So Santa brought you an Instant Pot eh? Or maybe you picked yourself up one at a wicked good price on Black Friday? However you got your lucky little mitts on one, please, please, pretty please, do not let it sit in the box until Easter. It’s time to throw on your apron, tear that box open, and make your very first delicious miracle – Instant Pot Bone Broth.

You know you’re getting older, when you’re away with friends for the weekend, and in between the glasses of wine and cans of cider, you and your friends are also sipping on nourishing, warming mugs of bone broth.

My friend Tina is a wizard in the kitchen, and without any of us noticing had whipped up the biggest pot of broth that we were all eagerly digging into because it was so damn delicious. When we returned home, I begged her for the recipe, and she recited it to me from the top of her head, because that’s the kind of awesome cook she is.

Following her instructions, I made it a few times on the stove, but then thought I would see how bone broth in my Instant Pot would stand up against the slow-simmer-style of the pot.

I’m excited to say that it turned out AWESOME!

It’s so much faster, and just as delicious.

It used to take me 24 hours of simmering the bones on the stove, but now 120 minutes in the Instant Pot, and the bones produce an amazing, gel-tastic broth!

Bone broth has really gained popularity for being a superfood in recent years, but it has been consumed for centuries by our ancestors for health. It is rich in minerals, especially calcium.

One of the biggest concerns about giving up dairy because it can cause acne, is the worry about getting enough calcium. Simply drinking a mug of bone broth every day, or adding it to soups, stews, and sauces is an awesome way to get more calcium into your diet.

Bone broth is also super rich in gelatin, making it excellent for skin health. It is rich in collagen, and is vital for skin elasticity and tone, plus the continuous renewal of skin cells.

Consuming bone broth on the regular will also help your nails grow long and strong.

I could go on and on about the benefits of bone broth, but I really want you to jump in and start playing with your Instant Pot and make your first batch!

I’d love to hear how it goes for you! Let me know in the comments below.

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Instant Pot Bone Broth - Pho Style

Inspired by my good friend Tina. This recipe is essentially hers, and recounted to the best of my recollection!

Course Soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 25 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

Aromatics

  • 1 large yellow onion
  • 1 large knob of ginger 2 inches
  • 1 tsp whole coriander seed
  • 1 tsp whole black peppercorn
  • 3 star anise
  • 1 cup of cilantro stems

Chicken

  • 1 3 pound whole chicken
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 cup of water

Broth

  • 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar
  • Water for the broth

Seasonings for the broth

  • Fish sauce
  • Coconut sugar
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Preparations

  1. Roughly chop a large yellow onion and the large knob of ginger. Place on a baking pan, and put inthe over under the broiler until the onion and ginger are nicely charred. Turn once to char evenly. (7-10 minutes)
  2. Place the coriander seeds, black peppercorns, and star anise into a small pan to toast on the stove top. Shake the pan occasionally to avoid burning. You’ll know they are good to go, when the spices become fragrant.
  3. Remove the leafy parts of the cilantro and set aside, keeping only the stems for the broth.
  4. Remove any innards from the chicken and then rinse your whole chicken with water. Pat dry with a paper towel, and then salt the breast side of the chicken.

Browning the chicken

  1. Turn on the Instant Pot, and press Saute. When the screen reads HOT, pour 1 tablespoon of oil into the Instant Pot. Place the chicken, salted-breast side down, into the pot, and allow to sit and brown up for 8-10 minutes.
  2. Pour ½ a cup of water into the pot to help lift the chicken skin from the bottom of the hot pot. Remove the chicken, and set on a cutting board.

Cooking the Chicken

  1. Place the blackened onions and ginger, toasted spices, and cilantro stems into the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the Instant Pot trivet on top of the aromatics, and then place the whole chicken back into the pot, breast side down. Pour in 1-2 cups of water, until it reaches just below the trivet, but doesn’t immerse the chicken.
  2. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button to cancel the saute function. Then place the Instant Pot lid on the Instant Pot, and set the valve to sealing. Set the Instant Pot to ‘Manual’, ‘high pressure’, and press the arrows either up or down to set the time for 25 minutes.
  3. After 25 minutes the Instant Pot will beep and go into warming mode. Allow the Instant Pot to natural release its pressure; this should take about 12-15 minutes.

Bone Broth

  1. Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot, and set on a cutting board. Cut the chicken into pieces, and remove the meat from the bones, placing the bones back into the Instant Pot.
  2. Remove the trivet from the bottom of the Instant Pot, add the apple cider vinegar, and then fill the Instant Pot up to the max-fill line with water.

    If you have any extra bones that you’ve saved in the freezer, you can add them now.
  3. Place the lid back on the Instant Pot, and set the valve to sealing. Set the Instant Pot to ‘Manual’, ‘high pressure’, and press the arrow up until the screen reads 120 minutes.
  4. After 120 minutes you can either choose to quick release or natural release the pressure. Using a fine sieve, a ladle, and another pot, ladle out the broth and filter out all the bones, spices, stems, and aromatics to discard in the compost.
  5. Allow the broth to fully cool before putting in your storage containers. The broth will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge, and for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Optional Seasoning

  1. You may wish to add additional flavourings to the broth for a more balanced, and robust flavour. I prefer to do this at the time that I’m going to consume my broth, not before freezing.

  2. Seasonings I like to play around with, to balance the aromatics we added to the broth include: fish sauce, coconut sugar, and salt. 

  3. The amounts of extra seasonings you add will depend on the amount of broth you’re seasoning, so I encourage you to add a little at a time of each, stir to combine, and then taste test until the broth is seasoned the way you wish. Let your palate guide you!

Recipe Notes

If you often need small amounts of broth to flavour other foods as you cook, I recommend freezing some of your broth in silicone muffin cups. Then pop the frozen pucks of broth out of the molds, and place in a ziplock bag to store in the freezer.

Broth that Gels:
Getting broth to gel is like the gold standard of broth making, but it doesn't happen every time. Your both will still be very nutritious even if it doesn't get all jiggly when it's cold. However, if you really want broth that gels, a few suggestions are:

  • Add 2-3 chicken feet to your broth. The feet are full of gelatin!
  • Add lots and lots of bones! I like to save chicken bones throughout the month in the freezer, and then add these to my broth. I often will have 2-3 chicken carcasses in one batch of broth.
  • Simmer your broth on the stove on low for an hour or so after you strain it from the Instant Pot. This can evaporate off some of the excess water, leaving a more concentrated broth that is more likely to gel.

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