Bone Broth Recipe for Breaking a Fast

What This Recipe Is

Bone broth is made by simmering animal bones, often with vegetables and an acid like vinegar, for several hours. It's named on this site as one example of an easily digested food for starting to eat again after a fast; this page is the recipe itself. For the broader guidance on timing and pacing a fast's end, see how to safely break a fast, which publishes no recipes of its own.

What You Need

Equipment: a large stockpot or slow cooker, a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth-lined colander, and storage containers.

Basic Bone Broth: about 20 minutes of prep and about 12 hours of simmering (the full range is 6 to 48 hours, depending on the bones; see step 4).

Ingredients, for about 3 to 4 quarts (12 to 16 cups) of broth:

• 3 to 4 lb bones (chicken carcass and wings, or beef marrow and knuckle bones)
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp whole peppercorns
• 1 to 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 12 to 16 cups water, or enough to cover
• Salt, to taste, added at the end

The vinegar is here as a standard flavor and method ingredient. In one lab study, pig bones simmered in vinegar-acidified water (about 20 ml of table vinegar per liter, more than this recipe uses) released about 15 to 17 times more calcium and magnesium, but the shop-bought broths in the same study still supplied, on average, under 5% of the daily recommended calcium and magnesium per serving (Hsu et al., 2017) [4]. This recipe's vinegar amount was not tested, and this page does not present broth as a mineral source.

How to Make It

1. Optional: roast the bones at 400 to 450°F for 30 to 40 minutes before simmering. This is a flavor and color choice, not a safety or nutrition step; skip it for a milder broth.
2. Combine the bones, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, vinegar, and water in a large stockpot or slow cooker.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Skim foam from the surface during the first hour.
4. Keep the broth at a low simmer: about 6 to 12 hours for chicken bones (up to 24 hours), or about 12 to 24 hours for beef or other large bones (up to 48 hours). A longer simmer tends to produce a more gelled broth once it cools; there is no single correct time, and this page does not claim that any particular simmer time maximizes nutrient content.
5. Remove and discard the solids. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth-lined colander into a clean container.
6. Add salt to taste at the end, after straining. The liquid reduces and concentrates as it simmers, so salting early can oversalt the finished broth.
7. Cool the broth promptly, within about 2 hours at room temperature, or within 1 hour if the room is above 90°F, then refrigerate or freeze it.

Cooling and Storing Bone Broth Safely

Cool the broth promptly rather than leaving it out: within about 2 hours at room temperature, or within 1 hour if the room is above 90°F (University of Missouri Extension, 2022) [1]. Dividing a large batch into smaller, shallow containers helps it cool faster.

Once cooled, refrigerate broth at 40°F (4°C) or below for only about 3 days before using, freezing, or discarding it. For longer storage, freeze it at 0°F (-17.8°C); freezing keeps broth safe much longer, with quality typically best over the next several months (New Mexico State University Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, n.d.) [2].

What the Research Shows

Two studies measured lead in broth and interpret their numbers differently: a small 2013 test reported several times the lead of the water used to make it (Monro et al., 2013) [3], and a 2017 study of shop-bought broths reported a few micrograms per serving and judged the risk minimal (Hsu et al., 2017) [4]; read both studies' details, including their limits, under References below.

Bone broth's content of collagen-building amino acids is lower than a studied supplement dose, and the amount varies a great deal depending on how and where it's made (Alcock et al., 2019) [5]. A systematic review found collagen peptide supplements associated with improved joint function and less joint pain, mainly in recreational athletes (Khatri et al., 2021) [6], but that trial population took a measured, concentrated supplement dose, not a bowl of broth; broth is not shown to deliver a comparable amount, so this page does not present broth as a joint-health food.

This page does not make claims about bone broth and gut health or immunity; no study of bone broth itself and either topic was located for this page. For how fasting itself affects sodium, potassium, and magnesium balance, see electrolytes during a fast; that mechanism is not repeated here, and nothing in this recipe is dosed as an electrolyte replacement. A separate, different question, whether drinking broth during a fast ends the fast, is covered at what breaks a fast.

Using Bone Broth to Break a Fast

Broth is one easily digested option for the first food or drink after a fast, consistent with the gradual, small-portions approach described in how to safely break a fast. Start with a small amount rather than a full bowl, especially after a longer fast, and let how you feel guide how quickly you move toward a normal meal. How long you were fasting matters here too: see water fasting and prolonged fasting for how duration changes the stakes of refeeding.

Season this broth with salt to taste, the way any soup is seasoned. That is a seasoning choice, not an electrolyte dose, and this page does not suggest a salt quantity as a way to replace electrolytes lost during a fast.

Who Should Be Careful

This is general information, not medical advice. If you manage sodium intake because of a low-sodium diet or kidney disease, check with a clinician about where broth fits, since homemade broth's sodium content varies with how much salt is added and no citation on this page measured it. Talk to a clinician before fasting of any length if you are pregnant, under 18, manage diabetes or blood pressure with medication, or have a history of an eating disorder.