Homemade Chicken Broth & How to get the most from your Rotisserie Chicken!

Whenever we go to Costco I like to buy one of their nice, big Rotisserie chickens for $4.99, because I can usually get 4-5 meals out of it, plus a large batch of chicken broth, which makes it a great deal! The way I’m able to do this is by making recipes that call for several other ingredients besides chicken.

Here are some of my favorite meals using a rotisserie chicken!

• Chicken Pot Pie
• Chicken Salad Sandwich
• Chicken Taco Casserole
• Cheesecake Factory Tex Mex Eggrolls copycat 
• Parmesan Pasta  
• Chicken and Spinach Flautas, Baked
• Barbeque Chicken Pizza 
• Chicken Chimichangas  
• Chicken Cordon Bleu Rollups
• Chicken Tetrazzini  
• Mexican Chilaquiles 
• Spinach Chicken Bowtie Pasta Salad 

After I’ve used up all of the chicken on my rotisserie chicken I’m left with the discarded bones and chicken carcass (for lack of a better word, haha).  At this point, I can make a big pot full of homemade chicken broth that I’ll store in my freezer, or use to make some yummy homemade soup!

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5 from 2 votes

Homemade Chicken Broth

Print RecipeSave to Meal Plan

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 15 mins

 

I love rotisserie chicken!  I use it to make so many delicious meals for my family and when it's nearly eaten, I love to use what's left to make homemade chicken broth!

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken broth soup, homemade chicken broth, how to make chicken broth from bones

Unit: cup, medium, ribs, teaspoon, whole

Calories: 178 kcal

Author: Lauren Allen

Ingredients

• 1 rotisserie chicken (just the leftover pieces and bones)
• 2 ribs celery , with leaves and cut into chunks
• 2 medium carrots , cut into chunks
• 2 medium onions , cut into chunks
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 10 whole peppercorns
• 6-8 cups cold water
• 6 teaspoons chicken bouillon paste , or bouillon cubes

Instructions

1. Place rotisserie chicken, vegetables, spices and water into a large soup pot. 

2. Slowly bring to a boil over medium heat. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.  

3. Reduce heat, cover and simmer on low heat for at least 1-2 hours.

4. Remove from heat and allow to cool. 

5. Strain broth through a fine sieve strainer, discarding all vegetables and seasonings so you are only left with the broth. Season with chicken boullion paste to taste. 

6. At this point I like to pour the broth into my soup pot and refrigerate it for a few hours so that the fat from the broth will rise to the top and I can skim it off.

At this point you may choose to:
1. Refrigerate overnight, for use the next day. After refrigerating, skim the fat that has raised to the surface.
2. Freeze for future use.

I like to measure out my broth in batches of two cups each that I place in ziplock bags and put in the freezer.  That way I can pull it out of the freezer and know I have exactly 2 cups of homemade chicken broth for whatever recipes I’m making!