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I’ve been using this homemade chicken broth recipe for many years. In the past, I either used it within a few days, or froze it for later. But just recently I got a Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner for my birthday! Pressure canned chicken broth is shelf stable! I’m excited to dive into learning all about how to use my new pressure canner.

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Why Make Homemade Chicken Broth?

Homemade chicken broth is delicious. Many soup and stew recipes call for chicken broth or stock. Using homemade broth adds a unique depth of flavor compared to store bought stock.
It’s frugal. My method of making chicken broth uses nothing but scraps. You don’t need to purchase any ingredients to make this recipe. Free food!
It’s zero-waste. Homemade chicken broth is entirely made of scraps, including chicken bones leftover from a meal, carrot peels, celery ends, and onion ends and skins. And you can store your broth in reusable containers such as mason jars, which eliminates the waste of the cartons holding chicken stock from from the store.
It’s nutritious. Simmering undesirable veggie and bone scraps in water transfers a lot of the scraps’ nutrition into the water, making a nutritious liquid. Broth is a traditional food that has given people “bonus” nutrients for ages.
Chicken broth can be made in bulk in a large stock pot, or, like I prefer, in an Instant Pot. The instant pot makes the whole process a lot faster. Extra broth can be frozen in freezer safe containers, or pressure canned for a shelf-stable broth.

Ingredients for Chicken Broth

Chicken bones: leftover bones from meals (roast chicken carcass, etc.).
Vegetable scraps: onion peels, carrot ends, celery leaves, garlic peels, herb stems, etc. Each pot of broth will be slightly different, based on what scraps you have.
Optional additions: bay leaves, peppercorns, herbs, salt.

Making the Chicken Broth

This homemade chicken broth recipe is a somewhat long-term process, but once you get into the habit of saving your scraps, you will be able to make broth regularly.

Each time you chop an onion, peel a carrot, etc., put the scraps and peels in a gallon freezer bag. Whenever you cook bone-in chicken (turkey, duck, or rabbit will also work) save the leftover bones and carcass and put them in your scrap freezer bag. Keep the scraps frozen.
When the bag is mostly full, you can make a pot of chicken broth.

Add bones, veggie scraps, and water to a large stockpot. I use an 8 quart Instant Pot, which will typically make me about four quarts of broth.
Simmer the pot for at least eight hours, until the liquid is a rich golden color and the bones are getting soft. In the Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 20 minutes or more, and allow to natural release. This will take a little longer than an hour total, so using the Instant Pot can save a lot of time.
When the broth is rich golden brown, strain the liquids from the solids. I use a large mesh strainer.
If you want to add salt now, add some to taste. I prefer not adding salt. I just add extra salt when I’m cooking with the broth later.
If you plan to pressure can your broth, you will need to cool it and skim off the fat. The fat can interfere with the mason jar seals, and removing it doesn’t usually change the flavor, so it’s worthwhile to do this extra step. You can cook with the fat, using it like lard or butter when sauteing. Save it for later in your freezer.

If you plan to freeze your broth, pour it into freezer safe containers (I have had great success with these.) Be sure to leave plenty of space for the liquid to expand as it freezes. Label and put in your freezer.

Prepping for Pressure Canning

Equipment

8 Quart Instant Pot or Stock Pot
Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner, or other pressure canner
Canning jars, lids, and rings.
Jar funnel
Headspace measuring tool
Jar lifter

Using the Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner

Assemble the canner according to the manual.
Pour 3 quarts of water into the canner.
Fill five clean quart jars halfway with water, and put in the canner.
Turn the canner on and set the timer for the time in your recipe (25 minutes for quarts of chicken broth.)
Push the advance button and the canner will begin the jar warming process.
Reheat the cold chicken broth to boiling in a pot on the stove.
When the jar warming process is done, the canner will beep and “fill jars” will show on the display.

Carefully open the canner and remove one of the hot jars. Pour out the water in the jar. Place the jar on a towel and fill with chicken broth to 1 inch of headspace. Screw on lid and ring (not too tight.) Put the jar back into the canner and repeat for each jar.
Lock the lid back on.
Press the advance button. The canner will start boiling the water. A bit of steam will come out.
When the canner has reached the appropriate temperature, it will beep and “add regulator” will show on the screen. Put the regulator on the vent.
As soon as the correct pressure is reached, the 25 minute timer will begin to count down. When it’s done, the canner will beep and the cooling phase will begin.
Do not open the canner until the cooling phase is done. The canner will beep and tell you when it’s done. Then you can carefully open the lid and remove your jars. Let them cool for 12 hours.

Storing Your Canned Broth

Once your jars of broth have fully cooled for 12 hours, check the seals by pressing on the lids. If the lids pop up and down, the seal has failed. Put unsealed jars in the fridge and use within a few days.
Sealed jars can be kept in your pantry. Use within 12 months. Always check seals first when you open a new jar.
Use your chicken broth in gumbo, chili, soups, stews, gravies, risotto, etc.

I was thrilled to get this digital pressure canner for my birthday, and I can’t wait to learn how to can even more foods with it. Purchasing one through my affiliate links will give me a small commission, for which I am grateful! Be sure to follow me here and on YouTube for more pressure canning adventures, other recipes, homestead adventures, and fiber art.

Homemade Chicken Broth, Pressure Canned or Frozen

This homemade chicken broth recipe is a somewhat long-term process, but once you get into the habit of saving your scraps, you will be able to make broth regularly.

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Servings 1 gallon

Ingredients

Chicken bones: leftover bones from meals roast chicken carcass, etc..
Vegetable scraps: onion peels carrot ends, celery leaves, garlic peels, herb stems, etc. Each pot of broth will be slightly different, based on what scraps you have.
Optional additions: bay leaves peppercorns, herbs, salt.

Instructions

Each time you chop an onion, peel a carrot, etc., put the scraps and peels in a gallon freezer bag. Whenever you cook bone-in chicken (turkey, duck, or rabbit will also work) save the leftover bones and carcass and put them in your scrap freezer bag. Keep the scraps frozen.
When the bag is mostly full, you can make a pot of chicken broth.
Add bones, veggie scraps, and water to a large stockpot. I use an 8 quart Instant Pot, which will typically make me about four quarts of broth.
Simmer the pot for at least eight hours, until the liquid is a rich golden color and the bones are getting soft. In the Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 20 minutes or more, and allow to natural release. This will take a little longer than an hour total, so using the Instant Pot can save a lot of time.
When the broth is rich golden brown, strain the liquids from the solids. I use a large mesh strainer.
If you want to add salt now, add some to taste. I prefer not adding salt. I just add extra salt when I’m cooking with the broth later.
If you plan to pressure can your broth, you will need to cool it and skim off the fat. The fat can interfere with the mason jar seals, and removing it doesn’t usually change the flavor, so it’s worthwhile to do this extra step. You can cook with the fat, using it like lard or butter when sauteing. Save it for later in your freezer.
If you plan to freeze your broth, pour it into freezer safe containers. Be sure to leave plenty of space for the liquid to expand as it freezes. Label and put in your freezer.
If you plan to pressure can your broth, follow instructions for you canner. I use the Presto Precise Digital Pressure Canner for an easy hands-off experience. Read more about it in the blog post above. To pressure can, fill warmed jars with hot broth, leaving 1″ of headspace. Add lids and bands. Pressure can quart jars for 25 minutes.