Meals With Maria

Easy Homemade Broth With Cheap Chicken Leg Quarters

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Making your own homemade broth with chicken leg quarters is a fabulous way to save money, and really deepen the flavor of your soups. I love to use chicken leg quarters because they are extremely inexpensive and provide a lot of meat.

pouring chicken bone broth into a container through a strainer

Why Using Your Chicken Leg Quarters to Make Broth is a Win, Win!

At my local Walmart, in 2023, I can buy 10lbs of chicken leg quarters for $7.72. Yes, I can simply cook the chicken legs and eat them in a roasted chicken dish such as this delicious roasted chicken legs and sweet potatoes. BUT I also like to get more bang for my buck and cook some of them up making broth.

Using this method provides perfectly cooked, shreddable chicken perfect for this chicken pot pie casserole and this chicken noodle soup. AND the broth I make is enough to add a ton of flavor to both of those dishes. So like I said, it’s a win, win!

3 Recipes To Make With Your Chicken Leg Quarters

chicken pot pie casserole in a bowl
homemade chicken noodle soup in a bowl with a spoon in it

As I mentioned above, you can get a lot of bang for your buck buying the 10lb bag of chicken leg quarters from Walmart. It turns out, from just one bag, I can make all three of these meals including the broth recipe below:

How to Continue to Save Money

I originally came up with this recipe and all of these uses for chicken leg quarters when I challenged myself to create 65 meals for just $35 to feed my family for 5 days. To find out more, can watch the video where I share this challenge here or read the whole process and find the recipes here!

FOR MORE INEXPENSIVE FAMILY RECIPES CHECK OUT THESE VIDEOS:

MORE WEEKNIGHT RECIPES TO TRY:

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pouring chicken bone broth into a container through a strainer

Easy Homemade Broth With Cheap Chicken Leg Quarters

  • Author: Maria Ronan
  • Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 9 1x
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Description

Making your own chicken broth is the first step to elevating your homemade soups and dishes like chicken pot pie. This easy-to-follow recipe guides you through the process of simmering chicken thighs with aromatic vegetables and seasonings to create a rich and flavorful base that’s sure to enhance your culinary creations. Enjoy the delicious results!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken leg quarters
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 celery stalk, diced
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • A few whole peppercorns
  • Water

Instructions

  1. In a large stockpot, place the chicken leg quarters and add enough water to just barely cover them.

  2. Over medium-high heat, bring the water to a boil.

  3. Add the quartered onion, diced carrot, diced celery, and a tablespoon of salt.

  4. Add the dried parsley and dried thyme directly to the pot for flavor.

  5. Include a bay leaf and a few whole peppercorns.

  6. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let the broth cook for at least 1 hour, but you can go up to 5 hours for richer flavor. Ensure the chicken is cooked through.

  7. Periodically, skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.

  8. Once done, remove the chicken pieces; they can be used for soups or chicken pot pie.

  9. Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a container.

  10. Refrigerate the broth, and when it’s cold, remove the congealed fat from the top.

  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 2 hours

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Maria Ronan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Links on this site may include affiliate links to Amazon and its affiliate sites on which the owner of this website will make a referral commission. Thank you for supporting Meals With Maria! My videos and website are for entertainment purposes only. Any information related to food, food safety, cooking, recipes, etc. are my opinions only. Maria Ronan is not liable and/or responsible for any advice, services, or product you obtain through this video and website.

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