Slow Cooker Beef Bone Broth Recipe

Recipe & Photo courtesy of Mandy Pagano | My Ketogenic Kitchen

Our sincere thanks to May 2020 Featured Chef Mandy Pagano for sharing her recipe for a nutritionally potent slow cooker bone broth. 

“Bone broth is wonderfully tasty and nourishing, and super easy to make in the crockpot. It’s borderline hands-off since you basically just dump the ingredients into your pot, put the lid on, and simmer on low for a couple of days. The small amount of effort you put into this pays off in flavor and nutrient density.

Notes: You can make this completely carnivore by using only bones, water, salt, and pepper. If you’re using the herbs, you can tailor those flavors to your liking. I have fresh sage and thyme on hand regularly because that’s what I grow in my yard, but if you prefer rosemary go right ahead and use it!

I always use a mixture of bones, including meatier ones, for the best flavor and nutrient profile. In my opinion, using all meatless bones can yield a weird flavor, so adding in something like oxtails helps to give that nice, savory, meaty flavor you’re looking for in a good beef broth.”

– Mandy Pagano, My Ketogenic Kitchen

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 48 hrs
Total Time: 48 hrs 30 min

US Wellness Shopping List: Assorted Beef Bones

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb assorted beef bones (use any mixture of bones like knuckles, marrow bones, and meatier bones like oxtails for the best flavor and nutrient profile)
• 4-6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1/4 lb celery, roughly chopped
• 3-4 springs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 5-6 fresh sage leaves
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 1-2 tbsp salt, or more as desired
• water to cover

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with foil.
2. Arrange the bones, including the meaty ones, on the foil in a single layer and bake a minimum of 20 minutes, or until bones are well-browned.
3. Remove the roasted bones from the oven and transfer them to your slow cooker.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and cover the whole thing with water, enough to fill your pot to the top.
5. Put the lid on and turn the slow cooker to low.
6. Cook on low for 24 hours, then add more water to bring it back to the top, if needed, and put the lid back on.
7. Cook on low another 24 hours, for a total of 48 hours.
8. Strain your broth through a fine mesh lined with cheesecloth and store in mason jars, or as desired. Bone broth freezes really well, so you can let mason jars filled with the broth stand until room temperature and then freeze the jars, or your can pour the broth into ice cube trays and freeze in smaller portions. If you go the ice cube route, it’s very easy to store the cubes in a freezer zip top bag.
9. Discard any solids and enjoy your broth.

Notes

Macros for home made bone broth can vary widely. In general, the best guesstimates are around 10 G protein per cup (8 fl oz) and little to no carbs. There may be some incidental carbs from the vegetables simmered in the broth, if you choose to use them, but it will be very minimal.

For even more delicious homemade bone broth recipes, see our Discover Blog.