Homemade Vegan Vegetable Broth

Learn how to make homemade vegan vegetable broth with this easy recipe. It’s an excellent use for leftover vegetable scraps while saving money! Use your healthy broth for soups, casseroles, chilis, sauces, and cooking grains.

Kirsten Nunez, MS

By Kirsten Nunez, MS

3 Ratings

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Vegan vegetable broth with carrots, onions, leeks, and fresh herbs in glass jars.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez

Whether you’re making a chunky chili or cooking quinoa, homemade vegetable broth is one of the most useful ingredients to keep in your kitchen.

For starters, it’s an excellent way to put leftover vegetable scraps to good use. This makes it significantly cheaper than store-bought versions. You’ll also be able to reduce waste by skipping the pre-packaged broth.

And while most vegetable broth in stores is vegan-friendly, making your own will ensure that your recipe is completely free of animal ingredients.

Once you’ve prepared a batch of homemade vegan vegetable broth, you can use it for soups, pot pie, and more. It’s even useful to add as a liquid when reheating mashed potatoes or stuffing.

Key Ingredients

Ingredients for vegan vegetable broth: Onion scraps, carrots, celery, garlic, leek, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez
  • Vegetables. Commonly used options include celery stalks, onions, garlic, carrots, leeks, mushrooms, and ginger.
  • Vegetable scraps. This includes pieces like onions skins, carrot ends, and asparagus trimmings. You can also make a broth using solely vegetable scraps.
  • Water. Water serves as the base for this recipe.
  • Spices and herbs. For maximum flavor, add spices (like whole peppercorn), herbs, and/or salt. You can adjust these ingredients according to your taste buds.

How to Make Vegan Vegetable Broth

This recipe for homemade vegetable broth is extremely flexible, so try not to overthink the steps or ingredients. Consider it to be a general guide.

Once you’ve made a few batches of broth from scratch, you’ll be able to determine the best approach for your taste buds and needs.

1. In a large pot, warm two tablespoons of oil or vegan butter. Add all of the vegetables and vegetable scraps, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to evenly cook the ingredients.

Large pot filled with vegetable scraps cooking on a stove.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez

2. Add water, spices, and herbs, including bay leaves. Simmer for at least 1 hour. You can add more water if the liquid reduces too quickly. Taste the broth and add more salt, if desired.

Large pot filled with vegetable scraps, water, and fresh herbs cooking on a stove.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez

3. Let the broth cool. Carefully strain the contents of the pot into another bowl. Alternatively, you can scoop the contents into a funnel straight into a jar.

Draining the vegan vegetable broth from the cooked vegetable scraps into glass jars.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez

4. Your homemade vegan vegetable broth is ready to use!

Finished vegan vegetable broth in glass jars.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez

Recipe Tips, Variations, and Substitutions

  • Skip the sautéing step. Although sautéing the veggies will help bring out their flavor, you can skip it if you’re short on time.
  • Add tomato paste. For a bolder flavor and color, add a tablespoon (or few) of tomato paste.
  • Sprinkle in nutritional yeast. You can also add nutritional yeast for a cheesy, somewhat salty flavor. Try sprinkling it on the veggies while cooking or dissolving it straight into the liquid.
  • Add apple or pear. Some people like adding apple or pears for a bit of sweetness. This could be a great use for using cores and scraps.
  • Avoid using too much onion. It can be tempting to use a lot of onion ends and skins, as onions are used in almost every recipe. But avoid adding too much, which can make your broth too bitter.
  • Use fresh herbs. Whenever possible, use fresh herbs to flavor your broth. Dried powered herbs can also add bitterness to the broth.
  • Only use vegetable scraps. If you don’t want to use full, whole vegetables, you can only use scraps. In general, about 2 cups of scraps equals 4 carrots or celery stalks.
  • Use frozen vegetable scraps. Consider keeping a “broth bag” in the freezer. Whenever you cook, add the scraps to a freezer-safe bag. Over time, you’ll naturally collect veggie scraps. You can use them in broth straight from frozen.
Vegan vegetable broth in glass jars.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you store homemade vegetable broth?

Store leftover vegetable broth in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for about one week.

Can you freeze it?

Yes, you can freeze homemade vegetable broth. Store it in a freezer-safe container and use it within 3 months. We love using Souper Cubes to freeze homemade broth.

What’s the difference between stock and broth?

In general, the term “stock” refers to bone-infused liquid. But some people use “stock” and “broth” interchangeably, even when talking about vegetable broth. So, you might see the terms “vegetable stock” and “vegetable broth” used in the same way.

What are good store-bought vegan vegetable broths?

If you’d still like to keep store-bought vegetable broths on hand, we recommend Better Than Bouillon’s Organic Vegetable Base. To use it, simply dissolve 1 teaspoon (1 cube) in 8 ounces of water. The base is also packaged in a jar, which can be washed and reused.

Vegan vegetable broth in glass jars.
Photo: Kirsten Nunez

Serving Suggestions

Vegan vegetable broth in glass jars

Homemade Vegan Vegetable Broth

Learn how to make homemade vegan vegetable broth with this easy recipe. It’s an excellent way to use up leftover vegetable scraps while saving money! Use your healthy broth for soups, casseroles, chilis, sauces, and cooking grains.
Click stars below to rate, or leave a full review in the comments
3 Ratings
Print Rate it Now Pin Recipe
Course: Condiments & Sauces, Soup
Cuisine: Any
Diet: Vegan
Keyword: vegan vegetable broth, vegetable broth, vegetable stock
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4
Calories: 105kcal
Author: Kirsten Nunez, MS

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large pot, warm two tablespoons of oil or vegan butter. Add all of the vegetables and vegetable scraps, and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to evenly cook the ingredients.
  • Add water, spices, and herbs, including bay leaves. Simmer for at least 1 hour. You can add more water if the liquid reduces too quickly.
  • Taste the broth and add more salt, if desired.
  • Let the broth cool. Carefully strain the contents of the pot into another bowl. Alternatively, you can scoop the contents into a funnel straight into a jar.

Notes

  • Although sautéing the veggies will help bring out their flavor, you can skip it if you’re short on time.
  • For a bolder flavor and color, add a tablespoon (or several) of tomato paste.
  • You can also add nutritional yeast for a cheesy, somewhat salty flavor. Try sprinkling it on the veggies while cooking or dissolving it straight into the liquid.
  • Some people like adding apple or pears for a bit of sweetness. This could be a great use for cores and scraps.
  • It can be tempting to use a lot of onion ends and skins, as onions are used in almost every recipe. But avoid adding too much, which can make your broth too bitter.
  • Whenever possible, use fresh herbs to flavor your broth. Dried powered herbs can also add bitterness to the broth.
  • This recipe can be made entirely with vegetable scraps. In general, 4 carrots or celery stalks equals about 2 cups scraps.
  • Consider keeping a “broth bag” in the freezer. Whenever you cook, add the scraps to a freezer-safe bag. Over time, you’ll naturally collect veggie scraps. You can use them in broth straight from frozen. 

Recommended Tools & Products

Large pot
Glass jars with lids

Nutrition

Calories: 105kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 658mg | Potassium: 268mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 10259IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 0.4mg
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