Basic Vegetable Broth

Don't throw away those vegetable scraps! Use them to make your own delicious vegetable broth instead. It's easy and it's so much cheaper than buying broth at the grocery store.

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT55M

Total time: PT65M

Rating

4.91 stars (134 reviews)

Keywords

homemade vegetable broth, how to make vegetable stock, vegetable broth from scraps, vegetable broth recipe, vegetable stock recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 cloves garlic (minced)
2 onions (large, chopped)
3 ribs celery (chopped)
3 carrots (chopped)
8 cups water
frozen vegetable scraps (2-3 cups is a good amount)
2 bay leaves
parsley (a few sprigs)
thyme (a few sprigs)
salt and pepper (to taste, omit if you are making stock)

Cuisine

American
French
Italian

Steps

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat.
Add the garlic, onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add the water, frozen vegetable scraps, bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
Pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large heat-proof bowl or pot; discard solids. Season with salt and pepper to taste (skip this if you're making stock).
Once the broth has cooled, transfer it to airtight plastic containers or freezer bags and store it in the freezer. (I usually freeze it in 2-cup portions so I don't have to thaw all the broth every time I use it.)

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 54 kcal
Carbohydrates: 8 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 2 g
Sodium: 55 mg
Sugar: 3 g
Unsaturated Fat: 2 g

Reviews

Diandra hinds on 2025-10-19 (5 stars):
It is so delicious and easy to make
Kat on 2025-09-23 (5 stars):
I am always looking for new recipes and avoid waste. I love making all my broths at home from scratch, knowing exactly what is in them is important to me. This recipe is easy & I used my instant pot rather than stove. once done, strained thru cheesecloth and freeze. Thanks for a good recipe!
Daina on 2024-02-17 (5 stars):
I have been using this recipe since I quit buying the vegetables broth from the store. I mainly use it for the base of homemade soup or recipes require liquids, water or broth. I feel good about doing something good for my own health. Thank you!
Cheenu on 2023-11-19 (5 stars):
Great one! Easy to make, wholesome and flavourful, enjoyed it! Thanks much!!
Marquita Herald on 2023-11-03 (5 stars):
Excellent response. I admit I was stunned by the snarky-like reactions when the intention seemed clear. Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying this, and since I just made a batch of carrot raisin salad, I have a starter bag of carrot peels to stick in the freezer and build on.
Double Whammy Granny on 2023-10-08 (5 stars):
This is an awesome recipe that I have used to make so many other recipes that call for vegetable broth or chicken broth better! To further my minimal waste mission I save my empty spice jars which nicely hold 1 cup of liquid. I fill them with the broth & freeze them. Whenever a recipe calls for broth, I just pull a couple jars from my freezer!
Alana on 2023-08-20 (5 stars):
Right!
Angel on 2023-08-03 (5 stars):
Thank you for posting this versatile easy recipe! I appreciate your answers to comments as well. Helpful and entertaining. I garden, I cook, I reuse when I can, and I compost.
Krystal on 2023-02-28 (5 stars):
Just say you didn’t read the article.
stephanie on 2022-12-25 (5 stars):
Thanks for the recipe! I used it in a lentil loaf and it turned out great. My family loved it for Christmas dinner! I usually bought from the store but I wanted to reduce waste so homemade was definitely more green.
jack on 2022-10-26 (5 stars):
Some of these people are as dumb as rocks, if they would bother to read they wold not have to ask such stupid questions
Macaroonmachine on 2022-10-04 (5 stars):
Please don’t ever bleach your food! Thanks
Maria on 2022-02-16 (5 stars):
Simple and Easy. Thanks for sharing.
Katie on 2022-02-05 (5 stars):
This was such a helpful recipe! Thanks from my freezer full of vegetable broth and I :) I added some extra carrots, water, frozen veggies and spices. and cooked for a bit longer and it turned out great!
Nora on 2022-02-01 (5 stars):
Cody, that was the best response I have ever read!!
Kk on 2022-01-17 (5 stars):
Hello, after making the broth or stock, do you add any water to it or use it as is when making soup? Thanks for the recipe and information as well.
mel on 2021-11-25 (5 stars):
I've made this over and over. Love it every time. So easy!