Whether you’re making a chunky chili or cooking quinoa, homemade vegetable broth is one of the most useful and cost-effective things you can make yourself. Not only is it cheaper than store-bought, but it helps avoid waste since it’s made of veggie scraps and ensures your veggie broth is 100% clean and vegan.
Once you’ve prepared a batch of our homemade vegan vegetable broth, you can use it for soups, pot pie, and reheating mashed potatoes or stuffing.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
- 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.
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.
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.
4. Your homemade vegan vegetable broth is ready to use!
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.
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.
Serving Suggestions
- Vegan white bean chili. Use this broth for flavorful hearty chili.
- Cheesy vegan broccoli soup. A classic recipe for homemade broth.
- Vegan mac and cheese. Broth is a key ingredient in vegan cheese sauce.
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Homemade Is Better
With this easy homemade vegetable broth recipe, you’ll never have to buy store-bought broth again!
What is your favorite dish to use homemade broth in? Let us know in the comments below.
Homemade Vegan Vegetable Broth
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped, with skins
- 4 garlic cloves with skins
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped, with skins
- 4 celery stalks
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 small handfuls fresh herbs dill, parsley, oregano, rosemary, or thyme
- 3 bay leaves dried
- 10 cups water
- 2 tablespoons oil or vegan butter
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.
Nutrition
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