Vegan Broth

The vegan broth is a critical ingredient in many vegan recipes. Although you can easily find pre-made ones in any grocery store, making vegetable broth at home has its benefits. Homemade vegetable broth is rich, flavorful, easy to make, and customizable.

If you are wondering how to make vegetable broth at home, here is everything you need to know about this recipe.

Why make your broth?

Although you can easily find pre-made vegetable broth at stores, I prefer you make your own at home. If you are weighing your options on whether buying pre-made vegetable stock is better or not, here are a few reasons you should make it at home:

• First and foremost, the homemade vegetable broth is super healthy. All the ingredients you use are fresh, and because you will be the one to buy them, prepare them and cook them, it adds satisfaction that every ingredient is healthy and vegan. So, there is no room for doubt.
• Homemade vegetable broth is free from any kind of preservatives. So, this again adds to your health.
• It is super tasteful. The depth of flavors in homemade vegetable broth is on spot. You will end up with a very tasteful and rich broth.
• You can use up old vegetables that you have in your pantry. This way, these vegetables won’t get wasted.
• You can adjust the flavors, add more ingredients, and adjust the spices and seasonings as per your taste. Most store-bought broths are high in sodium. So, when you make one at home, you can adjust the sodium level as per your requirements. Furthermore, you can make the broth spicy or a bit tangy as per your liking.
• Lastly, homemade vegetable broth is super easy to make. There is no extensive preparation or steps. The stovetop does all the job. The flavors come from simmering the broth on low flame. So, you just have to wait. That’s all.

Vegan Broth Recipe

The best thing about making vegetable broth at home is that you can use any vegetable available in your pantry. Furthermore, this way, you can also use up old vegetables that may otherwise rot. Although the room of customization is big, here are essential ingredients that you’ll need to make vegetable broth at home:

• Potatoes: You will need whole potatoes for making vegetable broth. You can use any type of potatoes, whether russet or any other starchy type. However, make sure you wash and scrub them to get rid of dirt and debris. Don’t peel the potatoes. The skin also contains many healthy nutrients. Cut the potatoes in chunks.
• Carrots: You will need fresh carrots for this vegetable broth. When buying carrots, make sure they have fresh colors and should be firm to touch. They should be without any bruises. Cut the carrots into large chunks. You don’t need to peel off their skin.
• Green onions: Green onions have a sharp and grassy flavor. Look for fresh and firm green onions. The green part shouldn’t be withered. Cut them into large pieces as well.
• Celery: Celery has a strong flavor. It brings in a peppery and herbaceous flavor to the stock.
• Onion: Onion is known for adding savory flavor to any dish. It brings is a slight sweetness to the broth. You can use either red or white onions for this purpose. Cut it into quarters and add to the broth.
• Garlic cloves: Garlic also brings in a depth of savory flavor to any dish. You can coarsely chop the garlic cloves before adding them to the stock.
• Thyme: Fresh thyme not only adds aroma, but also brings in a complexity of earthy, minty, and sharp flavor to the broth. If you don’t have fresh thyme available, you can use dried thyme as well. However, I prefer to go with fresh thyme.
• Parsley: Fresh parsley has an earthy, peppery, and clean flavor and beautiful aroma. If you don’t have parsley, you can use cilantro (coriander).
• Bay leaves: Bay leaf is a fantastic ingredient that is known to balance the flavors of any broth, soup, or stew, and not making it too heavy. It also brings in a distinct aroma to the broth.
• Olive oil: You will need olive oil to ensure the vegetables cook well. You can also use avocado oil instead of olive oil.
• Nutritional Yeast Flakes: Adds savoriness and depth of flavor.
• Sea salt: A little sea salt adds saltiness and balances out the flavors. You can add kosher salt or pink Himalayan salt as well.
• Water: Water will be the base for your broth.

How to make vegetable broth?

Making vegetable broth at home is super easy. The preparation time is no more than 10 minutes. The rest of the time goes into cooking. You don’t have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Once you have everything in the pot, you can tend to your other chores as the broth simmers away. Here are simple steps you have to follow for making homemade vegetable broth:

1. Heat oil (or 1/2 cup water if oil-free) in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, celery stalk, thyme sprigs, potatoes, and carrots, and sauté for 5 minutes while stirring constantly. 
2. Add water, parsley, bay leaves, nutritional yeast flakes, and salt.
3. Bring vegetable broth to a boil, then reduce to simmer for an hour. Adjust seasoning to taste.
4. Allow the broth to cool slightly, then strain the broth using a fine-mesh strainer or nut milk bag.
5. The broth is now ready to be used, or cool and stored in the refrigerator in a container with a tight-fitting lid for 5 days. You can also freeze the broth in a freezer container for up to five months.

How to store vegetable broth?

The best thing about vegetable broth is that you can store it for later use. You can place it in an air-tight container and store it in the refrigerator. It will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Furthermore, you can also store it in the freezer. It will last for up to five months. The best way is to portion it is by measuring out by the cup, placing them in small containers, then freezing them.

This way you can get as much as you need, without needing to thaw the whole batch. You can put the frozen broth directly in your soup or stew.

How to use vegetable broth?

Vegetable broth doesn’t just bring flavor to your dishes, but also adds additional nutrients to the dish that you may not find otherwise. So, it is a perfect ingredient that you can use instead of water. Homemade vegetable broth is also a perfect substitute for vegetable bouillon. You can use it in literally anything. Here are a few ideas:

• Soups: You can use homemade vegetable broth as a base for all types of soups. For instance, try my recipe for vegan cabbage soup, white bean soup, or vegan split pea soup.
• Stews: Use vegetable broth for several vegan stews like chickpea stew, lentil stew, or white bean stew.
• Gravies/curries: It is also the perfect ingredient to add to gravies and curries. It is, in fact, a critical ingredient in vegan gravies and curries, and adds so much flavor to them.

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