The best Homemade Beef Bone Broth Recipe that is SO easy to make. Learn how to make bone broth in your crockpot, instant pot or on the stove. Healthy, nutritious and delicious!
Once you give this Easy Beef Bone Broth a try, you’re never going back to store bought broth. Homemade bone broth is so simple to make and SO delicious.
While bone broth takes a while to make (it needs at least 10 hours) it’s really not difficult to make at all.
I’m all about simplicity when it comes to recipes, and while you can add veggies, herbs, and more to your bone broth – all you need are some bones and water!
What is Beef Bone Broth?
Bone broth is a rich, nutrient dense broth that comes from bones and water simmering low and slow for many hours.
Bone broth is the SAME thing as chicken stock or broth. Some broths or stocks are cooked longer than others
Why You’ll Love this Beef Bone Broth Recipe
- Easy to make: No unnecessary steps here. If you can turn on your crockpot and use a strainer – you’ll be able to make this!
- Delicious – This beef bone broth is so rich and flavorful. It’s amazing what good quality bones and water can do!
- Simple ingredients – All you need to make homemade bone broth are bones and water! You can add veggies and herbs for more flavor but it’s not necessary.
Beef Bone Broth Ingredients
To make beef bone broth, you really only need beef bones + water.
You can also add herbs and vegetables like carrots, celery, or onion, but it’s completely unnecessary.
Homemade Bone Broth Tools
crockpot, strainer, airtight containers (for storing)
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
How to make Beef Bone Broth
Beef Bones require a little bit of prep to ensure you get perfect broth. Here’s how to make it:
- First, preheat your oven to 450. Roast the bones for about 20 minutes. This helps the bones release any impurities and adds flavor to the broth.
- Add roasted bones to your crockpot (see below for instant pot/stove top instructions), fill it up with water, and let it cook for 16-18 hours on low.
- Once the broth cooks for about 16-18 hours (10 hours at minimum!) You’ll want to strain the broth with a strainer to get the bones/any big pieces of veggies out.
- You can stop here and use the broth as is but I prefer to strain it again. Using a nut milk bag or a cheese cloth, I will strain the broth again to remove any random fragments or pieces that may have escaped.
- Step 5 shows the broth after it has been strained twice.
- Beef broth often has a lot of fat that comes on top of it. We recommend chilling it for 2 hours until the fat hardens and skimming the solidified fat off the top. This step is optional but highly recommended.
- You can repeat this step 3-4 more times and reuse the beef bones.
It seems like a lot of steps, but it’s really not difficult to do at all!
How long should I cook beef bone broth?
You should cook bone broth for 10 hours at minimum. Bone broth is best when cooked for 16-18 hours.
Bone Broth Recipe Substitutions
Bones – You can use any bones.. chicken, beef, or turkey will all work. We also have a Turkey Broth, Homemade Chicken Broth, Instant Pot Bone Broth, and Crockpot Bone Broth recipe.
Veggies – Carrots, celery, onion, and garlic add flavor to the broth but are not necessary
Seasonings – You can add salt, pepper, or whatever other herbs you’d like to the broth. We love to throw thyme + rosemary into our broth!
Apple cider Vinegar – Some people add apple cider vinegar to their broth to help coax the nutrients out of the bones. This is not necessary, but if you’d like to add it – feel free!
What are the best bones for bone broth? I like to use organic grass fed bones. Try to find local butchers or check out sites like The Organic Butcher or Greensbury. Butcher Box also carries beef bones!
How to use this Beef Bone Broth Recipe
There are so many ways to incorporate bone broth into your routine. Here are some ideas:
- As the base of a our favorite Lemon Chicken Soup
- Pour it in a mug and drink it up! It’s packed with protein + veggies and so cozy.
- Add to sauces or stir fry’s for flavor
- Use in place of water or regular cooking stock
- Freeze it to have for a quick dinner or meal (or for when a cold comes on!)
How to store Beef Broth
Bone broth will last 6-7 days in your refrigerator. If frozen, it can last up to a year – but I’d recommend using it within 6 months for freshness!
You can freeze bone broth, and you probably will have to because this makes a lot! For all my freezing tips, check out my post on How To Freeze Soup.
I freeze my bone broth in these containers or ice cub trays. These silicone molds for soup are also a great way to freeze bone broth. You can also use plastic containers or glass jars.
Freezing in glass: I don’t like to freeze in glass because I find sometimes the glass can explode. I prefer these containers. To freeze in glass, fill the bottle leaving about 1-2 inches of room – do not fill to the top because the liquid will expand as it freezes. Put them in the fridge and allow them to completely cool.
Once they have been in the fridge for at least 5 hours and are cold, you can transfer to the freezer. I leave the lids off and allow the jars to freeze completely, then add the lids on.
To defrost, I simply take out and put in the fridge the night before, or run under warm water.
Ice cube trays: I also like to freeze bone broth in ice cube trays. This is perfect for when you’re making a dish and only need a little bit, but don’t want to defrost a whole jar!
How long does homemade bone both last?
Bone broth will last 6-7 days in your refrigerator. If frozen, it can last up to a year – but I’d recommend using it within 6 months for freshness!
Homemade Beef Bone Broth FAQs
Beef bone broth is good for so many things. It can help your gut health, hair skin and nail growth and so much more. It’s delicious when used in soups and sauces.
There is no difference between beef broth and bone broth. They are essentially the exact same thing. Sometimes bone broth is a little more concentrated than regular broth or stock, but they can be used interchangeably.
There’s no limit to how often you should drink bone broth. It’s completely up to you and your personal preference. Some people like to drink broth daily.
If you’re using raw bones, you should roast them. I like to roast them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes to remove any impurities from the bones. It results in a clearer broth and more flavor.
There is no difference between beef broth and stock. They are essentially the exact same thing. Sometimes bone broth is a little more concentrated than regular broth or stock, but they can be used interchangeably.
Yes, you can buy beef broth. Store bought beef broth is not as nutritious as homemade bone broth. Store bought broth is also usually high in salt and has added sugar.
Beef bouillon and beef broth are not the same thing. Beef bouillon is a powder that makes beef broth. Beef broth is actual broth made from beef.
There is really no difference between broth or stock. Both can be used interchangeably
It’s ok if your bone broth doesn’t gel, and rest assured it will be just as nutritious! Certain bones/cuts of meat can create a more jello-like consistency with the broth.
You could also have added a little bit too much water. Either way, don’t worry – and enjoy it!
Chicken bone broth and beef bone broth are both delicious. They have different nutrient profiles, but can be used interchangeably in recipes.
You can follow this recipe for chicken bones or check out our Instant Pot Bone Broth recipe.
Yes, you can. We buy organic beef bones and find we can make 4-5 batches of broth with them!
Whenever I’ve reused them, the broth has not been as gelatinous or flavorful as the first time using them, but it’s still delicious!
Even if your bone broth doesn’t gel it will still be nutritious and tasty. We use it to cook rice!
Yes, you can! I prefer to cook my bone broth in the slow cooker, but you can cook this in your instant pot for 120 minutes on high pressure, and let it naturally release. You can see our instant pot bone broth recipe here.
I like to use organic grass fed bones. Try to find local butchers or check out sites like The Organic Butcher or Greensbury.
You can ask a butcher for beef bones, soup bones, or marrow bones.
Why Homemade Bone Broth is Much More Affordable
Making your own bone broth is so much more affordable. Here’s the math breakdown:
- $13.99 for 4-5 lbs of bones
- I reused the bones 4 times and it gave me a total of 12 16 oz containers of bone broth.
- 14/12 = $1.16 for 16 oz of organic grass fed bone broth
- Stores sell bone broth for $6.99-$10.99 so it’s SO much cheaper to make your own
Recipes that Use Beef Bone Broth:
Here are some of our favorite ways to use bone broth:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Leftover Turkey Soup (make Turkey Broth and use it up!)
- Lemon Chicken Soup
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Whole30 Italian Wedding Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Stew
Looking for other healthy slow cooker recipes? Check out these Healthy Crockpot Recipes!
Homemade Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 4 lbs beef bones
- 8 cups water approximately – fill your crockpot to the top
- 1 cup carrots optional
- 1 cup onion optional
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450. Add the bones to a large baking dish. Roast the bones for about 20 minutes. This helps the bones release any impurities and adds flavor to the broth.
- Add all ingredients to a crockpot*, cover with filtered water and cook on low for 18-20 hours (12 at minimum). You may need to adjust the amount of water depending on the size of your crockpot. You can fill to the top of the crockpot.
- Once cooked, allow the broth to cool slightly, and run through a strainer into a large pot or container. (This will just be easier to do if it is not scalding hot).
- Optional, but recommended: I often strain my bone broth through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to catch any miscellaneous small bones or fragments.
- Beef broth often has a lot of fat that comes on top of it. We recommend chilling it for 2 hours until the fat hardens and skimming the solidified fat off the top. This step is optional but highly recommended.
- You can repeat this step 3-4 more times and reuse the beef bones.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450. Add the bones to a large baking dish. Roast the bones for about 20 minutes. This helps the bones release any impurities and adds flavor to the broth.
- Add all ingredients to your instant pot. (You can use any size instant pot!) Cover with filtered water to one inch under the max fill line. Set your instant pot to sealing, High Pressure for 120 minutes. It will take 30 minutes to come to pressure.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release from the broth for 1 hour when it’s done cooking, then manually release the remaining pressure. You do not want to manually release the pressure any sooner as you will lose a lot of liquid
- Allow broth to cool slightly (about 30 minutes), and run through a strainer into a large pot or container. (This will just be easier to do if it is not scalding hot).
- Optional, but recommended: I often strain my bone broth through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to catch any miscellaneous small bones or fragments.
- Beef broth often has a lot of fat that comes on top of it. We recommend chilling it for 2 hours until the fat hardens and skimming the solidified fat off the top. This step is optional but highly recommended.
- You can repeat this step 3-4 more times and reuse the beef bones.
Stovetop Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450. Add the bones to a large baking dish. Roast the bones for about 20 minutes. This helps the bones release any impurities and adds flavor to the broth.
- Add all ingredients to a large soup pot. Cover the bones with filtered water, cover the pot and cook at a low simmer for at least 12 hours (16-18 is best). You may need to adjust the amount of water depending on the size of your pot. You can fill it to about 1 inch under the top of the pot.
- Once cooked – allow broth to cool slightly. Run through a strainer into a large pot or container. (This will just be easier to do if it is not scalding hot).
- Optional, but recommended: I often strain my bone broth through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to catch any miscellaneous small bones or fragments.
- At this step, the broth is ready to use, but I like to use up the veggies if you chose to add them in for flavor.
- Optional, but recommended: I often strain my bone broth through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth to catch any miscellaneous small bones or fragments.
- Beef broth often has a lot of fat that comes on top of it. We recommend chilling it for 2 hours until the fat hardens and skimming the solidified fat off the top. This step is optional but highly recommended.
- You can repeat this step 3-4 more times and reuse the beef bones.
Kim says
Lots of different suggestions online but I primarily followed this recipe. I blanched the bones first then roasted them. One item missing from the stove top instructions is that you must leave it covered…otherwise evaporation will result in a smaller yield. Cook error on my part. I should have known. Red onion garlic peppercorn Rosemary and some carrots were added. I left it on my stove top 48 hours. Not the most energy efficient so my next batch will be in a crock-pot. After 48hrs ,there is no nutritional value left in the bones or veggies. Last step is to chill it and remove the fat. It otherwise came out excellent!
Liz Marino says
Hi Kim! There are notes that specifically say to chill the broth 🙂 I wouldn’t recommend tossing your bones after 48 hours. It’s worth making a second batch of broth with them. While not as nutritionally dense as the first one, it will still make a delicious broth!
Mary says
Hello Kim. You say that you can use the beef bones again. I don’t understand what you’d get out if them after cooking them for 18 hours.
Thanks For your expertise
Mary.1
Liz Marino says
The bones still produce rich broth even after being cooked that long! I sometimes use the bones 3-4 times!
Kim says
This is my first time ever making bone broth. Do I have to can it after this or how do I store it?
Liz Marino says
There are notes on how to store it in the blog post, please reread it as we’ve covered how to store in fridge, freezer, container options, etc. I have never canned food so can’t offer advice on that!
Wendy says
Simple and delicious recipe. I will be making my own bone broth from now on. Thank you for sharing.
Elena says
Question?? Do you prefer a slow cooker or the Insant Pot??
The Clean Eating Couple says
Slow cooker all the way! I think the flavor is much richer and you get more out of the bones!
Rick says
thanks for a simple recipe just strain the broth and refile the crockpot with water and start again can’t gat much easier. I am on my 3rd batch of my first time making the broth. Had these bones in freezer for a while 🙂
Will says
I was gifted some beef bones, but only have about 3 lbs. Should I reduce the water or just let it simmer in the crock pot a little longer? Thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple says
No, I’d just fill the pot up with water and cook as directed!
Aaron says
Thanks for this recipe! I needed something simple.
Aimee says
Do you save and use the fat layer you remove from the chilled broth? If so, what are ways you use it?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I usually don’t. Some people cook with it in place of oil
FG says
I asked the earlier question about calories because gelatin itself only has 12 calories per cup and if the fat is removed from the broth where would the calories come from? No carbs if you don’t add veges (which I don’t). Thank you so much!!
FG says
Do you think beef bone broth has 40 calories even after all the fat is removed once it is cold? Love this recipe and I’ve used it in my Instapot about 5 times already!
The Clean Eating Couple says
I really dont know! Sorry! Our nutrition facts are just an estimate!
FG says
Thank you so much for answering, I really appreciate your efforts and website!!
Grace says
I roasted 4lbs of femur bones for 2 hours then put them in electric roaster. Is 10 hours long enough in roasterfor broth?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’m sorry but I really don’t know what an electric roaster is or how it cooks. It seems like it’s a crockpot but I’m not sure. We cook our broth for 16-18 hours!
Dawn says
I’ve been making my own beef bone broth for some time now, but never roasted the raw bones prior. The roasting brings out a whole richer, deeper flavor profile. Thanks for that important tip!!
Nicholas Stuparich says
I cook the bones a second time and add the resulting broth to the original batch.
Kat says
I bought my instant pot a few years back around Christmas. I had no idea how to use it LOL. All bone broth recipes are similar but tried this one when we purchased 1/4 beef. Beautiful bones with some meat browned nicely & glad I didn’t skip that step. It’s all in the pot & waiting for it to finish.
I will immediately do another batch with the bones to see how it comes out to compare. My normal bone broth is from chicken; I have not had good results reusing the bones so hopefully beef is better.
Thanks or the detailed information on “how to”, love bone broth & health benefits!
Deborah Goulding says
This recipe looks great and easy to try. One question, after you roast the bones, do you add all the bits , oils and pieces from the pan into the crockpot? Or is that considered the impurities?
Thanks in advance
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yes! I add everything right to the pot!
Julie M says
When reusing the bones – how does each batch come out? Does it come out just as flavorful after each cooking and does 4th batch have as many benefits of bone broth as the first batch?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Depending on the the bones/amount of liquid you use, the broth might be a little less rich. It’s still beneficial, but the nutrients might be a little different!
Lori says
If I want to reuse the bones, do I have to do so immediately or can I freeze the bones until I’m ready to make more bone broth?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Lori – I’ve never frozen the bones after using. If I’m going to reuse the bones I do it right after the first batch
Lois says
We’re can I buy beef bone broth
The Clean Eating Couple says
At any grocery store, or google it.
Kim says
If you reuse the beef bones, do you have to roast them each time? Thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple says
no, you only roast them once!
Lindsay says
When reusing beef bones can you store bones properly after a batch and make another day?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I probably wouldn’t do that. I would use the immediately after, not storing them.
Phyllis says
I have cooked a whole chicken in the crockpot. There is a lot of juice left. I was thinking about making broth from the juices, extra water and the carcass. I thought about adding spices.
Will that work. This is my first attempt at making any kind of broth.
Thank you.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Phyllis – Yes this will work. Simply put all the bones and scraps (skins, etc) in the crockpot, fill with water and cook for 16-18 hours in the pot. Check out our How to Make Chicken Broth post or
Griff Neilson says
I keep referring my clients to this recipe and although I admit I have not tried it yet they all love it so I wanted to thank you for it! I will try it too! 😉
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Griff!
Chrissi says
I love this recipe! I make it often and use it to cook rice and make soups and sauces 🙂 Blending the vegetables in is an excellent tip also to make it super flavorful!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you like it, Chrissi! Thank you!