Easy vegetable stock recipe

Here’s a simple, flavorful vegetable stock recipe for everyday cooking. It’s a vegan, gluten-free, meal prep-friendly one-pot stock recipe.

What is a vegetable stock?

Vegetable stock is a flavorful, aromatic liquid prepared by simmering various vegetables, herbs, spices and herbs in water over low heat. It’s general used for making soups, pasta, risotto, sauces and gravies.

It is a healthy, nutritious ingredient that enhances the taste of the dishes. A stock adds an excellent depth of flavor that can’t be achieved with plain water.

Homemade versus ready-made

Why make vegetable stock at home when it is available in the supermarket? Making your stock will take your soups and other recipes to the next level exponentially! The homemade vegetable stock is:

• easy to adjust
• free from preservatives
• delicious natural taste
• no added artificial flavor
• cheap and budget-friendly
• made with high quality ingredients
• improves the nutritional quality of dishes
• an excellent way to use leftover vegetables

However, I will not deny that the packaged broth is convenient and does not require extra time and effort, like homemade ones. But at first it may feel like an extra step to make your vegetable stock, but once you get the hang of it, it’s quite simple and takes very little time.

Best vegetables for stock

When making basic vegetable stock, you want vegetables with a neutral but savory flavor. Here are a few vegetables to include in your broth:

• garlic
• celery
• onion
• carrot
• leek

In addition, there are a few additional ingredients that are part of my vegetable stock recipe:

• herbs such as coriander stems, thyme or parsley
• wild or mushrooms
• ginger
• black peppercorns
• cinnamon stick
• bay leaf
• salty

Optional flavor enhancers: You can add these vegetables and herbs to your vegetable stock.

• parsnip
• corn cob
• fennel bulb
• lemongrass
• mushroom stems
• vegetable peels such as onion, carrot

Vegetables to avoid

Avoid watery, cruciferous, and starchy vegetables when making vegetable stock, as these add a bitter taste and a cloudy and gummy texture to the stock.

• zucchini
• potatoes
• Broccoli
• cabbage
• radishes
• cucumber
• peas
• pumpkin
• eggplant
• beet
• Cauliflower
• green beans
• okra (woman’s finger)
• summer squash
• brussels sprouts
• purple vegetables
• spinach and other green leafy vegetables

How to make stock

First wash the vegetables well. You don’t want to taste dirt or sand in your broth! I prefer to use fresh, organic vegetables when making stock.

Then chop them coarsely. The shape is not important – they can be bite-sized chunks or pieces.

Build layers of flavor by sautéing – garlic, ginger, onion, celery, bay leaf and mushrooms in olive oil (images 1 & 2).

Then let it simmer. Add the remaining vegetables, herbs, salt and water to the pan.

Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes (images 5 & 6).

Finally, strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the vegetables and whole herbs (image 8).

Vegetable stock is ready for use or storage.

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Allow the vegetable stock to cool completely before storing. Transfer it to a container with a tight-fitting lid. You can keep it in the refrigerator for a week.

After cooling, Place the stock in an ice cube tray and freeze. Once you have frozen solid bouillon cubes, place them in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer. You can use frozen stock cubes for several months.

How to use vegetable stock

You can use homemade vegetable stock in a million creative ways. The easiest way to use stock is in soups and stews.

In addition, it improves the taste of pasta sauce, casserole with baked vegetables, shepherd’s pie, rice dishes or vegetables in hot garlic sauce.

You can add vegetable stock to any vegetarian dish that calls for stock.

Homemade vegetable stock has a delicious savory taste and is packed with good nutrients; you can drink cups of it.

My tried and true tips

I wouldn’t recommend adding scrapes and peels of vegetables to the stock until and unless they are organic and pesticide free.

Use room temperature water Vegetables have different cooking times and flavor solubility. Cold or room temperature water allows them to slowly release the flavor without breaking down.

Celery, onion and carrot are the holy grail of vegetable stock. Be sure to include them in your vegetable stock recipe.

Let the vegetable stock boil over low heat. Do not cook it on high heat. It is not necessary to stir the broth during cooking.

Additional ingredients such as coriander seeds, star anise, dried mushrooms, Italian herbs (oregano, thyme, sage) or sun-dried tomatoes can enhance the flavor of your vegetable stock. It all depends on what purpose you want to use homemade broth.

Watch stock video