Kitchen

How Bone Broth Helps Babies Get The Nutrition They Need

by Kevyn Gohu
July 29, 2025

Rich in collagen, minerals, and love—bone broth may be the age-old secret to supporting your baby’s growing gut, immunity, and development.

While it’s the base of our many favorite ramen recipes, bone broth also has benefits for babies!

Once a humble kitchen staple, bone broth makes a comeback in modern homes—and baby feeding routines—for good reason. It’s comforting, nutrient-rich, and packed with everything a growing body needs: from collagen to calcium to immune-supporting amino acids.

And for many Filipino parents finding more ways to nourish their kids naturally, bone broth hits the sweet spot between tradition and science.

The best part? It just needs a pot, water, bones, and the typical aromatics like onion, black peppercorns, ginger, and garlic!

Rich in collagen, minerals, and love—bone broth may be the age-old secret to supporting your baby's growing gut, immunity, and development.

What’s in Bone Broth, Anyway?

Bone broth is made by slowly simmering animal bones (like chicken, beef, or, in the case of most Filipino stews and Japanese ramen—pork) with water, vinegar, and sometimes vegetables, allowing nutrients to seep out over hours. Most simmer it for over 12 hours. What we get after is a golden, gelatin-rich liquid that’s brimming with benefits.

It’s also easy on the tummy. The gelatin helps coat and soothe a baby’s digestive tract, which is still developing in those first months and years. According to a study on bone broth and digestive support, these amino acids may also help repair the gut lining, especially after illness or antibiotic use (Fiscella, 2018; Growing Up Herbal, 2024).

Is Bone Broth Safe for Babies?

Yes—when introduced at the right time and prepared properly. Most experts recommend offering bone broth once your baby starts solids (around 6 months), either on its own or mixed into purees.

Some say to start babies with, at most, 1 to 2 tablespoons. We can boil the vegetables in them if ever with a small cup of water.

Tips for Making Bone Broth

Bone broth is so simple to make that any parent, so long as they have a pot and stove, can make it! Here are some tips for easy bone broth making for their babies:

Clean the bones before boiling. This helps remove the unwanted fat. What some people do is they air-fry or roast the bones in the oven before boiling. If there’s no air fryer or toaster oven available, freeze-drying does the trick, too!
Add chopped vegetables. Carrots, squash, garlic, onion, cabbage, red bell pepper, ginger, bok choy, turnip (singakamas) — most vegetables really can be added except the ones that turn into mush when overcooked, like spinach and eggplant.
Simmer for over 8-24 hours. While 12 hours is the average, slow cookers make it easier to manage with their digital settings. It’s also less of a fire hazard too!

Soups and Stews: A Filipino Mom’s Labor of Love

Looking past all the fried, salty, and heart-attack-inducing recipes, a lot of Filipino recipes are absolutely hearty! Kaldereta, Sinigang, Nilaga, Bulalo, Pochero — these stews became the pillars (or more accurately, legs) of the Filipino dining table. Every Filipino, after a long hard day of work, commute, or whatever, will want to come home to a heartwarming stew.

They also don’t need much brainpower to prepare; it’s literally, “toss everything into a pot and wait for it to cook.”

Plus, it reduces a lot of housework, too. No need to meal prep or plan. Everybody eats the same thing. Wash only one pot. And with it cooking by itself, we can focus on other things that need to be done.

Final Thoughts: A Sip of Love and Nutrition

Bone broth isn’t just about nutrients—it’s about intention. It’s slow, simple, and full of warmth. And in a fast-paced parenting world, that’s something worth savoring.

So the next time you’re prepping your baby’s meal, consider a ladle of bone broth—because nourishing our kids doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be thoughtful.