Homemade Chicken Bouillon Cubes
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These homemade chicken bouillon cubes will make you wonder why you ever used anything else! They’re simple to make with fresh ingredients and pack a huge flavor punch for adding to soups, rice, sauces, and more.
We’re all familiar with classic chicken bouillon cubes. They’re a concentrated seasoning that comes in cubes, powder, or paste that is made to add to hot water to make soup or other dishes like rice, sauces, gravies, etc. Chicken bouillon cubes that you buy from the store may be flavorful, but the ingredients aren’t always the best. They can be made with soy protein, corn syrup, and mystery flavoring.
The good news is that there’s a better way to do it that’s much more flavorful and wholesome! The best part is that it’s simple to do, and will last in your freezer for months for the perfect flavorful enhancer for dishes.
Why you’ll love these Homemade Chicken Bouillon Cubes
- They add so much flavor! These little cubes amp up the flavor to soups, rice, sauces, and more.
- They are so convenient! Having these homemade chicken bouillon cubes in the freezer is so convenient. They last months in the freezer and are so easy to add to whatever you are making.
The Ingredients for Homemade Chicken Bouillon Cubes
- Chicken Thighs and Chicken Drumstick.
- Salt and Black Pepper.
- Parsnip, Carrots, Leek, Yellow Onion, and Garlic. If you have extra vegetables on hand that you want to use, you can add them or switch it up! Bell peppers, celery root, and fresh herbs would all be a good.
- Parsley.
- Lemon Juice and Avocado Oil.
How to make Homemade Chicken Bouillon Cubes
- Step One. Sear the chicken and then add water and simmer.
- Step Two. Separate the chicken meat from the bone and set the water aside.
- Step Three. Saute the vegetables until fork tender.
- Step Four. Add the chicken, water, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to the pot and simmer.
- Step Five. Allow to cool and blend.
- Step Six. Spoon the mixture into molds and freeze.
Tips & Tricks
- Adjust the salt to taste. My husband loves really salty broth, but I tend to keep my salt content lighter if I’m cooking just for me. This recipe has a good amount of salt, but use what you’d usually use, and keep in mind it’s concentrated!
- Mix up the vegetables. If you have extra vegetables on hand that you want to use, go for it! Bell peppers, celery root, and fresh herbs would all be a good addition.
- Make sure to keep the water to a minimum. I know you may feel tempted to add more water, but soup is not the goal here. We’re looking for a highly concentrated flavor, and adding more water will dilute the flavor. We use a low amount of water and allow the vegetables to sweat out more of their liquids as that’s far more flavorful than water!
Can you dehydrate these to make a powder?
I haven’t tried this, but I assume you can!
How long do they last in the freezer?
These will last a minimum 3 months in the freezer.
How do you use them?
- Add 1-2 (or more) cube to hot water to make a quick chicken stock.
- Add a cube to the water when you’re making rice for a flavorful rice.
- Use 1-2 cubes in sauces.
- Add it to virtually any savory recipe that uses water for a more flavorful liquid base!
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PrintHomemade Chicken Bouillon Cubes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 20 servings 1x
Description
These easy homemade chicken bouillon cubes are made with no mystery flavorings of fillers, just fresh ingredients.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (divided)
- 2 chicken thighs (bone in preferred, boneless is fine)
- 1 chicken drumstick
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
- 1 cup water
- 1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 leek, white part chopped
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- Juice of half a lemon
Instructions
- Using a pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Lightly season the chicken with a bit of salt and pepper and add it to the pot. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until lightly seared. Turn the heat down to low. Once the temperature has reduced, add the water and cover the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pot, and carefully pour the water in a bowl and set aside for later. Remove the meat from the bone and set the cooked chicken aside.
- Return the heat to medium-low and add another tablespoon of oil. Add the vegetables and season with half a teaspoon of salt. Saute for 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables begin to release their natural juices into the pot for extra liquid, and are lightly fork tender.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the chicken and water back to the pot along with the remaining salt and pepper and lemon juice. Cover for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be totally fork-tender.
- Allow to cool before blending with an immersion blender or high-speed blender until no large chunks remain.
- Spoon the mixture into a mold that holds about 2 tbsp per space. I use my Souper Cubes, but an ice cub mold will also work. Allow to freeze solid overnight before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Keep frozen for 3+ months and use it as you would regular chicken bouillon!
Notes
- All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 40
Nutrition
- Calories: 72
- Fat: 2.4g
- Carbohydrates: 7.5g
- Fiber: .8g
- Protein: 5.1g
This looks incredible. I already do this with your nomato recipe, so that I can add a cube or two to a stew, in place of tomato paste. Although I hope you can actually come up for a nomato paste recipe, because I wouldn’t mind the cubes having more intense flavor. I used to use one of the bottled AIP ketchup brands for this, but I’ve moved out of the country and now can’t purchase that. Americans who are on the AIP diet probably don’t realize how lucky they are to have some packaged AIP products. Thanks, as always, for your amazing recipes.
★★★★★
I got a question about how to use it. It says in the recipe to use like you would chicken bouillon. So would that be like 1 tsp or cube per 1 cup of water for the store bought versions? I am excited to try this!! Thanks for clarification
I don’t have an exact conversion worked out but I use about 1 cube per 4 cups of water… you can always use more or less, I would really just taste as you go.
I can’t wait to try this! I’ve been wanting something like this for a LONG time! Thanks!
I got a stomach bug recently and needed to avoid solid foods. I could tell I needed protein but couldn’t figure out a way to get some in liquid form until I remembered this recipe. It was perfect! My 18 month old loved it too.
★★★★★