How to Make Vegetable Broth: 3 Recipes + 3 Uses
Anna Köhler
(Senior Editor)
Vegetable broth is a cooking staple and refines many a dish. We show you how to make your own vegetable stock quickly and easily and explain when you can use it.
Vegetable broth forms the base of many dishes. It is often used in soups, but also provides quick relief for colds or a hangover.
If you don’t always want to use store-bought stock cubes, you can make your own vegetable stock quickly and easily. This way, you know exactly what is in it and can avoid consuming any additives.
Homemade Vegetable Broth: This Is What You Need
How to Make your own Vegetable Broth
If you’re short on time and just want to whip up something quick in the kitchen, it’s certainly easiest to resort to buying vegetable broth as powder or cubes. However, this contains many unhealthy additives, which vegetable broth fundamentally does not need.
If, going forwards, you want to cook with vegetable broth that’s truly healthy, it’s best to make it yourself. This way, you can do without any flavor enhancers or other superfluous ingredients.
You can make your own vegetable broth in bulk and freeze it. That way, you’ll always have it on hand when you need it. You’ll need the following ingredients and materials to make homemade vegetable broth.
Start with Soup Greens
Start with Greens
Soup greens are one of the most important components of a healthy vegetable broth and specifically refer to carrots, celeriac and leeks. You can buy these greens as part of a ready-made vegetable packet or individually.
Carrots are rich in vitamins. First and foremost, they impress with vitamin C, the provitamin beta-carotene and several B vitamins.
Celeriac is also rich in vitamins and contains important fiber to boot. Essential oils make the vegetable easy to digest and easy on the stomach too. Leeks contain the healthy fiber inulin, which stimulates intestinal activity by nourishing gut bacteria. Every now and then, you’ll also find a stalk of parsley in a ready-made package of greens.
If you’re buying pre-packaged greens, you should look for organic ones. However, they’re often packaged in plastic in the supermarket, which creates unnecessary waste. So, in any case, it is a good idea to buy the greens individually and assemble a package yourself.
Add Water
Another main ingredient of vegetable broth is, of course, water. It is quite enough if you use tap water – you don’t need any kind of special water to prepare your broth.
Don’t Forget to Season
Seasoning comes into play as the third main ingredient. This will add a special flavour to your broth and give it that little something extra. The seasoning you use is basically up to you, but salt and pepper are firm staples in a delicious broth. When it comes to other kinds of seasoning, you can experiment at whim until it suits your taste.
Vegetable Broth Recipes
Vegetable Broth Recipes
Not all vegetable broth is the same. There are many different recipes you can try. In principle, there are no limits to your imagination.
We’ve picked out a few quick and easy recipes for you to try out, including a basic recipe for vegetable broth as well as a few variations. You’ll be able to master the following recipes in no time.
How to Make Clear Vegetable Broth
Homemade vegetable broth has an intense taste, even without any flavor enhancers and it is perfect for making soups or sauces. This basic recipe does not contain any unusual kinds of seasoning or anything fancy, so you’ll know exactly where you stand.
You’ll need:
- One bunch of greens
- One tomato
- Two onions
- One clove of garlic
These ingredients will make you a liter and a half of vegetable broth. That’s perfect for one meal, and you’ll have some left over to freeze. Here’s how you make your vegetable broth:
- Wash the vegetables thoroughly and cut them into chunks. If you like, you can also peel them, but as long as you clean them thoroughly, this is not a must. Remove any withered parts.
- Halve the onion without peeling it.
- Press the garlic flat.
- Halve the tomato.
- Place the vegetables in a saucepan with two liters of water and bring to a boil.
- Then turn down the heat and let the mixture simmer for one hour. If you like your broth extra strong, let it simmer for an hour and a half.
- Pour the vegetable broth through a sieve, filtering out the vegetables so you’re left with just the liquid.
How to Make Vegetable Broth Powder
Do it Yourself: Vegetable Broth Powder
If you prefer to make broth powder, no problem – this is also very easy to do. You can use fresh vegetables as well as any leftovers from cooking, such as carrot peel or other bits and bobs that would otherwise go into your organic waste.
If you don’t have that many leftovers from one meal, just keep freezing them every time you cook and use them to make broth when you have enough. This way, you’ll do something good for the environment and save money too. Plus, the broth will taste especially good if you use many different kinds of vegetables.
You’ll need:
- 300 grams of onion
- 350 grams of greens
- 300 grams of tomatoes
- Two stalks of parsley
This recipe involves making broth powder rather than broth itself. Here’s how you do it:
- Wash the greens and tomatoes thoroughly.
- Chop all the ingredients as finely as possible.
- Spread some baking paper onto a baking stray and distribute the ingredients across it.
- Heat your convection oven to 75 degrees and place the tray inside for about six hours. It’s best to clamp a wooden spoon in the oven door so that the liquid can escape. Alternatively, you can open the oven door from time to time (in summer, you can save energy by placing the tray in a sunny, slightly windy place).
- Leave the vegetables to dry and stir them every now and then.
- Once everything has sufficiently dried, use a food processor to chop the vegetables.
- Finally, season the powder with salt and put it into sealable jars.
How to Make Broth Powder from Wild Herbs
Broth Powder from Wild Herbs
If you’re in the mood for something fancy, you could make your broth powder from wild herbs. You can basically use any herbs available to you that you like the taste of.
You can make your broth even healthier depending on the herbs you add. In fact, some herbs like goutweed or wild garlic are very good for you and your body.
Preparing your own vegetable broth powder gets you something like the instant powder you buy at the supermarket. Here’s one way of preparing it.
You’ll need:
- Two handfuls of wild garlic
- One handful of goutweed
- Two handfuls of oregano
- Some parsley
- Some celery leaves
- Five scallions
- 40 grams of tomato powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- Kitchen appliance for chopping
Since this recipe is for producing a powder, there’s no need to cook the broth. Instead, dry the vegetables and then process them into a powder. It works like this:
- Wash the wild garlic, goutweed, oregano, parsley and celery leaves thoroughly.
- Dry the herbs as well as possible. This works best with a salad spinner.
- Cut the herbs into small pieces.
- Finely chop the scallions.
- Spread the chopped ingredients onto a baking tray and dry them in the oven at 80 degrees. This will take up to seven hours. Moisture will keep escaping whilst the vegetables are drying. To prevent this from remaining in the oven, leave the oven door ajar. To do this, place a cooking spoon in the door, for example. After about two hours, loosen the ingredients and spread them out differently on the tray.
Once everything has dried, put the herbs in the food processor together with the tomato powder, salt and pepper and process everything into a fine powder. - You can store the powder in a screw-top jar for about half a year.
Nutrition Facts and Calories in Vegetable Broth
Below you can find the nutrition facts and calorie count for vegetable broth.
| Components | 1 Cup Vegetable Broth (221 g) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 11 kcal |
| Total Fat | 0.2 g |
| Cholersterol | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 654.2 mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 2.1 g |
| Protein | 0.5 g |
| Vitamin C | 0.9 mg |
| Vitamin D | 0 mcg |
| Iron | 0.1 mg |
| Calcium | 6.6 mg |
| Potassium | 42 mg |
| Phosphorus | 6.6 mg |
Homemade Beef Stock Recipe
Homemade Beef Stock Recipe
If you’d like to make meat stock rather than vegetable broth, this is just as easy to do yourself. This one is not suitable for vegetarians or vegans, of course, because the recipe involves beef bones in addition to your soup greens.
Although it takes a bit more effort to make a beef stock, it is worth it. The taste is simply delicious and it’s just as healthy as the meatless alternative. Just try it out and then decide for yourself which type of stock tastes better to you.
By the way, there is a distinction between meat broth and meat stock. Broth is usually made with meat whilst stock is made with bones.
You will need:
- Two kilograms of beef bones
- Three onions
- Three cloves of garlic
- One teaspoon of tomato paste
- One tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt
- Pepper
- 750 grams of greens
- Four stalks of parsley
Making beef stock is relatively complex and takes a long time, as there are several different steps involved in the overall cooking process. Therefore, it’s best to make it in bulk and then freeze some. Here’s how to make your own beef stock:
- Place the beef bones in a saucepan and fill it with water.
- Heat the water and once it has reached a rolling boil, leave the bones in for five more minutes before taking them out.
- Wash the bones and pat them dry.
- Preheat your convection oven to 200 degrees and put the bones in as soon as the oven is hot. Leave them in for 50 minutes.
- In the meantime, fry the onions and garlic in a saucepan, adding the tomato paste shortly after.
- Take the bones out of the oven and add them to the onions, garlic and tomato paste in the saucepan.
- Add two liters of water and season with salt, pepper and vinegar.
- Bring the whole thing slowly to the boil over a medium heat.
- Now let the stock simmer for three hours and keep removing any foam that forms on the surface.
- Wash the greens, peel them if necessary and cut them into chunks.
- After three hours, add the greens and parsley to the saucepan and cook everything together for one hour.
- Finally, filter the finished stock through a sieve.
Tips on How to Make Homemade Vegetable Broth
Tips on Preparing Broth
Simply try out different broth recipes and then decide for yourself which one you like best. In any case, it’s fun to experiment a little and it’ll be worth it to find your perfect recipe. We have put together a few handy tips for you below to make preparing your own vegetable broth particularly easy.
Vegetable Broth from Scraps
When cooking, it happens time and again that there are some vegetables left over that are still good, but not enough for a whole meal. Of course, you shouldn’t throw them away, but use them to prepare a tasty vegetable broth instead. It doesn’t matter which vegetables you use – just throw everything in a pot and make the broth. You don’t even have to peel onions.
Make Vegetable Broth by Using Waste
Anything that would normally go into the organic waste bin is also great for making into a delicious vegetable broth. That goes for carrot peel, mushroom stems, and the stalks of cauliflower or broccoli, for example.
If you have stripped basil leaves from a sprig, don’t throw the sprig away, but add it to your broth as well. However, make sure to wash your vegetables thoroughly if you want to use the peel.
Freeze Homemade Vegetable Broth
You Can Freeze Your Broth
If you’ve made a big pot of vegetable broth, you certainly won’t use it up right away the first time you cook with it. To prevent the broth from spoiling, it’s best to freeze it.
An ice cube tray is especially good for this – simply pour the broth into the tray and put it in your freezer. The next time you need vegetable broth, you can pop individual cubes out of the tray and melt them in a saucepan. This way, you won’t have to make new stock every time you need it for a recipe and can get cooking right away.
Uses: What is Vegetable Broth Good for?
Vegetable broth is incredibly versatile and comes in handy in a wide variety of situations. Not only is it great for cooking, but also for when you’re not feeling well. Especially when homemade, vegetable broth contains a lot of valuable nutrients. Below you can find a few examples of what it is good for.
Homemade Vegetable Broth Helps Combat Hangovers
Vegetable Broth Helps against Hangover
If you drank too much the evening before, it’s probable that you won’t feel at all well the next day. A hangover is extremely unhealthy and quite often causes nausea and severe headaches. The more alcohol you drink, the more you lack water and electrolytes and your body really feels this overnight, resulting in headaches, dizziness or nausea the next day.
Vegetable broth can be used to replenish your body with minerals in no time and compensate for your fluid deficit. Ideally, drink a cup of vegetable broth before going to bed after a night drinking.
Broth is easy to digest, doesn’t overwhelm your stomach, and contains salts and vitamins. You can make your broth even more nutritious by adding some fresh vegetables and herbs to it too.
Vegetable Broth Helps to Combat Colds
Vegetable Broth Aids Colds
A cup of hot vegetable broth works wonders for a cold, and especially a sore throat. Not only does it slide easily down your throat, but it strengthens your defenses and immune system too.
What’s more, vegetable broth promotes gut health and provides important nutrients for your bones, joints and skin. Find more home remedies for sore throats here.
In particular, warm chicken soup made with vegetable broth helps to limit the movement of white blood cells during a respiratory infection. These are responsible for the inflammatory processes in your body. In addition, hot broth invigorates, strengthens and warms you up during a cold. It also hydrates you and ensures that your respiratory tract stays moist.
Homemade Vegetable Broth is Perfect for Cooking
Vegetable Broth is Good for Cooking
It is impossible to imagine cooking without vegetable broth. It goes without saying that it is a staple in soup, but it is also used time and again in different sauces and pan-cooked dishes. As such, it’s a good idea to always have some vegetable broth on hand if you like to cook.
Here you can learn how to cook the perfect pasta.
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