Best Bone Broth UK (2026): Organic and Grass-Fed Picks, Research reviewed

Our picks at a glance

Evidence grades here describe how well the product's sourcing and nutrition claims are backed (for example by organic certification and a published nutrition panel). None of these grades means a health benefit has been shown.

What is bone broth, and how is it different from stock?

Bone broth is bones (often with vegetables and a splash of vinegar) simmered for many hours, usually 12 to 24, then strained. The long cook pulls gelatin (cooked collagen), some amino acids and small amounts of minerals into the liquid. Stock is similar but usually shorter-cooked and saltier. In practice the line is blurry, so the useful thing is to read the nutrition panel: protein per 100ml tells you how concentrated it is, and salt per 100ml tells you how much it adds to your day.

How we chose

We looked at UK brands selling fresh, frozen, ambient (shelf-stable) and powdered broth, and checked each one on the brand's own live product page in October 2026. We favoured:

• Certified organic or clearly stated grass-fed / free-range sourcing. In the UK, food sold as organic must be certified by an approved control body and inspected.
• A full nutrition panel with protein and salt, so you can compare like for like.
• Short ingredient lists with no flavourings or thickeners.
• A spread of formats and prices, from a £5 pouch to a powder you can keep in a desk drawer.

We did not rank on taste, and we did not accept "gut healing" or "joint support" marketing as evidence.

Which bone broth is best in the UK?

Borough Broth Grass-Fed Organic Beef Bone Broth: best overall

At £5 for a 324g pouch, this gives 13.9g protein and 3.5g collagen, the most protein per pouch of the fresh broths we checked. It is made in London from organic bones, slow-cooked for 24 hours. Caveat: the "beef" broth also contains organic chicken bones, and a whole pouch has 1.6g salt, about a quarter of the NHS 6g daily maximum.

Ossa Organic Chicken Bone Broth Ambient: lowest salt

Ossa's ambient chicken broth has just 0.1g salt per 100ml and no salt in the ingredients list, with 3.7g protein per 100ml and 46% organic chicken bones. It keeps in the cupboard until opened. Caveat: it is unseasoned, so if you add salt to taste you lose the advantage, and once opened it lasts only 3 to 5 days in the fridge.

Freja Sipping Bone Broth Classic Beef: most protein per mug

Freja gives 12.5g protein and 1.5g salt per 250ml, the highest protein of the ready-to-drink broths here, and it is easy to find in Tesco, Ocado and Waitrose. Caveat: it is not organic. Freja says its Norwegian beef is grass-fed and hormone-free, but no certification backs that up on the page.

Freja Bone Broth Powder Grass-Fed Beef: best protein per pound

One ingredient, 24g protein and 0.5g salt per 25g scoop, at about £2.08 a serving. Stir it into soups, stews or porridge. Caveat: 20g of the 24g is collagen, which lacks enough of some essential amino acids to count as a complete protein, so it does not replace meat, fish, eggs or dairy protein.

Planet Paleo Organic Bone Broth Pure: best organic powder

A certified organic, single-ingredient beef broth powder with 8.6g protein per 9g serving and no anti-caking agents, at about £1.24 a serving. Handy for travel or the office. Caveat: salt is not listed on the product page, and the brand's "supports gut health" ticks are not backed by human trials of bone broth.

Ossa Organic Grass Fed Beef Bone Broth: all-beef organic, frozen

If you want beef-only bones, Ossa's frozen 500ml broth uses grass-fed beef raised to organic standards, organic vegetables and apple cider vinegar, with 0.4g salt per 100ml. Caveat: protein is the lowest of our liquid picks at 2.5g per 100ml (about 6g a mug), and delivery is £5.99 to UK mainland only.

Borough Broth Free-Range Organic Chicken Bone Broth: budget chicken pick

The same £5 pouch format with organic free-range British chicken and at least 40% bones. Caveat: 8.4g protein per pouch is modest, and 1.9g salt per pouch is the highest of our picks. Its Great Taste Award judges flavour, not nutrition.

What the evidence says about bone broth

The honest summary: bone broth is food, and a decent one. The strongest research on skin and joints uses concentrated, measured collagen supplements, not broth, and a 2019 lab study found broth unlikely to provide a reliable dose of the same amino acids. If you enjoy broth and it helps you get more protein from whole food, that is reason enough.

Is bone broth high in lead or heavy metals?

A small 2013 UK study found organic chicken broth contained several times the lead level of the water used. A larger 2017 analysis put lead and cadmium at a few micrograms per serving and judged the risk minimal. For most people, a mug or two a week is not a concern. If you drink several servings a day, vary your sources and mix broth with other protein foods.

What to avoid

• High salt. Some broths have more than 1.5g per serving. If you drink it daily, choose lower-salt options and count it towards your 6g.
• Vague sourcing. "Made with real bones" tells you nothing about how the animals were raised. Look for organic certification or a named grass-fed / free-range claim, and read our guide to UK food labels like free-range and grass-fed.
• Health promises. Broths that claim to heal your gut, fix "leaky gut" or rebuild cartilage are going beyond the evidence.
• Flavourings, yeast extract and thickeners in place of a long simmer.

Is organic bone broth worth the extra?

Organic rules cover feed, antibiotic use and welfare, and are inspected, so organic is the clearest sourcing signal on a broth. Whether that is worth paying extra for is a values question as much as a health one: see is organic food worth it?. The organic broths here cost about the same per 100ml as the non-organic Freja, so in this category the premium is small.

Bottom line

For a fridge broth, Borough Broth's beef gives the most protein per pound in a fresh pouch; for low salt, Ossa's ambient chicken is the pick. If you mainly want protein, Freja's powder is the best value. Enjoy broth as a warming, high-protein food, and treat claims about gut healing, joints and skin as unproven for broth itself.