How To Make Bone Broth In The Instant Pot

Learn how to make bone broth in the instant pot. Bone broth is nourishing, mineral rich, and packed full of gut healing benefits. It is also the perfect way to support the immune system.

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Bone broth is a staple in our diet, and I am always looking for ways to add it to my cooking. We of course add it to soups, but I also cook rice in bone broth. I even have an amazing bone broth hot chocolate recipe I use it with – I promise it’s not as scary as it sounds.

Like a lot of things that are good, it takes time to make. Making bone broth on the stove top or in a crockpot requires simmering for at least 24 hours. While it is well worth the wait, sometimes I want all of the benefits of bone broth, but much quicker. It was the main reason I have wanted to purchase an instant pot for so long! For a long time pressure cookers have scared me a bit which is why I held off, however, it has proved to be well worth it.

Bone broth is rich in amino acids glycine, proline, and glutamic acid. Glutamic acid converts to glutamine in the body. Glutamine is well recognized for how supportive it is in healing leaky gut. Most of us typically consume muscle meats rather than eating nose to tail, and muscle meats are not a great source of these incredible amino acids.

Bone Broth Should Gel

The boxes of broth you find in grocery store shelves of course do not have the benefits of bone broth. That broth is produced with profit in mind, not your health. If you’re looking to get the gut healing and immune supporting benefits of bone broth, your best bet is homemade. There are some good brands of bone broth on the market, however in my experience most do not gel, and they are expensive.

The reason good quality bone broth becomes solid when cooled is because of it’s high gelatin content. This is due to simmering for a long period of time – or a much shorter period of time, when using a pressure cooker.

If you find your bone broth is consistently not gelling, there are a few things to consider.

• Just cover the bones with filtered water, too much water will dilute the gelatin content of the broth.
• Don’t simmer too long, or not long enough.
• Do the bones you are using contain a lot of connective tissue? This is where the gelatin is.
• Add chicken feet!

Benefits of Making Bone Broth In A Pressure Cooker

What I love about making bone broth in a pressure cooker is that it takes much less time. I can have a batch done in about 5 hours total rather than a minimum of 24 hours. I also find that by using a pressure cooker I get more consistent results when it comes to my bone broth gelling.

Bone Broth Without A Pressure Cooker

To make bone broth without a pressure cooker, you don’t need much – just more time. You can make bone broth at home on the stove top or in a slow cooker.

To make bone broth on the stove, simply add bones to a large pot, cover with filtered water, and add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Allow to simmer at least 24 hours, up to 72.

To make bone broth in a crockpot, add bones, cover with filtered water, and add a splash of apple cider vinegar. Turn the slow cooker on high until the mixture simmers, then switch it over to the low setting. Strain after at least 24 hours.

Why Add Apple Cider Vinegar To Bone Broth

The reason it is recommended to add apple cider vinegar when making bone broth is because it helps to pull collagen from the connective tissues. Some say it will also help to extract minerals from the bones, but there is some debate on whether that is true or not. I specifically add it to make sure I’m producing a gelatin rich broth. If it helps pull the minerals from the bones as well, that is an added bonus!

What You Need To Make Bone Broth In The Instant Pot

• Bones of choice. I typically use chicken or beef bones.
• Filtered Water
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Instant Pot

How To Make Bone Broth In The Instant Pot

Start by adding the bones to the bowl of the instant pot. I fill mine about 2/3 of the way full. If using chicken bones, that is usually two leftover carcasses that I have kept in the freezer.

Cover the bones with filtered water.

Add a splash of apple cider vinegar.

Secure the lid of the instant pot and flip the pressure release valve to sealing.

Set the instant pot to manual, low pressure, and then 240 minutes or 4 hours. Turn off the warm function, unless you do want your broth to stay warm after the cycle finishes.

Once the cycle is complete, allow for a natural release. This will likely take an hour.

Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Transfer to glass mason jars once the broth has cooled.

A layer of fat will form on top of the broth. As it cools, this will become solid. If that layer is left in tact your broth will stay good for weeks in the fridge. Once that fat seal is broken, you will want to use it up within a few days.

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