Super Simple Instant Pot Bone Broth for Hormone & Gut Health
This nutrient dense, golden broth supports menstrual health, gut health, and promotes deep and restful sleep.
Chances are, you’ve already heard some buzz around bone broth or seen it on your grocery store shelves more recently as it’s popularity as been increasing - and for good reason! Its benefits are many, and as a holistic nutrition practitioner I highly recommend it and enjoy it regularly.
Traditionally, making bone broth is a low and slow process as a pot is left to simmer over the course of a day or two. But bone broth made in a pressure cooker contains the same nutrients and minerals as the low and slow version and is ready in as little as 4 hours. Plus, there’s no need to babysit a pot cooking over the stove. Just set it and forget it!
What is Bone Broth?
Bone broth is a nutrient-rich, flavorful stock made from boiling animal bones and connective tissue for many hours, creating a broth that is packed with protein, collagen and minerals. Bone broth can be beneficial for joint and cartilage health, gut health, inflammation reduction, immune health, bone health, and even hydration.
Because an Instant Pot uses pressure to decrease cooking time instead of increasing the heat, you can retain most of the nutrients in your bone broth when cooking it this way, and save yourself a ton of time. The pressure helps break down those connective tissues quickly and fill your broth with nutrient dense goodness.
Bone broth is (literally!) liquid gold and has a seemingly endless array of health benefits and healing properties.
Health Benefits of Bone Broth
Supports Menstrual Cycle Health
Bone broth is rich in minerals like Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium. These minerals aid in several hormonal and reproductive processes, including stimulating ovulation (a necessary step towards fertility and a healthy cycle!) as well as reducing PMS.
Supports Gut Health
Bone broth contains amino acids like L-glutamine & Glycine, which can reduce inflammation in the gut and are known to soothe and repair the lining of the small intestine, allowing for better nutrient absorption. They’re essential for maintaining healthy mucosa in the intestinal wall and can help heal your gut lining if it is damaged (AKA leaky gut).
Supports Joints + Hair + Skin + Nails
Bone broth is probably best known for its high content of both collagen and gelatin. Collagen plays a key role in the structural integrity of connective tissues, and both collagen & gelatin help maintain skin elasticity and tissue repair.
Reduces Inflammation & Boosts Immunity
The amino acids found in bone broth help fight inflammation and support a strong & healthy immune system.
Promotes Deep Sleep + Relaxation
Bone broth contains glycine, an amino acid that has been linked to deep, restorative sleep. It’s also high in magnesium, which promotes optimal muscle and body relaxation.
Making your own bone broth may sound daunting if you’ve never done it before, but it really isn’t as scary as it sounds! There are 2 important things to remember when shopping for bones:
Look for grass-fed bones whenever you can. Grass-fed beef contains more heart-healthy (and hormone supportive) Omega 3 fatty acids.
Choose bones with lots of cartilage and connective tissue if you have the option to. Think knees, knuckles, etc. But you can also use leftover cooked bones, like from a whole roasted chicken!
You can find bones at your local farmer’s market, from a nearby farm, or from your local grocery store butcher.
Best Ways To Enjoy Bone Broth
Drink it on it’s own straight out of your favorite mug. Top with sea salt, chopped parsley, and add mushrooms, if you’d like.
Use it in place of water or broth in soups, stews, or when cooking grains.
Use it as a braising liquid when cooking meat.
How to Store
In The Fridge:
Pour your strained broth into wide-mouth mason jars. It’s important to allow your broth to cool completely before storing in the fridge (or freezer). If you’d like, you can also put your broth in an ice bath to help speed up the process, as it does take quite a while to cool completely. Broth will typically last 3-4 days in the fridge, so I often keep about half of it there and the rest in the freezer.
In The Freezer:
You can store your broth in mason jars in the freezer as well, just make sure the liquid is completely cooled before freezing, and remember to also leave about an inch of space at the top of your jar for the liquid to expand as it freezes.
My favorite way to freeze my broth, though, is to use silicone molds. This not only saves you space, but makes it possible to heat up smaller servings of broth at a time. So say, for example, you just want a mug of bone broth to sip on while you’re doing your meal planning for the week, but you don’t want to defrost enough for a whole batch of soup, you can just grab a few frozen chunks and toss them in a mug to microwave. Viola! Quick and easy.
Instant Pot Bone Broth
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add the chicken carcass/bones to the pressure cooker along with the carrots, onion, apple cider vinegar and sea salt.
- Add the water to the pressure cooker. Lock the lid on and make sure the knob is set to the “sealing” position. Select the “manual” or “pressure cook” (on newer models) setting and set for 4 hours.
- Once the 4 hours are up, allow the pressure to release naturally. Then open the lid carefully and strain the broth through a sieve or strainer. Discard the veggies and bones then transfer the broth into jars.
- Allow the broth to cool completely before moving to the refrigerator or freezer to prevent the jars from cracking. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days, freeze if you want to keep it for longer.
Notes
Freeze bones from meals (like chicken drumsticks, for example) until you have enough to make a batch!
Freeze in ice cube trays, silicone molds, or jars with an inch of space left at the top to allow the liquid to expand as it freezes.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
24Fat
0 gSat. Fat
0 gCarbs
6 gFiber
1 gNet carbs
4 gSugar
3 gProtein
1 gSodium
619 mgCholesterol
0 mg