Lesley Stockton is a writer focused on kitchen and entertaining. Her coverage includes grilling, kitchen knives, and cookware, just to name a few.
One of our picks, Good & Gather Organic No Salt Added Chicken Bone Broth, is currently out of stock. Were looking into whether its been discontinued. Meanwhile, we stand by our remaining picks.
A good-tasting chicken broth can help ensure a better result in your cooking, even when broth is just a bit player in a recipe. And when broth is the main thing in a dish, like in soup, it can make or break it.
But store-bought chicken broths range widely in quality and flavor. And if you’re staring at an aisle’s worth of options in the supermarket, deciding which one is the best can be daunting: Labels and ingredient lists can tell you only so much, and a higher price doesn’t necessarily translate to better flavor.
We ranked and tasted 15 chicken broths and stocks that are sold across the country and have less than 150 milligrams of sodium per serving. Why did we stick to low-sodium varieties? Well, you can always add salt to a dish, but you can’t remove what’s already there. The broths ranged in flavor from insipid to full-bodied, and some of the ones we tasted had strong off-flavors, like burnt onion, or had a mysterious acidic tang. The broths that ranked the highest smelled and tasted the most like a bowl of chicken soup.
Also, quality aside, a broth may be good for some recipes and not others. For example, a more robustly flavored chicken broth adds welcome richness to stuffings, braises, and hearty stews, but it’s probably too heavy for a bright spring vegetable dish. We noted the applications we thought were best for the broths that reached the top of our list.
Of all the broths we tried, the Target house brand has the truest, most robust chicken flavor. We’re confident that this is an excellent all-purpose broth for any braise, soup, or side dish (like rice pilaf). Former Wirecutter editor Winnie Yang, my fellow taster, ranked the Good & Gather broth as her favorite in a blind tasting. In her notes, she said it tasted and smelled “like something I could have made from a roasted chicken carcass. ” It’s luscious and full-bodied, with a dominant deep roasty flavor. Good & Gather’s chicken-y assertiveness might taste too pungent for some folks, though. If you’re looking for a lighter and brighter alternative, the Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth is a great choice.
A classic stock that tastes clean and bright, and won’t overpower other ingredients in your recipes.
You won’t get in-your-face, intense roasted-meat goodness from this broth, but we really liked its clean and subtle chicken flavor, as well as its aroma, which, quite frankly, reminded us of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup (no shade). When we first tasted the Imagine broth, it smelled stronger than it tasted when it was hot. It wasn’t until the broth had cooled down that we could taste more chicken. The Imagine broth made a hearty bowl of soup, and the chicken flavor came through stronger after it had cooled down a bit from boiling with egg noodles and Napa cabbage. The addition of lemon juice did, however, overpower this broth a bit. So, we think this is a good all-around broth that works well for braises, poached fish, sauces, soups, and really any other time you want to add a little extra flavor while letting the other ingredients shine.
It kind of blew our minds that Target’s chicken stock was one of our favorites yet also cost the least of all the competition. It isn’t nearly as rich as the Good & Gather bone broth, but it is more robust than the Imagine broth. The Good & Gather stock tastes the most vegetal of our three top picks, due to the organic vegetable flavor and cabbage juice concentrate in the ingredients list. It made a fine bowl of simple noodle soup. However, I think this stock is better suited for recipes in which it isn’t the main ingredient, such as meat braises and stuffing. One thing to note is that this broth has 1 gram of added sugars per serving; it doesn’t impact the flavor much, but folks who are concerned about their sugar intake should keep that in mind.
There are many ways to use chicken broth. It can be used to make soups, stews, risottos, and more. It can be hard to figure out where to find good chicken broth because there are so many places to buy it. I’ll talk about the pros and cons of buying chicken broth in stores, making it at home, and buying it in specialty shops.
Grocery Stores
Grocery stores are the most convenient place to buy chicken broth. You can easily find it in the soup aisle alongside vegetable, beef, and other broth varieties.
The major benefit of buying chicken broth at the grocery store is that it’s readily available and easy to find You don’t have to go out of your way or visit multiple shops to get it. Grocery stores like Kroger, Publix, Safeway, etc. will have chicken broth in stock year-round
Additionally, grocery store chicken broth is very affordable. It costs about $2 to $3 for a 32-ounce carton of Swanson or Store Brand chicken broth. For the amount you get, this is a budget-friendly option.
However, one downside of grocery store chicken broth is that it often contains preservatives and additives like MSG, yeast extract, and sodium phosphate. The broth may also be diluted with water instead of being 100% chicken stock.
The flavor of mass-produced chicken broth tends to be mild. So if you want a broth that tastes a lot like chicken, you might want to look elsewhere. But for simple cooking needs, chicken broth from the store will do.
Specialty Stores
The chicken broth at specialty food stores and butcher shops is better than what you’ll find at the grocery store. Most of the time, onions, carrots, celery, herbs, and chicken are the only things used to make these small-batch broths.
Broths from specialty stores are often referred to as “bone broths” because they simmer real chicken bones to extract more collagen, minerals, and nutrients. This makes the broth thicker and richer tasting.
Some popular national brands of specialty chicken broth include Osso Good, Bonafide Provisions, and Kettle & Fire. You can also check your local butcher shop or farmer’s market to see if they make fresh chicken broth.
The downside of these specialty chicken broths is that they are significantly more expensive than grocery store brands. A 16-17 oz container costs $8-$12. The higher price reflects the quality ingredients and small batch production.
Additionally, you may only be able to find these at Whole Foods, natural food stores, or have to order online if you don’t live near the company’s retail locations. So accessibility is lower.
Make Your Own
Making your own homemade chicken broth is rewarding and allows you to control all the ingredients. With some time and effort, you can make tasty chicken broth from scratch.
To make chicken broth at home, you’ll need:
- Chicken carcass or wings/legs/thighs
- Veggies like carrots, celery, onion
- Herbs like parsley, thyme, bay leaves
- Water
- Salt and pepper
Add the chicken pieces and veggies to a large pot. Cover with water by a few inches. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 2-6 hours, skimming fat and scum periodically. Strain the broth through a mesh sieve. Season with salt and pepper.
The great thing about homemade broth is that you know exactly what’s in it. You can use the highest quality chicken and minimal additives. The broth will be rich, flavorful, and free of preservatives.
On the downside, making your own chicken broth is time consuming. It can take hours of hands-on work to properly simmer, strain, and cool the broth. You also need to plan ahead to have chicken parts ready to go.
Because of the lengthy process, making your own chicken broth only makes sense if you’ll use up a large batch within a few days. Otherwise, you’re better off buying pre-made.
The Best Places to Buy Chicken Broth
To recap, here are my top recommendations on where to buy chicken broth:
- Grocery stores – Best for convenience and affordability
- Specialty shops – Best for premium quality and richness
- Make your own – Best for controlling ingredients and customizing flavors
For everyday cooking needs, I usually buy chicken broth at the grocery store. My favorites are Swanson and Store Brand broths which provide good flavor at a low cost.
When I want to make a special soup or stew, I’ll use a specialty chicken broth from the butcher shop or an online brand like Osso Good. The deeper chicken flavor really enhances these dishes.
I try to make homemade chicken broth every couple months when I have time. It brings a fresh, wholesome taste to recipes that’s hard to replicate with store-bought broths. But due to the time required, I rely on pre-made broths more often for convenience.
The next time you’re shopping for chicken broth, keep these options in mind. Consider what factors – price, quality, convenience – are most important to you. That will help determine whether the grocery store, specialty shop, or DIY route is the best choice for your needs. Whichever you choose, chicken broth is a handy staple that makes cooking easier.
Other good chicken broths
If you want a lighter bone broth with greater ingredients transparency: Pacific Foods Organic Bone Broth Chicken Unsalted (about $5. 50 per quart) is a respectable runner-up to the Good & Gather bone broth. Compared with that one, this bone broth is lighter in body and chicken flavor, and it’s more rounded out with vegetables, herbs, and spices. The Pacific Foods bone broth also stands apart from the competition in that the label fully spells out the ingredients, listing water, organic chicken, organic vegetables (onions, carrots, celery), and so on. On most of the broths and stocks we tasted, the labels listed only “chicken broth” or “chicken stock” as the first ingredient. The Pacific Foods bone broth works well in a lot of different recipes. It would even make a great soup base with some extra carrots, onions, and fresh herbs.
For a decent and economical supermarket option: The College Inn Unsalted Chicken Stock (about $2. 60 per quart) is a solid choice. It got different grades from the testers: I thought it was okay, and Winnie ranked it as her number-two pick. In her notes, Winnie wrote that this stock had “decent chicken flavor” that was “pleasant and clean. ” She also found it “surprisingly rich” given the “fairly clear straw color. ” I put the College Inn Unsalted Chicken Stock squarely in the middle.
For a supermarket brand with more intense, chicken-y flavor: Swanson Unsalted Chicken Cooking Stock (about $3. 20 per quart) doesn’t smell bad and was sold at most of the grocery stores I went to while writing this guide. Winnie and I were split on the flavors we picked up in this one—she detected a charred onion flavor, whereas I thought it had a pleasant bit of gaminess, like a stock made from a more mature chicken. We think it’s one of the better-tasting big-brand chicken stocks that most folks can find at their local supermarket.
This is not a full list of all the things we tested in earlier versions of this guide; it’s just a list of what’s still out there.
Swanson Organic Low-Sodium Free-Range Chicken Broth (about $4 per quart) doesn’t taste terrible so much as it doesn’t taste like much of anything. Even though this broth had a “cleaner” flavor than most of the others we dismissed, it was insipid, thin, and described as “weaksauce” by our blind-taster.
The Pacific Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth Low Sodium (about $3.30 per quart) was too weak on chicken flavor and aroma for the price. An onion-powder flavor, while not overtly offensive, dominated and lingered on the palate.
Target’s Good & Gather Organic No Salt Added Chicken Broth (about $2 per quart) is very affordable for an organic product, and we think we know why: In our tests it was watery and barely tasted like anything, chicken or otherwise. If buying organic is a priority, you’re better off spending slightly more for a quart of the Imagine organic low-sodium broth.
“Milky white” and “bland” best describe Whole Foods 365 Organic Chicken Broth Low Sodium (about $2.50 per quart).This broth stood out for its lack of both flavor and color. We detected a faint chicken aroma, and that’s about it.
To paraphrase Winnie, our blind-taster, the Progresso Chicken Broth Unsalted (about $2.70 per quart) tasted like the plastic from the carton more than anything else. I also thought this one was plasticky, with a strong onion-powder and yeast aftertaste.
Intense onion flavor dominated Swanson Unsalted Chicken Broth (about $2.50 per quart). The chicken flavor was there, but the yeast extract in the ingredients took over and lingered on the palate for a while. If Swanson broths and stocks are the best option at your local supermarket, skip this one and grab either the Unsalted Chicken Cooking Stock or the Organic Low-Sodium Free Range Chicken Broth.
I don’t like to drag subpar products through the mud, but the Rachael Ray Stock-in-a-Box Low-Sodium Chicken Stock (about $3.00 per quart) was one of the worst we tasted. It had no discernible chicken flavor or aroma. Instead, it was watery and plasticky tasting, with an unidentifiable off-flavor that lingered way too long on the palate. The Rachael Ray stock is the only one we tested that’s made from watered-down chicken stock concentrate, not chicken stock or broth. And the difference was glaringly obvious.
We don’t know which ingredient made Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock (about $3.30 per quart) taste so sour. The only clue we could gather from the ingredient list was “natural flavor.” In our tasting notes, we agreed that the strong acidic flavor was the most memorable characteristic. Winnie called it “thin” and mused that it “might be worse” than the Rachael Ray stock.
Chicken Broth Tips From Our Experts
FAQ
Is chicken stock the same as chicken broth?
While the terms are often used interchangeably, chicken stock and chicken broth are not exactly the same thing. Chicken stock is traditionally made primarily from simmering chicken bones, resulting in a richer, thicker, and more gelatinous texture due to collagen release.
Is boxed chicken broth healthy?
Yes, boxed chicken broth can be a healthy and convenient addition to your diet. It’s generally low in calories and fat, while offering some protein, vitamins, and minerals.
What aisle is chicken broth usually on?
Chicken broth is usually found in the canned goods section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.