Slow Cooker Chicken Stock | Easy Hands-Off Method

Make easy homemade slow cooker chicken stock – it’s healthy, delicious, and frugal! Cross chicken stock off your grocery list. Once you start making it yourself, you’ll do it again and again because it’s so simple!

Along with No-Fail Homemade Mayo and Dairy Free Ranch Dressing, slow cooker chicken stock is a staple in my kitchen.

Up until just a couple of years ago, I pretty much ignored “chicken stock” in every ingredient list and substituted 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 Noodle Soup!

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN STOCK RECIPE

Not only is this slow cooker chicken stock recipe a perfect base for all of your soup recipes, but it’s also:

• Easy. Load the slow cooker and let it do all the work!
• Nutritious. By drawing all of the minerals out of the chicken bones, you get the benefits of calcium, magnesium, collagen, and more in your meals.
• Delicious. Homemade chicken stock just tastes good!
• Frugal. You save 93% by making it yourself!

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING CHICKEN STOCK

All you really need for making chicken stock are chicken bones and innards, apple cider vinegar, and water, but I’ve listed some additional items you can add for even more flavor.

• Chicken carcass, spine, skin, innards, and bones from two whole chickens
• Apple cider vinegar (make it yourself). This helps release the nutrients within the chicken bones.
• Filtered water
• Onion (optional)
• Carrots (optional)
• Celery stalks (optional)
• Parsley (optional)
• Additional kitchen scraps for flavor (optional): See this post for a list of all of the scraps you can use for making chicken stock instead of throwing them in the garbage!

Some people also like to add bay leaves or other herbs and spices, but I prefer to leave my chicken stock unseasoned and add salt and other seasonings when I make specific recipes.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN STOCK IN THE SLOW COOKER

Here’s how to make chicken stock crock pot style.

Step 1. Combine all the ingredients, except parsley, in a slow cooker. Cook on low for a full 24 hours for the most nutrient-dense stock. If you don’t have 24 hours, I recommend a minimum of 4 hours on high, or 10 hours on low.

Step 2. 10 minutes before finishing the stock, add parsley (if using).

Step 3. Turn off the slow cooker and skim any particles that have floated to the top with a slotted spoon. Allow the chicken stock to cool completely.

Step 4. Strain chicken parts and store them in a freezer-safe bag for future stock. Discard the vegetables. If desired, use a fine mesh strainer to get any leftover bits out of the homemade stock.

You can reuse the leftover bones for multiple batches of stock until they start to fall apart. 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!

Chicken stock can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for several months.

MY METHOD FOR MAKING CHICKEN STOCK CROCK POT

When it comes to getting the most I possibly can from a whole chicken, I have a somewhat methodical system.

First, I decide how I’m going to cook my chickens.

I may also decide to just chop my chickens into parts and freeze the raw chicken for future cooking. 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…

Typically, if I choose this method, I simply save the chicken skin, innards, and spine in a resealable bag in the freezer until I have enough pieces for a full batch of stock.

However I’m cooking my chicken, I’ll start it at some point during the day so that the meat can be cooked by dinner time, and I can pick it off the bones after the meal.

When all of the meat is picked from the chicken bones, everything that’s left goes into the slow cooker: bones, skin, tough pieces of meat that won’t pass through the kids’ radar…all of it.

I add a few splashes of apple cider vinegar, fill it to the top with water, and turn it on medium-low for at least 10 hours.

The next day, I turn off the crockpot, let the crockpot chicken stock cool slightly, and strain it with a fine mesh sieve. Once it’s cooled, I’ll either store it in jars in the refrigerator, or I’ll pour it into resealable bags to freeze it flat (it takes up much less space that way!). You can also freeze chicken stock in jars – read all of my tips for freezing in jars without them breaking here.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN STOCK WITHOUT A CROCK POT

If you found this recipe for chicken stock but don’t have a slow cooker, that’s ok! Here’s the basic recipe for stovetop chicken stock.

Step 1: Place chicken carcass, vegetables, and any seasonings in a large stock pot. Fill with cold water, leaving room for boiling.

Step 2: Bring the water and stock ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Keep an eye on it so it does not bubble over.

Step 3: Once the liquid has reached a golden color, taste and add salt if desired. Remove chicken bones and vegetables and strain the liquid into storage containers.

HOW TO USE CROCKPOT CHICKEN STOCK RECIPE

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 chicken stock in place of water in these types of recipes too:

CHICKEN STOCL FAQS

MORE DIY KITCHEN STAPLE RECIPES