Who wants some Instant Pot bone broth? Bone broth is good for you, but it takes forever to make—unless you’re using my recipe for Instant Pot bone broth. It’ll be ready in less than an hour!

A bowl of Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Bone Brott.

There’s nothing I like more than a nice steaming mug of bone broth to get me through the cold winter months. It warms me from the inside out and it’s so good for you: check out why in these great posts by Mark’s Daily Apple and Balanced Bites.

I have a recipe for simmering bone broth in the slow cooker—and my mom routinely makes a pot on the stove—but sometimes I just want a bowl RIGHT NOW. If you haven’t guessed, patience ain’t one of my strong suits.

Enter the pressure cooker / Instant Pot.

According to foodie scientist, Harold McGee, “a pressure cooker is a special pot that seals tightly and traps hot steam to build the pressure and temperature.” In other words, stocks and stews that normally take hours to cook are finished in just 1/3 the time in a pressure cooker. I don’t use my pressure cooker for everything but I do love stewing braised veggies and meaty bone broths in it. Why? Because these dishes just turn out better and faster. It’s quite remarkable how pressure cooking can transform meaty, collagen-filled cuts like oxtail and cross shanks into fork tender cuts in less than an hour.

Bowl of chicken bone broth with a spoon.

(Although the new generation of pressure cookers are safer than the old ones, please read your instruction manual carefully and check out these helpful tips from Mr. McGee. You do need to babysit the pot and you can’t wing it.)

This simple recipe for a flavorful bone broth that’ll be ready in less than an hour. And, yes, it does gel in the fridge. Just throw in a few chicken feet or joint bones and your broth will be all jiggly.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium leeks, cleaned and cut in half crosswise (or 1 onion, peeled and quartered)
  • 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into three pieces
  • 2.5 pounds of assorted bones (I use a mixture of chicken and pork bones from the freezer or cross shanks and oxtails)
  • 8 cups of water (enough to cover the bones but not more than 2/3rd the capacity of the pressure cooker)
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (Update: I don’t normally add apple cider vinegar anymore because it doesn’t extract any minerals into the broth. I went to this lecture and afterwards, I decided it wasn’t necessary. Plus, I don’t like the flavor.)
  • 2 tablespoons of Red Boat fish sauce (much better than salt, IMHO)
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)

How to make Instant Pot Bone Broth

Dump the leeks and carrots in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot (make sure it’s at least 6-quarts), and toss in your bones (frozen is fine).

The inside of a pressure cooker filled with raw carrot pieces and leeks. The image on the right has someone adding frozen chicken bones to the pressure cooker.

Then, cover with water (make sure you don’t fill more than two-thirds capacity!) and add vinegar.

Adding water and some vinegar to a pressure cooker filled with bones.

Add the fish sauce and toss in the dried shiitake mushrooms (if using). Then, cover and lock the lid, and program to the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 30-50 minutes (I let it go for 50 minutes if I’m cooking meaty shanks or oxtails). If I’m not in a rush, I set my Instant Pot on high pressure for 2 hours—the broth only gets better with more time.

If you’re using a stovetop pressure cooker, place the pot on a burner set on high heat. Once the indicator pops up showing that the contents of the pot have reached high pressure, immediately decrease the temperature to the lowest possible setting to maintain high pressure (low is normally adequate).

Adding fish sauce to the Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Bone Broth. The image on the right is the top of a stovetop pressure cooker

Set the timer for 30 minutes (I let it go for 50 minutes if I’m cooking meaty shanks or oxtails).

When the broth is done cooking in the Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker, let the pressure release naturally (10-15 minutes).

Remove the lid, skim of the scum (if you desire), and strain the broth. Taste and adjust for seasoning. I keep it on the blander side if I will be cooking with it.

Using a spoon to skim the top of Instant Pot bone broth and pouring it through a fine mesh sieve.

I don’t parboil the bones to decrease the scum because I’m lazy. Plus, there really isn’t that much left after you strain it. (Check out my updated post on how I store bone broth here.)

Faster and more flavorful than other methods. Really.

Closeup shot of a bowl of Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Bone Broth

More tips on making and storing bone broth

Don’t have a pressure cooker? Then check out my Slow Cooker Bone Broth recipe!

One last thing: not sure what to do with all your bone broth? Check out my post on how to store the stuff!


Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).


PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD

Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Bone Broth

4.67 from 6 votes
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Servings 8 cups
Bone broth is good for you, but it takes forever to make—unless you’re using my recipe for Instant Pot bone broth. It’ll be ready in less than an hour!

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 medium leeks cleaned and cut in half crosswise or 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 1 medium carrot peeled and cut into three pieces
  • 2.5 pounds assorted bones I use a mixture of chicken and pork bones from the freezer or cross shanks and oxtails
  • 8 cups water enough to cover the bones but not more than 2/3rd the capacity of the pressure cooker
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar optional (I don’t use it anymore)
  • 2 tablespoons Red Boat fish sauce
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms optional
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Instructions 

  • Toss the leeks and carrots in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot (make sure it’s at least 6-quarts), and toss in your bones (frozen is fine). Then, cover with water (make sure you don’t fill more than two-thirds capacity!).
  • Add the vinegar (optional) fish sauce, and dried shiitake mushrooms (optional).
  • Then, cover and lock the lid, and program your Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 30 to 50 minutes. (I let it go for 50 minutes if I’m cooking meaty shanks or oxtails). If I’m not in a rush, I set my Instant Pot on high pressure for 2 hours—the broth only gets better with more time.
  • If you’re using a stovetop pressure cooker, place the pot on a burner set on high heat. Once the indicator pops up showing that the contents of the pot have reached high pressure, immediately decrease the temperature to the lowest possible setting to maintain high pressure (low is normally adequate). Set the timer for 30 minutes. When the timer goes off, turn off the burner and remove the pot from the heat.
  • When the broth is done cooking in the Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker, let the pressure release naturally (10-15 minutes).
  • Remove the lid, skim of the scum (if you desire), and strain the broth. Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. You can keep it on the blander side if you will be cooking with it!

Video

Notes

Check out my updated post on how I store bone broth here.

Nutrition

Calories: 20kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Fiber: 1g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Michelle Tam

Hello! My name is Michelle Tam, and I love to eat. I think about food all the time. It borders on obsession. I’ve always loved the sights and smells of the kitchen. My mother was (and is) an excellent cook, and as a kid, I was her little shadow as she prepared supper each night. From her, I gained a deep, abiding love for magically transforming pantry items into mouth-watering family meals.

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69 Comments

  1. Do you remove the impurities from the bones? (Takes away the gray scum for one.). Do you dump that water and then start with fresh water?