This rich chicken bone broth recipe slowly cooks roasted bones and unpeeled veggies, which produces a much deeper flavor and darker color. The longer it simmers, the richer it gets! Make sure about half your bones are collagen-rich, such as chicken backs, feet, or wings.

Rich Chicken Bone Broth
This rich chicken bone broth recipe slowly cooks roasted bones and unpeeled veggies, which produces a much deeper flavor and darker color. The longer it simmers, the richer it gets! Make sure about half your bones are collagen-rich, such as chicken backs, feet, or wings.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds assorted chicken bones
- 2 clean unpeeled carrots, cut into chunks
- 2 stalks celery with leaves cleaned and cut into chunks
- 1 onion cleaned, unpeeled, and quartered
- 6 cloves garlic unpeeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns
- 12 cups water or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Place chicken bones, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cloves on a baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Transfer roasted bones and vegetables to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add vinegar, bay leaves, salt, and peppercorns; cover completely with water.
- Cook on Low for 24 to 48 hours (but not any longer), adding 1 to 2 cups more water during the cooking process as needed to keep bones submerged. Strain broth using a fine-mesh strainer. Pour into jars and refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Cook’s Note
I like to save leftover chicken carcasses, bones, and vegetable trimmings in the freezer, and when I have enough, I make a batch of broth.
The bone broth should gel upon refrigeration; however, it is still very nutritious if it does not! Just use less water and/or more collagen-rich bones such as chicken backs, feet, or wings.
To easily remove fat from the broth, refrigerate and remove the hardened layer on top using a spoon. Leaving the layer of fat on top helps seal and preserve the broth.