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 star ingredient, as it is in soup, it can make or break the final dish.
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 instance, a stronger-tasting chicken broth makes stuffings, braises, and hearty stews taste even better, but it might be too heavy for a light 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 sure that this is a great broth that can be used for any stew, soup, or side dish (like rice pilaf). Winnie Yang, a former editor of the Wirecutter and one of my tasters, gave the Good 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. The Imagine Organic Free Range Chicken Broth is a great choice if you want something lighter and brighter.
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). At first taste, the Imagine broth, when it was piping hot, delivered more intense aroma than flavor; it wasn’t until the broth cooled a bit that we could detect more chicken on the palate. The Imagine broth made a comforting bowl of soup, and the chicken flavor became more pronounced after it reduced a bit from boiling with egg noodles and Napa cabbage. The addition of lemon juice did, however, overpower this broth a bit. That said, we think this is a solid all-purpose broth that’s ideal for braises, poached fish, sauces, soups—really, any application where 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.
Chicken broth is a versatile ingredient that can add flavor and depth to a wide variety of dishes. From soups and stews to gravies and sauces having a good quality chicken broth on hand can elevate your cooking. But with so many options on the market how do you know which chicken broth to choose?
We’ll talk about what makes a good chicken broth, the best brands and products, and how to choose the best chicken broth for your needs in this full buying guide. This guide will help you choose a chicken broth that you’ll enjoy cooking with, no matter how much experience you have in the kitchen.
What Makes a Good Chicken Broth?
When evaluating chicken broths, there are a few key factors to consider:
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Flavor – A good chicken broth should taste like real chicken, not just salty water. It should have a rich, savory flavor from the chicken and aromatics used.
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Arom—You should be able to smell the chicken as well as herbs, onions, carrots, and celery. A good broth smells appetizing.
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Appearance – Quality chicken broth should be fairly clear with a rich golden hue, not cloudy or pale. It should have a viscosity similar to water.
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Sodium content – Broths can vary widely in sodium content. Broths with less sodium give you more cooking options because you can control how salty the final dish is.
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Ingredients: Good broths only have a few things in them, like chicken, water, vegetables, and seasoning. Stay away from broths that have MSG, yeast extract, or hydrolyzed proteins added to them.
When tasting chicken broth plain, it should have a rich, savory flavor and silky mouthfeel without any off-flavors. The aroma should whet your appetite. While salt enhances flavor, you don’t want a broth that tastes overwhelmingly salty on its own.
Top Chicken Broth Brands
After extensive taste testing, here are some of the top brands that consistently produce high quality chicken broths:
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Kettle & Fire – Rich and savory bone broths made with chicken raised without antibiotics or hormones. One of the best chicken broths available.
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Bonafide Provisions – Organic chicken broth with short, clean ingredients lists. Delicious flavor.
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Swanson – A long-time pantry staple, Swanson offers great flavor and aroma. Can be high in sodium.
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Imagine Foods – Organic, free-range chicken broth with excellent flavor, especially the low-sodium version.
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Kitchen Basics – Affordable unsalted chicken stock with roasted chicken aroma and great mouthfeel.
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Pacific Foods – Quality organic chicken broth sourced from humanely raised chickens. Lower in sodium.
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College Inn – Budget-friendly broth with delicious homemade flavor. Can be high in sodium.
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Trader Joe’s – Affordable organic free-range chicken broth with balanced flavor and aroma.
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Simply Organic – USDA certified organic chicken broth with clean ingredients. Light on salt.
While these brands rose to the top in taste tests, you may also want to explore options from your local grocer or butcher. High quality chicken broth doesn’t have to come in a box or carton!
Tips for Choosing the Best Chicken Broth
With all the options for chicken broth, it can be tricky to decide which one to purchase. Here are some tips for picking the best chicken broth for your cooking needs:
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Consider sodium level – If you’ll be reducing broth for sauces or using it in multiple dishes, choose a lower sodium broth for versatility.
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Match quality to usage – Save premium broths for dishes where the broth stars, like soups and braises. Use more affordable options for cooking grains or making pan sauces.
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Read the label – Opt for broths with recognizable ingredients like chicken, vegetables, and herbs. Avoid additives and hydrolyzed proteins.
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Know your goals – Are you looking for an all-purpose broth or a specific flavor profile? Think about how you’ll use the broth.
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Taste before using – Open a carton and taste the broth before cooking with it to ensure you like the flavor.
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Consider shelf life – Once opened, refrigerate broth and use within 4-5 days. Some shelf-stable broths have longer unopened shelf lives.
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Buy small to start – Try a smaller container or box before committing to a bulk size of any new broth brand.
With so many excellent chicken broth options on the market, you’re sure to find one that suits your cooking style and needs. Trust your taste buds, read labels carefully, and experiment until you discover your chicken broth soulmate. The right broth can make all the difference in your soups, sauces, grains, braised meats, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between chicken broth and chicken stock?
Traditionally, chicken stock is made by simmering chicken bones and vegetables for hours to extract flavor, collagen, and nutrients. Chicken broth is made in a similar way but with additional meat. So chicken stock tends to be lighter in flavor while broth is richer. But today these terms are often used interchangeably.
Is boxed or canned chicken broth as good as homemade?
Homemade chicken broth shines in depth of flavor. But with premium brands like Kettle & Fire, you can get deliciously rich, savory flavor in convenient boxed form that stacks up well against many homemade versions.
How long does chicken broth last in the fridge or freezer?
Properly stored, chicken broth can last 4-5 days refrigerated and 6 months in the freezer. Boxed shelf-stable broths last even longer unopened.
What’s the healthiest chicken broth option?
Look for organic broth with a short, clean ingredients list. Broths labeled as “bone broth” emphasize nutritious ingredients like bones, collagen, and gelatin. Lower sodium options allow you to control salt content.
What are the best uses for chicken broth?
Chicken broth shines in soups, stews, gravies, sauces, braised meats, and grains. Replace water with broth when cooking rice, quinoa or oatmeal for extra flavor. Deglaze pans with broth instead of wine or water.
The Bottom Line
With its savory flavor and versatility, chicken broth can make just about any dish taste better. Choosing a high quality broth from a reputable brand ensures you’ll have great results in all your cooking endeavors. Trust your taste buds, pay close attention to sodium levels and ingredients, and you’ll be sure to find the perfect chicken broth to become a staple in your kitchen.
Other good chicken broths
If you want a bone broth that is lighter and has more clear ingredients, try Pacific Foods Organic Bone Broth Chicken Unsalted, which costs 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. The labels of most of the broths and stocks we tried only said “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) is inoffensive and was available at most of the supermarkets I shopped at while researching 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 comprehensive list of everything we tested in previous iterations of this guide, just what’s still available.
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.