I am always on the lookout for ways to save money at the grocery store while also maintaining a healthier diet. Sometimes, that means growing our vegetables. David ordered a bunch of peppers and tomato seeds, both items I use often in cooking. I grow my own organic basil and, since vegetable broth is a frequent staple, I started making homemade vegetable broth.
Why make homemade vegetable broth?
It’s hard to ignore rising grocery prices. Pre-packaged veggie broth costs about $2.00 for 32 oz. That’s 4 cups. I use about 12 cups a week, meaning I was spending $6 dollars a week just on vegetable broth – or about $312 a year. The ingredient list isn’t really horrible on Swanson and other equitable brands, but many of them do contain added sugar. Swanson also contains “natural flavoring”, but doesn’t specify exactly what that is. I like to know what I am consuming.
Through a period of trial and error, I have learned to make homemade vegetable broth. Average cost per 12 cups? Free – unless you count the penny’s worth of salt. I consider it free because I make it with stuff most people throw out. That leaves me $312 a year I can spend on fashion, dates with David, or the electric bill.
What to put in Veggie broth
Well, you can use anything that would normally be thrown out when preparing fresh vegetables. I use onions, onion skins, carrot peels, vegetables that are past their prime (but not spoiled), fresh herbs that are wilting, carrot tops, and stems and leaves from broccoli. Pretty much, anything that you don’t normally eat adds flavor depth.
Each week, I start with a new gallon-sized zipper freezer bag. Before I go grocery shopping, I rummage through the fridge for limp vegetables and wilting greens. I chop them into smaller pieces and toss them into the freezer bag. I store it in the freezer so the vegetables stop aging.
Every night, while cooking, I save the peels, the ends of squash, the yellowing parsley pieces, and the odd ends off vegetables and toss them into the freezer bag. I also chop them into small pieces so the broth gets more flavor.
Things to Save
- Yellow Onion Skins – the brown skins add rich color to the broth.
- Onion pieces
- Celery stems and leaves
- Beet leaves
- Carrot peels, leaves, and ends
- Wilting greens
- Basil, thyme, rosemary and other fresh herbs beyond their prime
- Freezer burned vegetables. Freezer burn isn’t harmful. It damages flavor, but it’s fine for our purposes.
- Garlic
- Stems from leeks and other vegetables
- Mushroom stems and pieces
- Parsley and cilantro
- Bay Leaves
Things to Avoid
- Potatoes. While they are good in stew, potatoes actually absorb the flavor from broth and not add to it.
- Brussels sprouts. These little devils make broth very bitter.
- Beet roots will turn water red, and dye your rice (or whatever you are cooking broth in), red.
- Red Onion Skins – see beet roots.
- Broccoli, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables.
- Turnip roots. Greens are ok.
- Rotten food. If it’s moldy, toss it out.
Getting Down to Making Broth
Assemble your equipment
You will need a large pot, a ladle, a gallon-sized zipper freezer bag, and something to freeze your broth in. Some people simply ladle their homemade vegetable broth into quart-sized freezer bags. That works, but I find it’s very messy and the bags sometimes leak. I prefer to use a Wilton Giant Muffin Tin (each muffin tin holds 1 cup of homemade vegetable broth) and Acuisina Silicone Ice Cube Trays (each cube holds 1/2 cup).
I love the Acuisina Silicone Ice Cube Trays. Each cube holds about a 1/2 cup. The trays flexibility allows the frozen broth to slide out easily. These trays are BPA free – which is important because you don’t want your hot broth leaching chemicals. That kinda defeats the whole purpose of making your own all-natural vegetable broth, right?
Since they are dishwasher safe, they are also easy to clean. I have not noticed any warping or staining from working with darker liquids.
You cannot ladle a full 1/2 cup into these and still get them to stack, but it’s only a couple of tablespoons short, and I haven’t noticed any problems with that in the overall scheme of recipe perfection.
OH! You also need your bag of vegetables!
Let’s Begin
So, you now have a full gallon-sized bag of veggies and you’re ready to proceed to the next stage. If you haven’t already, chop your vegetables. Precision isn’t important, but increased surface area contact means more flavorful broth, so cut them into smallish pieces.
Bring a large stock pot with about 14 cups of water and about 1/4 cup salt (more or less to taste) to a boil. Add your veggies and let it boil for about 30-45 minutes. Stir, occasionally.
Remove it from the heat, carefully drain it into a bowl, and allow it to cool. If you are using zipper bags to freeze your broth, allow it to cool enough that it won’t melt the plastic, or burn you if/when it spills. *speaking from experience here*
You may have small particles of veggies floating in the broth. This isn’t a problem and won’t impact the flavor of your broth. If you want it perfectly strained, run it through a cheesecloth after it cools.
Ladle into a measuring cup and pour into containers.
Use about 1/2 cup in the Acuisina Silicone Ice Cube Trays.
For the Wilton Muffin Tin, one cup is perfect.
If you are measuring into quart sized freezer bags, 2 cups works best.
Place your containers of broth into the freezer. If you use the tins or trays, simply pop the frozen broth cubes into labeled gallon zipper bags.
If using the muffin tins, you may need to let them sit for a minute (or soak the bottom in warm water) for easier removal. For the silicone ice-cube trays, you just twist and invert the little cups like this:
You now have pre-measured wholesome homemade vegetable broth ready for your next recipe! No artificial ingredients, no colors, no preservatives, and no flavorings. If you’ve used organic veggies, it’s even organic vegetable broth, which saves you even more money at the grocery stores.
I received a free ice cube tray for the purposes of this review.
Alicia Taylor
We enjoy hosting parties and my husband and I are both avid gamers. You can find me on PS4 as SunshineFlaGirl. We also play tabletop RPGs and eurogames.
Latest posts by Alicia Taylor (see all)
- Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Spinach Noodles Recipe - June 11, 2022
- Downton Abbey with Grandma – Gougères Recipe - February 10, 2022
- Pasteli Honey Sesame Bars Recipe - January 29, 2022
- Are Amazon Reviews Trustworthy? How to spot influenced reviews - December 29, 2019
- Coconut Curry Lentil Chickpea Bowls with Kale Instant Pot Recipe - September 30, 2019
31 Comments
Smokey Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup • TaylorLife
January 5, 2018 - 5:12 pm[…] I usually use my own homemade vegetable broth for soup, but our stove is down, so I just used a bullion cube. To give the navy bean soup a […]
Red Lentil Stew - A Heart-healthy DASH Diet Comfort Food • TaylorLife
February 28, 2017 - 10:14 am[…] He called for vegetable broth. So you have greater control over sodium content, I suggest making your own homemade broth. It’s easy and free. To keep the recipe DASH diet friendly, be sure to use low-sodium […]
Lentil and Vegetable Soup - Delicious Fall Warm-up • TaylorLife
October 18, 2016 - 2:35 pm[…] time, so I add spinach at the end. If you prefer kale, remove the leaves and save the stems for homemade veggie broth, and add kale to the pot when you add the […]
Roasted Red Pepper Soup • TaylorLife
July 18, 2016 - 12:22 pm[…] get you out of the kitchen in 15 minutes or less. For that one single recipe, I just substituted my homemade vegetable broth for the chicken […]
Nature Muffins (baked steel cut oatmeal muffin) • TaylorLife
July 14, 2016 - 6:27 pm[…] cooked in silicone before but became a pretty good fan after using silicone ice trays to make my homemade veggie broth. And, I use silicone oven mitts and trivets, so I know it stands up to heat well. Since the […]
Homemade Sea Salt and Rosemary Beet Chips Recipe • TaylorLife
April 18, 2016 - 3:29 pm[…] Ready to begin? Peel your beets. Toss the peels into the woods for animals, your compost bin OR freeze them until next Easter. Boil them in water and use the water as a homemade easter egg dye. Remove the greens from the red stems and save them for homemade veggie broth. […]
Amanda Tempel
March 21, 2016 - 8:39 pmI seriously need to try this. Me and my boyfriend have started eating healthy, and trying to make only home-made meals, with farm fresh ingredients. I’ll be trying this, this weekend – Thank you!
Alicia Taylor
April 18, 2016 - 3:31 pmCool – let me know how you like it!
Joely Smith
March 15, 2016 - 5:06 pmI am TOTALLY bookmarking this page! Thank you!! This is so easy and makes total sense! I have no idea why I have not researched this before. This is a lifesaver I love making soups but hate running to the store for broth! I most always have the veggies on hand!
brianna
March 13, 2016 - 9:34 pmThis is a great veggie broth recipe. I don’t make it often, but this is the recipe I use when I make it too.
Valerie | Tailored & Talented
March 13, 2016 - 11:51 amIn my household we’ve made vegetable soups and stews. But never tried vegetable broth. Can’t wait to try this recipe out! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Alicia Taylor
March 13, 2016 - 9:06 pmLet me know how it works. It’s the basis for a good vegetable stew.
nicole
March 13, 2016 - 10:38 amwhat a great idea!. I love homemade broth and the idea of making it a storing for later is so convenient.
Michele
March 13, 2016 - 9:04 amI really do love this idea!! I shudder when I think of how many veggies I have thrown out over the years-being single has its downfalls. This would be a great way to use all those before they hit the garbage!
April Hammond
March 13, 2016 - 8:39 amI don’t make soup often, but when I do I make my own broth. I love your suggestions of things to put in it- more options! I also make my own chicken broth using chicken bones.
Alicia Taylor
March 13, 2016 - 9:07 pmI am primarily vegetarian (I eat fish, so am pescatarian), so I don’t make chicken broth – but my grandmother does and taught me when I was young.
Jeanine
March 13, 2016 - 8:23 amYum. This is great. I’ve made broths before but never vegetable. Good to know I can do it if I want to.
Nicole Escat
March 13, 2016 - 6:51 amThank you for sharing! My husband is vegetarian, he will love this. Looks so tasty and healthy!
Tammilee Tips
March 12, 2016 - 10:32 pmI never thought to make broth like this!! What a great recipe, I love that you know exactly what goes in it.
Holly @ Woman Tribune
March 12, 2016 - 9:33 pmI have been cooking from scratch a lot more over the last few years and absolutely love making my own broths. It’s cost-effective, and it tastes better!
Valerie Robinson
March 12, 2016 - 9:08 pmOh my goodness! You are brilliant to make your very own batch. Will be trying -thanks!
Debbie
March 12, 2016 - 6:41 pmThis is a great idea. I make extra when I know I will be using it later in the week. Saving it like this is awesome.
Alicia Taylor
March 12, 2016 - 7:03 pmI like doing it this way so it is always available when we need.
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide
March 11, 2016 - 10:13 pmThis is such a great idea! I also use a lot of broth, but I’ve never made my own! I think I am going to try this out!
Alicia Taylor
March 12, 2016 - 2:23 amI hope you enjoy it!
Elizabeth O.
March 11, 2016 - 7:19 pmThat’s quite amazing. Thanks for the recipe and the instructions. I only use store bought ones and it would be nice to be able to make my own veggie broth!
Alicia Taylor
March 11, 2016 - 9:18 pmIf you do try it, I hope you really enjoy it. It can be healthier because you know what’s going into it – and it’s definitely cheaper
maria @ closetohome
March 11, 2016 - 2:36 pmMy grandmother used to save all the end pieces and say this is for the soup. I wish I did the same!
Alicia Taylor
March 11, 2016 - 2:48 pmYep – my grandmother did the same with Turkey and chicken parts, too. It’s never too late to start – though, I prefer making broth to soup because broth can be used for so many more things. I only do veggies because I’m a Pescatarian – and don’t eat meat (except fish)
Pat Mallette
March 11, 2016 - 11:34 amWhat a great blog this one is! By doing this weekly, you alwasy have veggie both in your freezer.
Alicia Taylor
March 11, 2016 - 11:47 amYep – and it’s always tasty and healthy – I know what goes into – organic vegetable trimmings 🙂