This paleo, whole30 and keto bone broth is prepared in the traditional long-simmer manner, ensuring proper extraction of all the nutrients. Yet it’s incredibly easy, and bound to provide a myriad of benefits for your entire body!
Paleo, Whole30 & Keto Bone Broth 🍖
From Scratch 🔥
Bone broth popularity has reached new heights, and with reason. As it has been shown to provide a myriad benefits for your entire body: from your digestive system, to your muscles and connective tissue, all the way up to your brain.
And you will ideally want to whip it up at home, as most commercial varieties don’t come close to the stuff you can make yourself. Plus, it’s a sure way to save a truck load of dough, as the proper commercial varieties usually come attached with hefty price tags.
The History 📚
Bone broth has been used for millennia, in different cultures, to treat a myriad of conditions. Take Chinese medicine, for instance, where bone broth has been a staple in supporting digestive health and strengthening up the kidneys for over 2,500 years.
Or go back to 12th century Egypt, were chicken bone broth was already being prescribed for colds and asthma. Nowadays, studies have shown that several amino acids present in chicken broth do reduce inflammation in the respiratory system. Cool stuff!
Even in pre-Hispanic Latin America bone broth’s benefits were touted. To the extent that the expression, hasta para levantar a un muerto (good enough to resurrect the dead!) came about.
Having said that, as societies evolved and people no longer had the time to make a proper broth, commercial varieties emerged. Most unfortunately, most used MSG (monosodium glutamate) to emulate the flavors of bone broth, without any actual meat in it. Which simply means, that most of the ‘bone stock’ you’ll find in stores isn’t even made from bones to begin with. 🙈
Though with the growing popularity of bone broth in recent years for alternative medicinal purposes, several brands have arisen in the market. We cannot recommend one yet (if you can drop it in the comments!), and so would always recommend going the homemade route (also for the sake of your economy).
The Benefits 👌🏿
Traditional bone broth provides a myriad of nutrients and health benefits. We’re talking collagen, glycosaminoglycans (GAG), glucosamine, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate and electrolytes.
Plus, it’s also nice and rich in several minerals. Mainly calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and sulphur. And perhaps even more importantly, these minerals are available in easily digestible forms, so your bodies can make the most of them. A true nutritional powerhouse all the way.
And so, given it’s incredible properties, bone broth is used nowadays to treat anything from leaky gut syndrome, food allergies, skin conditions, joint health, and as an overall boost to the immune system.
If you’re doing keto, a good bone broth is something you absolutely need. And not just once in a while, but constantly. We’re not just talking electrolytes here, but it’s gut restorative properties help to balance out the inevitable increase of gram negative bacteria that comes from a high fat low carb diet.
The Methodology
Any good bone broth consists of browning the bones, followed by the veggies, a touch of vinegar, and a good looong simmer (think from 2 hours, but preferably 24) in order to extract all the goodies.
Just be sure to never leave your pot unattended of course. And if you’re going for a 24 hour simmer (which we cannot recommend enough), simply allow it to cool at night and carry on the next day.
It’s easy peasy. Though lengthy, and with no short cuts.
So no cutting corners (i.e. your instant pot!*), and forget store-bought versions. As most truly don’t come even close to the real deal.
*Yes, you can make broth in your instant pot (you know we have). But there’s research out there that suggests that you need the lengthy and slow simmer to extract all the nutrients from the tendons and bones. So we’re keeping it old school just in case, the choice is yours.
The Bones
Needless to say, when it comes to bone broth, going grass-fed (and if possible organic) is a no brainer. Keeping in mind that bones are not expensive, even if organic.
If going for beef, a mix consisting primarily of marrow bones and a handful of meaty bones, such as oxtail or short ribs, is ideal.
And if chicken, the whole carcass will do. Just don’t forget the feet (yup, those ugly things!), as they’re ridiculously rich in collagen so you most definitely don’t want to miss out.
When serving it up, we cannot recommend enough that you serve it up Mexican-style. i.e. with plenty of limes, avocado, cilantro etc.
Homemade Paleo, Whole30 & Keto Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef or chicken bones *
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 1 medium leek trimmed and sliced crosswise
- 3 celery stalks sliced crosswise
- 2 medium carrots feel free to omit if keto
- 1 head garlic halved crosswise
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
- 2 cloves
- warm water to cover
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Trim meat from the meaty bones into bite-sized pieces (about 1 inch), leaving some on the bones. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Heat up a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium/high heat. Add oil, spreading it until the bottom is evenly coated. Add meat and bones, and sear until fully browned. Remove browned meat and bones from pot and set aside.
- Heat up remaining oil, and add in onion, leek, celery, carrots (optional), garlic and cook until browned, about 15 minutes.
- Add browned meat and bones back in, along with the bay leaf, black peppercorns and cloves. Add enough warm water to cover completely, followed by the vinegar. Cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat as low as you can, leaving the lid slightly ajar. Allow to simmer for at least 2 hours, but preferably up to 24 hours (allowing the broth to cool at night, and carrying on the next day).
- Discard solids and allow to cool completely before refrigerating and/or freezing in portions. Think even freezing small portions in your ice cube tray!
Notes
Ok so in regards to my last the carb manager app had faulty nutrition info. I’m so happy! Im sorry I panicked and almost cried lol but I should’ve known you wouldn’t lead us astray 😉 I love your recipes. I seriously make at least one thing from this blog every week. Love the pasta too! Makes great Mac and cheese. Thanks for everything you do!
Do you need to skim fat off prior to storage or usage?
Hi I would like to use a slow cooker for the bone broth. Or is it better to do on the stove. Cheers
I understand the bones can be used more than once. Have you tried that? What is your opinion?
I dunno? I mean after boiling them for about two days I’m pretty sure most of the goodies are in your broth now! 😉 xo!
Do you have nutritional information for this? For Keto, would like fat, carbs, and protein. I’ve seen commercial with one gram of carbs (added sugar or carrots), and some with no carbs. And keeping the fat is different than scraping it off (what I used to do). Great recipe. Thanks!
Newbie trying Auto-immune Paleo. I used my big electric roaster(200 degrees or on high-warm, 24-48 hours. Only have to check in on it a few times. The roaster seems easy for long term cooking) after de-boning our Thanksgiving and Christmas Turkey. Wasn’t sure about a few things.
1) Are Turkey bones OK? What seasoning, it’s really salty?
2) I can really only afford cheap meats (thus bones)which mean, it’s not likely grass fed, free range or organic by any means. So will I be extracting hormones, GMO, and any thing harmful from the marrow, thus negating the healthful benefits of the broth?
3) Would commercial chicken broth be OK to add instead of water (or would there be hormones, GMO, and any thing harmful in it, again negating the healthful benefits of the broth)?
What do you think the Macros would be on 1/4 c of such broth?
Can you use pork and lamb bones?
This will I’m sure sound stupid, but I’m new to this,can you mix different bones like chicken, beef, pork in one bone broth or is it better with just one kind?
Hi Charlene! So I guess technically yes, but flavor wise I wouldn’t? At least personally I like to have distinct chicken, beef etc broth 😉 xo!
Thank you for answering, I followed your recipe using chicken bones I saved in freezer, I browned the bones then cooked for 36 hours in crockpot, it came out wonderful.
That’s wonderful to hear Charlene!!
i’m gonna try this using goat bones…
I have no room in my freezer to store the bone broth and was wondering if it would be okay to can the bone broth after you cook it low and slow. IVe always canned my broth in the past but didn’t know if it was okay on a keto diet. I can’t find and answer to this question anywhere.
Thanks
How much cooked broth would be considered a serving? One cup? Or does it vary based on concentration? Can it be too concentrated? Sorry for the newbie questions! I haven’t tried it before and I’ve been Keto for about 2 months and I am interested in adding this to my repertoire of foods. I also literally can’t afford to waste money or make errors! Thank you for your time. 🙂
Hi Mary! It definitely depends, but just to give you a quick idea I do roughly 1/4 cup of broth with 1 cup of water. xo!
Thank you for the post! We save our bones in separate freezer bags in the freezer, including a bag of veggie trimmings. I also like to roast my bones and veggies in the oven, seems to pull out more flavor before the long simmer.
I’ve been making bone broth for a while now in my 8 qt Fador pressure cooker using chicken feet, oxtails and any saved chicken backs in my freezer. It is delicious and extremely gelatinous. I portion it out into 2 cup zip locks and freeze flat for later use. The pressure cooker extracts all the nutrients but in a much shorter time. 90 minutes and it’s done. I don’t know about the IP but a traditional pressure cooker makes bone broth quick and delicious.
Hi Marylin! I used to do it in my pressure cooker (IP) too, but some research does show that you get the greatest benefit out of a slow and long simmer… so just in case I’m doing the slow route. Though of course you’ll still get great benefits from a quicker method. xo and thanks for sharing!
I can’t find beef bones here in nowhere, but I make a lot of chicken bone broth! I save the bones from thighs I use for my pup’s food, and sometimes have an entire carcass from a roasted chicken! I read somewhere to put the ACV in first, and allow it to sit with the bones and water for 30 minutes, to help draw out the marrow/goodies. I’m always home, so I get mine to a solid boil and reduce it to just barely simmering, and let it go for 48 hours. About halfway through, I use a potato masher to break up the bones and help the marrow join the party! Sometimes I’ll add a bit more water if its reduced quite a bit…both pup and mom love this broth! 🙂
Oh Kate I like your idea of the potato masher! And I hadn’t heard of adding the ACV first, but it sounds like it’s worth a shot! xo and thanks so much for sharing in such detail- best tips are always shared this way! xo!
If I have cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot and then de-boned it, can I just toss the carcas back in the slow cooker or is it still necessary to brown the bones in some way?
No need to brown them then Lindsey! Also worth keeping in mind that from the chicken one of the best parts for the broth is the feet (I know…!) 😉 xo!
Any idea on how we can find the macros on our broths? I’m assuming that what goes into the pot impacts the numbers, but I’m not clear on how to derive the end result macros from what goes in 24+ hours prior.
Hi Maria! In all honesty I’ve no idea, I tried to do some research about it but it seems that unless you send out your broth to be analyzed there’s really no way to know for certain. And in all honesty #2, I never factor in my daily bone broth into my macros (I’m a bit lax on them though after being so long on keto ;)!) xo!
I make the broth with only the chicken carcasses. No veggies or anything. I like the taste much better. The veg. seem to make it kinda sweet and I don’t like it as well. Am I missing out on benefits by doing this?
Hi Denise! I would suggest you’re missing out on taste, but since you don’t like it with veggies then don’t sweat it. I would, however, suggest adding in the apple cider vinegar as it’s meant to help extract the nutrients best. xo!
Would the water have to be replenished throughout cooking?
Yes and no, depending on how concentrated you want it for storage. I do replenish it a bit, but I prefer to store it very concentrated for space constraints in my freezer. Then I dilute it in water for soups, minestrone etc. xo
Can it be made on the slow cooker ?
Hi Giuliana! YES! But you would have to do the browning of the bones etc first and then just cook it on low for 24 hours.
That’s how I made mine. First browning in pan and then scraping all the stuff on bottom and putting it all in a slow cooker. I cooked mine about 20 hours on low.
Thank you for this, I had JUST been wondering yesterday how to make it and would have definitely used my instant pot.
You can start it in the IP and then change to a day,ong simmer with the slowcooker version. Reduces time from 24/48 hrs to about 12; still get the gelatin etc. I have made simultaneously in my slowcooker x48 hrs, brown / roast the bones in the oven for 1/2 hr then put all in IP or slowcooker with the ACV, water, aromatics. Have achieved similar results using both.
Oh NICE Ellen THANK YOU! That sounds like a nifty trick to speed it up! xo!