The trick to getting great soups and sauces is a the best homemade chicken broth. It’s really easy to do with only a few minutes of prep work. Let the broth cook while you watch a good movie and you have twelve cups of delicious broth ready the next time you need it. Good, rich chicken broth can absolutely change the taste of your soups and sauces. Until I made my own broth, I was never happy with my chicken soup recipe. Now, I love it and make sure to have some ready to go in the freezer for when I feel like making either Chicken Soup or Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

I usually start my broth with the bones and bits left from a rotisserie chicken. I use rotisserie chickens all the time to have shredded chicken on hand for meals like chicken enchiladas or Chicken Soup. After you clean all the useable meat from a rotisserie chicken, save the bones, skin, and little bits from the bottom of the container. I usually put them in a Ziploc with the juices and freeze them until I’m ready to make broth.

You will want some loosely chopped celery, carrots, and onions to add flavor.

I’m a huge fan of Chicken Base and buy it in giant containers at Costco. I usually add about a 1/4 cup to my chicken broth. Now here is a catch — I don’t add any additional salt. Why? Because I want to be able to control the salt in the final dish I make. It’s always easier to add salt later, so if you taste a spoonful of broth it might seem a little bland. Feel free to add salt to your taste.

I use an Instant Pot so that this broth is really quick to make. It only takes about 10 minutes of prep work and then the instant pot does all the hard work while you go watch a movie or something else fun. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can do this on the stove top, just know that the cooking time will extend to several hours.

After you have added the chicken, the veggies, and the Chicken Base to your Instant Pot, it’s time to add the water. Depending on the size of your instant pot, the amount of water will vary. Don’t add more than the Max Fill line. Look in the photo how close I was to the line. That’s OK. It’s also OK if parts of your chicken stick out over that line, just don’t add more water. The chicken and veggies will soften and loosen up as they cook, so it won’t make the Instant Pot explode. We do want as much water as possible because that’s what will make the chicken broth. So fill right on up to that line.

Once you have filled the Instant Pot, place the lid on and make sure that the pressure valve is set appropriately. I use the pressure cook setting for 65 minutes. Then let the pressure naturally release for at least 15 to 20 minutes or longer. If you release the valve quickly, all that precious broth will come sputtering out the top. Let it cool down naturally to preserve as much liquid as possible.

After the broth has cooked and cooled down, you will need to strain out the solid pieces from the liquid. I simply place a tight mesh strainer over a large bowl and slowly ladle the broth into the mesh strainer to get all of the pieces out. Don’t be in a big hurry, let the liquid drain through to get as much broth as possible. I even smush the carrots and celery to get any juice out if possible.

Once you have strained the broth, add it to storage containers for future use. I love these restaurant take-away containers. They are 32 ounces or four cups each. That’s a perfect amount for making soups and stews. You can refrigerate or freeze as desired.

I leave the fat on top of my broth. Some people prefer to remove it. It’s your choice. I leave it there in case I want to use it for additional flavor in a future dish.

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The Best Homemade Chicken Broth

Course Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Servings 16

Ingredients

• 2 rotisserie chickens, just bones and skin
• 3 whole carrots, cut into large pieces
• 3 celery stalks, cut into large pieces
• 1 onion, cut into large pieces
• 1/4 cup Chicken Base
• 12-14 cups water

Instructions

• Clean off all useable meat from two rotisserie chickens. Place the bones, skin and other bits and juices into the Instant Pot.
• Cut celery, carrots and onion into large pieces. Add to the Instant Pot.
• Add Chicken Base.
• Add water to Max Fill Line. Place lid and steam valve in locked positions. Push pressure cook button. Set time to 1:05. Press Start. Make sure the warm function is also turned on. This will keep the broth warm after it finishes cooking.
• When the Instant Pot has finished cooking, let it naturally release the pressure by sitting for 20-30 more minutes. Then release the pressure valve and remove lid.
• Strain any bits out of the broth and store in containers for future use. Can be frozen or refrigerated as needed.

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This Chicken & Bean Soup is truly the ultimate comfort food. It is the one I keep on hand in the freezer. It’s one to serve to guests, take to those that need a meal, and the thing you crave when you are sick. It’s packed with veggies and fiber. The bonus? It is naturally gluten-free.

Serve it up with my Bread Bowl, French Bread, or Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls for a complete meal that everyone will love.

The trick to making this the best chicken soup at home is the chicken broth. A store-bought broth will work in a pinch, but I really prefer homemade broth if possible. But either way, adding Chicken Base is the key to getting a good rich chicken flavor. I usually buy mine at Costco because it is so much more affordable. Chicken Base is available in most grocery stores in the soup aisle. Look up high, it’s often up above the chicken broth.

To get started making your chicken and bean soup, chop the onions, celery, and carrots. I love using my chopper for the onions and celery, but I do not advise using it on the carrots. They are just too hard to get through the grid.

Add the butter, oil, and veggies to a very large pot. I love using my 7-quart Staub for soups like this. It is a perfect size and keeps a constant temperature for keeping the soup hot. Cook the veggies until just tender. They don’t need to be completely soft.

While the veggies cook, prepare the remainder of the ingredients. You will need two cans of great northern beans, drained and rinsed.

I love using this large strainer for meals like this. It’s easy to get large vegetables clean as well as the beans. The strainer is suspended over my sink so it’s easy to have both hands free while I work on food prep.

Dice the chicken pieces to your preferred size. I like them a little smaller so that I can get a little of everything on my spoon. You can use chicken from a store-bought rotisserie chicken, previously cooked chicken breasts, or even leftover turkey in this recipe.

After the vegetables are tender, add all of the remaining ingredients to the pot. Stir gently. Let the soup simmer for about an hour for all of the flavors to combine. You may need to add additional water if the beans soak up too much or if it boils off.

Before serving, be sure to taste the soup. It may need more chicken base, salt, or pepper. Remove the two bay leaves and serve.

If you have any leftovers, this soup is perfect for meal prep. Always take the opportunity to save leftovers in the freezer for cold rainy days. I like to seal individual portions with my vacuum sealer. We then label each bag with the contents and the date the soup was made.

If looking for any additional soups, I highly recommend Broccoli Cheddar Soup or Hearty Chili.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 2 cups carrots. chopped
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups chicken, cooked and diced
• 2 cans great northern beans, drained
• 2 tablespoons parsley, dried
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons chicken base
• 1-3 cups water, as needed

Instructions

• Add butter and olive oil to a large pot.
• Add onions, celery and carrots to the pot. Cook until tender. Stir occassionally.
• Add broth, chicken, beans, parsley and bay leaf. Stir. Add chicken base.
• Let simmer for 60 minutes or more.
• Taste. If getting too thick, add more water.

  Depending on preferences you may need more chicken base or salt and pepper.