Crock pot bone broth is an easy way to make nutritious broth at home. Slow cooking beef bones gently draws out collagen, minerals, and flavor. It’s great for soups, stews, or sipping straight from a mug. Just toss the bones in your crock pot, add water, herbs, and veggies, and let it cook overnight. It’s simple, healthy, and tastes great!
Jump to:
- What's the Difference Between Beef Broth and Beef Stock?
- What You Need
- How Long to Cook Bone Broth In a Slow Cooker?
- How To Make Bone Broth in a Slow Cooker
- How To Skim Fat Off Broth
- Is There Protein in Bone Broth?
- Stovetop Beef Bone Broth
- How to Add Meat to Your Bone Broth
- Storage
- Can You Freeze Bone Broth?
- What Is The Jelly in Bone Broth Made Of?
- Health Benefits of Bone Broth
- Homemade Beef Bone Broth
- FAQ
- Crock Pot Beef Bone Broth Recipe
What's the Difference Between Beef Broth and Beef Stock?
The difference comes down to cooking time. Broth is cooked for up to 48 hours, and stock is cooked for three hours.
Some chefs add tomato paste or whole tomatoes to stock for extra flavor, but there are plenty of ways to make it.
If you're cooking rice or making soup like this Salmon Chowder, bone broth can be used instead of water. It adds more flavor and nutrients than water or canned stock.
What You Need
- Beef bones, cut into 2-inch pieces
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Herbs and spices (bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley, thyme)
- Filtered or bottled water
- Olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar
- Kosher salt
How Long to Cook Bone Broth In a Slow Cooker?
Cook the broth on low for at least 12 hours, but 24 hours gives the best flavor and texture. If you're in a rush, you can cook it for as little as 3 hours, but it won’t be as rich. Once it’s done, strain the broth and use it for soups, sauces, or sip it on its own.
How To Make Bone Broth in a Slow Cooker
This step is optional, but it adds a deeper, richer flavor to your broth. If you're short on time, you can skip it.
- Rinse the bones and pat them dry. Place them in a roasting pan and roast at 450°F (232°C) for 45 minutes to an hour, tossing after 30 minutes.
- While the bones are roasting, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the carrots, celery, and onions with a pinch of salt, and sauté over medium heat until well browned, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the vegetables to your slow cooker. Deglaze the skillet by adding a splash of water and scraping up the browned bits with a whisk. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker for extra flavor.
- Add the roasted bones, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley, thyme, and apple cider vinegar to the pot. Pour in enough water to cover everything, leaving a 2-inch gap at the top to prevent overflow.
- Set the slow cooker to high, cover, and cook for one hour. Open the lid and skim off any foam that rises to the top.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer for at least 3 hours, or up to 24 hours for a richer broth.
- Turn off the slow cooker, uncover, and stir it.
- Strain the broth through a colander or fine mesh strainer into a clean pot.
- Allow it to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight in covered containers or mason jars.
- Before using, skim the solidified fat from the top.
Tip: Keep the lid on while the broth cooks. Every time you open it, steam escapes, and it can take up to 30 minutes for the crock pot to regain its temperature.
How To Skim Fat Off Broth
Once the broth is chilled, the fat rises to the top and solidifies, making it easy to scoop off with a spoon. If you want to skim it while hot, use a spoon or a fat separator to remove the floating fat. Straining the broth through a fine mesh sieve after skimming helps remove any leftover bits.
Is There Protein in Bone Broth?
Bone broth contains about 5 to 10 grams of protein per cup, mostly from collagen and gelatin. It is a natural source of amino acids like glycine, proline, and glutamine. These amino acids help gut health, joint function, and skin elasticity.
While it’s not a high-protein food, it’s a nourishing way to get extra nutrients. To increase protein, stir in shredded cooked meat.
Stovetop Beef Bone Broth
If you prefer to make your stock on the stovetop, simply follow the directions provided in this recipe.
Place all the ingredients in a stockpot over high heat and bring them to a boil. Allow it to boil for 10 minutes, then skim off any foam that rises to the top.
Lower the heat to the lowest setting on your stove and let it simmer, partially covered, for 3-12 hours. Check it every 40 minutes or so. Add more water as it evaporates.
How to Add Meat to Your Bone Broth
To enhance your meal while the stock is cooking, consider adding meat to the pot.
Add a piece of chuck steak to the crockpot and let it cook for 3 hours, then remove them.
Whole Foods Market has grass-fed chuck steak behind the counter, and it's not expensive. For added flavor, sear the meat and season with sea salt before adding it to the crockpot with the bones.
You can also include a few more peeled carrots and celery stalks to the pot to eat with the meat.
Storage
Once the broth has cooled, portion it into 16-ounce plastic containers, cover, and refrigerate.
If you're short on time, you can leave the broth in the pot, cover the pot with a lid, and refrigerate the whole thing overnight. Skim the next day.
The next day, skim off the fat from the top of each container As it chills, the fat rises to the top, making it easy to remove.
Refrigerate for up to 4 days in airtight containers or freeze in single-serving portions for up to 6 months. Be sure to label and date your containers.
Can You Freeze Bone Broth?
I have a theory that everything that goes into the freezer comes out worse, except the bone broth!
I freeze a few quarts at a time, so I always have broth on hand for the month. It holds up well in the freezer, and when thawed, it tastes just as good as fresh.
Bone broth can be frozen for up to six months in several ways.
- You can freeze the broth in 8 or 16-ounce individual freezer containers.
- You can freeze the stock in ice cube trays and then transfer the cubes to zip-top bags. Then, you can pull out the cubes as you need them.
What Is The Jelly in Bone Broth Made Of?
The jelly-like texture in bone broth comes from gelatin, which is extracted from the collagen in bones, connective tissues, and cartilage.
As the broth cools, the gelatin thickens. This is a sign of a well-made broth, packed with collagen-rich gelatin that provides numerous health benefits.
Health Benefits of Bone Broth
According to Medical News Today, bone broth gets its nutrients from connective tissue and cartilage, which break down during cooking. Collagen from the bones turns into gelatin, giving the broth essential amino acids.
The exact nutrition depends on the bones you use, but gelatin is what makes bone broth great for joint health. It also contains glutamine, an amino acid that supports digestion.
Bone broth is also high in protein, which can help with weight loss by keeping you full longer.
Homemade Beef Bone Broth
Homemade beef bone broth is a warm, comforting drink filled with collagen, gelatin, amino acids, and minerals. You can simmer bones slowly with vegetables, herbs, and spices on your stovetop or in your crock pot for 3 to 48 hours.
Bone broth is great for supporting your joints, digestion, gut, and skin because it’s loaded with nutrients.
For best results, use pasture-raised, grass-fed meat and bones and filtered water.
More Collagen-Rich Recipes
Enhance your favorite soups and stews with beef bone broth for a boost of flavor and nutrition. Its rich, savory taste makes any recipe more delicious!
- Chicken Feet Soup and Bone Broth
- Old-Fashioned Chicken Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup
- Cabbage Tomato Soup
- Homemade Fish Stock
- Green Pea Soup
- Instant Pot Chili
Check out Budget-Friendly Meat Recipes for easy, flavorful meals that won’t break the bank!
FAQ
If you're not going to consume all the bone broth, freeze it in quart-size containers for later use. I don't like freezing a lot of things, but bone broth can easily be defrosted without a loss of taste.
Yes, I often add a piece of chuck steak or rib bones to the pot while the broth is cooking. You can let the meat cook for 3 hours or so in the broth and then pull it out and eat it.
Apple cider vinegar is added to bone broth to help extract minerals and nutrients from the bones. Additionally, it aids in breaking down collagen and connective tissues, releasing more gelatin into the broth.
Cook bone broth in a slow cooker on low for at least 12 hours, but 24 hours is ideal for maximum flavor and nutrients. If you're short on time, you can cook it for as little as 3 hours, but the broth won’t be as rich.
If your broth doesn’t gel when cooled, it likely needs more collagen-rich bones like knuckles, joints, or feet. Cooking time also matters—longer simmering helps extract more gelatin.
Crock Pot Beef Bone Broth Recipe
Equipment
- Roasting Pan
- Knife
- 12" skillet
- Slow cooker (Crockpot)
- Large spoon
- Tongs
- Strainer
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef bones, (marrow bones, oxtail, knuckles, etc.), preferably from pasture-raised beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium onions roughly chopped (rinse, no need to peel)
- 3 carrots sliced into 2" chunks
- 2 ribs celery roughly chopped or a handful of celery leaves
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 2 parsley sprigs
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons organic apple cider vinegar
- 1 gallon filtered or bottled water
Instructions
- Rinse the bones and pat them dry. Place them in a roasting pan and roast at 450°F (232°C) for 45 minutes to an hour, tossing after 30 minutes.
- While the bones are roasting, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the carrots, celery, and onions with a pinch of salt, and sauté over medium heat until well browned, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the vegetables to your slow cooker. Deglaze the skillet by adding a splash of water and scraping up the browned bits with a whisk. Pour this mixture into the slow cooker for extra flavor.
- Add the roasted bones, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley, thyme, and apple cider vinegar to the pot. Pour in enough water to cover everything, leaving a 2-inch gap at the top to prevent overflow.
- Set the slow cooker to high, cover, and cook for one hour. Open the lid and skim off any foam that rises to the top.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let it simmer for at least 3 hours, or up to 24 hours for a richer broth.
- Turn off the slow cooker, uncover, and stir it.
- Strain the broth through a colander or fine mesh strainer into a clean pot.
- Allow it to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight in covered containers or mason jars.
- Before using, skim the solidified fat from the top.
