Homemade Vegetable Broth From Scraps

Don't throw away your vegetable scraps. Use them to make a healthy light homemade vegetable broth for use in other recipes.

Recipe by Lisa Lotts on October 4, 2017

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT30M

Total time: PT40M

Rating

4.52 stars (29 reviews)

Keywords

broth

Ingredients

4-6 cups trimmings from carrots, celery, onion, fennel, turnips, potatoes, or other vegetable trimmings
2-3 cloves garlic (crushed)
10-12 whole peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2-3 sprigs fresh herbs (like rosemary, thyme or marjoram)
1-2 teaspoons salt (Or to taste.)

Cuisine

American

Steps

Place the vegetable trimmings in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Fill the pot just above the trimmings with cold water and add crushed garlic cloves (skins and all), peppercorns, bay leaves, fresh herbs and salt.
Cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 25-30 minutes.
Place a large sieve over a bowl and pour the contents of the pot through the sieve.  Press on the solids to squeeze out any extra liquid.  Discard the solids.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 48 kcal
Carbohydrates: 11 g
Protein: 1 g
Sodium: 67 mg
Sugar: 4 g

Reviews

Scott on 2023-08-19 (5 stars):
I love this recipe and use it all the time. I store the leftover vegetable peels and odds and end pieces specifically to make this homemade broth. It's great in soups, stews or instead of water to cook grains.
Bill on 2023-03-25 (5 stars):
So simple and flavorful. Way better than store bought.
Joan Robertson on 2022-04-22 (5 stars):
This is so great. I have always saved all of my scraps for my son-in-law he feeds them to his composting worms. I guess I can make broth and then give him the scraps after I have made broth with them.
Dacey on 2021-09-30 (5 stars):
I made this the day after I made vegetable beef soup. I used carrot peels, potato peels, celery ends, onion leftovers, broccoli stems, green bean ends, sugar pea pods, basil, and garlic. It is pretty yummy. My husband said if we add salt it would taste like soup.
Rebecca on 2021-09-05 (5 stars):
Just made this. Delicious. Thank you for sharing (:
Kurt on 2021-06-18 (5 stars):
Depending on the vegetables you are using, you may want to consider roasting them for a while first. Roasting caramelizes the residual sugar and will lead to a softer, more savory flavor.
Monica on 2021-04-23 (5 stars):
Hi, Love how simple this is Thank you for the recipe!!
Jennifer on 2020-11-30 (5 stars):
Do you need to wash all the scraps beforehand? The carrot and potato peels are already washed and scrubbed, but onion and garlic skins aren’t. Is it bad to include them in the broth like that?
carl pond on 2020-10-27 (5 stars):
Don't forget to include egg shells, make sure to crush them first. Calcium's good for you!!
Jan Goetz on 2020-09-27 (5 stars):
On another site it says potatoes and parsnips can make the broth gummy and cloudy, did you find this ?
Elise on 2020-08-18 (5 stars):
Hi Lisa can you make this recipe with only carrots, onions and celery