When I started making more homemade meals for my baby, I quickly realized I didn’t want to spend hours every day making separate baby meals. I wanted simple, nourishing ingredients I could prep once and use all week.
One thing that quickly became a freezer staple in our house was homemade bone broth.
I love having it ready to add into my baby’s meals — whether it’s ground beef veggie bowls, chicken, sweet potatoes, quinoa, veggies, or anything that needs a little extra moisture and flavor.
And the best part? It’s actually so easy to make and uses ingredients I would normally be throwing away.
Saving Veggie Scraps for Homemade Bone Broth
One of my favorite little kitchen habits I’ve started is saving my vegetable scraps instead of tossing them.
Throughout the week when I’m cooking, I add leftover veggie pieces into a freezer bag and keep it in the freezer until I’m ready to make bone broth.
Some of the scraps I save:
- carrot peels and ends
- onion skins and leftover pieces
- broccoli stems
- garlic skins and ends
- other vegetable scraps from meals throughout the week
These are pieces that normally end up in the trash, but they still have so much flavor. Since everything gets strained out after making the broth, it’s such an easy way to waste less food and get another use out of ingredients we already have.
Plus, having the scraps already frozen makes the whole process so simple.
The Bones I Used for Homemade Beef Bone Broth
For this batch, I picked up beef back ribs from my local natural food store, Staff of Life.
After removing the meat, I saved the bones and used them to make a homemade beef bone broth.
I love finding little ways like this to stretch ingredients further — especially now as a mom. Something that could have easily been thrown away turned into multiple meals for both my baby and our family.
Easy Instant Pot Bone Broth Recipe
Making bone broth always sounded intimidating to me, but using the Instant Pot makes it so simple.
What I used:
- beef bones
- frozen veggie scraps
- filtered water
- splash of apple cider vinegar
Directions:
- Add your beef bones to the Instant Pot.
- Add your frozen veggie scraps.
- Fill with filtered water.
- Add a splash of apple cider vinegar.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 hours.
- Let cool, strain out the bones and veggies, and store.
That’s it!
It takes a little bit of time, but almost all of it is hands-off.
How I Freeze Bone Broth for Baby Meals
Once the broth cools, I like freezing it into small portions so it’s easy to grab throughout the week.
For baby-sized servings, I use my Evenflo silicone 0.25 oz freezer trays.
I fill the trays, freeze them, and then pop out little cubes whenever I want to add some homemade broth into her food.
Some ways I use the frozen bone broth cubes:
- mixed into ground beef and veggie meals
- added to chicken recipes
- mixed with sweet potatoes
- added into quinoa bowls
- stirred into vegetables
- used anytime food needs extra moisture
It makes putting together quick baby meals so much easier.
Freezing Larger Portions for Family Meals
Any leftover bone broth gets frozen in small mason jars.
I’ll pull these out throughout the week and use them in both our meals and my baby’s meals.
Some easy ways to use it:
- soups
- rice or quinoa
- sauces
- meat dishes
- veggie recipes
I love having something homemade ready to go in the freezer.
Homemade Bone Broth Teethers
Another little mom hack I’ve been loving is freezing bone broth into silicone teethers.
When my baby is teething and extra fussy, I can grab one from the freezer and let her chew on it.
It’s a fun alternative to fruit teethers and another way to use up the broth.
My Favorite Baby Meal Prep Products
A few things that make homemade baby food prep easier for me:
- Instant Pot
- Evenflo silicone freezer trays
- silicone teethers
- small mason jars
- baby food storage containers
- baby plates + spoons
(You can link your favorites here.)
More Baby Meal Ideas
If you’re starting solids or looking for simple homemade baby food ideas, you may also like:
- Easy High Protein Meals My 8 Month Old Loves
- What My Baby Eats in a Day
- My Favorite Baby Feeding Products We Actually Use
- Simple Baby Meal Prep Ideas for Busy Moms
Final Thoughts
Making homemade bone broth sounded like one of those things that would be complicated, but it has honestly become one of my favorite simple meal prep habits.
I love that I’m wasting less food, using ingredients we already have, and creating something that can be used in so many different meals.
Especially in this busy season of motherhood, anything I can prep once and use all week is a win.
Leave a Reply