The Best Ways to Store Homemade Chicken Broth

Learn three different ways to store chicken broth and the benefits and downsides of each method plus our favorite recipes and ways to use broth! 

Homemade chicken broth is a main staple in our kitchen, especially in the cooler months for nourishing soups. We tend to make big batches from leftover chicken carcasses so we do not waste any food. Plus, it is so much more cost-effective than buying store-bought broth! With our big batches of broth, we will use multiple different methods for both short-term and long-term storage. You can make your own chicken broth for just a little bit of effort with items you are likely throwing away! 

The main ingredient to make homemade chicken broth is, of course, chicken! The most cost-effective way to do this is to just use your leftover bones or chicken carcass. If you are local to Iowa, you can purchase whole chickens or your favorite cut from our farm where we raise our chickens with the highest standards. You can buy it directly from our farm, at local co-ops, or at farmer’s markets. You can find all of the ways to purchase with the link below. 

Our favorite method to make homemade chicken broth

Chicken broth, chicken stock, and chicken bone broth can all be used interchangeably, although they are all made a little different. The main difference is the amount of time that you cook the broth for, Regular chicken broth is simmered for an hour or two, while bone broth is simmered for around 24 hours. The extra time allows the nutrients from inside the bones to be drawn out and creates a broth that is full of nutrients such as collagen vitamins and minerals. We feel like if you are going to make a pot of broth, you might as well let it cook longer to get the maximum amount of nutrients! 

Bone broth recipe

To make bone broth, all you need is chicken bones or a chicken carcass and then a large stock pot. Or, you can use a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or a large roaster for a big batch of broth. Then, you will add water and you can add other ingredients for flavor, such as peppercorns, onion, herbs, or apple cider vinegar. Our favorite method for making broth is to roast a whole chicken using our Simple Slow Roasted Chicken Recipe and then eat it for a meal. Then we will take the leftover chicken meat and save it to make soup and then turn the chicken carcass into the broth to make the soup with. Here is our recipe for Homemade Healing Chicken Bone Broth. 

Another method to make bone broth is to make the broth using chicken feet. This is a really great, cost-effective way to make broth that is packed with nutrients! All of the connective tissue in chicken feet is a good source of protein, collagen, gelatin, amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, chondroitin, glucosamine, and omega-3 fatty acids. These nutrients can help with bone health, joint health, skin health, and inflammation. Learn how to make nourishing bone broth from chicken feet here!

How to store chicken broth in the fridge

We find that the best way to store chicken broth in the fridge is in half-gallon canning jars. In a week, we go through about 2 gallons of broth so this makes it easy to store and cycle through. We prefer to use glass containers so that we can easily wash and reuse them, but any airtight container will work for storage. Any sized mason jar will work, but since we are a large family a half gallon suits us! 

A tip we have learned through experience… make sure to label the broth. This helps ensure you are using the oldest broth first and that you use it within 5 days, but also prevents an unsuspecting family member from taking a big gulp thinking it’s apple cider! 

Shelf life of chicken broth in the fridge

You can keep chicken broth in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you do not use it within the first 5 days, use one of the other storage methods below to extend the shelf life. 

Pros of fridge storage

The benefit of storing chicken broth in the fridge is that you have it readily available for immediate use in soups or other cooking, it is really easy to grab and go! Plus, you are not using any plastic or wasting a plastic bag by storing it in glass jars. 

Cons of fridge storage

The downside to storing chicken broth in the fridge is that you have to use it up quickly (within 5 days) and it also takes up space in your fridge. The large jars can take up a lot of real estate so you have to ensure you have enough space in your refrigerator. 

How to store chicken broth in the freezer

Storing chicken broth in the freezer is our preferred method for a longer shelf life because it helps intact the beneficial nutrients in the broth. To store broth in the freezer, you will first want to let it come to at least room temperature, or you can store it in the fridge overnight and then add it to the freezer. We like to store them in 1 cup reditaners containers. These are plastic containers that are designed for storage, particularly in the freezer. Then we can easily label them and stack them in the freezer for future use. 

Curious about our other kitchen and cooking essentials? This blog post outlines them all– and includes a link to the reditainers!

Other ideas to store chicken broth in the freezer would be in a large gallon-sized freezer bag if you do not have reditaners containers for large portions, or you can freeze it in small portions in containers such as ice cube trays or even a muffin tray. Silicone trays would probably work best so you can pop them out easily. You can freeze the broth in small amounts and then pop out the frozen portions and add them to a large ziplock bag or jar. This could be helpful if you only need small amounts of broth for a recipe, or if you only have a little broth leftover after making soup, you can freeze it in smaller portions to use for later rather than throwing it out! We are big fans of not wasting food- especially when you go through the effort of making it from scratch! 

To thaw frozen broth, you can add the containers to the fridge to thaw overnight. Or, you can just simply add the frozen broth to your pot over the stove and let it melt while cooking. If using an instantpot to cook something, I will often pop the broth out of the reditainer and use the saute function until the broth melts and then proceed with the recipe. 

Shelf life of chicken broth in the freezer

Chicken broth stored in the freezer will stay fresh for up to 6 months. 

Pros of freezer storage

The benefits of storing chicken broth in the freezer is that it has a much longer shelf life and you can stock up to always have homemade broth on hand. There’s nothing better than being able to sip on homemade broth when you or someone in your family is feeling under the weather! Plus, you can double or even triple your batch of broth when you make it and freeze the extras so you can cut down on the amount of times you have to make homemade broth. 

Cons of freezer storage

The downside to storing your chicken broth in the freezer is that it takes up space in your freezer and you also have to let it defrost before you can use it. It is still good for a long time after six months, but the nutrients do start to lessen a bit. We prefer to cycle through foods rather than stockpile so I never keep more than 1 month of broth in my freezer at any given time. 

How to can chicken broth

Canning your chicken broth will allow for even longer storage than freezing. To can chicken broth or any type of meat product, you will need to use a pressure canner. This is important for the safety of the food because it is a lower acidic food. Learn more about the difference between pressure canning and water bath canning here. Pressure canning allows the contents to get to a very high temperature, which kills any harmful bacteria or pathogens. You will need to ensure that you have the right equipment, including the canner and mason jars and lids. Find all of our recommended canning supplies here! 

It is said that this loses some of the beneficial properties with the heat of pressure canning it, but it is still more nutritious than broth from the grocery store so we think it is still worth it. Plus, we like to have a stock of shelf-stable foods in case of a power outage that we can easily access. 

Along with having canned chicken broth on our shelves, we also like to have canned chicken. Together, canned broth and chicken can be turned into a super quick meal! You can make chicken soup or even dishes such as chicken and gravy or casseroles. Find all of our ideas for using canned chicken here. 

Shelf life of canned chicken broth

If properly sealed and stored, canned chicken broth will stay good for 12-18 months. However, keep in mind that the older the broth is it can start to lose nutrients. 

Pros of canning chicken broth 

The benefit of canning chicken broth is that the shelf life is very long. They are also easier to store and do not take up space in your fridge or freezer. They are also great to have on hand if the power goes out or if you want to take shelf-stable food camping. Additionally, it is nice to use chicken broth that is at room temperature because you do not have to wait for it to thaw out like you do if you store the broth in the freezer. You can easily pour the broth directly into your food, just like you would with store-bought chicken broth. 

Cons of canning chicken broth

The downside to canning chicken broth is that you will need a pressure canner to can the chicken broth properly. It also will lose some nutrients in the high heat and long storage times– but it is definitely better than the store bought stuff! 

Learn how to can

If you want to learn more about canning foods and how to easily stock your shelves with home-preserved foods, take our canning course Yes, You Can!

Ways to use chicken broth

Now that you have a stock of homemade chicken broth, it’s time to get cooking! Did you know that you can use chicken broth in your cooking any way that you would use water? Using chicken broth adds flavor and nutrients! You can use broth for cooking dried beans, potatoes for mashing, gravies, rice, or in recipes such as our Apple Glazed Pork Chop recipe! And of course, having broth made ahead of time makes getting soups or stews on the dinner table super easy. We love to use it to make classic meals like chicken noodle soup, or in our Flexible Squash Soup Recipe. 

We replace broth in all recipes where water would be used. It is great to be used to boil noodles, cook rice, and even mashed potatoes in broth to be able to add flavor and get great nutrients!