Homemade Chicken Stock (with Slow Cooker Instructions)

Homemade chicken stock is a healthier alternative to store-bought chicken stock, providing a richer flavour without the extra ingredients it doesn't need. Made with chicken bones, vegetables, and herbs, this homemade chicken stock is perfect for soups, stews, and sauces. This post will take you through how to do it on the stove and in the slow cooker.

I started making chicken stock a number of years ago because I was never comfortable just throwing out a chicken carcass when there was still so much flavour still with it. My partner actually grew up making a lot of stock with his family so I've used some of his tips and tricks and we continue to make our own at least once a month.

Plus, there's always so much sodium in store-bought stock and I found it was getting less and less flavourful.

Especially because a lot of my chicken meal prep recipes use stock, I wanted to push in extra flavour so this recipe became a necessity.

Ingredients

The main ingredients are going to be your chicken carcass, water and time.

The longer you boil the carcass for, the more benefit you're going to get out of the bones and the more flavour that's going to go in it.

There are a few extras that I'll always include:

• Garlic
• Onion
• Lemon
• Peppercorns
• Bay Leaves

And some additions that I'll add depending if I have them:

• Veggie scraps (carrot, celery, leek etc.)
• Fresh herbs (rosemary, oregano etc.)

See recipe card for full list of ingredients.

What Vegetables Shouldn't You Put in Chicken Stock?

Not all vegetables work well in stock - some can overpower or ruin the flavour:

• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) ? Can make stock bitter and sulphuric
• Starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes) ? Make stock cloudy and slightly gritty
• Zucchini or squash ? Break down too quickly and add little flavour
• Strong leafy greens (spinach, kale) ? Can turn the stock murky and slightly metallic
• Beetroot ? Will completely change the colour and flavour

Stick to the classics: onion, carrot, celery, garlic, herbs, and maybe leek.

Recommended equipment

At the very basics, you just need a large pot and strainer. I have made a bit of a shift and use my slow cooker for stock as I have a gas stove-top now and get a little bit nervous leaving it on for so long.

Storing stock

You can store the stock in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. Depending on your ratio of bones to water, you may notice that it turns slightly gelatinous (slightly jelly like). This is completely fine and once reheated in your dish will go back to completely smooth and liquid.

I personally prefer storing it in the freezer in my souper cubes. I'll do this in a variety of different sizes so I know I can pull out a cup, 2 cups etc. for a specific recipe. It'll last in your freezer for quite a while as I haven't found any issues when it gets freezer burn. I would suggest consuming within 6-12 months thought.

Using chicken stock

Pastas

A lot of pasta recipes (particularly those that are one-pot) will use liquid to cook the pasta. Having your own chicken stock that you've made will not only save you money, but will make the dish extra flavourful and you won't have to balance the excess salt.

Use homemade chicken stock in my creamy sundried tomato chicken pasta and one-pot creamy cajun pasta - or try out my other chicken pasta recipes

Slow cooker meals

Slow cookers use the liquid to cook the rest of the dish. This can come from the protein itself or other liquids, but sometimes it'll come from stock like in my shredded chicken (just to help things along a bit) and my slow cooker beef and noodles where it helps to rehydrate the noodles.

Soups and stews

I think this one is pretty self explanatory but essentially the more flavourful your underlying flavour profile (i.e. your stock) is, the more flavourful the final soup or stew dish is going to be - especially when liquid is a large part of it like my slow cooker beef goulash or potato leek cauliflower soup.

Risotto

Just like the other recipes, when you've got a large broth or stock component, the more flavourful it is the better the final dish is going to be. I love making my own stock because then you can control the flavour profile a little bit more (plus it is waaaaaay less salty) which can sometimes work against you in meals which have a large amount of salt naturally in them like my bacon mushroom chicken risotto.

Can you use it with other proteins?

Absolutely - especially if you make it yourself. I've used it in dishes like my curried beef mince and rice, curried sausages (which I guess you could use chicken sausages for) and Mexican beef taco soup. You can find really flavourful beef stocks on the market, but again these can come with ingredients that you may not want.

FAQs