Rich in nutrients, bone broth can help support your immune system and bring healing to the gut. Learn how to easily make bone broth in your Instant Pot using just a few simple ingredients.

Healthy belly.

Those two words have such a tremendous impact on my life.

For as long as I can remember, I have had some sort of gut issue. Most of the time it is manageable and I get by. But this past winter, I experienced a long, painful battle, likely caused by extreme stress from the ever memorable year 2020. Though it was a grueling affair, I learned a great ordeal about gut health and how much of an impact food, nutrition, stress, anxiety, sin and the environment can affect your body.

As I dove into the importance of real nutrition, I discovered the healing benefits of bone broth. Sure, I had made chicken and beef stock at home for years. But I had never heard about bone broth. So what’s the big difference? How could this bring healing to my belly?

Turns out, the age old saying that chicken soup can help fight a virus is true. The amino acids that are produced when making broth helps to reduce inflammation and support digestion. It’s also a great source for collagen, gelatin and minerals.

In need of healing and relief, I set out to make myself some homemade bone broth. I learned that you can easily make bone broth on your stovetop but unfortunately it took at minimum of 18-24 hours, sometimes up to 36 hours to reach the point of gelling. I wasn’t a fan of leaving my stove on overnight so I went the Instant Pot route. In as little as 6 hours, I could make a pot of nourishing bone broth that helped bring the much needed healing to my gut. 

It is important to consume or drink bone broth regularly if you are using it to support your gut and immune system. I try to drink it a couple times a week.

What is Bone Broth?

Bone broth, somewhat similar to stock is a mixture of bones, ligaments and water that are boiled, then simmered over a long period of time to release healing compounds such as collagen. Bone broth is rich in nutrients and easy to digest, making it a great food when you’re sick and in need of healing.

Skip the store-bought stock and broth; it doesn’t have nearly the same nutrition and healing benefits of homemade bone broth. To make the best bone broth do it at home. Use bones from local farmers or from your own homestead or from a reputable grocer. We get our beef bones from the cow that we purchase from a farm in our area. To make chicken bone broth, we use the bones directly from the carcass of the chicken we had from dinner the night before.

Benefits of Bone Broth

There is an incredible amount of benefits of bone broth. Personally, my top reason to consume bone broth is to support a healthy gut. By regularly drinking bone broth, you can reduce inflammation, improve digestion and strengthen the lining of the gut.

Collagen can be found inside bones with marrow as well as in joints, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. It also is in the lining of your digestive system. By consuming foods high in collagen, like homemade bone broth, you can acquire more collagen protein naturally to aid in minimizing gut disorders like leaky gut, diarrhea, gas and acid reflux.

In addition to being good for the gut, bone broth can also:

• Improve joint health
• Boost your immune system
• Aid your metabolism

For more great information on how to make healing bone broth, check out these sites Azure Standard and Dr. Axe, Ancient Nutrition.

Bone Broth Recipe

Ingredients

Water
Chicken or beef bones
Vegetables such celery, onions and carrots (optional)
Tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar (optional)
2 tsp salt (I like pink Himalayan salt)
1 tsp black peppercorns

How to Make Bone Broth

Add your bones to the Instant Pot. I usually use one chicken carcass or one beef soup bone. (It will fill the pot up about 1/2 of the way. You can easily get in twice that amount of bones if you have them. Bone-in chicken legs, thighs or breasts or beef soup bones or neck bones work best because they have plenty of marrow inside them to create a thick, gelled broth.)

If using veggies, toss in a couple of carrots, an onion and a stick of celery.

Cover the bones with just enough water that they are just barely covered. (For the bone broth to congeal, you do not want an excessive amount of water. Too much water will prevent it from gelling.) Add the salt, peppercorns and apple cider vinegar (if using).

Set the Instant Pot to the “Soup” setting, on low pressure for the maximum cooking time of 240 minutes (4 hours). After it completes, repeat the same process, using the same settings for an additional 120 minutes (2 hours).

When the broth is done, allow the pressure cooker to naturally release for 20-30 minutes. Push the release valve to the venting position to finish freeing the steam. Remove the Instant Pot lid and allow the broth to cool. Once cooled, remove the bones and veggie pieces. Optionally, you can use a fat separator to remove the excess fat from the broth. Pour the broth into plastic bags or jars and place in the fridge. (I prefer to place my bone broth in 1 cup souper cubes and freeze them to use later.)

Tips for Successfully Making Bone Broth

If your bone broth does not congeal after it is cooled and placed in the fridge, don’t worry. This has happened to me a few times. Your broth will still be full of plenty of nourishing nutrients and will work great in plenty of delicious recipes. And of course, it’ll be better than anything you can purchase in the store.

Apple cider vinegar is added to the bone broth to draw out the nutrients from the bones. I personally have found that my broth is still delicious, nutrient dense and gels without the use of apple cider vinegar. But many other writers online suggest adding it to the bone broth recipe.

More often than naught, I drink the bone broth to directly receive the healing benefits for my gut. But you can also use the bone broth in recipes such as stews and soups, to make casseroles, to boil rice or make gravy. I’ve also read articles online about adding it to hot chocolate recipes and using it as a first food for a baby.

If you don’t have an Instant pot or pressure cooker, you can make bone broth on your stove top. Simply fill a stockpot with bones, cover with water, add spices and veggies and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook on low for a minimum of 24 hours.

Did you know that you can use your bones to make broth more than once? Simply place the bone back into the pot, cover with water and spices and start the process all over again. Twice the bang for your buck!

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