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Canning chicken broth keeps homemade bone broth on the pantry shelf instead of taking up half the freezer. It’s the shortest pressure canning recipe I make, 20 minutes for pints and 25 for quarts.
It’s also the one recipe where you don’t have to follow my ingredients at all. Make the broth however you like it, strain it well, and the canning is the same either way.
Table of Contents
- Notes from My Kitchen
- Quick Look at the Recipe
- Ingredients for Chicken Bone Broth
- Broth, Not Soup
- Making Chicken Broth
- Canning Chicken Broth
- Altitude Adjustments
- Serving Ideas for Chicken Broth
- Tips for the Best Chicken Broth
- Storage and Shelf Life
- Yield Notes
- Canning Chicken Broth FAQs
- Stock and Broth Canning Recipes
- Canning Chicken Broth Recipe
- Chicken Canning Recipes
This recipe has been reviewed for safety and accuracy by a Master Food Preserver certified through the University of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
A roast chicken leaves behind a carcass worth about two quarts of broth, and that broth is worth more than the chicken was. It’s the base of every soup, every pot of rice, and every pan sauce for the rest of the year.
Frozen broth works, but it eats freezer space you’d rather give to meat, and it has to thaw before it’s useful. A jar off the shelf is ready the second you open it.
Unlike most pressure canning recipes, this one isn’t a recipe you have to follow exactly. Broth is broth. What matters for safety is that it goes in the jar strained, with no meat or vegetables riding along. The 20 and 25 minute times are for liquid only.
The small batch below comes from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. The processing follows National Center for Home Food Preservation guidance for chicken and turkey stock, and both give the same times and the same 1-inch headspace.
Notes from My Kitchen
We process our own chickens here, so I’m not working with one carcass at a time. The backs, necks and feet go in the freezer through the season. When there’s enough, I pull out the big stock pot and make a 14 quart batch all at once.
Chicken feet are the secret, if you can get them. They’re almost pure connective tissue, and a broth with feet in it sets up like jelly in the jar. That’s how you know you got everything out of the bones.
Then it’s a canner load at a time until the pot is empty, usually two loads. It’s a long day, but it’s the single most useful thing on my pantry shelf come February.
Quick Look at the Recipe
- Recipe Name: Canning Chicken Broth
- Recipe Type: Stock and Broth Canning Recipe
- Canning Method: Pressure Canning
- Prep Time: About 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 to 14 hours, mostly unattended
- Canning Time: 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts
- Pressure: 10 lbs weighted gauge, 11 lbs dial gauge, at sea level
- Yield: About 2 quarts, or 4 pints, from one chicken carcass
- Jar Sizes: Pints or quarts
- Headspace: 1 inch
- Ingredients Overview: Chicken bones, water, onion, carrots, bay leaves, and salt
- Safe Canning Recipe Source: Broth recipe from the Ball Blue Book, processing per NCHFP guidance for chicken and turkey stock
- Difficulty: Easy, and the canning part takes under half an hour
- Similar Recipes: Same process, different bones: turkey broth, beef broth, and venison bone broth. For a meatless version, vegetable broth.
Ingredients for Chicken Bone Broth
This is the small batch from the Ball Blue Book, sized for one roast chicken carcass. It makes about 2 quarts, which is half a canner load, so scale it up if you have the bones.
Full amounts are in the recipe card. Treat the list as a starting point rather than a formula, because none of it changes the canning.
- Chicken Bones: The picked carcass from a roast chicken, or backs, necks and wing tips saved in the freezer. Feet if you can get them, since they set the broth up thick.
- Water: Enough to cover the bones. Top it up during the long cook if the level drops below them.
- Onion and Carrots: Roughly chopped, skins and all. They’re strained out at the end, so they don’t need to be pretty.
- Bay Leaves: Two is plenty for this size batch. Any other herbs you like go in the same way.
- Salt: Optional, and I usually leave it out so the broth is neutral when I cook with it later. Canning salt keeps it clear if you do add it.
- Cider Vinegar: A splash is traditional in bone broth. It doesn’t affect the canning either way, so use it or skip it.
Everything on that list is optional except the bones and the water. What isn’t optional is straining, and that one matters for safety rather than taste.
Broth, Not Soup
The 20 and 25 minute times on this page are for strained liquid and nothing else. Solids change how heat moves through the jar, and a jar with meat, noodles, rice, or vegetables in it is a different product with a much longer process.
If you want the chicken and vegetables in the jar, that’s soup, and it runs 60 minutes for pints and 75 for quarts (or longer for fully packed jars). I have a tested version in canning chicken soup. Don’t split the difference and don’t add a handful of shredded chicken to broth jars.
Strain it, skim it, can it plain. Add whatever you want the day you open the jar.
Making Chicken Broth
Broth is mostly waiting. There are three things that decide whether it comes out clear and gelled or cloudy and thin, and all three happen before the jars come out.
Roast the bones, keep it below a boil, and strain it properly. That’s the whole method.
Roast the Bones
Roasting does three things: it deepens the flavor, it gives the broth its golden color, and it keeps the finished broth clear. Even a carcass that came off a roast chicken is worth another 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.
Roasting sets the proteins in whatever meat is still clinging to the bones, and anything raw going into the water is what clouds a broth later.
Simmer It Low and Slow
Cover the bones with water, add the vegetables and bay leaves, and bring it up to a bare simmer. Never let it reach a hard boil. Once a stock has boiled hard, it will never be clear again, and that’s not something you can fix later.
The Ball Blue Book method uses the oven instead of the stovetop, since an oven holds a steadier temperature than a burner will. Covered at 225 degrees F for seven hours, then another seven at 180 degrees F. Top up the water if the bones start to poke out. A slow cooker on low for about 12 hours does the same job, and a stovetop pot or crock pot works too, as long as you keep it low and slow.
Strain and Skim
Lift the bones out, then pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl or a big measuring cup. If you want it perfectly clear, line the strainer with cheesecloth and go through it twice.
Then skim the fat. Chilling the broth first makes this easy, since the fat sets into a cap you can lift off in one piece. Fat left in the jar can work its way onto the rim and keep a lid from sealing, so this step earns its keep.
Canning Chicken Broth
No matter how you make the broth, the canning is the same. Chicken broth is low acid, which means a pressure canner and nothing else. A water bath cannot get hot enough for it, no matter how long you leave it in there. My guide to pressure canning for beginners walks through the whole setup if this is your first time.
Set the rack in the canner, add 2 to 3 inches of water, and bring it up to a gentle simmer while you fill jars. Have the broth hot on the stove, because this is a hot pack.
Ladle the hot broth into hot jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Run a bubble tool around the inside and top the broth back up if the level dropped. Wipe the rims and cap with two-part canning lids at fingertip tight.
Load the jars, lock the lid, and let the canner vent a steady stream of steam for a full 10 minutes before you put the weight on. Once the weight is on, the canner shouldn’t be letting steam out anywhere else. If it’s escaping past the backup vent, something is wrong with that vent and it’s worth sorting out before you run another load.
Process pints for 20 minutes or quarts for 25 minutes. That’s at 10 pounds pressure on a weighted gauge canner, or 11 pounds on a dial gauge. Adjust the pressure for your altitude using the chart below.
When the time is up, turn off the heat and let the canner come down to zero pressure on its own. Never rush it with cold water. Wait another 5 minutes, take the lid off, then let the jars sit in the canner 10 minutes before you lift them out.
Cool them on a towel for 12 to 24 hours, check the seals, then label and store. A properly gelled broth will look solid in the jar when it’s cold, which is a good sign rather than a problem.
Altitude Adjustments
Pressure canning works differently from water bath canning here. The processing time stays the same at every elevation, and the pressure goes up instead.
For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet: 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet: 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet: 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet: 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 lbs pressure
Serving Ideas for Chicken Broth
A jar of broth is the start of soup, but it does more work than that. Cook rice, farro, or lentils in it instead of water, and the difference is dramatic. Deglaze a pan with it, thin a gravy with it, or braise chicken thighs in it.
Heated on its own with a little salt and pepper, it’s what I drink when someone in the house is sick. If you’d rather have the whole meal in the jar, look at canning chicken soup, white chicken chili, or chicken pot pie filling. They all start from the same bird.
Tips for the Best Chicken Broth
Roast the Bones before simmering. Raw meat ingredients cloud the stock, and roasting adds rich flavor and helps the broth develop a nice color.
Don’t hard boil the broth, gently simmer instead. A hard boil sets the proteins in the liquid and will create a cloudy broth. Keep it barely simmering to ensure a nice clear broth.
Save bones in the freezer until you have enough to make a batch worth the effort. A gallon bag of backs, necks and wing tips makes better broth than one carcass on its own. It costs you nothing but freezer space you were using anyway.
Add feet if you can get them from a farmer or an Asian grocery. They’re the difference between broth that gels and broth that doesn’t, and gelled broth is a sign you pulled everything out of the bones.
Don’t salt it heavily before canning. Broth gets used in things that get salted again later, and a jar of neutral broth is more useful than a seasoned one.
Storage and Shelf Life
A properly canned and sealed jar won’t spoil as long as the seal holds, the same as any canned good. Quality is the limit rather than safety, and broth is best used within about 18 months.
Store the jars somewhere cool and dark with the bands off, so a failed seal shows itself. Refrigerate after opening and use it within about four days.
If you’d rather not can it at all, broth freezes well, and I’ve written up how I do it in how to freeze bone broth. Freezing is also the answer for any batch that came out with solids in it.
Yield Notes
One roast chicken carcass gives about 2 quarts of finished broth, which fills 2 quart jars or 4 pints. That’s half a canner load in most canners, so it’s worth saving bones until you have enough for a full load.
It scales with nothing more than a bigger pot. I run 14 quart batches from a season’s worth of frozen backs and necks, which is two canner loads back to back. Check your canner manual for its minimum load, since most want at least a couple of jars in there.
Canning Chicken Broth FAQs
These are the questions that come up most from readers canning broth for the first time.
No. The 20 and 25 minute times are for strained liquid only, and solids change how heat moves through the jar. Broth with chicken and vegetables in it is soup, and it processes for 60 minutes for pints or 75 for quarts (or longer for fully packed jars). Strain the broth for these times, and add whatever you like when you open the jar.
No. Broth is low acid, so it needs a pressure canner. A water bath simply doesn’t get hot enough, and no amount of extra time makes up for it. If you don’t have a pressure canner, freeze the broth instead.
As long as the jar stays sealed it won’t spoil, the same as any canned good. Quality slips over time though, so I use broth within about 18 months. Once a jar is open it goes in the refrigerator and gets used within about four days.
Yes, and it’s worth doing well. Fat can work its way onto the jar rim and stop a lid from sealing, and it goes rancid faster than the broth does. Chilling the broth first makes the fat set into a cap you can lift straight off.
Absolutely. The broth is made the same way either way, and you just cool and freeze it once it’s strained rather than filling jars for the canner. Freezing is also the right answer for a batch that has solids in it, since that can’t be canned on these times.
Stock and Broth Canning Recipes
Every kind of bone works, and the process is the same for all of them.
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Canning Chicken Broth
Equipment
- Cheesecloth
- Canning Jars, Lids and Bands
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken carcass, picked, from a roast chicken
- 2 quarts water, plus more for topping off as it cooks
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 1 tbsp pickling salt, optional
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, optional
Instructions
Making the Broth
- Roast the picked carcass at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes, until the bones are browned. Skip this only if the bones are already deeply roasted.
- Put the bones, water, onion, carrots, bay leaves, salt and vinegar in a large Dutch oven or stockpot.
- Cover and cook at 225 degrees F for 7 hours, then reduce the oven to 180 degrees F and cook for another 7 hours. Add water as needed to keep the bones covered. On the stovetop or in a slow cooker, hold it at a bare simmer for 12 to 14 hours and never let it boil hard.
- Lift out the bones, then strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer, lined with cheesecloth if you want it perfectly clear. Discard the solids.
- Chill the broth, lift off the fat cap, and discard it. The broth must go into the jars strained and skimmed, with no solids.
Canning the Broth
- Prepare a pressure canner for a hot pack: rack in the bottom, 2 to 3 inches of water, brought to a gentle simmer. Heat the jars.
- Reheat the strained broth to a simmer.
- Ladle the hot broth into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, adjust the headspace, wipe the rims and cap with two-part canning lids at fingertip tight.
- Load the jars, lock the canner lid, and vent a steady stream of steam for 10 minutes before adding the weight.
- Process pints for 20 minutes or quarts for 25 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure on a weighted gauge canner or 11 pounds on a dial gauge, adjusting the pressure for altitude (see notes).
- Turn off the heat and let the canner return to zero pressure on its own. Wait 5 minutes, remove the lid, then let the jars stand in the canner 10 minutes before lifting them out.
- Cool the jars undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours, then check the seals, label and store.
Notes
- 0 to 2,000 feet: 11 lbs
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet: 12 lbs
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet: 13 lbs
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet: 14 lbs
- 0 to 1,000 feet: 10 lbs
- Above 1,000 feet: 15 lbs
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Chicken Canning Recipes
One bird fills a lot of jars if you use all of it.
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Simple easy instructions
How long does it take for the pressure to get to 10? I had my pot going on the stove for about ten minutes but nothing happened. Idk what’s normal for a pressure canner but mine has a back up steam vent in case the regular one is blocked. When I covered the normal one steam came through the back up one. Should the steam actually stay in the pot?
Yes, the steam is supposed to stay in the pot. After you close the main steam vent with your selected weight, it shouldn’t vent steam again until it’s up to pressure. If it’s losing steam out of the backup vent, then your backup vent is faulty (either broken, or not installed properly). That backup vent should only lose steam if the canner gets to dangerous pressure for some reason (like 18 to 20 pounds pressure). It’s an emergency safety release, and nothing should be coming out of it during normal operation. What type of canner do you have?
What if any instructions would be different if you can the liquid cold?
There’s no such thing as “canning the liquid cold” in terms of shelf stable preservation. So, I’m assuming you’re asking for instructions for freezing or refrigerating the broth? In that case, the instructions are the same for making it, and you just store it in the freezer or refrigerator once strained. I have specific instructions on freezing broth here: https://practicalselfreliance.com/freeze-bone-broth/
How long does the canned broth last?
When properly canned and sealed, it won’t spoil provided it stays sealed. That’s true of just about any canned good. Quality will degrade over time, and for broth, it’s best used within about 18 months.