My Nutritious Bone Broth Recipe

Bone broth is one of the superfoods I try to incorporate regularly into my diet. Bone broth is simply a stock that is made with animal bones and a mixture of vegetables, which are all cooked in water over a long period of time to allow plenty of nutrients to be released into the broth. Bone broth is packed full of proteins such as collagen, which has been shown to support healthy skin and hair, and even improve bone density; meaning it’s particularly important to include collagen in your diet as you age.

Bone broth is super versatile, as it can be incorporated into many dishes such as miso soup, pasta dishes, cottage pie and more. You could make a big batch of bone broth on the weekend, and then freeze it in silicone stasher bags so that you have your delicious nutrient-dense broth available for whatever recipes you’re cooking through the week. Or you could reduce your bone broth down to make a concentrated version which you can freeze in ice cube trays; you can then add a frozen cube of broth directly into your recipe. This way of storing your broth is particularly handy if you’re short on freezer space! 

Ingredients 

500g animal bones – you could use beef bones, chicken wings or pork bones

2 large onions

1 bulb of garlic

3 large carrots

Frozen vegetable leftovers – optional (I store my vegetable leftovers in a stasher bag in the freezer to add to my bone broths!)

A glug of extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper

Method

First, preheat your oven to 180C.

Place your bones & leftover veg scraps (if you have them) in a large saucepan and fill with water, season with salt and pepper. Place over high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat but maintain a rolling boil.

Meanwhile, roughly chop your vegetables and place them in a baking tray.

Add a large glug of extra virgin olive oil and cook in a preheated oven for around 25 minutes.

Remove your tray of veg from the oven, and tip into your broth.

Leave to cook for as long as possible – a minimum of 3 hours, but you could cook it up to 24 hours, to allow all of the collagen and other goodness in the bones to be released. If you cook your broth for a long time, you’ll need to top up the water every few hours.

Once your broth is ready, leave to cool, then tip your broth out into a large sieve with a bowl or jug underneath to catch the liquid.

Using a funnel, transfer your broth to a glass bottle and store in the fridge until needed. The broth should keep for up to a week.