How to Make Homemade Vegetable Broth - Easy Recipe

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By HS Schulte
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Vegetable broths are wonderfully healthy and a comfort food on a cold day! Homemade broths are always healthier and taste better than something out of a can, so follow these simple tips to make sure you have vegetable broth on hand.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Vegetable Scraps
Whole Vegetables
Herbs
Spices

Step 1

Place the chopped vegetables, herbs, and spices into a stockpot. Many people make vegetable broth from scraps such as peels and stems. If you use vegetable scraps to make your broth, you will need to strain them from the broth and discard them when finished. If you use whole, fresh vegetables, you may leave them in the broth. Popular herbs for vegetable broth include fennel, parsley, bay leaves, and basil.
Step 2

Add enough cold water to completely cover the vegetables. Simmer for approximately 3 hours. More water may be added to the broth as it simmers if needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 3

A note about boiling vegetables: When you boil vegetables, a lot of their flavor and nutrients leach out into the water. The next time you boil vegetables, consider saving the water and using it to make vegetable stock!

Tips & Warnings

A single cup of broth can be warmed on a cold day for an instant meal.
Tossing in leftover meat and vegetables from the refrigerator creates a wonderful meal.
Adding cream, pureed vegetables, starch, or flour can thicken beef broth.

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