I’ve made bone broth on the stove top and in my slow cooker for decades. It’s delicious, but it makes our house smell like a bone broth factory. Not good! I’ve solved this problem and now I want to help you too. That’s why I’m going to teach you how to make bone broth in the Instant Pot.
How to Make Bone Broth in the Instant Pot
Making bone broth in the Instant Pot is super easy. Feel free to skip the step of roasting the beef bones to make your beef bone broth. I roast them because it creates a deep rich flavor for the broth, and I don’t mind taking the extra time to do it.
Use an Acid to Make Bone Broth
I use apple cider vinegar in my bone broth recipe because the acid in the vinegar helps to release minerals and other nutrients from the bones. Don’t worry, you can’t taste the vinegar in the final product. This recipe is for beef bone broth. If you need chicken stock, see my post called How to Make Bone Broth from Chicken.
The Best Store-Bought Bone Broth
If you’re too busy you can buy a fantastic bone broth product from Kettle & Fire. I like their beef bone broth, but am absolutely obsessed with their chicken broth and often drink it plain with a pinch of salt before dinner.
How to Make Bone Broth in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef bones
- 1 onion, cut in half
- 1 head garlic, cut in half (no need to peel)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- water to fill line of Instant Pot
Instructions
- Place beef bones on a baking sheet
- Roast at 350°F for 60 minutes
- Remove bones from oven and transfer to Instant Pot
- Place onion, garlic, bay leaf, vinegar, and salt in Instant Pot
- Fill the Instant Pot with water until just below the “max fill line”
- Put on the lid and lock to close
- Set to manual high pressure for 90 minutes
- Release pressure, then remove lid and allow to cool
- Strain mixture into 3 one quart mason jars
- Refrigerate for 4 days, or freeze for up to 6 months
Pre-Heating the Instant Pot
The Instant Pot takes time to get to high pressure. If a recipe says cook for one hour at high pressure, give yourself an extra 10-30 minutes for the cooker to pre-heat. When the cooker says “on” but doesn’t yet display the time you entered it is pre-heating.
How to Use the Instant Pot
If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, I have created a fantastic Instant Pot cheat sheet for you called How to Use the Instant Pot. It includes a handy chart explaining all of the buttons on the front of the Instant Pot. Many readers tell me they print it out and put it on the fridge.
How to Strain Bone Broth
I use the same bowl, strainer, and funnel every time I make bone broth and these tools work like magic! I often use the same beef bones several times. I throw everything back in the pot and add more vinegar, salt, and water. These extra batches are not quite as strong but still very good.
How to Freeze Bone Broth in Mason Jars
If you’re going to freeze your bone broth, do not fill the mason jars all the way to the top. Leave space for the broth to expand when it’s frozen.
Easy Soup Recipes Made with Bone Broth
Here are some of my soup recipes that use bone broth:
This post is an oldie but goodie from the archives. I first shared this recipe in February 2017.
Joann says
When my house smells like bone broth be it chicken or beef, I feel wealthy beyond measure!
Elana says
Joann, same here! But my husband not so much :-)
Janet Glessner says
Where do I purchase the instant pot? Does Cosco sell the pot?
Elana says
Janet, thanks for your comment. If you click the green text that says “Instant Pot” in the instructions portion of the recipe you will be given that info :-)
LindaRose says
I saw a similar one at costco this week at $129.00 canadian, however, it was a different brand. I believe it was an 8 quart one with pressure canning capabilities. I have the instant pot the newest model and was debating whether to purchase another one, as sometimes I would like to use 2 at once. I also thought it would be good to pressure can 2 or 3 mason jars and not have to pull out my huge pressure canner which holds about 14 jars. I thought the larger one would be more useful when making bone broth. I am still thinking about getting a 2nd one from costco. I have yet to check the web on reviews for the pot sold at costco.
Elana says
Thanks Linda!
Debbie says
Costco sells a similar pot, but it is not an Instant Pot. Sometimes folks find them in Walmart type stores. Most sold are sold on Amazon. They periodically go on sale. Do the research to see which ‘pot’ is best for you. Don’t forget to look at size! Instant Pot come in 6 and 8 qt. They are very different sized pots. Which would be better is personal preference.
Ashley says
I’ve heard that cooking it in an instant pot kills all of the good stuff, any thoughts?
Elana says
Ashley, I haven’t heard that. I don’t think that the high temp of pressure cooking would affect the minerals, collagen, and gelatin in the broth :-)
MAUREEN SIMMEN says
Elana, how about if we pressure can the broth? Does the canning process affect the nutrition?
Elana says
Hi Maureen, I haven’t tried that so not sure :-)
Elizabeth says
Elena, I thought you had to simmer beef bones on the stovetop for two days in order for the gelatin to release from the bones. Is your broth gelatinous when cold after you cook it in the instant pot for an hour? Thank you for your time!
Elana says
Elizabeth, using this method it is very thick every time and sometimes it is gelatinous :-)
Christy K. says
I have heard that the heat in the Instant Pot is too hot for making bone broth and kills all the good stuff. Do you know if that is true or not? I would love to hear what you think.
Elana says
Christy, pressure cooking is a convenient way to make foods quickly and it actually preserves the nutrients in the bone broth :-)
Lisa says
I would love to make bone broth in my Intsant Pot. However, I wasn’t sure if cooking it such a short amount of time would produce gelatin or not. If not, can it be cooked longer in the Instant pot to get the gelatin?
Thanks,
Lisa
Elana says
Lisa, yes!
Janice says
Can you use a regular pressure cooker? Don’t have an instant pot.
Elana says
Janice, you sure can!
SusanA says
Hi, Elana. I finally got my Instant Pot and a few beef bones this week, so this recipe came at just the right time! Can this recipe be adapted to make the ginger tumeric bone broth that you mentioned on Instagram a couple months ago? If not, I hope that recipe is still coming this winter. I’m looking for ways to add both ginger and tumeric to my diet to help with some health issues I’ve been having. Thanks for all the yummy work you do!
Elana says
Susan, yes stay tuned for that recipe!
Elizabeth says
Elana, thanks for this post! From where do you get your beef bones?
Elana says
Elizabeth, I buy beef bones at any of the local health food stores in Boulder.
Mary Jacques says
Hi Elana,
Do you use grass fed beef bones? Also, is it worth while to use non-grass fed bones? I would prefer grass fed, however they’re hard to find and pricey.
Elana says
Mary, yes when I can get them :-)