Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock comes out so rich and flavorful every time. It’s hands-off, easy to make and all you need to make several quarts of stock are chicken bones, water, sea salt and apple cider vinegar.

Learn the easiest way to make Slow Cooker Chicken Stock, a common kitchen staple with so many uses. This simple recipe transforms chicken bones, water, sea salt, and apple cider vinegar into a flavorful and nutritious stock.

The slow cooker method ensures a hands-off approach, slowly simmering the ingredients to perfection. It’s an efficient way to use leftover chicken bones, reducing waste and enhancing your cooking.

This bone stock serves as a versatile base for soups, stews and more, enriching every dish you add it to. The quality of homemade stock is so much better than store-bought versions too… you’ll appreciate having this simple homemaking skill under your belt!

Ingredients

• Chicken bones
• 7 quarts of filtered water
• 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Equipment

• Slow Cooker
• Fine mesh strainer
• Mason jars
• Large stockpot

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock Recipe

Follow these simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make the best chicken stock in the slow cooker.

Step 1: Add Bones to Pot

Add enough chicken bones to fill your slow cooker pan. The more the merrier.

Step 2: Add Water, Vinegar and Salt

Cover the bones with about 7 quarts of cold water (or enough to cover the bones) and add apple cider vinegar and sea salt.

Step 3: Cook then Repeat

Cook your ingredients on Low for 12-24 hours. You can make one or two more batches of chicken stock with the same bones, so don’t discard them after the first round if you want to make a second batch.

Step 4: Strain Your Stock

Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large stock pot. Refrigerate overnight and skim off the fat if you’re canning.

Step 5: Use or Store

Transfer it to mason jars and refrigerate it for immediate use or freeze it for later (see tips below). You’ll get a nice, gelatinous stock using this method.

Tips for Making Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

Answers to all of your questions about making slow cooker chicken stock, including tips, substitutions, variations and uses.

How many bones do you need?

There is no set number of bones you need, but the more the better. I like to save my leftover chicken bones and carcasses in a freezer bag until I have enough to fill a pot. Then I’ll make a big pot of chicken stock in my slow cooker.

Chicken stock vs broth

Chicken stock is usually made from bones, whereas chicken broth is made from meat. I prefer making stock because I’d discard the bones otherwise. I sometimes add leftover meat into the pot because it’s another way to reduce waste and it does add to the depth of flavor.

I find that chicken stock is usually a bit thicker with a richer flavor than broth thanks to the gelatin that comes from the leftover bones (especially when you use whole chicken carcasses). It’s okay to substitute broth for stock and vice versa in most recipes.

If you’re wondering, you can use this same method to make chicken broth with meat instead of bones. A quick tip is to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store and use that.

Why crockpot chicken stock vs Instant Pot?

I find that simmering it in the slow cooker is the best way to get thick stock. I’ve been known to gently simmer mine for 24 hours! You can also make chicken stock on the stovetop this way, but you must watch it more closely on the stove than you do in the crockpot.

If your goal is a thick stock, then you’ll get the best chicken stock using the slow cooker method. Yes, a crock pot takes longer, but it is worth it for how well it gels.

While making Instant Pot Chicken Stock is quicker, it doesn’t produce the same amount of gelatin since it’s pressure-cooked rather than simmered.

Why I add apple cider vinegar

The vinegar helps pull the minerals from the bones into your stock. I find that I end up with a much richer, thicker, more flavorful stock when using ACV.

Tips for making chicken stock with more flavor

I like to add salt, pepper and garlic at the end of cooking to taste, but I’ll often leave it unseasoned so I can flavor it how I’d like when I use it. You can also save veggie scraps like carrot tops, celery ribs and tops, onion scraps, etc. in a freezer bag to toss in with the bones when you’re making stock.

Why strain stock?

I use a fine-mesh strainer to strain my stock, once the fat has cooled and risen to the top, to be sure all bone fragments and excess fat are removed. If you’re canning stock, never skip this step or the jars may not seal properly. It’s also best to remove the excess fat when freezing stock.

If you’re making soup that day or plan to use the stock soon another way, it’s okay to leave the extra fat, but it will go rancid faster.

Shelf life tips

Chicken stock goes bad, so it’s important to use it within 2-3 days of making it. If you won’t use it right away, I recommend canning it or freezing it. Learn how to can it in my post on How to Make and Can Chicken Stock.

How to freeze chicken stock

Freezing chicken stock is great if you have the extra freezer space because you don’t have to take the time to can it. There are 2 ways I freeze chicken stock.

1. Freeze it in wide-mouth pint jars, which hold around 2 cups. You need to make sure the mason jars you choose are freezer-safe and be sure to leave some headspace for the stock to expand.
2. Freeze chicken stock cubes in ice trays. This method makes it fast and easy to melt down cubes when you need them. Just transfer the frozen cubes to freezer bags or freezer-safe containers for storage.

Uses for chicken stock

While you can use it in traditional ways like in chicken noodle soup. But there are so many other things to do with chicken stock, such as:

• Instant Pot Refried Beans
• Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken Enchiladas

Making other types of bone stock

Beef stock is made the same way that chicken stock is. Choose bones with some marrow when making beef stock for the best flavor. I also use this same recipe for making turkey stock from our Thanksgiving bird.

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