Marrow Bones substitute

Best substitute

Cross-cut beef shank (osso buco cut)

Use the same amount by weight as the marrow bones you are replacing

Best for beef soup

Close match

Cross-cut beef shank is the best single swap because it is literally a marrow bone with meat still attached, so use it weight for weight. Beef knuckle or joint bones give even more gelatin and body but less of that buttery marrow richness. Oxtail is the most reliable upgrade if the budget allows, since it brings bone, collagen, fat and meat all at once. If you have no bones at all and are trying to fix a thin store-bought broth, stir 1 to 2 teaspoons of unflavored powdered gelatin into each cup, which gives you the body but none of the flavor.

Other marrow bones substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Beef knuckle or joint bones
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Knuckle and joint bones are packed with cartilage and connective tissue, so they release far more gelatin than marrow bones do.
What changes
Best for
stock, bone broth, pho, consomme, anything you want to set when chilled
The broth will set to a firm jelly in the fridge and feel silky and lip-sticking, but it tastes cleaner and less rich because there is little marrow fat. Add a knob of butter or a spoon of schmaltz at the end if you miss the richness, or roast the bones first for more depth.
3Oxtail
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Cross-sections of tail, each with a bone core, a ring of collagen and a good cap of fat and meat.
What changes
Best for
beef soup, stock, braises, cholent, Jewish beef and barley soup
This is the richest option and makes the best-tasting broth of anything on this list, deeply beefy and glossy. It costs considerably more per pound than marrow bones and roughly a third of the weight is bone, so buy generously. Skim the fat after chilling or the soup will be heavy.
4Chicken wings, backs and feet
Different taste
Use 1.5 pounds for every pound of beef bones
For Jewish chicken soup, this is the right answer rather than a compromise.
What changes
Feet are almost pure collagen, wings and backs bring both gelatin and flavor.
Best for
chicken soup, matzo ball soup, light broths, risotto stock
The broth turns golden and light rather than dark and beefy, and it sets very firmly because of the feet. Completely wrong for a beef soup and better than beef bones for a chicken one. Feet need a 60-second blanch and a rinse first or the broth clouds.
5Beef neck bones or short ribs
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
Both are meaty bones with plenty of connective tissue, and neck bones in particular are cheap and widely stocked at kosher and Southern butcher counters.
What changes
Best for
beef soup, stock, cholent, gravy, braises
You get much more meaty, roasted flavor and less of the rounded fatty mouthfeel marrow provides. Neck bones make a broth that tastes strongly of beef but feels slightly thinner. Short ribs behave like oxtail but with less gelatin. Both are excellent for soup and inferior for a delicate stock.
6Unflavored powdered gelatin in store-bought broth
Close match
Use 1 to 2 teaspoons for every cup of broth
Sprinkle gelatin over cold broth, let it bloom for five minutes, then heat and stir.
What changes
This is the honest emergency fix when you have no bones and no time.
Best for
quick soup, pan sauces, gravy, rescuing thin broth
It gives you the exact silky, mouth-coating body that bones provide and absolutely none of the flavor, so the broth still tastes like what it tasted like before. Pair it with a browned onion, a splash of soy sauce and a pat of butter if you want depth too. Be honest with yourself that this is a texture patch, not a stock.
7Nothing, if you wanted to eat the marrow
Taste and texture differ
No substitute
If the recipe is roasted marrow bones on toast, there is no substitute at all.
What changes
Marrow is a specific soft, sweet, buttery fat and nothing else behaves like it.
Best for
roasted bone marrow, marrow on toast, marrow butter
The least-bad stand-in on toast is a compound butter or good beef fat whipped with parsley, shallot, lemon and salt, which gets you the richness and the flavor pairing but not the wobble or the little gelatinous edge. Say plainly that it is different rather than pretending.

What is Marrow Bones?

Marrow Bones is Marrow bones are sections of beef leg bone, usually femur or shin, sawn crosswise so the soft fatty marrow inside is exposed, and they are added to a pot for the rich fat and body they release rather than for meat.

Cooking tips

Roast the bones before simmering if you want a dark, deep stock. 45 minutes at 425F until well browned, then deglaze the pan with water and add that to the pot. For a pale, clean Jewish chicken or beef soup, skip roasting and blanch the bones for 10 minutes in plain water instead, then discard that water and start fresh.
Never let a bone stock boil. Hard boiling emulsifies the fat into the liquid and shreds the proteins, giving you a cloudy, greasy broth. Keep it at a bare shiver where a bubble breaks every second or two, and skim the grey scum off in the first 20 minutes.
Marrow bones need less time than you think. Marrow renders out in one to two hours; it is the knuckle and joint collagen that wants four to six. If you are using marrow bones alone, a long cook mostly just evaporates your stock.
Chill the finished stock overnight and check two things. A firm jelly means you extracted plenty of collagen; if it stays liquid, add knuckle bones or chicken feet next time. The cap of fat that sets on top is worth keeping for frying and for schmaltz-style richness.
A splash of vinegar in the pot is often recommended to pull minerals from bones. The evidence for the mineral claim is weak, but a tablespoon does no harm and helps soften cartilage slightly. Do not add so much that you can taste it.
If you are canning stock rather than freezing it, do not improvise. Stock is a low-acid food and must be pressure canned at tested times and pressures. Follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation instructions exactly, and freeze or refrigerate instead if you do not have a pressure canner.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the bones out and still make good soup?

You can make good-tasting soup, but not a bodied one. Bones give a broth its silky, lip-coating quality, and no amount of vegetables or meat provides that. Stir 1 to 2 teaspoons of unflavored gelatin into each cup of store-bought broth to fake the body, and build flavor with browned onion, roasted meat scraps and a long gentle simmer.

What is the difference between marrow bones, soup bones and knuckle bones?

Soup bones is a loose retail term for any bones sold for stock, and it may be marrow, knuckle, neck or a mix. Marrow bones are sawn leg bones full of soft fatty marrow, which give richness. Knuckle bones are the joint ends, full of cartilage, which give gelatin and body. A good stock ideally uses both, so if the label just says soup bones you are probably fine.

Do I need beef bones specifically, or will any bones do?

Any bones make stock, but the flavor follows the animal. Beef bones give dark, mineral, beefy broth for beef soup, cholent and pho. Chicken and turkey bones give a golden, lighter broth, which is what you want for matzo ball soup. Do not mix beef and chicken bones if you want a clean-tasting result.

How many pounds of bones do I need per quart of stock?

Roughly one to one and a half pounds of bones per quart of water is a good working ratio, and more bone always gives more body. Pack the pot fairly full and add just enough water to cover by an inch, since a flooded pot gives you weak stock you then have to reduce.

Can I reuse bones for a second batch of stock?

Yes, and traditional kitchens do, but be realistic. A second extraction gives a thin, pale liquid that is useful for cooking grains or thinning a soup, not for a stock you would serve on its own. The marrow fat is gone after the first round.

Related substitutes

More meat & protein substitutes

Marrow Bones substitute

Other marrow bones substitutes

2Beef knuckle or joint bones

3Oxtail

4Chicken wings, backs and feet

5Beef neck bones or short ribs

6Unflavored powdered gelatin in store-bought broth

7Nothing, if you wanted to eat the marrow