a difference using high pressure on my next batch?
Is there a reason for skimming the fat?
I’ve been doing my bone broth on the stove top or in the slow cooker for years now. (I really only do it in the summer, but supplement with collagen peptides year round.) Now I keep hearing about this Instant Pot, and it’s sounding more and more tempting!
This is the Best bone broth recipe I’ve found. Thank you!
I’m so glad you like it Mark!
I totally forgot to add my ACV to pot before cooking! Is it ruined, or can I add ACV after?
Hi Jessica – The broth will still be great, but it may not pull out as many nutrients from the bones. Adding it in later won’t help unfortunately, but you’ll still have some amazing broth.
I was wondering if you could just use raw backs, necks, and wings to get the same results? Or do you HAVE to roast them? My store sells these and I wanted to get some to try this recipe. Should I break up the wings, etc first? And the wings have meat on them. I’m guessing thus just adds to the flavour, yeah?
So many questions, I know. Just want to get this right and not waste anything.
You sure can – Roasting simply adds more flavor but the broth is still super flavorful and beneficial without the roasting process.
I managed to get some feet (already prepped) from my local market and used them with some backs and it turned our really nicely gelatinised. I’d like to try it with beef bones next, but what combo would work best in the instant pot in your experience? It’s only a 6Qt pot, so larger beef bones would be difficult to fit in there, yeah? Not sure how small I can get the folks in my local market to cut the bones safely, but I would really like to try this with beef bones. Any suggestions? 🙂
I freeze the bones from summer barbecued ribs and add a few to the IP with regular beef bones for a nice smoky flavored broth.
That sounds like a great idea Alice!
Hi does an older slow cooker cook the broth in same amount t of time as instant pot?
Hi Margot – Here is a recipe to make bone broth in the slow cooker.
This looks amazing. Heading to the kitchen to roast short ribs and so forth.
P. S. Ginger hack: throw chunks of fresh ginger into a ziplock bag in the freezer. It grates easily when frozen.
Hi; The bone broth recipe is exactly what i have been doing for the last couple of years. It’s as if I wrote the recipe it is so exact. The only suggestion I would make is to roast the bones first; makes for an amazing rich bone broth. I am wanting to buy a pressure cooker just so i can make the broth as I drink so much of it and it takes two days to cook with a day in the fridge to harden the fat. Thanks . Karen
Wow, such beautiful stock. The color is deep, golden, gorgeous goodness and I can see that amazing collagen floating around yummy, thanks for the recipe. I love my instant pot
You are so welcome Tess – I’m glad it was helpful!
I have a 3 quart IP and just purchased 4 med/large pasture raised & finished oxe tail bones…will that be enough bones for a good flavored bone broth?
I also plan on adding herbs, onions, turmeric, ginger, turnip, water & apple cider vinegar to the brew.
It’s difficult to find recipes specifically for the 3 quart Instant Pots…please advise.
Hi Babs – That amount sounds like it should be about right!
OMG! Just made the bone broth in my IP using a chicken carcass and marrow bones from our grocery store. It was so fast and easy. The broth is so delicious. I drink it warm in a coffee cup daily.
This will be a twice a week ritual in my home from now on.
Thanks so much for your wonderful recipe. I highly recommend it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Vicki!
I just got a 6 qt IP & the second thing I made was bone broth yesterday evening. I used frozen chicken bones saved from cooked chickens & frozen veggie/herb scraps I’ve been saving. I cooked it on high pressure for 2 hrs with manual release, which took about another hour. While it was cooking, at first it smelled like chicken broth/soup, then it started smelling differently. When I opened the cover, it did not look like my stove top broth looks. It tasted watery, not at all chickeny. Smelled different, looked different.
I got rid of the herbs, kept the bones & will try to reduce on the stove today in the hope I can get some flavor out of them. I had such high hopes for this & it was such a disappointment. I have no experience with IP so have no idea how to doctor it. What did I do wrong?