Homemade Chicken Broth is rich and delicious for making family favorite soups, gravies and casseroles. It’s budget friendly and so simple to make with leftover smoked chicken or rotisserie chicken from the deli.

Homemade chicken broth in a mason jar, plaid towel to the side on butcher block counter

Why make your own chicken broth when it’s so easy to buy it? Mainly you are going to have control over the ingredients and this is especially important for things like sodium levels and of course the flavor. Homemade chicken broth is so much more flavorful than store bought.

Table of Contents

Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Broth

Ingredients for chicken broth with text labels

Chicken carcasses
Onion
Celery
Carrots
Garlic
Fresh Rosemary or any fresh herbs.
Salt & Pepper

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How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth

Dutch oven with chicken carcass, celery, carrots, onions and garlic

Start with 1 – 2 chicken carcasses or chicken pieces added to a large pan, a dutch oven or stock pot works best.
Add one large onion, cut into quarters with a few stalks of celery, a large carrot. Plus salt, pepper and a few sprigs of rosemary. Adding a bay leaf is another great addition or use in place of the rosemary.

Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook at a boil for about 20 minutes and lower to simmer. Continue to cook about 1 hour.

Straining chicken broth with a red strainer into a green bowl

Strain mixture into a bowl, discard bones, vegetables and herbs. A fine mesh strainer will catch all of the bits and pieces. You will have about 4- 6 cups of good broth.

Rich chicken broth in a bowl - overhead view

For Rich Broth: Return broth back to the pan and simmer for another hour to hour and a half until mixture is reduced by about 1/3.

This is going to be the most flavorful broth. Cool mixture completely.

Jar of chicken broth with a blue plaid napkin

Best Ways to Store Chicken Broth

Store in mason jars in refrigerator for 1 week. Freeze broth up to 12 months.
I generally use mason jars or an airtight container, which are freezer safe, great for storing broths and soups. Freezing homemade chicken stock or broth in ice cube trays is also a great idea. When frozen, place into a ziplock bags for easy removal.

What is the Difference in Broth and Stock?

Chicken broth is generally made from meat and stock from bones. Both are made with vegetables like onions, carrots and celery. Broth is usually seasoned with salt and pepper, while stock is often left unseasoned. Bone broth is made with the bones and connective tissues and is generally cooked for a long time, up to 24 hours. Chicken bone broth is said to help with joint health and inflammation due to the vitamins, minerals and collagen.

I usually make my own broth with chicken bones that still have a bit of the meat left on the bones. My mother in law always starts with whole chicken thighs, saving the broth and using the cooked chicken meat for chicken and dressing or chicken salad. Use what ever you have on hand.

Can you use Turkey to Make Stock?

Over the holidays we always save turkey carcass to make turkey stock and then we can make smoked turkey and dumplings or our favorite soup recipes.

We love smoked chicken and often make them over the weekend to meal prep with through the week. I always save the carcasses and make chicken broth with them, you can also use leftover rotisserie chicken. I rarely buy chicken broth any more and it’s such a money saver to make it from scratch. Once you see how simple it is, you will be making it often. You can also make Instant Pot Chicken Stock or Crock Pot Chicken Broth.

Delicious Recipes Using Homemade Chicken Broth

If you are looking for an easy way to save money on your grocery bill, this homemade chicken broth recipe is a great place to start. It is made with basil ingredients in a large stock pot and can add so much flavor to your favorite recipes.

Jar of chicken broth on a butcher block counter

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