Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth is a warm and invigorating soup that tastes delicious while strengthening the immune system, among a host of other great benefits. This is so easy to make and can be enjoyed by the whole family!
Bone broth is becoming increasingly popular due to its numerous benefits, but I still know a lot of people personally that have never tried it or even heard of it.
Ever since I discovered bone broth, it’s been like a gold mine to me. It is a great source of collagen and vitamins such as calcium and magnesium.
When I have flu-like symptoms or I’m feeling really run down and weary, beef bone broth is the go-to drink that instantly picks me up and makes me feel better. Even my kids love it too and it has greatly improved their immune systems.
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What is bone broth?
Bone broth is made from bones that have a little meat on them, and have been cooked for a long time, till the bones are broken down and nutrients have been released.
Traditional beef bone broth is cooked for 24 – 48 hours on a stovetop or slow cooker, but thanks to high-pressure cookers like the instant pot, it can be ready in less than 5 hours.
I have a 6qt instant pot, but you can increase the recipe if you have 8qt or larger. Also, you can replace it with chicken to make a chicken bone broth but the broth is a bit lighter and needs less time to cook (about 2 hours).
Benefits of bone broth
The main nutrient released when making bone broth is called gelatin, which is a broken-down version of collagen.
Collagen makes up approximately 30% of the proteins within the body and is a fibrous protein that connects muscles, bones, and skin.
As you age, collagen production slows down and eventually stops and existing collagen will begin to break down.
That is the main reason why the skin gets more wrinkled, hair gets thinner, and joints get more stiff and painful. So you can see how very important it is to replace collagen in the body.
You can supplement with collagen pills but bone broth is so much better. It tastes great and in addition, you get benefits from other vitamins such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
Here are some other great benefits of drinking bone broth:
- It helps to reduce joint pain and inflammation, and relieve symptoms of arthritis.
- Collagen is part of the connective tissue in the skin and is vital for skin elasticity. In other words, it improves skin tone and makes your skin glow!
- It helps to heal the gut and provides relief for those with irritable bowels or digestive issues.
- It aids in weight loss by making you feel fuller.
Where to get bones for broth
The best bones to use are grass-fed bones from a butcher. Most local grocery stores do not sell or keep bones; they most likely just throw them away.
If you have an Asian market near you, there is a good chance they carry bones, specifically soup bones, and it is usually really cheap. In Austin, it goes for 99 cents per pound!
I like to buy a bunch and freeze it till I’m ready to make my beef bone broth.
If you have no local stores or farms near you that sell bones, you can get it online from US Wellness.
Are broth and stock the same?
For the longest time, I thought bone broth and stock were the same, and in a sense, they are almost the same. It is even more confusing when you do a google search because some agree they are the same, some say they are different and some say the definitions have been switched.
So let me demystify this a bit. The traditional definition of stock is a liquid primarily made from animal bones or meat, that has been simmered for a very long time.
Broth, however, is defined as a liquid in which meat has been cooked and is seasoned. So when you boil your beef or chicken, the resulting liquid is the broth.
However, due to the current health and wellness trend, stock that has been cooked with bones for a long time is now referred to as ‘bone broth’.
So technically bone broth is actually stock, and sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. Confusing, isn’t it?
In order not to make my brain hurt, I just refer to bone broth as soup made with bones that I can drink by itself, and stock is what I use to flavor my dishes. Mystery solved 🙂
How to make this recipe
I use about 3 pounds of bones and that fit almost halfway in my 6qt instant pot. For vegetables, I use just celery and onions because I like my broth a bit light-flavored.
You can add more vegetables and herbs but I chug it down faster when it’s lighter.
First, roast the bones in the oven. This will help to greatly enhance the flavor so you don’t want to omit this step. I set my oven to 450 and roast for 30 mins, turning over halfway.
The bone broth will also be a deep, dark color when the beef bones have been roasted beforehand.
Place the beef bones in the instant pot and add some water. I fill mine to the 3-liter mark on my 6qt instant pot. You can add more if you have a bigger pot.
Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and let the beef bones soak in it for 30 minutes. This helps to break down the bones and extract the collagen in the connective tissue of the bones.
Chop up the onions and celery into large chunks and add to the pot. You can also add carrots, mint, or other herbs and vegetables if you wish.
Add in your spices. I use black pepper, salt, ginger, bouillon powder, rosemary, and peppercorn. The peppercorn and ginger give a slightly spicy kick and makes the broth taste so much better.
Press the soup button on the instant pot and set the time to 180 on high pressure to turn on. Make sure the vent at the top is set to ‘sealing’, and not ‘venting’. It will take about 20 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure before it begins to cook the bones.
After the beef bone broth is done in 3 hours, it will take another 20-30 minutes to release the pressure or you can switch the vent to the venting position if you can’t wait.
Once the bone broth is ready, the instant pot will switch to the warm setting and continuously warm the soup on low heat till you turn it off.
Drain the broth using a fine-mesh strainer to ensure the peppercorn and other smaller chunks don’t pass through. Now sit back and enjoy the savory deliciousness of what you just made!
How to store beef bone broth
My recipe makes 4 servings and I like to store them in mason jars in the fridge.
I like to use mason jars because they are airtight and the bone broth tastes fresh even after a few days. You can also make a really big batch and freeze it.
Just pop it in the fridge overnight and it should be defrosted by the next morning and ready to drink. If you freeze in mason jars, don’t fill all the way to the top as the beef bone broth will expand when frozen.
Helpful Tips
- Do not omit to add the apple cider vinegar and let the bones sit for 30 minutes. I have made with and without apple cider vinegar, and there is a big difference. When I use vinegar, the broth has a more gel-like texture – which is the gelatin - and the bone becomes more brittle since most of the nutrients have been extracted.
- If you make the beef bone broth before you go to bed, it will continue to simmer on low heat after the 3 hours cooking time and will have an even more concentrated flavor by the next morning - just in time for breakfast.
- I do this quite often because it is convenient and easy for me. And also because I usually decide just before my day is over that it will be a nice idea to have bone broth in the morning!
- When the beef bone broth cools, the fat floats to the top and solidifies. You can scoop it out, reheat so the moisture evaporates and use for frying or stir-frying. It gives a very rich and pleasant flavor to your dishes.
Check out these other instant pot recipes!
Instant Pot Bone-In Pork Chops
Keto Instant Pot Chicken Thighs with Sauce
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 3 lbs beef bones
- 1 small onion
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon peppercorn
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.5 tablespoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450.
- Chop up the onions and celery into large chunks.
- Wash bones in water and pat dry.
- Spread in a baking sheet and dry roast for 30 minutes, turning over halfway.
- Place the beef bones in the instant pot and add water up to the 3-liter mark.
- Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and let the beef bones soak in it for 30 minutes.
- Add the onions, celery, black pepper, salt, ginger, bouillon powder, rosemary, and peppercorn.
- Press the soup button on the instant pot and set the time to 180 on high pressure.
- It will take about 20 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure and start cooking the bones.
- After 180 minutes (3 hours), it will take another 20 minutes for the pressure to decrease or you can set the vent to the venting position.
- Drain the broth using a fine-mesh strainer.
- Pour into containers and enjoy your bone broth!
Save your vegetable scraps (onion, carrots, celery, squash) in a bag in the freezer until you're ready to make broth.
Thanks for the tip!
Hi there Tayo, I will try making the broth, seems so flavorful. Just a quick question, when roasting the bones, do you add the celery and onions as well, or only the bones. Do you cover with foil? Thank you forthright recipe, Rita
Hi Rita, I don't cover with foil and I only roast the bones and not the veggies. I hope you enjoy the bone broth!
Thank you Tayo for the reply, will try and see , seems very flavorful!