Chicken Bone broth in jar on a napkin.
Chicken Broth

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I haven’t bought chicken broth in years. I used to think making chicken broth was this big, long, complicated process, and that kept me from making my own forever, but then I discovered the really easy trick to super easy chicken broth, and I haven’t looked back. Homemade chicken broth is tastier, healthier (you can control the sodium levels), and, the main reason I make it, it’s so much cheaper! Especially with this method. It’s practically free!

The key? Scrap bags.

Chicken Broth Scrap Bags

I keep two gallon-sized freezer zip-top bags in my freezer at all times. In one bag goes chicken scrapsโ€”leftover bones and skin from chicken breasts, trimmed fat scraps, carcasses leftover from whole roasted chicken. I ram it all in there and freeze it.

In the second bag goes all my veggie scrapsโ€”onion skins, carrot peels, celery leaves. I just fill it up as I’m cooking throughout the week. I don’t worry about ratios (too much onion or too little celery), I just fill it up with whatever I have leftover.

Then, once both bags are completely full, it’s time to make some chicken stock.

Chicken Broth

I dump both bags into a giant stock pot (I tend to use my 21 quart canning pot), throw in a couple of bay leaves and a few shakes of poultry seasoning, and then fill up the pot with water. I honestly don’t measure at all. See? Lazy. I also don’t salt my brothโ€”I save that step for when I’m actually cooking with the broth down the road.

Chicken Broth

And then I pop it on the stove on high.

Chicken Broth

I bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a few hours, or until the broth looks like, well, how broth should look! It should look rich, dark, and super delicious.

Chicken Broth

I know some folks strain off the fat, but I like to keep it in my broth (fat=flavor!), so my next step is to let the broth cool slightly, and then strain it. I usually strain it twice, once through a fine mesh sieve, and then again through my Greek yogurt strainer.

Chicken Broth

Then, I let it cool completely, and freeze it in four-cup servings in quart zip-top bags. I’ve also frozen them in quart canning jarsโ€”freezing in jars works beautifully, just as long as you keep enough headspace. In fact, I’d prefer to freeze them jars, but I just don’t have enough freezer space (mama needs a new freezer!).

Chicken Broth

After boiling down, I usually get between 12-15 quarts of broth from each batch (one chicken scrap bag and one veggie scrap bag). And that’s almost always enough to last me until my scrap bags fill back up again. It’s a wonderful system!

Protip: What about the alcohol?

Donโ€™t worry about getting buzzed off this stew. It simmers for two hours, enough time to burn off almost all the alcohol. That being said, it definitely still has the flavor and scent of wine (and trust me, your whole house will smell wine-tastic). So keep that in mind!

And, considering I’m going to have those chicken and veggie scraps anyway, making this broth is totally free. Twelve quarts of good, organic broth runs about $45โ€”that’s a nice savings!

Chicken Broth

I know a lot of folks say healthy eating is expensive, and I definitely agree it can be, but I think with little tricks like this, and a little bit of time, you can make up for a lot of that extra expense.

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29 Comments

  1. I’ve never tried to make chicken broth from scratch. This recipe looks easy enough. I’m going to start filling up my two freezer bags and give this a go.

  2. Wow! And to think…I logged onto the site to see if it is ok to SAVE my chicken broth by way of freezing it, because I always throw it out after boiling my chicken(and each time I’ve done it, I feel SO super guilty)
    Had no idea I would learn SO MUCH!! Thank you so much for sharing!

  3. So, stupid question: you wash and peel the celery, carrots and onions. All that stuff on the end of the onion and the skin goes in the bag? Thank you

  4. Love it ! This is just what I do . I have a bin in the freezer that I put all my veg scraps in and every couple weeks it’s full so I cook a whole chicken and use the carcass and the scraps in the crockpot to make awesome stock .i did think about canning broth/stock but I was reading a canning blog and everyone on the blog agreed that after canning it has a sour taste . So no canning for me . That’s a ton of work and I would hate to toss it all after all that work and $ . I’m happy to put mine in the freezer in mason jars . Freeze them on their side then when frozen you can set them upright . Thank you Cassie for the great ideas!!

  5. Thanks for sharing. Maybe I’ll try my luck at chicken broth again thanks to your easy method.

    My issue is that I’m allergic to carrot and celery and, well, those are like the basic building blocks of brothness. I’ve tried using only onion and chicken bones but the result was kind of like liquid chicken fat that tasted of little else and so I’ve never dared try again. Any ideas to replace the celery and carrots and make it yummy still?

  6. This is such a great idea! I just wish I had a freezer! (tiiiiiiiiiiiny apartment size fridge). In the event that I get to move eventually, I had a question. It might be a dumb question, but I’m going to ask it anyway because I’ve not made chicken stock before. You mention putting chicken scrap parts (bones, skin) in your bag in the freezer. Do you cook them first or do you put them in the bag raw? If it’s going in the freezer, that would work I would imagine.

    1. Raw or cooked works, but I usually do cooked because they’re leftovers from cooking the chicken. ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. What a fabulous and resourceful way of making broth – I applaud you! Will definitely be trying this in winter (it’s summer here in Australia and the last thing I want right now is something on the stove for hours…haha!).

  8. You are a good, resourceful woman – carry on! And enjoy the rewards of your labor. My grandma made this stock so well, and I try to carry on the tradition. MERCI!