Forget store-bought…the best vegetable broth is homemade! This homemade veggie broth is infused with tons of savoury & rich veggie flavour. It adds so much oomph to all your homemade soups, stews, sauces and more!
Hey friends!
Sharing a pretty simple recipe today that could be the base of so many delicious eats.
If you follow Girl Heart Food, you know I use vegetable broth on the regular….so I figured ‘why not make my own?’
I’ve been wanting to sharing this broth recipe with you guys forever!
This homemade veg broth, gets rich colour and flavour from tomato paste and (one of my fave ingredients for broth) dried mushrooms.
It’s seriously good….like drink a hot-cup-of-it good after coming in from a cold day…so relishing!
Veggie Broth Ingredients
- Oil – to get things going
- Veggies – like leek, onion, celery, carrot, parsnip and baby spinach
- Aromatics and Fresh Herbs – like garlic, bay leaves, parsley, thyme and rosemary
- Flavour Boosters – like dried mushrooms, tomato paste, fresh chili pepper, black peppercorns, and salt
- Water
How to Make Vegetable Broth
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics –
- Heat some olive oil in a large pot. Then, add leek, onion, garlic, chili, celery, carrot, parsnip and dried mushrooms. Cook for a little.
- Stir in tomato paste.
- Add bay leaves, spinach, parsley, thyme, rosemary, peppercorns, water and salt. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to a medium-ish simmer and cover with lid ajar.
- After an hour, carefully remove cover and you have one beautiful sight!
- Strain veggies through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down to get every last bit of goodness. I like to strain the broth twice to ensure everything is removed.
- Allow to cool slightly and portion broth into jars.
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What’s the Difference Between Stock and Broth?
Stock and broth are very often used interchangeably.
However, there are some differences.
Stock is typically made from bones and has a more neutral flavour than broth. Because of the release of collagen/fat and longer cook time, stock has a thicker consistency than broth.
Broth, on the other hand, is usually made from veggies and/or meat and herbs. It’s seasoned and its consistency is typically thinner than stock (because of a shorter cook time).
When it comes to a veggie based broth/stock, people often use ‘vegetable broth’ and ‘vegetable stock’ reciprocally (and, of course, there are no bones in veggie broth!)
To Peel or Not to Peel?
Peeling the veggies is a matter of personal preference and how fresh those veggies are.
You can scrub them clean and not peel, should you wish.
For me, I often prefer to peel.
Can I Make Broth from Veggie Scraps?
Absolutely! If you’ve saved veggie scraps (peels and the like from things like carrot and parsnip), use those too. Just ensure they’re clean and free from any odd/spoiled bits (don’t use those).
How Long Does Homemade Broth Last?
Store broth in a covered jar in the fridge for 3-5 days or freeze (cooled) broth into freezer safe containers for up to 3 months.
How to Use Veg Broth
- Soups, like this celery root soup, vegetable rice soup or
- Stews, like this veggie stew
- Gravy and sauces
- As the liquid base for cooking things like rice and quinoa
- In stuffings, like this vegetarian stuffing from Epicurious
- Honestly, just warm and drink up (like I often do!)
More Tips & Variations
Use a large pot. There’s a lot going in here. Ensure that it’s deep enough to hold all the liquid and veg.
Opt for organic veggies where you can.
Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact quantity of certain veggies. If you only have 2 carrots, for example, don’t sweat it!
Sub kale for the baby spinach, if you like.
A chili pepper was used and a bunch of black peppercorns. The broth does have a little spice. If you want to omit (or reduce), feel free to do so.
This is a reduced salt/low sodium broth. Only one teaspoon of salt was used for the whole batch. If you want to add more, go right ahead!
Tomato paste and dried mushrooms give this veg broth a rich colour. If you omit those, the colour will be less intense/clearer.
When simmering your broth, you don’t want a raging boil, a medium-ish simmer is best.
Hope you love this vegetable broth recipe as much as we do!
Until next time, take care and chit chat again soon,
Dawn
Make this low sodium vegetable broth recipe? That’s awesome! Love it if you left a comment and rating below. Many thanks!
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Veggie Broth Recipe (rich and flavourful!)
Ingredients
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek , sliced (see 'Notes' below)
- 2 yellow onion , cut into quarters (peel, but leave root intact)
- 5 cloves garlic , smashed (leave peels)
- 1 red thai chili pepper , sliced lengthwise (optional)
- 4 celery , cut into 1 to 1.5 inch chunks (plus a few celery leaves, leaves optional)
- 3 carrot , peeled, if necessary, and cut into 1 to 1.5 inch chunks
- 3 parsnip , peeled, if necessary, and cut into 1 to 1.5 inch chunks
- 1 cup dried mushrooms (about 1 ounce or 31 grams. See 'Recipe Notes' below)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste (opt for 'unsalted' for less sodium)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 handfuls baby spinach
- 1 small handful fresh parsley
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1 – 1.5 teaspoons black peppercorn
- 10 cups fresh, cold water
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional. See 'Recipe Notes' below))
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pot on medium heat.
- When hot, add leek, onion, garlic, chili pepper, celery, carrot, parsnip, dried mushrooms. Cook 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to a medium simmer, cover ajar and cook 1 hour (up to 1.5 hours for a more intense flavour).
- Strain with a sieve (pressing down on the veggies with a spoon to extract all that goodness) and allow to cool slightly before portioning into jars. Refrigerate for 3 to 5 days or freeze cooled broth for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Leeks can be quite dirty (as they grow in the soil). They have have dirt trapped between their layers. Having said that, ensure they are sliced in half length-wise (discard root end), cut into half moons and rinsed well before using.
- I always give dried mushrooms a little rinse before using in the event there is any debris on them.
- This is a low sodium broth. Only one teaspoon of salt was used for the whole batch. If you want to add more, go right ahead!
- Speaking of salt, this broth recipe will likely be the base of other recipes (like soup, for example). As mentioned, not a lot of salt was added to the broth because you will likely add more salt per whatever recipe you are using.
- Use a large pot. There’s a lot going in here. Ensure that it’s deep enough to hold all the liquid and veg.
- Opt for organic veggies where you can.
- Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact quantity of certain veggies. If you only have 2 carrots, for example, don’t sweat it!
- Sub kale for the baby spinach, if you like.
- A thai chili pepper was used and a bunch of black peppercorns. The broth does have a little spice. If you want to omit (or reduce), feel free to do so.
- Tomato paste and dried mushrooms gives this veg broth a rich colour. If you omit those, the colour will be less intense/clearer.
- When simmering your broth, you don’t want a raging boil, a medium-ish simmer is best.
I have never made my own veggie broth before, but this looks delicious! I never realized how doable it is. Next time I have veggie scraps on hand I’ll have to give it a try!
Thank you so much, Ashlyn 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
This is one of the most rich veggie broths. I love it the color! Can’t wait to try it is a handful of recipes. Especially soups and stews. Just lovely, Dawn. Hope you have a great weekend! 🙂 ~Valentina
Thank you Valentina!! Hope your week is going great 🙂
I’ve never made my own veggie broth but you make it look so easy, simple and delicious!! I love that you can choose exactly what goes in it as well as how much salt!! You make the classics seem simple, Dawn!! Great recipe!
Totally! Thank you so much for the sweet comment, Haylie 🙂
So happy you shared it Dawn. I always like homemade over store bought. And this broth looks flavor packed! Pinned!
Me too! Thanks Mary Ann!
Every time I discard the top of an onion or the leafy parts of celery stalks, I think to myself “I should make a veggie stock.” Years ago, I used to work with local chefs a lot, and they’d always (always!) keep random trimmings and stuff from their veggies in a freezer bag. Then when the pile got big enough, they’d make broth. You’re inspiring me to do that now, Dawn! This broth looks delicious…especially given how cold and nasty it is out there right now!
Yay! So happy to hear that! Thank you David! Stay warm 🙂
I make a lot of broths, but I’ve never made a veggie one! I love how rich you were able to get this one. The tomato paste and dried mushrooms is such a great idea. I’ve got some veggie scraps so I think I’ll be making a pot of this broth this weekend.
Thank you so much! Enjoy Kathy 🙂
So good, Dawn!! Thank you for including the differences between stock and broth! I can picture myself sipping on this during a cold winter day. I use store-bought veggie and chicken broth all the time, so I love the idea of making my own!! Pinning!
Thanks Katherine! It’s so yummy!
I use vegetable broth allll the time but I’ve never thought to make my own. I so need to try it because I know it’ll be way better than store-bought. Thanks for the brilliant idea!
Totally! Thanks Kelsie!
I’ve made veggie stock, or broth, several times, but never have I considered adding tomato paste! That is a great idea! Love it! I like to use all the leftover ends and pieces from a week of cooking, and I find veggie broth a great substitute for meat broths in just about everything!
It adds a lovely richness to the broth! We use it so much too! Thanks Laura 🙂
Dawn, I never imagined a veggie broth could be so rich and flavorful! This looks amazing! What a wonderful treat to sip a big mug of this broth!
Thank you Kelly! We love sipping on it as it is too!