Easy Vegetable Broth Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What not to put in vegetable broth? ›

INGREDIENTS TO AVOID IN HOMEMADE VEGETABLE BROTH

This includes: “Flavorless” Vegetables – like zucchini or white potatoes; these aren't going to do anything bad to the broth, but they're not going to help it either. Cruciferous Vegetables – such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage.

Add bright, fresh flavor to vegetable broth

Just warm up the broth, toss in some parsley, cilantro, tarragon, sage, thyme, or a combination, and let the broth steep like tea for several minutes before fishing the herbs out. Don't boil fresh herbs in broth, though, or they could make the stock bitter.

Ingredients for Vegetable Broth

Celery, carrots, leek, and onion form the aromatic base of this vegetable stock, and dried mushrooms are the powerhouse ingredient, providing savoriness, richness, and color.

The base of a good vegetable stock is carrot, celery and onion, so make sure these three ingredients are well represented, even if you have to add a few whole (chopped) vegetables to your scrap mix.

Some vegetables just don't taste great in a stock! Cruciferous vegetables will get funky tasting, and seemingly mild vegetables like zucchini, green beans, and bell peppers can get bitter if simmered for too long.

While you can use a lot of vegetables in stock, you can't use all of them, because some vegetables—particularly cruciferous ones like broccoli and cauliflower—will make your stock bitter or otherwise unpalatable (read: farty).

Vegetable stock likely comes unseasoned, while broth usually contains salt and other seasonings. Vegetable stock is made with untrimmed, sometimes whole vegetables, while broth is made from trimmed, roughly chopped vegetables.

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

If it tastes bitter to you, there are a couple of ways to fix it. Consider adding one to four tablespoons of unsalted butter. Add one at a time, melt it in, cook for two minutes and taste.

Homemade vegetable broth allows you to get more use out of your vegetables. It can save you money, and save you a trip to the grocery store. As a bonus, your homemade broth will taste delicious and you can control the amount of salt and other seasonings.

How to make stock from scratch? ›

To make homemade chicken stock, place chicken bones, vegetables, herbs and spices into a large pot. Cover with cold water then simmer for about 3 hours. Let it cool, then skim the fat. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Water. This simple swap should suffice in most recipes that call for broth. To give H2O more depth, you may want to compensate by adding more spices like salt, pepper and bay leaves to your recipe and a tablespoon or two of olive oil to mimic the richness of broth.

Foods in the Brassica family, such as broccoli, are too strong for stock/broth and can impart a bitter taste. Foods in the Brassica family, such as cabbage, are too strong for stock/broth and can impart a bitter taste.

Save those vegetables that may have lost their crunchy appeal for a flavorful veggie stock. Even if stored properly, celery and carrots may become floppy after some time, but don't let them go to the compost. Throw in your onion skins, potato peels, and other veggie scraps from cooking to add more flavor to the mix!

Herbs add the “umami” to the soup, in my opinion. I went with fresh thyme, parsley, and rosemary and a bay leaf for good measure. And for even more depth of flavor? Tomato paste and nutritional yeast!

7 Vegetables to Avoid Adding to Vegetable Stock

1. Leafy green parts of carrots and celery. 2. Brassicas, including cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, rutabagas, collard greens, kohlrabi, and kale.

According to Baraghani, a good bone broth doesn't need much more than bones and a few choice aromatics, like onions, garlic, and black pepper. "Don't even get me started on carrots," he says, which add sweetness.