How to Make Vegetable Broth

Everyone is drinking bone broth these days. I guess you can say it’s a buzzword in the health food industry. However, it’s not really so popular for vegan and vegetarian diets, for obvious reasons. Bone broths are highly nutritious and come with all sorts of health benefits. That’s why I wanted to create a spin on a typical bone broth with this homemade vegetable stock recipe that is also incredibly healthy, vegan-friendly, and so delicious. You can use this homemade vegetable broth recipe as a base for soups, stews, or just to sip on if you’re feeling unwell or need an extra healthy boost.

The secrets for how to make vegetable broth

One of my biggest pieces of advice for really taking this homemade vegetable stock recipe to the next level is to roast your vegetables before adding them to water and reduce them by half on the stovetop. If you’re short on time and can’t do that, then the traditional route is fine too, this just really adds an extra boost of flavor. A few additional tips to ace this recipe:

• Be sure to use Kombu, white miso, and dehydrated mushrooms – these 3 ingredients are so important and will really, really elevate your broth
• Use good quality (or even organic) produce and herbs
• Use filtered water (save yourself time by pre-boiling)
• 10000% use a strainer to press out any excess liquid from the veg, this makes for an incredibly saturated taste + ensures you end up with a smooth stock

Magical Kombu

For this recipe, I teamed up with my friends at Mountain Rose Herbs. I’ve been working with them for a while because I love their products! I recently made this yummy White Truffle Vanilla Mac & Cheese and showed you how to make quick and easy pickled veggies. With their high quality, organic products. For this recipe, it’s no different, I’ve used their Kombu to create this perfect homemade vegetable stock recipe.

What on earth is Kombu? Kombu is an edible kelp that is widely used in East Asia. This species is cultivated on ropes in the seas of Japan and Korea. Although Kombu’s roots are closely connected with Japan and Korea, Mountain Rose Herbs Kombu is cultivated off the coast of Maine. Kombu is used extensively in Japanese cuisine and is one of the primary ingredients needed to make dashi, a soup stock. That’s why it makes such a perfect addition to this vegan bone broth.

Kombu is loaded with nutrients, which makes it a great addition to this broth recipe because since you don’t get the nutrients from bones like in a typical bone broth, Kombu makes up for it. Kombu is:

• Low calorie & nutrient-dense
• Contains potassium, fiber, calcium, iron & magnesium
• Also has vitamins C, A, E, K, and B-vitamins
• A great source of iodine – which is a critical component in thyroid hormones
• Rich in omega 3 fatty acids
• Known as the “treasure of the sea” for its antioxidant properties

Other soups you’ll love:

Looking for other warming winter soups? Here are some you can add to your list to try:

• Easy Vegan “Chicken” Noodle Soup
• Creamy Vegan Vegetable Soup
• Greek Lemon Rice Soup
• Vegan Broccoli Soup
• Anti-Inflammatory Sweet Curry Soup

What is your fav soup in the wintertime? Share below in the comments!

Homemade Vegetable Stock

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This homemade vegetable stock recipe is easy to make and will give you the benefits of a typical bone broth with a vegan twist!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Soup

Servings 2 L Vegetable Broth

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 large sweet white onions finely sliced, skins on
• 1 head of garlic halved
• 3 stalks of celery roughly chopped
• 3 medium-sized carrots roughly chopped
• 1 cup dehydrated mushrooms
• 3 tbsp. Kombu Flakes - I used Mountain Rose Herbs brand
• 3 tbsp. white miso paste
• 1 small bunch of thyme
• 5 sprigs of fresh parsley
• 5 sprigs of fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp. black peppercorns
• 15 cups of water
• season to taste with salt

Instructions

 

• To a very large pot add your olive oil and heat for 30 seconds before adding your onion, whole garlic, carrot and celery.  On medium heat cook down the vegetable for around 20 minutes or until reduced by around half in size. Be sure to stir every so often to avoid burning.
• Once the mixture is reduced by around half add the dehydrated mushrooms, Kombu and Miso to the pot and stir till everything is well coated.  Cook for one minute before adding in your thyme, parsley, cilantro and black peppercorns.  Stir for another minute and increase heat to high.
• To the pot, add your 15 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Using a wooden spoon scrape the bottom bits of the pan to make sure anything stuck at the base incorporates into the broth (this is where all the flavour lives).  Once your mixture has come to boil, reduce heat and simmer for around 40-50 minutes or until reduced by around half.
• Let the broth cool slightly before putting through a mesh sieve to strain into another pot or into jars.  Lightly press down on the veggies to release any excess liquid. Don't press too hard, you want this to remain clear with no lumps.
• Great on it's own, in soups + stews.  Before sure to season with salt before eating!

Notes

Cool and freeze your veg to use again or compost.

Be sure to use Kombu, white miso and dehydrated mushrooms - these 3 ingredients are so important and will really, really elevate your broth

Use good quality (or even organic) produce and herbs

Use filtered water (save yourself time by pre-boiling)

10000% use a strainer to press out any excess liquid from the veg, this makes for an incredibly saturated taste + ensures you end up with a smooth stock

Review This Recipe Let us know how it was!