Slow Cooker Chicken Stock Recipe

Making homemade chicken stock is easier than you think. When most people think of chicken stock, their mind automatically goes to the kind that can be purchased at the store, which requires little fuss. However, chicken stock is pretty simple to make at home, and it can be done with the help of your slow cooker. 

The recipe requires just five minutes of prep time, and then your slow cooker does the rest of the work. Yep, it's that easy! There is a slight difference between chicken broth and chicken stock. Chicken broth uses more of the meat from chicken, whereas bone broth uses the bones. But both have plenty of benefits. 

Recipe developer Kristen Carli says that there are a variety of things to use this chicken stock for, but one thing in particular sticks out. "This is great to keep on hand for cooking rice, grains, or making soups," Carli says. By making it at home, "You can save money and repurpose your veggie scraps," she adds.

Keep scrolling to find out how to make this yummy chicken stock. 

There are not many items that go into this slow cooker chicken stock recipe, making it light on the wallet and easy on your shopping trip. For starters, you will need a whole rotisserie chicken. These can be found in your local grocery store, and most of the time, they are near the deli section. The best part is you get to eat the chicken first!

The stock also calls for a few veggies, including a head of celery, a few carrots, and an onion. Before cooking, make sure to remove the ends of the celery, the top of the carrots, and be sure to peel the onion. To add a little more flavor, grab a few sprigs of rosemary. Last but not least, you will need some water. That's it! We told you it was simple. 

It's time to get down to business. Grab the rotisserie chicken and remove all of the meat from it. You can either use your hands or a fork to shred the meat off of the chicken. Set the meat aside (using it for another meal, obviously). Then, set aside the carcass and bones, which are all that you will need to make the slow cooker chicken stock.

Once you finish with the dirty work, move on to the next step.

Take out a small slow cooker to make this delicious chicken stock. Just be sure that it will be large enough to fit all the ingredients. Throw in the celery, onion, rosemary, and water. Remember that you should have removed the ends from the celery, the tops from the carrots, and the onion should be peeled and halved.

Last but not least, add the chicken carcass to the slow cooker. Then, close the lid to the slow cooker and turn the setting to low for six hours.

When the six hours are up, open the lid to the slow cooker. Do you smell that wonderful aroma? Yep, that's homemade chicken stock. Take out a colander and set it up over a large bowl. Dump the contents from the slow cooker through the colander and into the bowl. All of the liquid should go into the bowl, making up your chicken stock. 

You can discard the solids from the colander (or use them for cat or dog food) because you won't need them for anything else, or pick the remaining meat from the bones if you want, though it doesn't have as many nutrients or much flavor left. Pour the broth into mason jars or something similar, and voila, that's all it takes!

You can use the chicken stock for just about anything and this fresh stock tastes a lot better than the one that you would buy at a store. Whether you're using it as a way to cook up some rice and grains or as the base in a soup, it really helps to add a nice flavor that you will love. 

If you happen to have any leftovers, they will keep for a bit. "This stores best in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week," Carli says. We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!