Canning Homemade Chicken Broth

This post is all about canning homemade chicken broth and the simple process I use to turn one whole chicken into both homemade broth and cooked chicken for easy meals.

I’ll warn you upfront: my process can take a couple of days.

But don’t let that scare you away.

It’s really just baby steps each day, and most of the time the broth is simply cooking or cooling while I’m doing something else.

And you’re getting more than chicken broth out of the process.

I start with a whole chicken, which means I end up with plenty of cooked chicken for meal prep and a batch of homemade chicken broth to put on the pantry shelf.

Once you get into the routine, it’s one of those kitchen tasks that sounds like a lot more work than it actually is.

Why I Make Chicken Broth From a Whole Chicken

You can absolutely make chicken broth from leftover chicken bones and scraps.

But I usually start with a whole chicken.

I like doing it this way because nothing goes to waste.

First, I cook the whole chicken.

Then I remove all of the meat and save it for meals.

Finally, the bones and remaining scraps go right back into the pot to continue cooking.

By the time I’m finished, I’ve turned one chicken into several meals plus jars of homemade broth for the pantry.

That’s my kind of meal prep.

What You’ll Need

The exact amount of broth you make will depend on the size of your chicken, pot, and how much water you use.

You’ll need:

• 1 whole chicken
• Water
• Herbs or seasonings, if desired
• Vegetable scraps, if desired
• Apple cider vinegar, optional
• Pressure canner
• Pint or quart canning jars
• Canning lids and rings
• Jar lifter
• Canning funnel
• Ladle
• Fine-mesh strainer

I often save vegetable scraps in the freezer specifically for making broth.

Onion ends, celery pieces, and carrot scraps are easy ways to add flavor while making use of something that otherwise might have been thrown away.

If you plan to can the finished broth, however, I recommend keeping the canning portion itself aligned with a tested meat-stock procedure rather than improvising a thick or heavily particulate stock.

How to Make Homemade Chicken Broth for Canning

Step 1: Cook the Whole Chicken

First things first: cook your chicken.

I usually do this one of two ways.

Crockpot Method

Place the whole chicken in your slow cooker.

Add seasonings and vegetable scraps if you’d like.

Cover the chicken with water and cook it on low until the chicken is completely cooked through and the meat easily pulls away from the bones.

Stovetop Method

Place your whole chicken in a large stockpot.

Add seasonings and vegetable scraps if desired.

Cover with water.

Cook until the chicken is completely cooked through and the meat easily separates from the bones.

I usually let mine cook for an hour or two, depending on the size of the chicken.

Step 2: Remove the Chicken Meat

Once the chicken is completely cooked, carefully remove it from the pot.

Let it cool enough that you can handle it safely.

Then pick all of the meat from the bones.

Set the meat aside.

This is the bonus part of making broth this way.

Now you have cooked chicken ready for:

• Chicken salad
• Sandwiches
• Tacos
• Casseroles
• Soup
• Chicken pot pie
• Easy lunches
• Quick weeknight dinners

You can refrigerate it for upcoming meals or freeze portions for later.

Step 3: Put the Bones Back Into the Broth

Now we’re going to put the carcass and bones back into the liquid.

If I’m using the Crockpot, I’ll often let everything continue cooking on low for several more hours.

If I’m using a stockpot, I’ll let the bones simmer gently on the stove.

This is where the process becomes incredibly flexible.

You don’t have to stand over it.

Let the bones simmer while you’re doing other things around the house.

Optional: Add Apple Cider Vinegar

I sometimes add a small splash of apple cider vinegar to the pot while the bones simmer.

It’s a traditional addition to homemade bone broth.

You don’t need much.

And it isn’t required for safely pressure canning the finished broth.

How Long Should Chicken Broth Cook?

For the broth I make for everyday cooking, I don’t obsess over an exact number of hours.

I let it work around my schedule.

That said, when you’re making broth specifically for shelf-stable pressure canning, it’s worth knowing that tested home-canning directions are much simpler than many modern “bone broth” recipes.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation’s tested meat-stock procedure for chicken or turkey calls for covering the carcass bones with water and simmering them for 30–45 minutes, or until the remaining meat easily falls from the bones, before straining, cooling, removing excess fat, reheating, and canning.

So you don’t need an extremely long simmer to make broth that can be safely canned using their tested procedure.

Step 4: Strain the Chicken Broth

Once you’re happy with your broth, remove the large bones and scraps.

Then strain the broth.

I like a nice, clear broth for canning, so I remove the bones, vegetables, herbs, and other solids.

Now you’re left with your liquid chicken broth.

Step 5: Cool the Broth and Remove the Fat

This is one of the reasons my process usually stretches over a couple of days.

I don’t mind.

It actually makes everything easier.

Cool the broth promptly and refrigerate it until chilled.

As it cools, the excess chicken fat rises to the top and solidifies.

The next day, you can simply scoop that hardened layer of fat from the surface.

Removing excess fat is an important part of preparing meat stock for canning.

And honestly, chilling it makes this job so much easier.

Once the fat is removed, you’re ready for canning day.

Why Chicken Broth Has to Be Pressure Canned

Chicken broth is a low-acid food.

That means it cannot safely be made shelf stable using a boiling-water canner.

You need a pressure canner.

A pressure canner reaches the temperatures necessary for safely processing low-acid foods.

If you’re brand new to pressure canning, read my Pressure Canning for Beginners guide before starting.

Once you understand how your pressure canner works, broth is actually a very simple food to can.

How to Can Homemade Chicken Broth

Now it’s canning day.

And because we already made the broth, this part goes pretty quickly.

Step 1: Prepare Your Pressure Canner

Prepare your pressure canner according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Add the amount of water required for your particular canner.

Start heating your canner.

Remember that we’re pressure canning, not filling the canner until the jars are submerged like you would for water bath canning.

Step 2: Heat the Broth

Place your strained, defatted chicken broth into a stockpot.

Bring the broth to a boil.

We’re going to hot-pack the broth into hot jars.

Step 3: Fill the Jars

Ladle the boiling broth into hot canning jars.

Leave 1 inch of headspace.

Remove any obvious air bubbles if necessary.

Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp paper towel.

Place the lids on the jars and tighten the bands until fingertip tight.

Place each jar into your prepared pressure canner.

Step 4: Process the Chicken Broth

Process:

Pints: 20 minutes

Quarts: 25 minutes

The pressure you use depends on the type of pressure canner you have and your elevation.

Weighted-Gauge Pressure Canner

For both pints and quarts:

0–1,000 feet: 10 pounds pressure

Above 1,000 feet: 15 pounds pressure

Dial-Gauge Pressure Canner

For both pints and quarts:

0–2,000 feet: 11 pounds pressure

2,001–4,000 feet: 12 pounds pressure

4,001–6,000 feet: 13 pounds pressure

6,001–8,000 feet: 14 pounds pressure

Always know your elevation before pressure canning.

Step 5: Let the Canner Depressurize Naturally

When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat.

Do not force your pressure canner to cool.

Don’t remove the weight early.

Don’t run water over it.

Let the pressure return to zero naturally according to your canner manufacturer’s instructions.

Once the canner is fully depressurized, carefully open the lid away from your face.

Remove the jars with a jar lifter and place them upright on a towel.

Leave them undisturbed to cool for 12–24 hours.

Step 6: Check Your Seals

After the jars have completely cooled, check each seal.

The center of the lid should be pulled down and should not flex when pressed.

Remove the rings before storing the jars.

Label each jar with the contents and date.

Any jar that didn’t seal properly should be refrigerated and used promptly rather than stored at room temperature.

Why Did My Chicken Broth Turn to Gel?

Don’t worry if you open the refrigerator and discover your broth has turned into chicken Jell-O.

That’s GOOD.

Broth made from bones can contain gelatin that causes it to become firm when chilled.

Once you heat it again, it will turn back into liquid.

Can I Leave the Fat in Chicken Broth Before Canning?

Remove excess fat before canning.

This is why I actually like making the broth one day and canning it another.

Once the broth has chilled, the fat solidifies at the top.

You can lift or scoop it away before reheating your broth.

It’s much easier than trying to skim every little bit while the broth is hot.

Can I Water Bath Can Chicken Broth?

No.

Chicken broth is a low-acid food and requires pressure canning for shelf-stable storage.

A water bath canner does not reach a high enough temperature to safely process low-acid meat products.

Can I Put Chicken Meat in the Jars?

This particular process is for broth/stock, not jars packed with chicken.

The processing times are very different.

Broth is processed for 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts.

Chicken packed into jars requires substantially longer processing times under tested poultry-canning directions.

So don’t add a bunch of shredded chicken to these jars and use the broth processing time.

Save that chicken for another meal or follow a tested recipe specifically for canning chicken.

What Can I Use Home-Canned Chicken Broth For?

This is why I love having chicken broth on my pantry shelf.

I use it constantly.

Grab a jar for:

• Chicken noodle soup
• Vegetable soup
• Rice
• Gravy
• Mashed potatoes
• Casseroles
• Sauces
• Stuffing
• Pot pie
• Beans
• Cooking grains
• Braised meats

Instead of buying another carton of broth every time a recipe calls for it, I can walk over to the pantry and grab a jar.

Is Chicken Broth the Same as Chicken Stock?

You’ll often hear the terms used interchangeably in everyday cooking.

Traditionally, stock tends to rely more heavily on bones while broth may be made with meat as well.

For home canning, the National Center for Home Food Preservation has clarified that broth and stock can be used interchangeably when an up-to-date tested pressure-canning recipe specifically calls for broth or stock.

For this recipe, we’re essentially making a strained chicken stock/broth from the carcass and canning the liquid using tested meat-stock processing instructions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do you pressure can homemade chicken broth?

Process pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes, using the correct pressure for your canner type and elevation.

How much headspace does chicken broth need?

Leave 1 inch of headspace.

Does chicken broth need to be hot before canning?

Yes.

For the tested hot-pack method, bring the strained, defatted broth back to a boil before filling hot jars.

Can I can chicken broth in quart jars?

Yes.

Quarts are processed for 25 minutes at the appropriate pressure for your elevation and canner type.

I especially like quarts because many soup recipes use a good amount of broth.

Can I can chicken broth in pint jars?

Yes.

Pints are processed for 20 minutes.

These are handy when you need only a small amount of broth for rice, gravy, sauces, or casseroles.

Do I have to remove all the chicken fat?

Remove the excess fat from the broth before canning.

Cooling the broth first makes this much easier because the fat rises and solidifies on the surface.

An Easy Way to Stock Your Pantry

I know this process looks long when it’s all written out.

But that’s exactly why I wanted to explain how I actually do it.

You don’t have to spend an entire day in the kitchen.

Day one: Cook the chicken and remove the meat.

Later: Put the bones back in and make the broth.

Next: Strain and chill it.

Canning day: Remove the fat, reheat the broth, fill the jars, and pressure can.

Baby steps.

Meanwhile, you’ve gotten cooked chicken for several meals and homemade chicken broth for the pantry out of one process.

That’s why this is one of my favorite ways to make the most of a whole chicken.

Once those jars are sitting on the pantry shelf, they’re ready whenever I need broth for soup, rice, gravy, casseroles, or a quick homemade dinner.

And that’s one less thing I have to buy from the grocery store.