Homemade Chicken Bouillon powder

This homemade chicken bouillon powder is rich, savory, and full of umami flavor! Made with real cooked chicken, dried shiitake mushrooms, herbs, and nutritional yeast, this concentrated chicken powder is perfect for quick broths, soups, and stir-fries—it melts into hot water like magic.

In this post, I’ll show you how to make a long-lasting bouillon seasoning using leftover chicken or turkey. We’ll cover storage tips, broth ratios, and how to avoid clumping or overly salty blends.

Main Ingredient Notes

My healthy homemade chicken bouillon is a pantry staple made with real, whole ingredients that pack serious flavor in every spoonful. Here are the key components for the perfect taste and texture.

• Real chicken or turkey: This is what sets my recipe apart—most bouillon powders don’t include actual chicken! I use finely chopped, cooked chicken or turkey to give the powder a meaty depth and natural richness.
• Dried shiitake mushrooms: These add an essential layer of umami that mimics the savory flavor of traditional Asian chicken bouillon. Don’t worry—they won’t overpower the blend. The mushrooms are here to enhance the chicken flavor and add a nice hit of umami.
  • Tip: See the recipe card for how to use fresh shiitake as a substitute.
• Olive oil: A small amount of oil helps the powder bake evenly and prevents the ingredients from burning or turning bitter. It also adds a touch of fat, which rounds out the flavor and improves the texture of the finished powder.

How to make chicken bouillon powder

Making chicken stock powder at home is simple and so much more flavorful than store-bought. Here’s how to make your own in just 30 minutes:

Step 1: Blend the dried shiitake mushrooms
Add the mushrooms to a high-speed blender and blend on high until they become a fine powder. Let it rest for a couple of minutes before opening the lid so the mushroom dust can settle.

Step 2: Chop the cooked chicken or turkey
Use a food processor to pulse the cooked chicken until it’s broken down into small crumbles—similar in size to coarse breadcrumbs. This helps everything bake evenly later.

Step 3: Combine the ingredients well
Transfer the chicken crumbles to a parchment-lined sheet pan with the mushroom powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and nutritional yeast. Drizzle with olive oil and toss well to coat evenly—this prevents burning. Spread the mixture thin so it roasts evenly without steaming.

Step 4: Bake and stir
We’ll bake, stir, and finish baking at a reduced temperature. Fluffing midway prevents clumps and helps everything dry out more uniformly. Lowering the heat for the second bake gives the powder a toasty, concentrated flavor without burning.

Step 5: Blend again into a fine powder
Let the mixture cool slightly, then transfer it back to the food processor. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes until very fine. This is what gives it that smooth texture that dissolves easily in water.

Step 6: Cool completely and store
Let the chicken powder seasoning cool fully to room temperature—this is important to avoid clumping. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container. It will naturally gain moisture in the fridge, but it’s still safe to use. Store in the fridge for up to 1 month, or freeze for up to 3 months.

How to use chicken bouillon seasoning

This DIY umami seasoning is so versatile and convenient for adding depth of flavor to broths, soups, stews, stir-fries, and more. Gluten-free and made with no MSG, this is a great chicken bouillon replacement to add flavor to your favorite dishes!

• In soups: It’s perfect in my Whole30 cup noodles, Asian chicken noodle soup, Taiwanese chicken rice soup, or this creamy silken tofu kimchi soup.
• In fried rice: Add even more depth of flavor to my Chinese sausage fried rice or this Panda Express fried rice copycat recipe.
• In a stir-fry: Sprinkle your chicken stock powder into a stir-fry, like this savory Chinese beef and cabbage stir fry, for an instant flavor boost.