This budget friendly chicken stock recipe is a really easy way to reduce the family grocery bill. It is a simple gluten free homemade chicken broth recipe that is also excellent for reducing food waste. The top 8 allergen friendly soup stock made from roast chicken leftovers.
Jump to:
- Why We Like This Recipe
- What to Put in Allergen Friendly Chicken Stock
- The Ingredient Low Down
- Instructions/ Directions and Tips
- Low Food Waste Tips
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- Substitutions
- Variations /Adaptations
- Equipment
- Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Storage
- Top Tip
- FAQ
- What To Serve With Budget Friendly Chicken Stock
- Other Recipes You May Enjoy
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- Food Safety
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Why We Like This Recipe
One of the things I have learned from my family is to reduce and use as much of the foods and ingredients we buy as we can. So when I was learning to cook eons ago I discovered it was super easy to make your own stock. Yes, you can buy stock, it can be easy to find top 8 free chicken stock that is allergen friendly but because it is just as easy to make this ingredient we do it all the time.
It is much cheaper for us to make our own broth. We make loads of soups during the winter. Everyone of our soups starts with a stock so we go through gallons of it. We save up our veggie scraps, freeze them in 2 bags in the freezer to add to the bubbling golden liquid.
In the summer we make a lot of roast chicken dinners on the BBQ so we freeze the bones in a large ziploc to make stock in the winter. Pop the stock pot on the stove for a few hours on a cold weekend while we play games with the kids or help them with homework. Reusing all these bits of food greatly reduces our grocery bill and helps us reduce our food waste. This is why we love this budget and allergen friendly chicken stock recipe. It is one of our mostmade recipes in our home.
What to Put in Allergen Friendly Chicken Stock
- Cooked Chicken Bones, or carcass from a roast chicken
- Chicken meat
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onions
- Garlic
- Fresh Spices
See recipe card for quantities.
The Ingredient Low Down
Cooked Chicken Bones and Chicken Meat
We prefer to use a cooked carcass from a roast chicken to make use of as much of the food items as we can. We want our stock to have loads of flavour so we also toss in the meat that we don’t like to eat, the bits that are a bit gristly or what have you. This is one of the things that makes this a broth and not a roast chicken stock, the added meat.
We only use bones that had the meat cut off and not eaten off like wings, for best food safety practices. If using purchased, precooked roast chickens make sure they are free from allergens and cross contact with allergens. We personally cannot have the in store made ones as the ones at stores near us have too high a risk of coming in contact with our allergens. We buy our chickens from a local farm where we know how they are kept, fed and raised. They are still federally inspected and professionally butchered, for safety.
Carrots and Celery
Vegetables that are considered aromatics go in stock really well to lend their flavour as they cook down. These are typically carrots and celery. Other vegetables can be added, like some squash peels, or mushrooms, small amounts of peas, green beans, bell peppers. You want to avoid any veggies from the brassica family like broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and more. For an excellent list of vegetables to use and in what amounts or not at all check out this great article from Jennifer’s Kitchen Food Blog. One lemon that has been juiced is an excellent add in to brighten the flavour of the stock. Don’t add too much though or the oil in many peels can make it bitter.
Onions and Garlic
They can be fresh or frozen onions and garlic. Dried versions don’t give us the same flavour in stock so we stick to regular ones. Shallots, green onions, leek (especially the green part of the leaves) can be used as well to flavour the stock.
Fresh Spices
Spices like Marjoram, Sage, Oregano, Thyme, and Bay Leaves are all delicious in chicken stock. We use clippings or pinched leaves from our indoor window sill herb garden. You can use dried herbs instead, if preferred. Use a smaller amount of dried herbs. The rule of thumb is to use ⅓ the amount of dried herbs as you would dried herbs.Check that commercially dried herbs are free from cross contact with allergens in shared facilities.
Instructions/ Directions and Tips
1- In a very large stockpot put the chicken bones/carcass, all the vegetable scraps or cut up bits.
2- Fill the stock pot with water, leaving 4-5 inches of space for where the stock will simmer.
3- Put the pot on the stove and over high heat bring it to a rolling boil.
4- Reduce the heat to a hard simmer and let simmer for 2-3 hours. Add water to the pot as needed and bring back up to simmering temp.
5- Remove from heat and let cool.
6- Ladle the stocks and contents out into a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl or appropriate storage container.
7- Compost the bits strained out by the fine mesh sieve.
8- Store the stock or use it to make soups, gravy, and other recipes.
Hint:
When using the stock it may be really concentrated and for some recipes try adding ⅓-½ the amount of stock the recipe calls for and the rest water. When the stock/broth has cooled, strain the liquid from the bone, meat, and vegetable bits. Compost the bits, save the meat for the soup.
Low Food Waste Tips
Tip 1 - Save the clean off cuts, ends, peelings from vegetables used to make meals in a ziploc or container in the freezer. When making stock use these peelings instead of new fresh veggies to cut down on costs and food waste.
Tip 2- Use the bones from a roast chicken that has had the meat carved off of it. If not making the stock straight after the roast dinner the carcass can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days before making stock after cooking. If not making the stock for longer, the bones can be frozen and used up to 6 months later.
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Substitutions
- Lamb, Beef, Pork, or Turkey - Instead of chicken other kinds of bones can be used. They are cooked in the same way for the most part but are usually baked first then simmered for hours. An alternative method is to use a pressure cooker to make stock from the larger bones as it speeds up cooking.
- Broth - Broth can be made by just using the bones rather than using meat and vegetables as stock does. Broth can be eaten as is like a consomme soup whereas stock is generally added to other dishes as an ingredient for flavour.
- Vegan - Omit the bones and use just vegetables, preferably not any brassica veggies which can make the stock bitter.
Variations /Adaptations
- Fresh Chicken - Chicken stock can also be made from a fresh whole uncooked chicken. When doing this boil the chicken until the meat is cooked through and reaches the internal temperature of at least 165 F. It still needs to cook for at least 2 hours. When cooked, strip the meat to use in the soup, like our chicken noodle soup recipe.
- Baking the Bones - Some prefer to add flavour to their stock by baking the bones in the oven on low heat, then adding them to the stock ingredients.
- Cracking the Bones - To get the most flavour out of bones the bones can be cracked in half or cut in half.
Equipment
A knife and cutting board for roughly choping veg used in to large chunks. We have a massively large stock pot we use. It is about 24 gallons and is as big as we can use for our glass top stove. We recommend checking with your stove manufacturer which is the largest and heaviest size you can use on your stove before buying a stock pot. We have done the stock in a smaller soup pot.
Our method for in the smaller pot was to cook it for longer and keep adding water to keep the level of stock up. Simmer it until it is super concentrated so when you use it you would add ½- 1 cup and up to 3 ½ cups of water to thin it out when using it.
Other useful pieces of equipment are a stirring utensil to move the contents around. To strain out the used bones and veggies from the stock we use a large fine mesh sieve. Remember, to put the sieve over a large pot to catch the stock. We have seen loads of people accidentally dump their stock down the drain.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Storage
-Fridge
In the fridge the allergen friendly chicken stock will keep for up to 3 days in a lidded container.
-Freezer
We prefer to freeze the homemade chicken stock in 4 cups or a 1 quart freezer safe container. Not all glass jars are safe for freezing so if using glass jars make sure they are freezer safe. We tend to use gallon sized sealing plastic bags that we freeze flat. We do this as they take up less space stored flat than when trying to store jars or containers. The flat frozen bags are quick to thaw in a bowl with cool water or in the fridge in a bowl the night before. The budget friendly chicken stock will keep for up to 6 months in a deep freeze or up to 3 months in a fridge freezer.
-Canning
If you are a pressure canning aficionado and have all the equipment and know how to navigate the strict rules around canning products made with meat you could also can this allergen friendly chicken stock to make it shelf stable. Follow the recommendations of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, USDA canning guide, other ressources provided by the regulatory branches and all safety precautions for your pressure cooker, altitude, sterilisation, and safe storage. Meat products should be properly pressure canned rather than waterbathed, for best safe food storage practices.
Reheating
-Stove Top
On the stove pour in a medium pot the amount of gluten free chicken broth needed. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to allow it to simmer for 5 mins then serve if using as a consomme or broth.
To use in another dish, heat and add as per the recipe instructions for that recipe.
Top Tip
If you do not have time to make the stock right after making a roast chicken dinner or to save cooked bones up, store them in the freezer in a well sealing container until you are ready to make the stock.
You can also use a whole raw chicken to start and boil it for a couple of hours in a pot full of water before removing the chicken and stripping the meat from the bones. This is how you would make chicken broth with a raw whole chicken.
We prefer to use the carcass, bits of meat we won’t eat, a few veggies and herbs chucked in for flavour. This is something we do to use our leftovers and we can get more different meals from one chicken this way. Both are accepted chicken stock methods; we just prefer to use leftovers.
FAQ
No, they technically are not the same thing though many people use the terms interchangeably. In cooking schools broth is usually defined as a liquid that can be eaten as a dish in its own right as is whereas stock is an ingredient in other dishes.
Broth is usually made only from meat simmered for shorter periods. It can also be made from bones and be found under the name bone broth. Stock is usually the bones along with bones that sometimes have meat on them and boiled for long periods up to 12 hours. Our recipe is technically a broth as it contains vegetables.
Yes, homemade chicken stock does need refrigeration. If left at room temperature It can grow bacteria that can be harmful, if consumed. It could lead to food poisoning or a food borne illness.
Pressure canning is the best way to safely package homemade gluten free chicken broth for safe room temperature storage. Following the USDA food canning guide can help you find which steps are needed to safely make your stock shelf stable.
Our recipe is! The biggest key is to start with a gluten free roast chicken carcass or a fresh uncooked chicken. Then check that all your veggies have been prepped in a gluten free kitchen to ensure there is a lower chance of cross contact with gluten.
Any spices, especially dried spices should be checked with the manufacturer for gluten cross contact. We recommend certified gluten free spices as they are routinely tested for gluten content.
What To Serve With Budget Friendly Chicken Stock
We use this gluten free chicken broth recipe as a base for soups, gravy, and as a base for many meals. It works well to deglaze sauces like the gravy in our roast chicken dinner or turkey meatball gravy. It is a non- alcoholic way to add flavour to the gravy when pulling up the bits from the bottom of the pan.
When making mashed potatoes using a homemade chicken stock will add a ton of flavour.You can use roast chicken stock to boil the potatoes in. Remove the potatoes and stock saved then a bit added back in to use in place of milk when mashing the potatoes. This will help in having a dairy free mash without a plant based milk alternative.
Allergen friendly chicken stock is a versatile stock. It can be the broth of choice in any of our soups for a non-vegan version. We love to mix the stock for the dairy free potato and leek soup to use half homemade chicken stock and half vegetable stock.
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Dairy Free Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Dairy Free Potato and Leek Soup
Have You Made Our Budget Friendly Chicken Stock? Please Leave a Comment Below.
Rate our Recipe.
We Love To Hear From You!
📖 Recipe
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Large Stock Pot
- Stirring Utensil
- Large fine mesh sieve
- Storage containers
Ingredients
- 1 Lbs Cooked Chicken Bones or carcass from a roast chicken
- Chicken meat the chopped bits and skin not used in soup or for eating
- 2-3 Carrots cut in 2- 4 pieces
- 3-4 ribs Celery cut in 2- 4 pieces
- 1-2 Onions cut in 4-8 pieces
- 2 heads of Garlic cut in half across all the cloves.
- 1-2 tbsps of fresh Spices like Marjoram, Sage, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary and Bay Leaves
Instructions
- In a very large stockpot put the chicken bones/carcass, all the vegetable scraps or cut up bits.
- Fill the stock pot with water, leaving 4-5 inches of space for where the stock will simmer.
- Put the pot on the stove and over high heat bring it to a rolling boil.
- Reduce the heat to a hard simmer and let simmer for 2-3 hours. Add water to the pot as needed and bring back up to simmering temp.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Ladle the stocks and contents out into a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl or appropriate storage container.
- Compost the bits strained out by the fine mesh sieve.
- Store the stock or use it to make soups, gravy, and other recipes.
- When using the stock it may be really concentrated and for some recipes try adding ⅓-½ the amount of stock the recipe calls for and the rest water.
Notes
- Mushroom stems
- Bell pepper rib, seeds, and stems
- Lettuce leaves
- Carrot peels
- Celery ends and root end
- Onion ends
- Garlic ends
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- A couple of potato peels.
- Onion skins
- Garlic skins, you don’t have to peel the garlic just don’t save the old peelings and add them
- Anything from the brassica family like broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and kale can make the stock bitter.
Nutrition
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Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Contact the manufacturer of products, regarding cross contact and ingredients, to ensure they are safe for you
- Always check ingredients for allergens
- Do not use the same utensils on allergen free food, that previously touched allergens
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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