How to Make Flavorful Chicken Broth

This homemade chicken broth is savory, aromatic and so simple to make on the stovetop—it’s perfect to have on hand for easy, flavorful soups, stews, and more.

A homemade broth or stock can be transformative when making soups, stews, gravies, sauces, and more (or just sipping on when you’re under the weather!). I have chicken stock and turkey stock recipes I love, but I realized I was missing a homemade chicken broth recipe. While chicken broth and stock can mostly be used interchangeably, chicken broth is made from raw bone-in chicken cooked in water with aromatics and has a light and clean chicken flavor. Unlike chicken stock (which takes longer to cook to impart flavor), chicken broth is usually ready in under two hours. My easy homemade chicken broth recipe is loaded with flavor and aromatics from fresh herbs, veggies, and spices, plus plenty of savory flavor thanks to using a whole chicken! I’ll show you how easy it is to make it and also share my tips for how to make chicken broth more flavorful.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This easy chicken broth recipe comes together in just 1 hour
• It makes a large amount and is great for freezing
• It’s an excellent way to make a better tasting soup, since it’s a lot more flavorful than storebought chicken broth

What’s in Easy Chicken Broth

• Uncooked whole chicken—I look for a whole chicken and break it down into pieces. This makes it easy to pull out the chicken breasts before the other parts so they don’t overcook (since white meat cooks faster.) A chicken already cut up works great, or you can use skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts and wings instead. Both have more collagen to make the broth rich and flavorful.
• Canola oil—Any neutral-tasting oil will work here. Try vegetable oil or avocado oil if you prefer.
• Celery—Celery adds a bit of grassy brightness.
• Carrots—A few carrots add a sweet note to the broth. Don’t bother peeling them as they’ll be discarded later.
• Yellow onion—If you skip adding the other vegetables, don’t skip the onion. It adds depth and umami to the chicken broth. And keep that skin on when cooking. It helps color the broth.
• Garlic—I cut a garlic head in half, about ¼ of the way from the tips of the clove so the head stays together at the stem.
• Flat-leaf Italian parsley—This type of parsley imparts a fresh and clean tone.
• Fresh thyme—One of my favorite herbs, fresh thyme lends a balanced herb flavor. Plop the sprig in whole, there’s no need to pluck the leaves from the stem.
• Whole black peppercorns—Whole peppercorns flavor the broth but are easy to pull out for a clear-looking broth.
• Kosher salt—Salt coaxes out the combined flavors in the broth. Use less or more to your taste.
• Bay leaf—This herb adds a light floral essence

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Easy Chicken Broth

• Use a raw, whole chicken to make this chicken broth. I cut a whole chicken into 2 breast halves, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, and 2 chicken thighs to flavor the broth, adding everything to a large stockpot. Or, look for a whole chicken that’s already been split or cut into pieces. If you have a butcher, you can ask them to do it for you.
• Brown the aromatic vegetables to create a more flavorful broth. I cut the celery and carrots into 2-inch chunks, quarter the onion, and cut a head of garlic in half. Cook until the vegetables soften, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

• Add the chicken pieces and water to the same pot as the vegetables before adding the herbs and peppercorns. Fat and proteins rise when released from the chicken when boiled causing a foam to form. Use a mesh skimmer to skim the foam that rises to the top.
• Add the parsley, thyme, peppercorns, kosher salt, and bay leaf, and cook until the chicken breasts are done. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low and simmer for an hour or until the chicken breasts register 160°F. Remove the breasts from the pot, rest for a few minutes, then remove the meat from the bones and set aside. Put the breast bones back into the pot and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour. Taste for seasoning and add more kosher if needed.
• Pull the thighs, drumsticks, and wings from the pot (save them to pull the meat from the bones for another use) and drain the liquid. Set a colander or fine mesh strainer over a bowl sitting in the kitchen sink. Strain the broth through the colander and discard the bones and vegetables. I feed the cooked carrots and celery to my dog!
• Use the broth at once or cool then transfer to quart jars and store in the refrigerator to use later (in 3-4 days). Or, freeze in gallon freezer bags for up to three months.

The Difference Between Chicken Broth and Chicken Stock

• Chicken broth is made from raw bone-in chicken cooked in water with aromatics. It has a light and clean chicken flavor. It’s usually ready in under two hours.
• Chicken stock is made from cooked chicken carcasses or bones stripped of the meat with aromatics. Cooked low and slow on the stove for several hours, chicken bones release gelatin and proteins to create a rich and savory chicken stock.

FAQ and Recipe Tips

• Which is better, chicken broth or chicken bone broth? One isn’t better than the other in terms of flavor, but chicken bone broth is a bit more nutrient-dense because of the protein and collagen from the chicken bones simmering in the broth for longer.
• When should I use chicken stock and when should I use chicken broth? While these are both pretty interchangeable, I recommend using chicken broth when you are making soup, and using stock when making gravies and sauces.
• Add chicken bouillon or a spoonful of chicken base concentrate if your chicken broth needs more chicken flavor.
• If refrigerating, skim the fat layer that rises to the top and save it for another use. I save the fat to sauté with chicken or vegetables instead of/or in addition to butter or oil. It’s a built-in flavor booster.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Instead of a whole chicken, use 4 pounds of skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts, and wings to make the chicken broth. Of the chicken parts, wings have the most collagen to impart flavor.
• Add parsnips or substitute them for the carrots
• Try adding leeks for a grassier finish
• If you don’t have a yellow onion, a red onion works

Storage Tips

• Use the broth at once or cool then transfer to quart jars to use later. It will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• Or, freeze in gallon freezer bags for up to three months. Fill the freezer bags then lay them flat to freeze so you can stack them later, to save space.

What to Make With Chicken Broth

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

How to Make Flavorful Chicken Broth

This savory and aromatic chicken broth is simple to make and have on hand for easy, flavorful soups, stews, and more. It freezes beautifully, and can be frozen in individual portions for quicker and easier defrosting for smaller portions.

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Course sauce

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken broth

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 8 cups

Calories 28kcal

Ingredients 

½x1x2x3x

• 1 4-pound whole chicken
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 celery stalks , cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 carrots , cut into 2-inch pieces with skin on
• 1 yellow onion , cut in quarters with skin on
• 1 head of garlic , halved with skin on
• 10 cups water
• handful of Italian parsley with stems
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt , use less if you’re sensitive to sodium
• 1 bay leaf

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Instructions

• Check the cavity of the chicken for giblets or other organs and discard. Use a sharp knife to trim any large flaps of fat from around the cavity. Cut the chicken into 2 breast halves, 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, and 2 thighs and set aside.

• Heat the canola oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottom pot over medium. Add the celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables soften, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

• Add the chicken pieces and water then raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Skim the foam that rises to the top. Add the parsley, thyrme, peppercorns, kosher salt, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low and simmer for an hour or when the chicken breasts register 160°F. Remove the breasts from the pot, rest for a few minutes, then remove the meat from the bones and set aside. Put the breast bones back into the pot and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour. Taste for seasoning and add more kosher if needed.

• Pull the thighs, drumsticks, and wings from the pot and set aside to remove the meat later. Set a colander over a bowl sitting in the kitchen sink. Strain the broth through the colander and discard the bones and vegetables (I feed the carrots and celery to my dog!) Use at once or cool then transfer the broth to quart jars to use later or freeze in gallon freezer bags for up to three months.

Notes

This chicken broth will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months (I like to ladle it into quart containers for easy defrosting)

Nutrition

Calories: 28kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 1771mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2554IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.1mg

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