Homemade Vegetable Broth

Homemade Vegetable Broth is an easy-to-prepare savory recipe that not only meshes well with soups and stews but also tastes good on its own! Throw your favorite vegetables into a stock pot, add water, and you’re set! {Paleo + Vegan}

Who even gets excited about vegetable broth, anyway? I do, I do that. Honestly, Homemade Vegetable Broth just feels like the perfect segue into the fall season and beyond. Why? For ALL the reasons, basically. But mostly because of its: 

• Natural, not skunky, taste (there’s a story behind that…keep reading)
• Perfect timing for soups and stews, just ahead of the holidays
• Adaptability in other recipes – Homemade Vegetable Broth really is a wonderful base ingredient
• Gluten-free, vegan, and paleo-friendly status
• Aromatic flavor (your house will smell amazing) 

So while we might not normally fly in the rafters over what boils down to vegetables and water (#SeeWhatIDidThere), this time I’m shouting my excitement from the rafters and the rooftops and anywhere else I can fly.

Because this recipe is just that life-changing. 

In fact, I find it even easier to make than Homemade Bone Broth, which is still quite easy to prepare. Whereas with bone broth we slow cook chicken bones for about 24 hours, with Homemade Vegetable Broth, we throw everything in the stockpot for about an hour, maybe a little longer, and then call it done. 

This is a far cry from when I first attempted to make vegetable broth one summer. I honestly threw broccoli and cauliflower into a slower cooker, along with past-fresh cilantro, and cooked them for 24 hours. 

I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU DO NOT DO THIS. 

It is as bad as it sounds. The flavor was so horrendous, I threw the entire batch out and felt horrible while I did it. The aroma of my decision lingered for days. Don’t be like Morgan that one time she slow-cooked roughage for 24 hours.

Homemade Vegetable Broth ingredients

Here are a few of the vegetables I DO like to use in my broth. 

• Onions (white, yellow, or red)
• Celery
• Carrots
• Leeks
• Garlic cloves
• Tomatoes

I also add bay leaves, fresh thyme sprigs, and sea salt. I keep this recipe base simple because I know I’ll add it to other recipes with their own seasonings and flavors.

For a more concentrated flavor, increase the quantity of veggies used or let the broth simmer longer.

What to do with leftover vegetables

This is the $64,000 question. I did a little research and found that people have extremely strong opinions about this. Here are a few trends showing what people do with the vegetables when their broth is done cooking: 

• Throw them away
• Compost them
• Eat them (one commenter on a site said she removes the veggies from her batch of broth, drizzles a little of her newly-made broth over them, and dives in for a quick meal)

Another commenter suggested working ahead of schedule by gathering vegetable scraps throughout the week and using those in the recipe. Other people said they use vegetables that aren’t at peak flavor anymore but aren’t so bad they need to be thrown out. Then they discard the veggies after the batch is done cooking. 

Recipes to make with your broth!

There are so many tasty ways to enjoy your Homemade Vegetable Broth. Here are a few of our favorites!

• Dairy-Free Homemade Creamy Vegetable Soup
• Creamy Roasted Garlic and Onion Soup
• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
• Onion Leek Soup

However you enjoy your broth, happy slurping, Spiriteds! I’m glad you’re here! ❤️

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