Leftover turkey bone broth is the perfect way to use up your turkey leftovers! Nutrient-dense, immune-boosting, and the best way to use every part of the turkey.
I don’t know about you, but the day after a turkey dinner, I am lethargic and feeling a bit depleted. It could possibly because of the energy involved in cooking and hosting a turkey dinner, but also from over-indulging in too much rich, heavy food.
I am craving a little ‘detox’, and this turkey bone broth recipe is just what the doctor ordered!
Not only is bone broth nutrient-dense, full of natural collagen, and hydrating, but it’s the best way to use every part of the turkey. I hate seeing those bones and the bits of meat stuck to them go straight into the compost.
PST! Check out this post for a great Turkey Stock Recipe!
Reasons to love this leftover turkey bone broth
- you can use up the whole turkey carcass
- it is nutrient-dense, hydrating and full of collagen
- it’s the perfect post-turkey-dinner detox
How to make turkey bone broth
Thanks to the Instant Pot, it’s super simple to make this turkey bone broth recipe!
Here’s how to make turkey bone broth:
- Add 1.5 – 2 lbs of turkey carcass to an Instant Pot. Add all different parts especially ones containing cartilage. I recommend adding the wings as they are great sources of collagen!
- Add veggie scraps & leftover herbs that you collected while prepping turkey dinner. You can stash them in the freezer until you’re ready to make your bone broth.
- Add apple cider vinegar and water. The ACV helps pull the minerals out of the bones.
- Pressure cook for 2 hours. Let it naturally release for 10-20 minutes.
- Strain off the bones & veggie scraps.
- That’s it!
What’s the difference between turkey stock and turkey bone broth? They are very similar, however bone broth is either simmered for much longer or pressure cooked in a way that extracts the collagen from the bones and joints. Bone broth will gel when cooled, whereas turkey stock will remain liquid and is thinner in consitency.
Why should I drink homemade bone broth? Bone broth is FULL of nutrients, collagen and gelatin, which is great for your hair, nails and skin (hello, fountain of youth!). Not only that but it’s great for healing your gut, supporting your immune system, and protecting your joints. See more details here.
Whoa. My bone broth gelled when I cooled it! What’s up with that? That’s actually a great sign that your bone broth is rich in gelatin! Just like jello, which gels thanks to gelatin. If your bone broth doesn’t gel, don’t worry, it probably just means that you didn’t have quite enough gelatin-rich bones in your stock, or maybe you had a lower bone : water ratio. You will still have plenty of nutrition in your bone broth!
How long is this turkey bone broth recipe good for? I would keep your homemade bone broth in the refrigerator for no longer than 5 days. You can freeze it for up to 3 months.
How can I use up my homemade bone broth? Here are some ways to use turkey bone broth:
- sip it
- make it into soup (stay tuned for my leftover turkey detox soup recipe!)
- to cook your rice or grains
- use it in a casserole
- to any pureed foods for baby
Recipes to use your homemade bone broth
- One of these 7 Easy Rice Recipes, or this Cranberry Almond Rice Pilaf
- Healthy Butternut Squash Soup, Healthy Broccoli Soup, or Vegan Carrot Ginger Soup (which obviously would no longer be vegan 😉 )
- In this Baked Ravioli with Butternut Squash
- in this Creamy Parmesan Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower recipe
- in this Sundried Tomato Chickpea Pasta recipe
Tips & Equipment for Instant Pot bone broth
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot; this recipe has not been tested in an 8 quart
- Storage- I used 2 quart mason jars
(yes, I freeze right in the jars, just leave 1/4 of the volume empty so there’s room for it to expand!). If you’d prefer, I also like these re-usable Bernardin Plastic Freezer Jars
- Looking for more “how to” recipes? Check out these Perfect Baked Chicken Thighs, this post on How to Bake Sweet Potatoes and How to Cook Perfect Rice
(yes, I freeze right in the jars, just leave 1/4 of the volume empty so there’s room for it to expand!). If you’d prefer, I also like these re-usable Leftover Turkey Bone Broth
Ingredients
- 2 lbs turkey bones
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 celery rib (chopped coarsely)
- 1 carrot (chopped coarsely)
- 1/2 onion (quartered)
- scraps from turkey dinner prep: carrot peels, celery leaves, etc.
- leftover herbs from turkey dinner prep
- 10 cups water (or fill to 2 inches below the top of the Instant Pot)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart Instant Pot.
- Select manual (high pressure) for 120 minutes.
- Allow pressure to naturally release until the pin drops (roughly 60 minutes; you can *carefully* manually release after 20 minutes if you are in a time crunch).
- Pour through a colander, collecting the bone broth in a large bowl or a jar. Toss all solids in the compost.
Storage
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Can you do this with a chicken carcass as well?
Oops! I set my IP to 1 hour 20 minutes… but didn’t open it for another hour. Do you think it’s still ok to use?
Hi Johnna! I’ve done this by accident as well! The broth will be fine to use but it may not gel. Hope you enjoy!
Haven’t tried yet, but I will do this in the next couple of days. I have a couple questions.
Is it recommended to remove ALL the useable meat off the carcass before doing this?
Can the broth be frozen in ice cube trays for smaller portions, then sealed for longer storage?
I love how you reference recipes to use the bone broth in. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Hi Kaycee! I remove as much meat as I can from the bones, but there’s always some fatty stuff left, and also some that I can’t seem to get off the bones, so I leave them on. So you can remove as much as you’d like, really. You can definitely freeze the broth in ice cube trays! I have a larger silicone tray that fits 1/2 cup portions that would be perfect for that. Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for the recipe. It is in my instant pot now. Do you skim off the fat when it has cooled or is this part of the nutritional value?
Hi Cheryl! I don’t find that turkey has much fat. You could skim it off if you find some on the top after it cools! Personally I don’t enjoy a really fatty bone broth but it’s up to you 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Always have to buy an addt’l turkey when they’re on sale! So we had one last weekend & I figured there had to be an instant pot stock recipe out there! Absolutely wonderful recipe…thank you for sharing! As an added note: meats, dairy, bones & citrus DO NOT get composted in a normal compost bin/pile. Those will add bacteria and/or disrupt the normal healthy breakdown of compostable materials.
So happy you enjoyed, Laura! That’s so interesting about bones in the compost. We never added them because we didn’t want to attract animals but I didn’t know about the bacteria. Thanks for sharing!
I received an Instapot for Christmas and what a perfect way to christen it by making turkey bone broth. I just made this bone broth in an 8 quart instapot and increased all the ingredients accordingly. It came out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Daryl! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I’ve been thinking about getting an 8 quart IP. Thanks for leaving a review!