Until fairly recently, I didn’t believe in vegetable stock. I’d tried a friend’s ultra-pungent homemade broth years ago, and let’s just say the experience didn’t exactly inspire me to pursue it in my own kitchen. Plus, I’m cheap, and I was never sold on the idea of buying a box of what is essentially flavored water for three bucks a pop. So whenever a recipe called for stock, I just used water, and maybe stirred in some extra salt and spices. But two winters ago, I tried some homemade stock at a friend’s house, and everything changed.
This stock, made in a crock pot, was so sweet and delicious that I could’ve drunk an entire hot mug of it then and there. This is exactly how vegetable stock should be. As it turns out, making great-tasting stock is practically effortless, and now I make a few quarts of it every couple of weeks, and always have some stashed in my freezer. As a result, all of my soups taste better!
Are you ready to make your own or what? Here’s just about everything I know about making vegetable stock.
- First things first: don’t buy vegetables to make stock. If you’re vegan, you probably eat plenty of vegetables, and you can make totally delicious stock exclusively out of scraps. I make stock to cut down on waste. By making stock out of your scraps, you can get the most out of every last vegetable you buy!
- Wash your vegetables before you cook. I’m sure you already do this, but if you’re planning on using your vegetable trimmings for stock, make washing your vegetables a habit!
- Collect fruit and vegetable scraps whenever you cook. I keep a large plastic container in my refrigerator at all times, and whenever I finish cooking a meal, I add the useable scraps to the container. When the container is full, I make a batch of stock. If it takes you longer to collect enough scraps, you can keep a container in the freezer instead.
- Use common sense! Don’t use scraps you wouldn’t put in your mouth. Trim off or discard anything slimy, moldy or rotting. Always look through (and smell) your scraps before making stock with them, and discard anything that seems off. If you peel certain veggies to avoid consuming pesticides, you obviously won’t want to use those peels in your stock, either.
- Use a crock pot. Crock pots have many great uses, but as a person who consumes a ton of veggies, making stock is reason enough to own one. Boiling is a great way to get bitter stock. The first homemade stock I tried had been cooked at a rolling boil for nearly an hour and was so sour and bitter it was practically undrinkable. Instead of boiling your scraps, you want to cook them on a low heat, slowly extracting all of the flavors out of your vegetables. Crock pots are designed to cook food at a fixed, low temperature for hours, unattended, so they’re perfect vessels for stock.
- Fill your crock pot with scraps and add enough water to just cover the veggies. For well-rounded flavor, use a variety of vegetables. You can use skins, peels, cores and trimmings from onions (leeks, green onions, shallots), carrots, celery, potatoes, winter squash, root vegetables, bell peppers, parsnips, corn, peas, spinach and kale, apples and pears — really, just about anything you have on hand.
- Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, fennel, and cabbage impart strong flavors, and beet and onion skins have a tendency to make broth bitter. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them, but in most cases, you’ll want to avoid loading up your stock with them. Alternatively, you can elect to add these kinds of vegetables a couple of hours before your stock has finished cooking, so they have less time to develop. I always make sure my scraps include some sweet elements (like carrot, onion, and winter squash) to balance out bitter veggies.
- Fresh and dried mushrooms and seaweed are a great way to add umami to your stock.
- If you care about your stock being crystal clear, leave out potatoes and corn, because starchy vegetables make stock cloudy. Similarly, beets will turn your stock purple. Like I said — common sense!
- Add seasonings to taste. Think garlic (both cloves and skins), thyme, oregano, basil, cilantro, parsley, peppercorns, bay leaves, and even spice blends sold as “poultry seasoning.” Miso and soy sauce can be stirred in at the end for an extra umami boost.
- Whether or not you use salt is up to you. Store-bought stock is usually extremely salty, but many people choose to leave out salt entirely when they’re making it at home. It’s up to your personal taste, but I think good, vegetable-rich stock should be flavorful enough on its own to not require much additional salt. I usually add a sprinkle to aid in the cooking process, and then worry about adding extra salt (or not) when I’m cooking with it.
- Turn on your crock pot and let it do its thing. I set my crock pot to its lowest setting before I go to bed and leave it for at least 10 hours. Generally, the longer you cook your stock, the sweeter and stronger the taste will become. Taste as you go. The flavor will develop and change over time.
- Once it’s finished, strain the stock. If sediment freaks you out or you want a pristine, clear broth, ladle the broth into containers rather than straining it.
- Throw your stewed veggies in the compost! Congratulations, you are officially way more frugal and green than people who just skip right to composting. Poseurs.
- Once the broth has cooled down a bit, you can refrigerate it in sealed containers, or freeze it in ice cube trays or 1-quart containers. If you’re freezing it, be sure to leave an inch of headspace (because frozen liquid expands!). Stock will keep in the refrigerator for about a week, or in the freezer for about 6 months (or if you think like my grandma, 5-10 years). You can use stock instead of water to add flavor, nutrients, and body to any soup or risotto or sauce.
Once you’re comfortable with the basic process, play around with it! Plan ahead and veggies and herbs that will complement your finished soup or sauce. Planning on making a noodle dish with a clear broth? Leave out the starchy vegetables this round and consider adding a lot of garlic and fresh ginger. For particularly bold flavor, you can add roasted veggies near the end of the process (think roasted bell pepper or caramelized onions).
Do you have special tips and tricks for making stock, or special recipes you like to use stock in? Share them below!
30 comments
Emma Goodrum says:
Feb 14, 2013
Great idea, now I can use up the rest of that celery I purchased for your lentil soup!
claryn says:
Feb 22, 2013
Yay! Wilted, unused veggies are the saddest thing. 😉
Cheryl Jakubowski says:
Feb 14, 2013
Another great way to store stock is to can it using a hot water bath.
Joshua Parker says:
Feb 14, 2013
Using your veggie scraps to make broth is such a great idea. I also don’t use broth usually but using the scraps for broth will help me feel less wasteful. Thanks for the idea.
claryn says:
Feb 22, 2013
For sure, Joshua!
Renard Moreau says:
Mar 14, 2013
[ Smiles ] I am quite comfortable with the idea of making my own vegetable stock, because I would know the ingredients that are inside of it.
Great article!
Erin says:
Apr 3, 2013
Thanks for the great post! I just made some great veggie stock myself. I ended up freezing it in an ice cube tray – just wondering how many ice cubes of veggie stock translates into 1 cup of veggie broth in recipes? Any thoughts?
Thanks again!
Daniel says:
Apr 18, 2013
Eight cubes equals one cup
Making a New Menu Plan Work | my sightline says:
May 26, 2013
[…] and other bits trimmed off fresh vegetables is revolutionary in the kitchen. The online site Hell Yeah It’s Vegan offers everything you need to know about how make your own broth, but here are the basics: Cut […]
Jazzy says:
Sep 2, 2013
What is the ratio of water to vegetables do you use in your crockpot?
claryn says:
Sep 3, 2013
I don’t use a specific ratio. Basically, I put as many veggie scraps in the crock pot as I have, and then I add water until the veggies are mostly submerged (some will float). It’s better to make your stock too strong than too weak, as you can always add water later on.
margaret says:
Sep 17, 2013
fantastic, i hate wasteing some of my veg, if my guinea pigs dont eat it i have to throw out, ive just put some old veg onto boil just now!! looking forward to tasting it, as dont trust what they put into shop bought veg cubes .
Suzanne says:
Oct 1, 2013
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve recently made the decision to change to a vegan diet due to some health problems. I, too, hate throwing scraps away, especially now that we are eating more vegetables in a day than sometimes we did in a week. Putting the scraps into the freezer is a GREAT idea, and I will be putting it into practice immediately.
I use stocks to make potatoes, rice and other assorted recipes. Glad I have one that not only deals with my veggie waste, but also allows me to control sodium.
Use What You Have – Vegetable Stock | The Modern Ballantyne Wife says:
Oct 14, 2013
[…] on the “in’s and out’s” of making your own vegetable stock check out this blog. You will find so much great info on how to season your broth, how different veggies affect your […]
Annie says:
Oct 25, 2013
Thanks so much for all of the tips! I just made my first batch today and it’s super yummy.
Lisa says:
Dec 9, 2013
AWESOME recipe! I love it. I have recently become a Vegetarian and must use Vegetable stock in soups instead of chicken stock and it is hard to find in the grocery store so it’s great I can make my own. I just made it and it’s wonderful except I didn’t use my crock pot, just a regular soup pan.
Thanks so much!
Ally says:
Jan 23, 2014
I just started my own ‘veggie bits to be used for broth bag’ in the freezer. I find I waste so many trimmings/peels when I cook. I LOVE the idea of freezing these bits and making broth! Such an excellent and informative article, thank you! Crock pots are the best. I have one going with chill right now 🙂
Linda says:
Feb 20, 2014
I use tons of veggie stock and have been looking for the way to do this in the crockpot. Thanks.,
Linda York says:
Jun 13, 2014
Beware…no, you cannot store vegetable stock using the hot water bath canning method. You must use a pressure canner. I just want everyone to be safe and not kill themselves, or their family members, or their friends.
claryn says:
Jul 10, 2014
Thanks for that, Linda!
Merry Mary says:
Jun 19, 2014
After wasting veggies making stock on the stove (the other recipe told me to boil it!), I was relieved to have found this one. As we speak, I have a crock pot full of veggies giving off the most beautiful fragrance (and it tastes good, too!). Thanks for the recipe – this one is a keeper. <3
BTW, is this acidic enough to do can in a hot water bath? My freezer will soon overflow if I keep making stock at this rate. ;-D
Crystal Bagby says:
Sep 5, 2014
What about using your veg pulp from the juicer to make it?
Make Your Own Pumpkin Puree | Hell Yeah It's Vegan! says:
Oct 14, 2014
[…] the seeds can be roasted for a tasty, high-calcium snack, and the guts and skin will help you make the most delicious stock ever. There’s very little active work required, but the whole process does take some time from […]
Michelle says:
Nov 19, 2014
I’ve used your method twice now, and both times I got the best stock I’d ever had–all from veggie bits I would have thrown away. I have a vegan Andouille sausage and chicken gumbo recipe on my blog where I specifically refer readers to use your method, because a good stock is so important for gumbo (http://rivelsandgrits.com/vegan-gumbo/). Thank you so much for posting this and helping me to make my dishes even better!
judee@ Gluten Free A-Z Blog says:
Apr 16, 2015
One of my friends does this, but I never had the step by step! It’s a great idea and now I know how to do it too. I don’t like using the containers of boxed broth because the packaging is lined with aluminum or something like it. This is much healthier. Thanks
claryn says:
May 25, 2015
Sure thing, Judee 🙂
Michelle says:
Feb 25, 2016
I don’t use the outsides of onions or core/seeds of things like bell peppers, then let it cool and put in blender for a warm soup on a cold Michigan day.
Pat says:
Feb 27, 2016
Great!! Do you have to blanch the vegi trimmings before freezing?
claryn says:
Mar 8, 2016
You don’t, Pat, but as with anything, use common sense and be sure to rinse your veggies and remove anything rotten or moldy before freezing.
Shannon says:
Feb 8, 2017
What a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing. You are an inspired soul. Where can I find you? I’d love to eat your food?