Making vegetable broth is one of those things that’s really easy to do, but I bet most of us don’t do it. Or, at least, don’t do it often. I use vegetable broth in a lot of my recipes, but I’ll be honest, I often use store-bought broth. But I shouldn’t because making your own vegetable broth is so, so easy. And you know what else? It tastes so much better too.
Unlike meat-based broths, there’s no skimming off fat or any of that ickiness. You don’t need to keep the pot on the stove for hours either. But it does require a little bit of advance planning. It also requires these three things:
Onions (or a member of the onion family–leeks or shallots work too), celery, and carrots. That’s your starting point, but from there, you can tailor your broth to what you’re going to be using it for. Add sprigs of thyme and parsley to make a cooking liquid for rice and other grains. If you’re going to be using the broth as a base for an Asian-inspired soup (like the Thai Red Curry Soup I posted yesterday!), try adding fresh ginger and lemongrass.
Now, back to that thing I said about advance planning! You can buy whatever you want for your broth, chop it all up, and put it in your stockpot, but I’m cheap and it kills my soul a little to think about throwing away all those perfectly good veggies. It’s bad enough I have to throw away the onions, celery, and carrots! So instead of buying what I need, I collect scraps in a freezer bag and when I have a few cups worth, I use them to make broth. Here’s what I used in this particular batch:
But really, you can use so many different things. You do want to stay away from cruciferous veggies, though–no cabbage, no broccoli, no cauliflower, and for the love of all things holy, no brussels sprouts. Make sure everything you use is clean too–you don’t want to make dirt soup! And remember, there’s a difference between things you don’t want to eat vs. things you shouldn’t eat. Clean carrot peel is fine in a broth or stock; a moldy carrot is not.
Oh, and speaking of stock! Have you ever wondered the difference between vegetable broth and stock? Broth is seasoned, while stock is not. So this recipe can be used for both vegetable broth or stock. To make stock, skip adding salt and pepper at the end.
Don't throw away those vegetable scraps! Use them to make your own delicious vegetable broth instead. It's easy and it's so much cheaper than buying broth at the grocery store.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 8 c. water
- frozen vegetable scraps (2-3 cups is a good amount)
- 2 bay leaves
- a few sprigs of parsley and thyme
- salt and pepper to taste (omit these if you're making stock)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened (about 5 minutes), stirring often. Add water, frozen vegetable scraps, bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes. Pour broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large heat-proof bowl or pot; discard solids.
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I love making stock from veggie scraps. I freeze left over in ice cube trays or small tubs for later use in soup, stews or even cook rice with it.
Freezing it in ice cube trays is a great idea!
How smart are you to freeze those scraps! I always say I’ll make chicken broth after I make a roast chicken and then I always forget. And good tip on the moldy carrots
you are brilliant. I even threw away onion skin tonight. I really never would have thought about freezing all that “trash” that I don’t cook with.
Can I hug you?! I throw these things away constantly. Going to be nice to stock the freezer or even have fresh vegetable broth ready in the fridge! Genius!
Plus I actually buy organic veggie broth so I always have it in the house – who knew I had it all along – never wasting my organic produce scraps! Book marked and pinned!! Yeah, kinda excited 
I used to buy the organic veggie broth too. The cost really adds up! I think you’ll really like making it yourself–it’s kind of fun collecting all those scraps.
And it tastes amazing!
thank you kiersten for this tutotrial!
What an amazing idea!! So much better than the vegetable broth with preservatives at the store! Totally going to try this. I LOVE VEGGIES
Brilliant!
Kiersten– why no Brussels sprouts? I’ve used them to make stock before and it’s turned out well. Any particular reason?
Brussels sprouts can make a broth very bitter. Do you like steamed or boiled sprouts by any chance? If you do, that might be why you like stock made with brussels sprouts.
I think it’s one of those flavors that some people like, but a lot of people hate!
I make this too! I put leeks in mine as well as onions, some potato peelings, and two teaspoons of peppercorns. Otherwise our recipes are pretty similar. Except that I don’t freeze scraps to use later, I don’t think I’m organized enough for that. I DO, however, have some frozen vegetable stock for next time I want to make a good soup!
I never have potato peelings on hand because I always cook my potatoes with the skin on!
I love this! I just started doing this last year and I will not go back! I’ve always felt the same way as you about making broth with perfectly good veggies so this is perfect for me
OMG!! Salvation!! I always WANT to make veggie broth/stock (and I am sure it is cheaper), but the few times I have made it the cash register starts ringing in my head thinking how much the veggies cost vs. buying. Using the scraps– utterly BRILLIANT!! I made stock last week, for the first time in a few years, to use as the base for some veggie split pea soup– was so good (the smell to die for) and thought “Ok, I really need to start doing this more” now with this idea I can!! And not feeling the pains of using perfectly good veggies!!
And the best part is, this smells and tastes no different than the stock you make with whole vegetables. It’s just much cheaper. Win-win, right?
This is a great way to use all those scraps! You have the best ideas ever. Thanks for teaching me this trick.
I love how you made the peels and scraps beautiful in the photograph
I was worried people would think they looked gross–ha!
Great directions. Just thought I’d share that by putting your food scraps in a cheese cloth for simmering you can then easily discard them, strain the rest for stock, AND use those great carrots, celery, and onion in something else.
No waste :0)
That is a great idea–thank you!
To think I’ve been putting my veggie scraps in the compost bin or feeding them to the dogs! Their loss is my gain!
Hi Kiersten,
What do you think of adding soy sauce in lieu of the salt? I think it would much enhance the flavor.
http://theproducesavant.blogspot.com/.
I haven’t tried it myself, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Hi. Great way to reduce, I’ve been doing this for a few years now. I’m wondering why you specify to not use cruciferous vegetables? I’m really curious..I’ve been doing brocolli, etc. in mine. Is this just a flavor preference?
Please let me know, thank you.
I’ve read in a number of places that cruciferous vegetables shouldn’t be used in broths or stocks. Because of their sulfur content, they can impart a bitterness to broths. Since broccoli is milder than brussels sprouts, I think it would impact the flavor less, but I still try to steer clear of it. But if it works for you, there’s no reason to stop using it!
Another easy way to do this is put all of your frozen scraps in a crock pot and add some water and turn on LOW level and it will all be done when you return home from work and ready to use to make a delicious pot of soup.
Thank you for the tip–that’s a great idea!
This is a great way to use up vegetables when you have no more freezer space:) I made mine with lots of celery leaves and stalks and some chilli and rosemary too. It smells spicy:) looking forward to using it as stock or in my risotto.
I hope it turned out well!
Yes – mine tasted predominantly of celery as I used a lot of it (sticks and leaves). I left out the carrot as I am not too fond (and follow a low sugar diet). Tried some of it to make a soup the next day and the flavour lingers on the palate.. fantastic. I will definitely keep making this.
How liberating!!! I no longer have to feel guilty about throwing away the veggie scraps, or wondering what I can do with them–yes, I know I could use them in a compost pile; maybe some day. Thanks for the advice!
Woo hoo! I always feel guilty about wasting things too, so I’m glad I could help.
If you are a juicer, you can also use the discarded veggie scraps to make a stock or broth.
It’s delish!
I’m not a juicer yet, but I have been wanting to start. Thanks for the tip!
By discarded veggie scraps I mean the pulp that the juicer produces.
I tried out this after googling..I used up the celery leaves, cauliflower and mushroom stocks and some onion peels….The stock tastes so fresh and aromatic..This should make a gr8 difference to the couscous salad.
I’m glad it turned out well–thanks for your comment!
This would be the perfect addition to my brown rice. I can’t wait to try it…
Quick question….I always make my veggie stock from scratch and I love your tips! What is the deal about letting it cool first before putting in the refrigerator? Is this an old wives tale or is there a procedure to store it properly?
thanks!
Julie
It’s a food safety issue–if you put a big pot or container of broth in the refrigerator, it’ll warm up the food around it, which can cause bacteria to multiply. It’s best to either cool the broth first and then refrigerate or freeze it (the faster you can cool it the better, so putting the pot into a sink full of ice water is helpful!) or transfer it to several small, shallow containers, which will cool quickly and shouldn’t impact the temperature of everything else in the refrigerator.
Thank you!