Here is the best homemade Slow Cooker Chicken Stock Recipe (aka bone broth). It’s easy, healthy, delicious and frugal! Use it as a base for soups like Zuppa Toscana Soup, or White Chicken Chili! Even use it to steam cauliflower for Cauliflower Cream Sauce.
Along with no-fail homemade mayo, slow cooker chicken stock is now a staple in my kitchen.
You see, up until just a couple of years ago, I pretty much ignored “chicken stock” in every ingredient list and substituted for water instead. A travesty on multiple levels, I know.
Fortunately, I’ve come to my senses.
Now, before you roll your eyes at me and think “Great, ANOTHER homemade chicken stock recipe post from ANOTHER real foodie,” let me explain…
This isn’t just any chicken stock recipe. It’s quite possibly the easiest chicken stock you’ve ever made. And we’re frugal in these parts of the web too, so you know we’re doing as much as we can with as little as possible.
Your family will enjoy the flavor and richness of this chicken stock in nearly all of the recipes on your meal plan, like Homemade Ramen Noodle Soup, Zuppa Toscana Soup, and let me tell you… it makes a delicious chicken soup!
Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
Not only is this slow cooker chicken stock recipe a perfect base for all of your recipes, it’s also:
- Easy.
- Nutritious.
- Delicious.
- Frugal. You save 93% by making it yourself!
Slow Cooker Chicken Stock
- Carcass, spine, skin, innards and bones from two whole chickens
- Apple cider vinegar (make it yourself)
- Filtered water
- Onion (optional)
- Carrots (optional)
- Celery ribs (optional)
- Parsley (optional)
Note: Some people also like to add bay leaves
How to make slow cooker chicken stock
- Combine all the ingredients, except parsley, in a slow cooker. Cook on low for a full 24 hours.
- 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley (if using).
- Turn off the slow cooker and skim any particles that have floated to the top. Allow to cool.
- Strain chicken parts and store in a freezer-safe bag for future stock. Discard vegetables.
- Chicken stock can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for several months.
Tips for making slow cooker chicken stock with a whole chicken
When it comes to getting the most I possibly can from a whole chicken, I have a somewhat methodical system.
First, I chop it into parts. It took me about 20 minutes the first time, but after doing this every month for well over a year, I’ve gotten it down to two chickens in roughly 10 minutes. Maybe I should moonlight as a butcher…
Edible chicken parts go into one bowl, skin in another and the innards, spine and chicken wings go straight into the slow cooker. The slow cooker goes on high for four hours while I package up the chicken parts and label them for the freezer.
Four hours later, I ladle the chicken pieces from the slow cooker onto a plate so that they can cool and I don’t burn myself while trying to get all the meat off the bones.
Note: Starting this whole chicken process late morning tends to work really well for my schedule. The meat cooks until early afternoon, cools through dinner and I can pick it off while Mr. Crumbs has some time with the kids.
When all of the meat is picked from the chicken bones, everything that’s left goes back into the slow cooker: bones, skin, tough pieces of meat that won’t pass through the kids radar… all of it.
Add a few splashes of apple cider vinegar, fill it to the top with water and turn it on medium-low for 10 hours.
Walk away proudly Family Chef, your work is done for the day.
What is the difference between chicken stock, chicken broth and bone broth?
Chicken stock is the liquid that is made from the carcass of a chicken, including bones, innards, meat and often vegetables. Like this chicken stock recipe.
Chicken broth is typically the liquid that results from cooking with the meat, usually in water. It’s lighter than stock because it cooks for less time and usually doesn’t involve the bones.
Bone broth tends to be a trendy name for stock – like this recipe.
Is this Slow Cooker Chicken Stock Recipe Healthy?
Making homemade chicken stock is the process of drawing the nutrients from good, nutritious food into a rich and incredibly healthy liquid.
According to Nourishing Traditions, stocks contains the minerals of animal bones, cartilage and marrow. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, collagen and gelatin are just a few of these minerals. Actually, the mineral gelatin allows the body to better use the proteins it consumes, making it an essential nutrient for us frugal foodies who don’t use copious amounts of meat in the meal plan.
To me, a cup of homemade chicken stock is a liquid vitamin filled with trace minerals and healthy fat! YUM!
How to use a slow cooker chicken stock recipe, besides in soup
When it comes to a nutritional powerhouse (that also makes food WAY yummy), we should aim to use it whenever possible. Besides making soup, try using it in place of water in these types of recipes too:
- One pot wonders like this Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Rice, as in this super simple Instant Pot Yellow Rice, or this Autumn Rice Pilaf
- Stews and chili, like White Chicken Chili
- Other grains like quinoa, couscous, and polenta
- Sauces, gravy
- Noodles
- Steaming veggies as in this Creamy Cauliflower Sauce
- Cooking beans or lentils, like this lentil recipe
Short on time? Make your chicken stock in the Instant Pot pressure cooker! Follow this recipe.
Slow Cooker Meal Plan
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Here is the best homemade Slow Cooker Chicken Stock recipe (aka bone broth). It’s easy, healthy, delicious and frugal!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 24 hours
- Total Time: 24 hours
- Yield: 4 quarts 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- carcass, spine, skin, innards and bones from two whole chickens*
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (make it yourself)
- 4 quarts filtered water
- 1 onion, quartered (optional)
- 2 carrots, peeled & quartered (optional)
- 3 celery ribs, chopped (optional)
- 1 bunch parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients, except parsley, in a slow cooker. Cook on low for a full 24 hours. 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley (if using). Turn off slow cooker and skim any particles that have floated to the top. Allow to cool. Strain chicken parts and store in a freezer-safe bag for future stock. Discard vegetables. Chicken stock can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for several months.
Notes
* Recipe can be made with only one chicken; simply halve the rest of the ingredients.
Jim
I want to try this. I have 2 cornish game hens in the freezer. Would that be about the same as one chicken?
Tiffany
Yep, that will work Jim!
Jim
I’ve never made stock before. Is there a reason there’s no salt? It’s been cooking for 12 hours and it doesn’t have much flavor.
Tiffany
I don’t add salt Jim because I add it to the recipe when I’m cooking. Not adding it to stock gives me more control in cooking, in case I’m adding something on the salty side, like pork. So the dish doesn’t come out too salty in the end.
Jim
Thank you. I looked at other recipes and noticed that most don’t add salt. I let it simmer a full 24 hours, but didn’t add any salt. It’s in the fridge now and will go into freezer bags tomorrow morning.
Nicole
I am having trouble following along with the pre-recipe instructions, could you clarify a couple things for me? It seems like a different recipe as far as process goes, but I’d like to follow since it seems like a good system. So let’s say you cook the chicken Monday night, then you prep the stock Tuesday, and it is ready sometime Wednesday, right?
You cut up the cooked chicken after breakfast, then put the carcass in the pot to cook on high for 4 hours with no liquid, is this to get more usable meat?
I only have Low and High, so how long do you think to cook on Low for the long stock time period?
Thank you!
Tiffany
Hi Nicole! If you start with a whole raw chicken: Cook chicken Monday night. Cut up chicken Tuesday morning and start stock. Stock is ready Wednesday morning. If you cut up a whole chicken for parts, it’s essentially the same process except you won’t have tons of meant Tuesday morning – but the concept to get more usable meat is correct. I hope this helps Nicole!
Pattie Brown
I also save the water I cook or steam my vegetables in, but not broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc. It can be used to make chicken stock (I like mine with herbs and vegetables like carrots, celery, and onions) or in any dish you are making that needs water. I keep mine in quart sized ziplock bags laid flat to freeze so they are easy to break off as much or as little as I need. Same way I store the chicken stock, although I measure it in cup sized portions…
Crunchy Mama
We make our own stock, faithfully, saving not only veggie scraps, but fresh herb stems (especially helpful when I accidentally cut too much rosemary or sage from a plant in our garden), in the freezer. I get the best color in my stock when I have plenty of onion/garlic skins. I agree, letting it go for 24 hours (or longer, I just add water to compensate for what evaporated) really makes unctuous stock, with a great mouth feel to it .
We have become stock snobs, and my hubby has designated it, “precious drops”…we get a little panicky if we run out.
I have never tried adding the ACV, what’s the purpose of that? Releasing nutrients?
Tiffany
Yes Crunchy Mama, to release the nutrients within the chicken bones. I love your “stock snob” and “precious drops” comments – no need to panic friend… you can make more, lol!!
Ruthie
Hi Tiffany! Although I seldom post, I wanted to share how my chicken stock turned out. I faithfully saved my chicken bones and veggie scraps for a few weeks, and maybe I got too anxious to try this, I don’t know, but here’s my results 🙂 I don’t think I had enough chicken bones but a lot of veggie scraps with a few whole pieces of vegetables added for good measure. It didn’t taste like chicken to me or my kids, so it probably turned out more like vegetable broth. It was really dark too. I ended up pulling a ham bone out of the freezer and adding it after taking out the boiled ‘stuff” because there just wasn’t enough meat for my meat-atarians. So….I added more fresh and leftover veggies out of my fridge, pulled the ham off the bone throwing it into the pot, threw in some spices and used all the homemade broth for a soup:) Surprisingly, it turned out fairly well, and I paired it up with some homemade Stromboli. Not exactly stretching it for very many meals, but when you feed 8, nothing stretches very far! LOL Long story, longer… I would definitely try this again 🙂 Your web-site is a wealth of knowledge! Love it!
Diane
That is an awesome idea. But don’t just throw away the veggies when you are done. I actually cool mine and mix in with the dog food! The dogs love it and they are typical ingredients in most dog foods anyway. If you don’t have a dog, I am sure someone you know does. It is their reward for enduring the smells of cooking stock in the house for a day!
Car
Just FYI…. Some vegetables can be toxic to dig. Like onions and garlic. Please be careful. I’ve seen too many animals at work from owners feeding their pets human food.
Elizabeth
I love homemade chicken stock! I have been making it like this for the past year or so every time I cook a whole chicken. I’m wondering though, how many time can you cook the bones etc? I have just been doing it once and then throwing it away…can I get more stock out of one chicken? Thanks!
Tiffany
Yes! You can get more stock than just one round! Essentially, you can cook the bones over and over (and over and over) until they disintegrate, but I’ve found that I don’t like the flavor of the stock as much after 3 batches (the bones “cook” and that flavor comes through). Each subsequent batch will get lighter, but you’re still getting nutrients!!
Carla
I always thought the idea of throwing away the vegetables was such a waste, but using scraps is a wonderful idea. Thanks.
Andrev
This truly is delicious and so simple to prepare. I served over rice as suggested. The chicken was tender and quite flavorful. No changes required. However, I did not have any apple juice in the house and substituted chicken broth in its place and the recipe still turned out great! When making this again, I will make sure I use the apple juice 😉 Thanks for a great new chicken dish that is sure to please everyone!
Alba
I am wondering if the apple cider vinegar is add for flavor or if it helps the bones give off some nutrients. I am not a fan of the flavor so I am considering leaving it out.
Tiffany
Hi Alba! The ACV helps to break down the bones so that the nutrients are available in the broth. 🙂
Victoria
Last night, I put my slow-cooker broth into jars to cool. I promptly forgot about them and let them sit out on the counter for the next 8 hours. Are they still safe to use?
KK
Hi Tiffany,
I’ve attempted slow-cooker chicken stock a few times and am always thoroughly disgusted by the smell! I end up throwing the broth out:( This time, I used organic chicken legs made with a different recipe (not bbq sauce) in hopes that would help change the smell & flavor. Is this any different than bone broth? I am making more for the nutrients and gelatin than anything else. If I am wanting the gelatin, do I need to NOT skim the fat off the top?
Thanks…I feel like I get little pieces of info then when I go to actually make/do something, I can’t find all my sources!
Blessings,
KK
Tiffany
Hi KK! My husband doesn’t like the smell either, which is why I cook it in the garage. 🙂 You can skim, or not skim the fat off the top. It doesn’t effect the gelatin in either case. Something to note is the smell gets stronger the longer it cooks, so maybe an 18-hour cook is more tolerable for you? Also, the smell mostly dissipates once it’s done and cooled, so if you can get to that point, you’re good to go. 🙂
Michelle Power
Tiffany, you mentioned freezing the leftover bones (which have been separated from the veggies after making stock) to make another batch of stock? So, you can (reuse)? Make stock again after you have slow cooked them once for 24 hours?
Also, if you jar up the stock, how do you typically store it if not being used soon? In the freezer? Do you “can” it, at all?
Thanks!
Tiffany
Yes, you absolutely can Michelle! You can use, and reuse, and reuse bones over and over again until they disintegrate into nothing if you want! Each subsequent batch will be lighter than the previous, and won’t be quite as thick, but they’re all nutritious. I make stock, then freeze the bones so I can make more if I use what I have before the month ends. Then I’ll toss them and start fresh at the next month, when I buy two more whole chickens.
I store my stock in jars, in the fridge, and use it within 2 weeks. If it’ll be longer than that, I freeze it. I don’t “can” stock because I’m still a novice canner, and find it easier (right now) to make a fresh batch each month. 🙂
Lori
You said you use the innards of the chickens. To me innards include the crop and intestines. Surely you don’t use them in stock do you? They may be flavoursome and I know that cats particularly go for those parts when they kill a chook, but ….!
Tiffany
LOL – I meant the innards when you buy a whole chicken from the store! So, the gizzards/neck and such. I don’t think I’d recommend the crop and intestines. 😉
Wendy S
The recipe says to discard the vegetables if you use them when making the stock. I haven’t tried this, but someone elsewhere mentioned using those vegetables to make hummus. Sure they’re mushy after cooking for so long, but you’re going to puree them anyway…
Tiffany
Interesting… I wonder how much flavor they’d have after cooking? Or if they’d taste like chicken stock? Not sure how I feel about chicken-flavored hummus. 😉
Cheryl Banks
I actually cook my chick peas in 1/2 chicken stock, 1/2 water. Originally to add more nutrients to the hummus, but the end product was absolutely awesome. So much so that now my daughter also prepares her chick peas for hummus using the stock/water combo.
Audrey
I read on a stock recipe that a couple of readers throw the veggies and a little bit of broth into a food processor and make vegetable soup. I think if you added some rice or noodles, you’d have a nice, creamy (from the pureed veggies), super cheap meal. That was for vegetable broth, I think, but the concept was the same. I don’t know how many people it would feed, but sometimes you just need enough for one or two while the kids or spouse are eating something else… Like when it’s lunchtime and there are no left overs. I might be completely wrong, but I think those comments were on allrecipes.com on one of the vegetable broth recipes.
Tiffany
I think I’ve heard of that too, but I haven’t tried it. You’re right! Sometimes you need enough for one or two… that’s typically what happens at Sunday lunches for us. Thanks for sharing the idea over here!
Heather
Hi Tiffany, I was so happy to see your post about broth in a slow cooker because I gave up on broth recently. My last batch turned out tasting very greasy. After a little reading I think I may have let it boil too hard. I imagine there would be much less of a chance of ruining a batch of broth that way if you are using a slow cooker.
Have you ever had one turn out tasting so greasy that it was inedible? Do you think using the slow cooker would help prevent that mistake? I don’t want to end up wasting any more chicken. It’s just too expensive. I guess I should mention that I was making broth and cooking chicken for soup in the very same pot. I appreciate your insight. Thanks, Heather
Tiffany
I think the problem was the stock and soup in the same pot. I’ve never had a greasy batch of stock, and I even keep the fat! It’s never been inedible, but I admit to allowing it to cook for WAY too long (like, days too long) and it was VERY chicken-y, lol. Probably great for chicken soup, but not so great for tomato. 😉 In the future, I’d make stock separately from soup, just in case, and you might consider scraping the fat off after it cools, but I don’t think you can go wrong with the slow cooker!
Charline
When you say carcass, is that the whole chicken? If so, I am just a little confused at why making broth and cooking chicken for soup would not work.
Tiffany
Hi Charline! Carcass is the whole chicken, minus the meat. So essentially, all the bones, innards and skin. I prefer to cook my chicken first (in the slow cooker, I use this method: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2016/06/slow-cooker-chicken/) and then make chicken stock with the bones. I also keep the leftover bones from all of our meals, and veggie scraps, and add it to the stock. This is also why I make stock separately. Does that help?
Charline
Yes! because I would have put the whole chicken in…….I’m new at this. Thank you.
Heather
Slow cooker chicken stock is such a great idea! I always want to make it but am honestly kinda lazy about doing it. Tossing it in the slow cooker is perfect!
Tiffany
LOL, me too. 😉
Heather
What a good idea! I can compost, so I always stick my veggie scraps in there, but then I never have anything for stock!
Vicki
Love the great information! Your blog is now my favorite. How do you store your broth? Do you can or freeze it? Thanks, Vicki
Tiffany
Thanks Vicki! I freeze broth I can’t use immediately. I know I COULD can it, but instead I’ve chosen to make just enough for 2 weeks, and freeze half.
Pam
I love the idea of homemade broth. But I have no idea what to do… what do you suggest I do with the crock pot when I leave the house or go to bed? Do I turn it off and reheat? Do I add more cooking time? I just don’t have 14-16 hours a day to stay home while the crock pot is on. I had once had a slow cooker overheat and leave a burn spot on my counter so I refuse to leave one on when no one is home or able to check on it frequently. Stove method won’t work for me either. I will not leave an open flame on in the kitchen unattended! This is why I still buy canned broth… I have yet to find any cooking methods for homemade that will work with my life schedule :/ Thanks in advance! I may just be out of luck and need to deal with it.
Tiffany
Hi Pam! We leave our crock pot on when we leave the house or go to bed. Granted, I’ve never had one overheat on me though. Was it an old one? When we’re making stock, I keep it in the garage so the house doesn’t smell like chicken. I turn it on the 10 hour mark when I’m awake, but switch to 12 hours when I go to bed just in case I’m not back down there before the time is up. You also don’t HAVE to cook stock for 24 hours, but that’s how you get the most nutrients. Maybe you could break your sessions into two, cooking for 4-6 hours one day then 4-6 on another? Maybe start it in the afternoon one day so you have the stretch of time from afternoon to bed, then finish either the next morning or night with a similar stretch? My step-mom makes amazing broth, but she only cooks about 4 hours. Again, she’s missing on some nutrients, but it still gets the job done! I hope this helps Pam!
Pam
Thank you! If I break it into 2 cooking sessions, I am assuming I need to refrigerate the contents in between sessions?
The one that overheated was about 10 years old. It always seemed to cook much hotter and faster than my other one, which is older, yet still seems to work great. Perhaps I will ask for one of those fancy ones with a timer as a Christmas or bday gift 🙂 I have used my crock pots more in the past 2 years than I did for the previous 10-12 years, so have put a lot of wear and tear on them more recently.
Tiffany
Well Pam, I’ve been known to not refrigerate between sessions, but if we’re talking about germs and such, you probably should. 😉
Valerie
Oh, THANK YOU!!!! I never thought to put it in the garage. I hate the smell of it cooking for 24 hours; it turns my tummy.
kathy keane
Really would like to see the recipe for your step Mom’s broth. Can we??? Thanks.
Tiffany
LOL, I’ll do my best to get it this year. 🙂
Nikki
I make mine in an electric pressure cooker in a fraction of the time!
Debbie
Nikki – I just found this post. How do you make the stock in the pressure cooker? Thanks very much.
Pam
Just add all the ingredients, set for 120 minutes, strain. This produces a wonderful stock that will gel.