Homemade Chicken Stock

How to make a rich, golden homemade chicken stock that brings depth of flavor to your dishes.

If there's one secret every French home cook knows, it's this: great cooking begins with great stock.

The base of every velvety sauce, every comforting soup, every fragrant risotto, it all starts with bouillon de volaille maison, or homemade chicken stock. You will love my recipe for French Onion Soup that uses this chicken stock too!

In our home, I make a pot of stock nearly every weekend. The gentle simmer fills the kitchen with warmth and the most comforting aroma, a mix of roasted chicken, herbs, and lots of love. It's a simple ritual that connects me back to the tradition of cuisine de grand-mère - honest, nourishing cooking made from humble ingredients...I always think of my grandmother when I have a pot of soup on the stove.

I used to think that making chicken stock was a complicated affair and then realized it could be made very simply after our Sunday Roast Chicken dinner (you will love my recipe for Poulet Rôti), all while watching our favorite movie.

Let's make some together, shall we?

Why You Should Always Have Homemade Chicken Stock on Hand

Homemade chicken stock is liquid gold in the kitchen - flavorful, rich in nutrients, and endlessly useful.

• It's full of flavor: Slow simmering chicken bones with aromatic vegetables and herbs creates a depth of taste that no store-bought version can match.
• It's nourishing: A slow-simmered stock releases collagen, minerals, and amino acids that are gentle on digestion and soothing when you're under the weather.
• It's sustainable: You can make it entirely from leftovers - a roast chicken carcass, carrot ends, onion peels, herbs past their prime. This is a great way to reduce food waste and make something great with last night's dinner leftovers.
• It's economical: A few hours on the stove yields liters of stock you can freeze and use all week long.

In French homes, stock isn't just a recipe, it's a rhythm. Each Sunday, after the poulet rôti dinner, the bones go back into the pot. Nothing is wasted, and everything tastes better for it.

You will never throw out a chicken carcass again!

I like to make stock after our family has enjoyed a beautiful roast chicken dinner - usually on a Sunday. Rotisserie chickens also make great stock too so don't wait those!

I also like to tip the drippings from the roasting pan into the stockpot for extra flavor.

I always love to freeze a couple portions of stock for future meals on busy days. To do this, check out my post on how to freeze soup.

Homemade Chicken Stock Recipe (Bouillon de Volaille Maison)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2-3 hours (hands off!)
Yields: About 2.5 liters

Ingredients

• 1 roast chicken carcass (or 2-3 lbs chicken bones or wings)
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 leek, cleaned and split down the middle
• 1 onion, quartered (leave the skin on for a deeper golden color)
• 2 garlic cloves, peel left on with an incision in the clove to release flavor
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 star anise
• A few sprigs of fresh thyme and/or rosemary
• 12 cups cold water to cover

Instructions

1. Prepare the base. Place the leftover chicken bones or leftover chicken carcass in a large stock pot. Add the carrots, celery, leek, onion, garlic, herbs and star anise. Feel free to leave the vegetables in large peices.
2. Cover with cold water. Add enough water to cover everything by about 2 inches - 12 cups of water should be fine but feel free to add a little more if needed.
3. Bring to a gentle boil. Slowly bring to a simmer over medium low heat, then reduce to low. You should see only the occasional bubble rise to the surface.
4. Skim and simmer. Skim off any foam during the first 30 minutes for a clear, clean stock. Let simmer gently, uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours. Stir regularly so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
5. Strain and cool. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl or pot. Discard the solids. Let cool.
6. Store. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Once chilled, you can remove the solidified fat layer for a lighter stock. 

Once you have made homemade stock and see how easy it is to make you will never buy stock from the grocery store again!

Tip from Le Chef: For a deeper, more roasted flavor, bake the bones at 425 °F (220 °C) until golden before simmering. The rich brown stock and aroma will remind you of the best bistros of Paris. Extra bonus points if you also use chicken feet to make your stock 🙂

How to Use Homemade Chicken Stock

Once you have a batch ready, the possibilities are endless:

• Soups: The base for my French Onion Soup Gratinée or a simple Chicken Soup with leeks and potatoes.
• Sauces: Deglaze your pan with chicken stock after searing chicken or steak for a restaurant-worthy reduction.
• Risotto: Use stock for a rich and flavorful Risotto with chicken and mushrooms
• Grains: Cook rice, couscous, or orzo in stock for a boost of flavor and nutrients
• Sipping broth: A warm mug of stock with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh thyme - comfort in its simplest form.

Having chicken stock in your freezer makes French cooking effortless. You can create something beautiful and deeply satisfying any night of the week.

The French Philosophy: Waste Nothing, Savor Everything

In France, cooking stock is an act of care. It's a way to honor every ingredient - to transform what remains of one meal into the foundation of the next.

At the restaurant, Le Chef's team always has a pot of stock on the stove. It's part of the rhythm of a professional kitchen: simmering quietly in the background, perfuming the air, connecting today's preparations with tomorrow's menu.

At home, I do the same. While the kids are playing or we are watching a movie, the pot bubbles gently away. When it's done, I pour it into glass jars or storage containers - ready for soups and sauces throughout the week.

Tips for Perfect Homemade Stock Every Time

• Start with cold water. This allows the collagen to release slowly for a silky texture.
• Keep the heat low. A low simmer (never a boil!) ensures clarity and sweetness of flavor.
• Don't forget the star anise. There is a particular tang from the star anise that is beautiful in a chicken stock
• Roast for richness. Golden roasted bones yield a deeper, more luxurious stock.

A Little Ritual of Comfort

Making chicken stock isn't just about cooking, it's about slowing down.

I often make it on a Sunday afternoon, with French jazz playing softly and the windows slightly fogged from the warmth of the stove. The scent drifts through the house, and suddenly everything feels calm.

Later in the week, when I ladle that same stock into a pot for soup or sauce, it's as though I've bottled that sense of home.

This is the heart of French home cooking: not perfection, but presence.

Soup Recipes you will love

I have over 20 French inspired Soup recipes on this blog. Here are some of my favorites:

French Onion Soup Gratinée

Soupe au Pistou

Chicken soup with leeks and potatoes

La Poule au Pot (the easiest way to cook a whole chicken!)

For more delicious recipes visit Lechefswife.com

Final Thoughts from My Kitchen

Homemade chicken stock is the quiet backbone of French cuisine, the unsung hero behind every elegant plate. Once you begin making it yourself, you'll wonder how you ever cooked without it.

It's the essence of what I love most about French cooking: simplicity, flavor, and care.

So the next time you roast a chicken, save the bones. Let them simmer slowly with vegetables and herbs. Your kitchen will smell divine, your meals will taste extraordinary, and you'll be cooking the French way...with intention and love.

Bon appétit,
Anina Belle

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ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE

Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (7 and 5) and I run a marketing company in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.

Look inside our Kitchen with this Washington Post Article. We were featured on the TODAY SHOW for our recipes of French Onion Soup Gratinée and Moelleux au Chocolat. You can watch our full segment below.

I share our home cooking on Instagram, pinterest and tiktok. Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to receive my new recipes and have advance access to cooking classes. I look forward to cooking with you!