This Italian brodo recipe is a must-have in your kitchen. An easy homemade chicken broth is a flavorful, and a staple with so much versatility. Freeze for future use, or use it right away for soups, pastina, or risotto; the possibilities are endless!
I like to have Italian brodo available almost all year round, because when a recipe calls for a little extra flavor, a ladle of homemade chicken broth will do the trick.
It's great to have when you need a quick boost, as you can simply re-heat and sip in your favorite mug.
Or, when cold season arrives, this Italian brodo recipe is great to have on hand; just pull from the freezer, re-heat, and you're ready to go.
Of course, an easy homemade chicken broth can also help you make a classic childhood favorite, chicken pastina soup.
Overall, this broth is so adaptable and can add so much flavor to dishes. And, if you're making this broth to store and freeze, you'll have it on hand exactly when needed!
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Why you Should Make Easy Homemade Chicken Broth
- It's versatile - you can sip on the broth as is, or use it in so many dishes for added flavor, or as a base for something like pastina soup.
- It's easy to store - Freezing chicken broth is a great way to keep on hand for future use, and to give yourself a nice homemade addition to any meals you're preparing.
Ingredients
- Chicken - the chicken and bones provide the broth with its base flavors.
- Vegetables - the vegetables add tons of flavor
- Herbs & spices - the herbs and spices balance the flavor profile.
How to make Italian Brodo
Prepare and chop the vegetables, and pierce onion with cloves.
Add the ingredients into 7qt stock pot, and cover with 5L of water. Turn on stove to medium-high heat; once the stock begins to boil, chicken fat will rise to surface.
Skim fat off top, turn heat down to low, and partially cover with lid. Let broth simmer gently for 3 about hours.
Strain the broth a large bowl with a sieve, your Italian brodo is ready to use!
Storage
To store the brodo, place in an air-tight container, and ensure to seal the lid. Place in fridge for up to three days. If you want to keep the brodo for longer, for best results, freeze the remainder in an air-tight container for up to three months.
Top Tips
- Let the brodo simmer for as long as possible (at least 2-3 hours). The longer the simmer time, the more flavor it will have.
- Cloves are traditional to add in Italian brodo and give a nice flavor to the final dish. However you can leave them out if you prefer, or use 1-2 cloves instead of the recommended 4.
- Try freezing some of the brodo in an ice cube tray - this way, you'll have specific portion sizes for those times when you only need a little bit!
- Add the chicken from the pot to your brodo for something extra to your dish, or add with pastina to make chicken pastina soup.
- To make this recipe, I used a large 7 quart stock pot. Using a smaller pot (and adding less water) is fine, but the broth reduces as it cooks, so if you use a smaller pot, there will be less broth produced in the end.
- This recipe will yield 3 litres of broth.
FAQs
Yes! You can use vegetables only to make a broth if wanted; it may have a slightly different flavor as it won't be a bone-based broth, but you can definitely make a vegetarian version.
Definitely! However, you would want to add either pastina (tiny shaped pasta), or a pasta like tortellini, as these types of pasta are best suited for the broth.
You could add to risotto for enhanced flavor, use to boil spare ribs, or add in some of your favorite vegetables for an Italian vegetable soup!
More Soup Recipes
- Swiss Chard Soup with Lentils and Cauliflower
- Pasta e Ceci (Italian Chickpea Soup)
- Chicken Pastina Soup – The Authentic Italian Way!
If you’ve tried making this Italian brodo, or any other recipe on the blog please let me know what you thought of it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and TIKTOK to see more delicious food and what I’ve been up to.
Recipe
Italian Brodo Recipe - Easy Homemade Chicken Broth
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 whole chicken (bone in skin on)
- 2 carrots (extra large) or 5 small carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 whole cloves
- 2 dried bay leaves
- ½ bunch parsley
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by preparing the vegetables - peel the onion, but leave it intact by leaving the stem on. Pierce the onion with the 4 cloves, evenly spaced apart. Peel the carrots, cut off the stem, and cut the carrots in half horizontally. Cut off the ends of the celery and cut into 2-3 large pieces.
- In a large stock pot (7 quart), add all the ingredients. Cover with 5 litres of water.
- Turn the heat on to medium high, and once stock starts to boil (about 10-15 minutes), fat released from the chicken will make its way to the surface.
- Skim this fat off the top. Turn heat down to low and partially cover with a lid.
- Let the stock simmer for about 3 hours. You can let it simmer for more or less time. Less time simmering means the broth will be lighter in flavor, more time means it will be deeper and richer in flavor.
- Strain the broth into a large bowl using a sieve. Your chicken stock is ready! Use in soups, pastina in brodo, etc.
- Optional step: Once the broth is refrigerated for about 24 hours, the fat will solidify at the top. You can remove the fat from the stock with a spoon.
Recipe Notes
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- Let the brodo simmer for as long as possible (at least three hours); the longer the simmer time, the more flavor it will have.
-
- Add the chicken from the pot to your brodo for something extra to your dish, or add with pastina to make chicken pastina soup.
- Serve with some Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled on top for enhanced flavor.
- To make this recipe, I used a large 7 quart stock pot. Using a smaller pot (and adding less water) is fine, but the broth reduces as it cooks, so if you use a smaller pot, there will be less broth produced in the end.
- This recipe will yield 3 litres of broth.
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