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    Cooking Gorgeous » Recipes » Sauces, Spreads, and Condiments

    Basic Homemade Vegetable Stock

    Published: Jan 2, 2022 · Modified: Sep 2, 2022 by Ayla Clulee · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe

    This Basic Homemade Vegetable Stock (or Vegetable Broth) is a great foundation for delicious soups, stews, risottos, pilafs, and curries.

    It is very easy to make, affordable and doesn't require much time or effort.

    vegetable stock cooling down in jars
    Jump to:
    • Ingredients You'll Need
    • What Vegetables to Avoid
    • Step-by-Step Instructions
    • How to Use Vegetable Broth/Stock
    • Top Tips From the Chef
    • Recipe FAQ'S
    • Related Recipes
    • Basic Homemade Vegetable Stock

    This healthy and low-sodium stock is made with a few basic vegetables and tastes much better than store-bought ones.

    Once you see how rewarding is to use your own homemade stock in your cooking, you will never use shop-bought ones again.

    Ingredients You'll Need

    Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.

    labeled picture of ingredients for vegetable stock

    For making good vegetable stock, all you need is a few vegetables and aromatic herbs you have in your fridge.

    The main ingredients are onions, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves, and thyme.

    Other extras you can add to your Vegetable Broth are :

    Mushroom scraps, leek, fennel, parsley stalks, corn cobs, asparagus ends, garlic, parsnip, or even tomato peels.

    Use some tomato paste or dried mushroom if you want to add an umami taste to your stock.

    What Vegetables to Avoid

    Although you can use most of the vegetables for stock, avoid the ones from the brassica family like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or kale, and also soft vegetables like potatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, and butternut squash.

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    Making Vegetable stock is extremely easy and doesn't require much hands-on time.

    However, to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:

    Start with preparing your vegetables. Peel and dice the onion and carrot into small cubes.

    Wash the celery thoroughly and slice it. Slice the mushrooms if using whole mushrooms.

    Cut your vegetables into small cubes, the more surface area exposed, the more flavor will be passed on into the stock.

    vegetables prepared for stock

    Place all the vegetables and aromatics in a large stockpot and fill it with cold water until all the vegetables are fully submerged and covered by a few centimeters.

    Always start cooking stock with cold water as the act of bringing it to a boil with the ingredients already in helps bring the impurities to the top.

    fill the stock pot with water

    Bring the stock to a boil and skim the scum rising to the surface using a ladle.

    You only need to do that once or twice and it is essential for a clear stock.

    Turn the heat down to low and let it gently simmer for at least an hour.

    Avoid stirring the stock while cooking or the impurities will turn the stock cloudy.

    vegetable stock is cooked for an hour

    Strain through a fine sieve or a muslin cloth in a clean pot or bowl and let it cool down to room temperature before pouring them into jars or containers.

    Store it in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    basic homemade vegetable stock in 2 mason jars

    You can brown the vegetables in oil before cooking in water for a richer deeper color and add more full-bodied flavor to dishes like Kuru Fasulye or Izmir Kofte (Smyrna Meatballs).

    How to Use Vegetable Broth/Stock

    You can use vegetable stock for making soups such as:

    Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Celeriac, Vegan Pumpkin Soup, Autumn Squash Soup, Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, Ezogelin Corba, and Turkish Lentil Soup (Mercimek Corbasi).

    You can also make risotto dishes such as Creamy Shrimp Risotto With Peas and Gourmet Mushroom Risotto, pilaf dishes such as Bulgur Pilavi (Turkish Bulgur Pilaf, and Turkish Rice (Sehriyeli Pilav), or stews such as Mediterranean Green Beans, Turkish Moussaka or Turkish Lamb Stew with Chickpeas.

    Top Tips From the Chef

    • Cut your vegetables into small cubes, the more surface area exposed, the more flavor will be passed on into the stock.
    • Always start cooking stock with cold water as the act of bringing it to a boil with the ingredients already in helps bring the impurities to the top.
    • Avoid stirring the stock while cooking or the impurities will turn the stock cloudy.
    • If you want to freeze your homemade vegetable stock in glass jars, make sure you leave 3-4 centimeters of headspace in the jars when filling them up. The stock expands while freezing which causes breakage of the jar.

    Recipe FAQ'S

    How to store vegetable stock?

    You can keep vegetable stock refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Cool the stock down at room temperature and then put it in jars or airtight containers before refrigerating or freezing.

    What is the difference between vegetable stock and broth?

    When it comes to vegetable stock or broth, there are no differences between them.

    Related Recipes

    For other great recipes that you can make with Vegetable Broth why not try:

    • dal palak - spinach dal
      Dal Palak (Spinach Dal)
    • bamya- Turkish okra stew
      Bamya - Turkish Okra Stew
    • Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs
      Baked Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
    • Guvec (Turkish Lamb Casserole)

    Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

    I hope you enjoy the process of making this easy Veggie Stock as much as you enjoy using it in your dishes! 🙂

    Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!

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    basic homemade vegetable stock

    Basic Homemade Vegetable Stock

    Ayla Clulee
    Making your own vegetable stock is easier than you think and also much affordable and healthier than store-bought ones.
    5 from 1 vote
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 1 hour hr
    Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
    Course Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine French, Mediterranean
    Servings 2 litres
    Calories 77 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 stock pot
    • 1 Sharp knife
    • 1 sieve
    • 1 peeler

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 2 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
    • 1 large onion (diced)
    • 1 large carrot (diced)
    • 2 celery sticks (sliced)
    • 1 leek (optional) (sliced)
    • 4 button mushrooms or equal amount of stalks and peels (optional) (sliced)
    • 2 cloves garlic (optional) (lightly crushed)
    • 4 bay leaves
    • 5 sprigs thyme
    • 10 peppercorn
    • 5 stalks parsley (optional)

    Instructions
     

    • Place all the vegetables and herbs you prepared in a large stockpot.
    • Fill the pot with cold water until all the vegetables are fully submerged and covered by a few centimeters.
    • Put the stockpot on medium heat and bring it to a boil.
    • When boiled, turn the heat to low and skim the scum rising to the surface using a ladle.
    • Leave it to gently simmer for at least an hour, avoid stirring the stock while cooking for a clear finish.
    • Strain through a fine sieve or a muslin cloth in a clean pot or bowl and let it cool down to room temperature.
    • Store your stock in the glass jar(s) in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    Notes

    • Use any vegetables available in your fridge apart from the ones from the brassica family like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or kale and also soft vegetables like potatoes and butternut squash.
    • Always start making the stock from cold water.
    • Use a large stockpot and fill it with cold water until all the vegetables are fully submerged and covered by a few centimetres.
    • Gently simmer the stock on low heat and avoid stirring it while cooking.
    • Store it in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months for future uses
    • The stock expands while freezing which causes breakage of the jar. Therefore, leave 3-4 centimetres of headspace in the jars when filling them up.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 77kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 2gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 40mgPotassium: 338mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 6909IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 71mgIron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingorgeous or tag #cookingorgeous!

    This post uses affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and then buy something, we get a small amount of commission to keep the site running, but it doesn’t cost you anything more.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Zahar

      January 08, 2022 at 1:05 pm

      5 stars
      Such an easy recipe to follow, thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote

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    Welcome to Cooking Gorgeous, where delicious easy-to-follow recipes and culinary inspiration await you! My name is Ayla Clulee, a passionate and professional Cordon Bleu-trained chef, recipe developer, and food content creator with decades of experience. I am based in the UK, and I'm thrilled to have you here.

    The kitchen is my happy place and cooking is my therapy.

    More about me →

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