Homemade Vegetable Broth
Ever wonder what to do with all of those vegetable scraps?
Broccoli, carrot and celery scraps.
Make your own homemade broth!
This is something Steven and I had been talking about doing for a long time. We use a lot of broth, and one can of Swanson Vegetable Broth is about 79¢*. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but believe me, when you cook as much as we do, it adds up!
So long Swanson! I never really liked your “Natural Flavoring” anyway!
We finally got a kick in the butt and started making it when Morgan posted “Make Your Own Broth” (Thank you, Morgan!!!). Steven made some the same day and we loved using it. It had great flavor, and of course, I felt so much better knowing what was in it.
I thought I would document it this time, so you can see how easy it is!
Ingredients:
- Whatever veggies you like – we used scraps of broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, celery, and tomato (well, technically a fruit)
- 1 big onion – whatever kind of onion you want
- 4-6 garlic cloves, smashed
- Whatever spice you like – we used pepper, sweet basil, thyme, parsley flakes, and a couple of bay leaves
- Salt
- Water – a big pot, 2/3 full (about 1 gallon)
I know the ingredients are pretty vague, but really, you can just put in what you like.
Directions:
- Fill the pot of water up 2/3 full and turn heat on to high. Clean your veggie scraps, chop them up a bit and throw them in, along with the chopped up onion and smashed garlic cloves.
- Add your spices and salt. Stir it up and bring it to a boil.
- Simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Really, you can simmer it for however long you want – the longer you do, the stronger the broth will be. We simmered it until the water was reduced by half. Taste it every once in awhile to see if it needs more salt.
- Let the broth cool (until it stops steaming).
- Strain the broth out (see photo below – set your colander in a large bowl). Smoosh the veggies with a spatula to get extra the extra broth out. Throw away the veggies.
- Put it in storage containers (we ended up with 8 cups, so we used two 2-cup containers and one 4-cup container) and store it in your fridge! We also put some in the freezer to use later (we are gone this week).
How much water we started off with.
Rinsed and cleaned veggie scraps.
Chopped Red Onion.
Smashed Garlic.
So pretty and smells so good!
Strain out the broth…
… smoosh the rest of the broth out!
This is so easy! You just leave it on the stove and let it go. The only requirement is that you have to be around the house for a few hours.
Do you use a lot of vegetable (or meat) broth when you cook? What dishes do you use it in? Would you ever make your own broth?
Since I am talking about food (again, what is this?!) I thought I would show you these cute measuring spoons my Aunt Sue gave Steven – a Smidgen, Pinch and Dash!
*It’s virtually free to cook it at home, since we have the veggie scraps. We just don’t know how much it costs to run the burner!
Themocracy
Yummy! I do make my own broth (sometimes) I have a bunch in the freezer still from thanksgiving. Mostly I use it to make soup. I also used some in an onion/mushroom/dijon/balsamic topping I made last night for Superbowl steaks.
Do you use similar ingredients to make your broth?
I love making a homemade vegetable broth! The flavor is completely different then canned varieties, as it tastes more fresh and earthy. Love it! 😀
I use veg broth all the time – even when cooking rice and quinoa just because it gives them such a great flavor! I started making my own this past summer and I’m so glad I started to (cheaper + way better tasting than store-bought). We use similar veg scraps (using potato too gives it a really rich/creamy taste) and add soy sauce 🙂
What a good idea to add potatoes (and soy!). We just skinned some potatoes last week. Darn! Why did we throw those scraps away?! 😉
I usually make broth myself. When I’m really lazy, I use consomme. Sodium haven. :p
If you ask me, a “dash” should be less than a “smidgen”! Maybe I need those spoons…
<3 <3
I’ve never made homemade broth but I’m sure it tastes 10x better than store-bought. I just wouldn’t want to throw away all those veggies!
Good Idea! I use tons of Veggie Broth. I buy the Pacific brand… and you are right it adds up. I don’t know if I would start making my own broth just yet… but like the idea 🙂
I go through chicken and veggie broth like it’s my job. With veggie ends, I keep them in a bag in my freezer. Then when I want to add some extra flavor or make a broth, I’ve got all the veggies ready to go. 😀
Yum, that looks divine! I am planning on making beef stock but have not gotten around to it. I may try this veggie one first!
What a great idea versus using sodium laden store bought broth like me. I just wish I had more time to make these amazing looking things!
Have a great Monday.
When I’ve made broth, I use my 12-muffin tin and freeze it in that, then put the ‘hockey pucks’ in a ziplock bag. Then you can take out as many as you need. The only thing is, it takes a while to get it all frozen that way.
What a great idea! I don’t use much broth when I cook (I think I’ve had the same jar of low-sodium chicken bullion cubes in my cabinet for a year or more). I seem to make a lot of recipes that involve white wine instead….
I have those same measuring spoons somewhere! My mom gave them to me years ago.
Wow. That’s very detailed. I’ve made broth before, but from meat stock.
We make broth often. I usually do it in my crockpot. Put everything in with water. Turn it on. Come back 12 hours later to super nice healthy broth. I like the muffin tin idea up there. May have to try that one.
first- so sorry about your grandpa. i was so far behind in my reading i completely missed your post 🙁
second- ideas for speedwork leading up to a 5k– i like 400s for 5k prep. however many you can get in!!! warm up, run a 400 at race pace or faster, run a 200 slow, run a 400 at race pace or faster, run a 200 slow,… and repeat. the most i’ve ever done is 12 (uggh) and the least i would do is 4.
if you want more variety you could do a ladder of 800-400-200 (with half each distance recovery jog between). and you could do 2 sets. seriously it’s over before you know it cuz you have to just keep GO go go and then… it’s done 🙂
Thanks Lacey 🙂
I will have to try that speedwork. If I can get somewhere where it is safe to run that fast!
such a great idea! i’ve only made my own broth once, and i did it all complicated with a mesh kind of bag inside. uhh, using a strainer afterward is much easier, why didn’t i think of that? haha. oh and my dog is like data, i can’t do yoga with him arond bc he thinks i’m playing and practically mauls me (good thing he’s tiny, a 10 pounder, so he doesn’t do much damage trying to knock me over lol)
What an awesome idea to make your own broth! Very impressive. I only use broth when I’m making soup, and I really only make tortilla soup 🙂 If you have good recipes using broth, share! Hope you had a good weekend with your family…
My mom and I made turkey soup from leftovers last week- it was delish!
I use a ton of broth, so thank you for this! Many of the broth recipes I’ve come across seem much more complicated which is why I usually purchase broth. I buy it in quarts which helps a little on the price, but free works even better for me! 🙂
I use SO much broth, and I keep wanting to make my own but I just cant justify using all my veggies. I never would have thought to use the scraps – thats just genious!
Aw, I love those spoons and love the word smidgen. So cute. Nice work making your own broth! I wish I had a husband who enjoyed making things like vegan cinn rolls and veggie broth. I never use broth but then again, I don’t do much cooking.
I’ve never thought of making veggie broth! I use it a ton too! It add great flavor but I agree that it can get pricey!
Thanks for the recipe!