There’s nothing quite like homemade chicken stock. We love being able to control exactly what goes into it which also makes it easy to alter the flavor. Homemade gives an amazing boost to any recipe calling for chicken stock. It’s easy to keep it in the freezer so that you always have it on hand. Once you start making your own, you’ll hate it when you run out and have to use store-bought.

Use your chicken stock to make the best chicken noodle soup or turn it into homemade cream of chicken soup to replace the canned version.

Why Our Recipe

  • Walks you step-by-step through all of the basics.
  • We give you five additional flavoring options for making custom chicken stocks for use in popular cuisines.
  • Freezer instructions for storing your stock for practical use later.

Making your own chicken stock is about even more than just the amazing flavor. This is also a great way to make use of food that may otherwise go to waste. Whenever you eliminate waste, it also means you are saving money.

Ingredient Notes

The base for chicken stock is the leftover bones of a whole chicken. You can also use leftover bones from individual pieces. You’ll need approximately 2 1/2 pounds of bones to make stock. The bones do not need to be picked clean. Any residual meat, connective tissue, or gristle will add flavor.

Roasted or Unroasted Bones

You can make stock directly from the bones without any additional preparation. If you want to enrich the flavor of your stock, you can roast the bones. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place the bones on a baking sheet. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until the bones are golden brown.

Freeze Leftover Bones For Stock

If you have leftover bones but aren’t ready to make stock quite yet, you can freeze them until you are ready. Simply place them in a resealable plastic freezer bag and freeze until you are ready to make stock. You can even freeze the bones before or after roasting them if you choose. The bones do not need to be fully thawed before making stock.

Freeze Vegetables for Stock

You can use fresh vegetables to make stock, or you can collect odds and ends or scraps that are leftover from making other recipes. Collect your scraps in an airtight container or resealable plastic freezer bag and freeze until ready to use.

Flavorful Custom Variations

The flavoring of your chicken stock can be easily altered to make stocks that are geared toward specific cuisines. Using a flavored chicken stock will create an additional layer of flavor in any recipe in the cuisine it was designed for. Simply make the base recipe as written with the carrots, celery, and onion, and then switch out the herbs and spices with our custom variations.

Standard Chicken Stock: 1 bay leaf, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, 10 black peppercorns, 1 clove garlic (optional)

Asian Inspired Chicken Stock: 1-inch piece of ginger, 2 cloves garlic

Thai Inspired Chicken Stock: 1-inch piece of ginger, 1 stalk lemon grass, 1 Thai chili pepper

Mexican Chicken Stock: 1 dried chipotle pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 bay leaf, 1 clove garlic, 10 black peppercorns

French Inspired Chicken Stock: 1 bunch fresh tarragon, 1 bay leaf, fresh parsley, 10 black peppercorns

Italian Chicken Stock: fresh oregano, 5 tomato peels, 1 clove garlic, 1 bay leaf, 10 black peppercorns

Storage Instructions

Measure your chicken stock into either 2 or 4 cup portions. 2 cups is the equivalent of one 14.5 ounce can of chicken stock. 4 cups is the equivalent of a one-quart box of chicken stock.

Refrigerate in an airtight container or jar. The USDA recommends that stock or broth be consumed within 3 to 4 days.

Freeze in a quart or gallon-sized resealable plastic freezer bag. Lay the bags out flat on a tray to freeze. Once solid, they can be stacked for storage. Frozen chicken stock should be used within 3 months.

More Recipes Made From Scratch