The Karam’s Bone Broth Recipe: Collagen & Skin Health From Within

The Karam’s Bone Broth Recipe: Collagen & Skin Health From Within

Written by Founder, Amir Karam MD

Quote Icon

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, family traditions come to the forefront. In our home, one has stayed constant for years is that the day after a delicious roasted turkey or chicken, we make a deeply nourishing, collagen-rich bone broth. What began as a practical way to use holiday leftovers has become one of the most valuable wellness habits we share as a family.

And bone broth has earned attention in the wellness world for good reason. 

Prepared right, bone broth is dense with collagen peptides, glycine, proline, and key minerals that reinforce the gut barrier, temper inflammation, and feed your body the building blocks for collagen. The downstream effect is visible: skin that looks clearer, calmer, and more resilient.

This season, as many of us cook larger meals and are often left with bones we usually throw away, I thought it was the perfect time to share our family recipe so you can see how easy it is to make a simple bone broth, turn scraps and waste into wellness gold, all while supporting your skin with another healthy habit to work into your daily and weekly routines.


Why Bone Broth Supports Healthy Skin

Bone broth is more than just a comfort food – at its core, it’s a collagen-abundant stock. 

A long, gentle simmer of bones and connective tissue releases gelatin (denatured collagen), amino acids such as glycine, proline, and glutamine, and modest amounts of minerals like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, as well as anti-inflammatory compounds. Think of it as a nutrient-dense base that can complement (not replace) your daily skincare fundamentals.

How Bone Broth Boosts Collagen Production

Here’s the easy way to explain it: the collagen you eat doesn’t travel straight to your skin as collagen. Your digestive system breaks it into amino acids and small peptides. Those circulate in the bloodstream and become what your fibroblasts use to build your own collagen. 

In other words, you’re not “adding” collagen to skin – you’re supplying the building blocks needed to make collagen.

When adding a collagen-packed staple like bone broth, we often see a familiar pattern backed by lots of studies: hydroxyproline levels rise (a marker of collagen turnover), and skin hydration and dermal density greatly improve over time. Support the gut, lower background inflammation, and the skin follows suit – it becomes calmer, clearer, and quicker to repair itself.

It’s a simple, comforting way to back up the work your daily Trifecta routine is already doing.

A Simple, Collagen-Rich Ritual

The day after a roast means a pot on the stove, low and slow, filled with bones, aromatics, and time. It can be as simple as bones, an onion, and water simmering away without any effort at all, or if you want more depth, you can add herbs, roasted vegetables, or spices. The beauty is that the process works no matter how minimal you keep it.

This is a family ritual that we have adapted to our own taste, turning our leftovers into a practical, comforting, and easy meal. We leave on the stove for the day, and it becomes part of our weekly rotation, a collagen-rich broth supportive of gut health and the skin.

Here’s the recipe for our family-approved bone broth: a straightforward, flexible method for releasing collagen and achieving clean flavor without a lot of fuss.

The Karam’s Bone Broth Recipe


Ingredients

  • 2-3 lbs of chicken, beef, or turkey bones
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 2 carrots, roughly cut
  • 4-5 celery stalks
  • 1 head of garlic (optional)
  • 2-3 bay leaves or thyme sprigs
  • 1 tbsp of peppercorns
  • 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
  • 6-12 cups of water
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

01. Preheat oven to 450°F.

02. Spread bones and vegetables on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

03. Roast 30 minutes, turn once, and roast another 15 minutes.

04. Transfer everything to a large stock pot and cover with water.

05. Add herbs, vinegar, and spices – bring to a low boil.

06. Reduce to a gentle simmer, partially cover, and cook for 8 to 12 hours.

07. For a classic bone broth, remove from heat, strain, and refrigerate until cooled. For a more gelatin-rich bone broth, place the entire pot, including the bones, directly in the refrigerator overnight or up to 24 hours. The extra resting time here allows collagen to fully dissolve and form a full-bodied, robust gel.

08. Reheat to a boil the next day, cool, then strain. 

09. After straining, refrigerate again until the fat rises to the surface and solidifies.

10. Skim and discard top layer.

Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Neda’s Daily Post-Workout Snack: Bone Broth Soup

Here’s how Neda turns our bone broth recipe into a quick, post-workout reset. It’s light but satisfying – warm spices, turmeric, ginger, and garlic to settle inflammation, mushrooms for added depth, and mineral-rich kelp noodles for a dose of easy fuel. Ten minutes cooking on top of the stove, and you’ve got a calming, skin-supportive bowl – or mug – you’ll actually look forward to.

  • Bone broth base
  • Turmeric
  • Ginger
  • Garlic clove, minced
  • Sliced mushrooms
  • Cup of kelp noodles

Warm to a simmer, then mix in turmeric, ginger, and garlic, cooking for 2-3 minutes. Toss in the mushrooms; cook for 3-4 minutes, until tender. Add kelp noodles and cook for 1-2 minutes to heat through.

Other Ways We Use Bone Broth in Daily Life

Bone broth is incredibly versatile:

  • Sip warm in the afternoon to support overall gut health
  • Use as a base for other nourishing soups or stews
  • Add to sauces to increase depth and nutrition
  • Combine with roasted vegetables for a vitamin A-rich blended soup
  • Enjoy post-workout with noodles and mushrooms, as Neda does

A delicious mug of bone broth a day goes a long way in supporting internal skin repair.


Vegan Alternative: Vegetable Stock 

Not everyone cooks with animal products, and even in homes that do, vegetable scraps are often an overlooked source of skin-supportive nutrition. On big cooking weekends, trimmings that usually hit the trash – rich in minerals, antioxidants, and gentle aromatics – can become a clean, versatile vegan vegetable stock that supports overall wellness and the skin from within.

In our kitchen, we keep a reusable freezer bag for scraps. When we prep meals, the trimmings go in. By the end of the week, there’s enough for a pot of flavorful, plant-based stock.


What to Save

These plant pieces contain polyphenols, carotenoids, and minerals that complement skin barrier-supportive nutrition.

  • Onions & shallots: papery skins, tops, root ends
  • Scallions: greens and any unused portions
  • Garlic: skins and trimmed ends
  • Carrots: peels, tips, and root ends
  • Celery: tops and ends (use leaves sparingly or save for salads)
  • Leeks: dark green tops and root ends (rinse well)
  • Mushrooms: stems and trims (shiitake, cremini, etc.)
  • Tomatoes: skins, seeds, cores, and pulp
  • Fennel: fronds and bulb trimmings (use lightly)
  • Ginger: peel and thin slices

What to Skip

These ingredients tend to overpower a gentle veggie stock. They can turn the broth bitter, sulfur-heavy, or overly sharp, which interferes with the clean, mineral-rich flavor you want.

  • Brassicas: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
  • Bitter greens: kale, mustard greens
  • Bell peppers and potato peels
  • Strong herbs: aromatics like cilantro or lemongrass, unless intentional
  • Most cabbages: Napa in small amounts is acceptable

Vegan Vegetable Scraps Stock


Ingredients

  • Frozen vegetable scraps (about 6-8 cups, loosely packed)
  • 1-2 bay leaves or a few thyme sprigs
  • 8-12 cups water (enough to cover by 1-2 inches)
  • 6-8 peppercorns (optional)
  • Salt to taste (add after simmering)

Instructions

01. Load the pot with your frozen vegetable scraps. Rinse briefly.

02. Add aromatics: bay leaves or a few thyme sprigs, plus peppercorns.

03. Cover with water.

04. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer and cook 30 minutes.

05. Remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve for a clean flavor.

06. Season with salt after straining.

Cool, then refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.

How We Use This Vegan Vegetable Stock Recipe

This mineral-rich, antioxidant-packed stock can be used in soups, stews, grains, or sipped warm for its anti-inflammatory compounds, which support healthy cellular turnover and overall metabolic balance. A good vegetable stock also becomes the foundation for countless meals:

  • Blend with roasted squash or carrots for a vitamin-rich soup
  • Cook grains (rice, quinoa, farro) for extra depth and minerals
  • Simmer with miso, mushrooms, or seaweed for a quick, nourishing bowl
  • Reduce to make a flavorful base for light sauces
  • Sip warm in the afternoon as a plant-based reset

Nourish Your Skin in Both Directions

One principle I often remind patients of: healthy skin is built from the inside out and the outside in. What you eat matters just as much as what you apply. This is where the synergy between collagen-supportive nutrition and the KaramMD Trifecta becomes ultra-powerful: 

Fuel the system, then give skin the right signals – day after day.


How the Trifecta Stimulates Natural Collagen Production

Trifecta is formulated to support skin biology at every step of the way:

Vitamin C and retinoids are among the most studied, validated ingredients for rebuilding collagen. They signal fibroblasts to produce new, well-organized collagen (neocollagenesis), smoothing texture, brightening tone, and improving resilience when used consistently.

How Nutrition Complements Collagen Stimulation in Skincare

The best results come from a holistic rhythm. Building your own stock – bone-based or plant-based – is practical, sustainable, nutrient-dense, and ultra-satisfying. It lays a foundation for meals that support gut health, calm inflammation, and provide raw materials the skin needs.

  • Bone broth supplies amino acids (glycine, proline, glutamine) that your body uses to build collagen internally.
  • Trifecta provides the signals (vitamin C + retinoid) that tell skin to convert those materials into stronger, healthier collagen.

It’s a true inside-out + outside-in approach.

Bone broth delivers the building blocks. Trifecta delivers the instructions. Your skin does the rest. As you gather with family this Thanksgiving season, I hope this recipe inspires simple, repeatable habits – nourish from within, treat skin consistently, and let time do its work.

Amir Karam MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
Founder / Creator of KaramMD Skin

Dr. Amir Karam is a world-renowned facial plastic surgeon specializing in facial and skin rejuvenation. With over two decades of experience, he has helped countless patients achieve a naturally youthful, refreshed appearance. As an innovative surgeon, researcher, textbook author, and speaker, he is a leading authority in his field. Beyond performing surgical procedures that restore a youthful facial shape, he emphasizes the importance of skin quality, ensuring a comprehensive approach to facial rejuvenation. As the founder of KaramMD Skin, he is dedicated to making advanced skincare simple, effective, and accessible—helping you look as young as you feel.

1 comment

Susan Hall

The recipe for bone broth sounds great. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing. I’m also looking for to the black Friday sale.
———
KaramMD Skin replied:
Hi Susan—Thanks for your comment! We’re so glad you enjoyed the bone broth recipe! And yes, our Black Friday sale is right around the corner. 🎉 Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words!

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published.

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.