What's the Difference Between Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth? (2024)

While boxes, cans, and cubes of bouillon are ubiquitous on supermarket end caps leading up to the holidays, we consider stock and broth to be essential cooking elements throughout the year. Everything from soups and stews to sauces and gravies to skillet dinners and starchy sides require you to stock (or broth!) up.

The terms “chicken broth” and “chicken stock” are often used interchangeably, although some recipes specifically call for one or the other. (Our Copycat Chicken Gnocchi Soup, for example, asks for stock. The ingredient list for Skillet Chicken and Green Beans with Lemon-Tahini Sauce features broth.)

So what’s the difference between chicken stock and chicken broth, exactly? And why might certain dishes specify one in particular? We tapped two professionally-trained chefs to dish.

What's the Difference Between Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth?

The key contrast is the primary ingredient in the recipe. Stock is often made with bones only. Broth, on the other hand, is made with meat, explains Meggan Hill, executive chef and CEO of Culinary Hill. Both almost always get an assist from aromatic vegetables, herbs, and spices. That being said, recipes for “bone broth” don't always contain vegetables and seasonings.

The finished product is quite similar, however, you can often tell the difference between chicken stock and broth in three ways:

Flavor. Stock has a richer flavor, which is due to the fact that it’s higher in protein. Broth scores more of its flavor from sodium (salt) that’s added to season the base.
Texture. “Chicken stock is made by simmering raw chicken bones for several hours to break down the collagen in bones and extract maximum flavor,” Hill says. This results in a slightly thicker consistency in the finished liquid since the collagen and natural gelatin in the bones seeps into the water as it becomes stock. “Stock made with bones needs to be skimmed during the initial hour of cooking as foam and impurities will rise to the surface,” Hill adds. Since it’s impossible to skim off all of these elements, high-quality stocks might become more viscous when chilled. Broth often errs on the thinner side.
Color. Stocks are often darker in hue than broths. For stock, recipes sometimes call for roasting bones prior to being infused into the recipe. Plus, many stock recipes involve a longer simmer “due to the focus on breaking down and collagen from the bones,” Hill says. “This extended cook time creates a darker, more viscous liquid that’s rich in collagen and flavor.” For broth, meat is most often added to the start of the recipe in its raw form and is simmered for a shorter time. (Check out our guide for how to boil chicken breasts; this will leave you with a light and lovely chicken broth.)

Test Kitchen Tip: The plot thickens when you think about vegetable stock and broth. In both cases, no meat or bones are used. Usually, what separates the two is the fact that vegetable stock recipes involve simmering clean, untrimmed veggies with stems, skins, roots, and leaves attached. Vegetable broth starts with cleaned and trimmed vegetable pieces. Sometimes, store-bought formulations for vegetable stock have plant-based gelatin in the mix to thicken up the consistency (since chicken stock is the thicker of the two).

How to Use Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth

“In general, stock and broth can be used interchangeably. However, there are times when it is more advantageous to choose one over the other,” Hill admits.

Because stock is made from bones, it will infuse any recipe with stronger chicken flavor than broth.

Use chicken stock if…Chicken is the spotlight of a recipe. When you’re seeking savoriness, comfort, and strong flavor, Lauren Grant-Vose, founder of Zestful Kitchen believes that chicken stock is your best bet. Chicken noodle soup and cooked grains (like you’ll find in Sausage, Red Onion, and Rainbow Chard Couscous) are great examples of recipes that would be ideal for chicken stock. Keep in mind that recipes made with chicken stock require more aggressive seasoning since it naturally contains less than broth.
Use chicken broth if…Chicken is part of the supporting cast. “If the goal is to create a light and brothy soup featuring a clear broth, opt for chicken broth,” Grant-Vose says. “Or if the recipe you are making is fairly light and features delicate flavors, use broth instead of stock to avoid muddying or coving up the flavors.” Something like a vegetable side dish (such as Toasted Sesame Green Beans with Teriyaki Glaze)is also a lovely place for broth since it’s a background player.

You can always substitute chicken broth and chicken stock if you’re out of one or the other, just “keep an eye on the consistency,” Grant-Vose advises. “A recipe that calls for broth may need an extra splash of stock or even water to thin it out a bit if you use stock instead.”

In the end, it really comes down to preference and what you have in hand. If you don’t want to fuss with having both in your pantry, a low-sodium broth is usually a great starting point, and you can layer on flavor from there.

How to Store Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth

Store purchased chicken stock and broth in a pantry or cupboard, ideally, in a place that is fairly cool to room temperature and doesn’t receive direct light.Once open, store in the fridge.

Transfer homemade stock and broth to a container you can cover (such as a plastic-lidded mason jar) and refrigerate for up to 4 days. To extend their lifespan, leave ½-inch headspace in the jars or place stock or broth in sturdy freezer-safe zip-top bags. Label with the name of the item and date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.

The Best Recipes to Make Homemade Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth

While it isn’t a super speedy process (anticipate about 2 ½ hours), the flavor of homemade is incomparable. Plus it’s easy and affordable. Our guide for how to make chicken broth will walk you through it. For chicken stock, use bones only (and reserve the meat for other purposes like chicken salad, soup, wraps, or casseroles. If you’d like to amp up the flavor, clarify your stock.

To save time, you can buy chicken stock in boxes or cans. Just-add-water concentrated stocks and broths, which are sometimes referred to as “bouillon,” are also available in paste, powder, liquid, or cube form. Follow the label instructions to reconstitute and yield the amount of chicken stock or broth needed to bring your recipe to life.