Easy Instant Pot Bone Broth Recipe 

Beef bone broth recipe for Instant Pot: Learn how to make rich, nourishing bone broth in just hours with this easy, budget-friendly Instant Pot method.

A large portion of your disposable income is spent on food. No matter if you eat at home exclusively or enjoy dining out, food costs money. 

But here’s some good news: Your food budget is one of the easiest areas to save money when you’re intentional. That’s why I love cheap and easy meals. Learning to make Instant Pot recipes like beef bone broth or chicken bone broth at home is a frugal choice. But who says you can’t use pork bones or even store-bought broth? 

Disclosure: My sister prepared these recipes and took the photos. She’s also the one who introduced me to the Instant Pot (and air fryer). When cooking for her three busy kids, she makes an effort to:

(1) save money

(2) prepare quick & easy meals

(3) steer the kids away from their preferred diets of candy toward something with a little nutritional value. 

These are huge factors in my meal-planning process as well, so we often swap recipes and sales tips.

Since this isn’t a cooking blog, I’m not going to actually list any recipes here. Instead, this is a discussion of how cheap & easy Instant Pot bone broth is. 

Why is the Instant Pot great for bone broth?

First, why is the Instant Pot great, in general? Because it’s a hands-off way to cook quickly. 

There is an up-front investment of at least $100, unless you find a great sale, but the convenience is definitely worth it for my family. You can also buy other add-ons, like an egg basket, a steamer basket, or a lid to turn the Instant Pot into an air fryer, but you don’t need all that.

One important thing to remember is that the Instant Pot needs to get up to pressure before the actual cooking begins. We’re talking of high pressure cooking here. For large amounts of liquid, like soup or stew, that can take 20 minutes. That does make it harder to time everything for your dinnertime. 

The Instant Pot is great for this recipe because it cuts the cooking time from 12 hours down to 45–180 minutes. Plus, you don’t have to babysit a pot simmering on the stove for hours.

Some people are scared of the pressure aspect of the Instant Pot, but they have tons of safety features. As long as you’re careful & follow the “rules,” you’ll be fine. The lid stays locked while it’s pressurized, so you physically can’t open it.

The worst part is opening the valve to release the pressure. I usually fold a kitchen towel into quarters & use that to open the valve. It dissipates the steam & is quieter.

Why is bone broth good for you?

Bone broth isn’t just another type of regular broth. There’s a few benefits of bone broth you need to know. 

When you simmer roasted bones, chicken bones, or marrow bones for hours, it extracts collagen, which turns into gelatin, along with essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. These nutrients support bone strength, joint health, and overall wellness in ways that grocery store broth just can’t match.

One of the biggest perks is the gelatin, which helps maintain a healthy digestive tract. If you’ve ever dealt with digestive issues, you know how important gut health is, and bone broth is a natural, budget-friendly way to support it. But that’s not all. The amino acids in bone broth like glycine and proline can aid digestion, reduce inflammation, and even support sleep and brain function.

And let’s not forget the rich flavor. Homemade broth adds depth to soups, stews, and sauces while giving your body real nourishment. Whether you sip it straight or use it in soup recipes, it’s an easy way to get more nutrients without relying on pricey supplements.

Plus it’s cheap & easy

In addition to being easy (set it & forget it in the Instant Pot), bone broth is super cheap to prepare. It can be made from scraps, basically, so there’s almost no cost to making this nutritious liquid. 

Even at Walmart, organic bone broth is over 8 cents an ounce. That’s still pretty affordable, but using food scraps & water to make something even healthier is a definite win. 

Make sure to incorporate your bone-broth-making plans into your meal plan as much as you can. For example, roast a whole chicken on Thursday. On Friday, use the remaining chicken on a chicken and spinach salad. On Saturday, make bone broth from the carcass. For Sunday’s dinner, make

Ingredients for bone broth

Bone broth is the easiest thing to make. You just need:

• A chicken carcass or beef bones
• Vegetables, such as onion, garlic, celery, and carrots
• Spices and seasonings
• Apple cider vinegar
• Water

Seriously, that’s it. 

You can play around with the vegetables and seasonings, depending on what you have in the house. I like to throw the leftover bits of vegetables into a gallon-size baggie that lives in the freezer. Once that bag is full and I have the bones needed, it’s time to make get cooking. 

How to make bone broth in the Instant Pot

• Put everything except water in the Instant Pot
• Fill with at least enough water to cover the ingredients (for a thicker broth). Add more water to thin it out. It’s important to leave at least an inch of headspace between the waterline and the max fill line. 
• Set your Instant Pot to manual & select the appropriate length of time.
  • 2-3 hours will produce bone broth
  • 45 minutes will produce stock
• After the cook time has ended, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 30 minutes
  • After that time, carefully vent the Instant Pot to finish releasing the pressure.
• Strain the contents of the Instant Pot into a large bowl.
• Allow the liquid to cool before storing. 

For a more in-depth walk-through of the bone broth-making process, see How to Make Instant Pot Bone Broth from Kristine’s Kitchen. She also helpfully explains the difference between bone broth & stock (who knew there was a difference?!). 

How to use bone broth

The simplest way to use bone broth is to warm it up & drink it from a mug. You will get all of the health benefits with minimal effort. 

If you want to make real food, you can use bone broth anywhere you’d use stock or canned broth. When making a broth-based soup, you’ll save a couple of dollars at least by using homemade bone broth. 

One healthy option is Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup from The Girl Who Ate Everything. The bone broth adds a great flavor to the whole soup and increases the nutrition content. 

You can also use bone broth as the liquid for cooking quinoa and rice, or as an ingredient in sauces. 

How to store bone broth

Refrigerate

Bone broth can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Make sure it cools to room temperature before refrigerating. A mason jar is a convenient way to store the liquid you’ll use soon. 

Freeze 

The easiest long-term storage method for bone broth is freezing. You can freeze the cooled liquid in larger, 1 or 2 cup containers. You can use a glass jar (and risk cracking), plastic containers, or ziplock bags. Bigger quantities are great when you mostly make soups.

If you want to use smaller quantities, for everyday cooking, freeze the broth in smaller amounts. You can use an ice cube tray or silicone mold, like Nom Nom Paleo recommends. 

Have you made homemade bone broth before?