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.
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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.
Dee says
What size Instant Pot are you using for this recipe (in reference to filling water to the max line). I have an 8 qt so assuming I should double the ingredients.
Thank You!
Elana says
Dee, if you click the highlighted text in step 3 of the recipe that says “Instant Pot” you will be given that information :-)
Janet D. says
Thank you for this great recipe – it’s a keeper! I roasted the bones and followed the recipe exactly and the flavor of the broth is amazing! I usually make it a little more like your chicken broth recipe, but I like the flavor of this so much better. I’m wondering what the health benefit of consuming the broth before a meal is? I’m assuming it helps with digestion?
Elana says
Janet, broth is highly nutritious and a great source of protein among other things! Thanks for letting me know this recipe is a keeper and that the flavor of the broth is amazing :-)
Judi says
What can I do with the drippings after roasting the bones?
Elana says
Judi, I scrape mine right into the Instant Pot :-)
Lynne says
What type of beef bones would you suggest, Elana? If I ask the butcher or meat associate, I want to be educated enough to request the right kind rather than leave it up to someone else who may or may not be informed. Thanks!
Elana says
Lynne, I use whatever is grass-fed and cheapest at the meat counter :-)
Sue Boughton says
Is there a limit as to how big the beef bones are? Wondering if I should get them cut smaller ilor if it’s not a problem to have one huge bone that fits in to the IP…?
Elana says
Sue, it won’t matter how big the bones are as long as they fit into the pot you’re good to go!
Deb Curtiss says
What other instant pot recipes do you have? I would love more of them!!!
Elana says
Deb, thanks for your comment! I’m working on a bunch of Instant Pot recipes. For now though I have this post that you might like:
https://elanaspantry.com/how-to-use-instant-pot/
Enjoy!
Elana
LILI EVENHAIM says
Thank you so much for an instant pot bone broth, making it now. I stopped making it in a crock pot because of the smell. So, i’m really excited to make it in the instant pot :) I’m sure it will be delicious. How do you warm it up when you want to drink it
Elana says
Lili, if it’s sitting in the IP I simply scoop it into a cup and drink it. Once I’ve stored it in the fridge I heat it in a saucepan :-)
LILI EVENHAIM says
Thanks, can I cook it for longer
Elana says
Lili, yes!
Laura says
I am so excited to see this recipe for bone broth and your technique to do it and you’ve used the Instant Pot. Thank you so much! Take care./…
Elana says
Laura, you’re welcome! I hope you love it as much as we do :-)
Faigie says
Is the store bought bone broth kosher? I know that you keep kosher so was wondering about being able to buy kosher bone broth
Elana says
Faigle, the Kettle and Fire bone broth is not kosher and we do not keep kosher :-)
Justine says
Does the Instant Pot have a stainless steel insert? I am looking for one that has stainless steel and it seems the only ones I can find are the Presto stovetop pressure cooker which I bought but I like the idea of something that will prevent the smell of the broth from permeating my house even more than the stovetop pressure cooker.
Elana says
Justine, yes it comes with a stainless steel insert :-)