This bone broth is made using a whole chicken in the slow cooker so you can easily have delicious shredded chicken and perfect bone broth with one easy method!

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Bone Broth

Bone broth is a nutrient powerhouse! It’s packed with collagen, healthy fats and protein, and is far tastier than plain ol’ stock that you’ll find on the shelf at the store. It seems like a daunting, time-consuming thing to make with hard-to-find ingredients, but this version is the easiest one you’ll find. All you need is a whole chicken, some vegetables, and you’ll have perfectly cooked shredded chicken and nourishing bone broth.

The Ingredients

• Whole chicken. Yes, just a whole raw chicken! It’s very helpful if the chicken still has the neck as this adds extra collagen.
• Carrots, celery, and onion. You can also add other vegetables to flavor the broth like sweet potato, but I feel like this is classic.
• Herbs. I use thyme, sage and rosemary.
• Apple cider vinegar. This helps pull minerals from the bones.

How to make Bone broth using a whole chicken in the slow cooker

• Add all of the ingredients to a slow cooker, ensuring that the chicken is fully covered with water. Add more water if needed.

• Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours. Carefully remove the chicken from the slow cooker and remove the meat, shredding and setting aside (allowing the shredded chicken to cool in the fridge after cooling).

• Add the chicken carcass back to the slow cooker and continue cooking on low for 18 hours.

• Strain the broth and allow to cool before storing the fridge or freezer

What do you do with the shredded chicken?

You can do just about anything with it! It’s delicious shredded chicken that you can use just as you would any other shredded chicken, like…

• Add it to soup
• Make tacos or a sandwich
• Add it to a salad
• Enjoy it with any side of your choice.

What does it mean if my bone broth forms a gelatin texture?

When broth that’s high in collagen is cool, it turns into a solid gel. This is a great sign that it’s filled with collagen and nutrients!

Does this broth gel?

It always has for me! My number one tip is to use a chicken with the neck for extra collagen. You can also use chicken feet.

What if my broth doesn’t gel?

It’s still filled with nutrients even if it doesn’t gel, so don’t worry!

Can’t you just use the instant pot instead?

I’ve tried this method using the pressure cook function on the instant pot. Though it can technically be done, trust me when I say that it just doesn’t yield the same results as 24 hours in the slow cooker! It is worth the wait for this rich broth. You can however use the slow cooker function on the instant pot just as you would with the slow cooker and it will come out exactly the same.

You’ll also love…

• Beef bone broth
• Chicken pot pie soup