In cooler seasons everyone wants soup, stews, and other comfort foods so one ingredient you’ll need for sure is a tasty broth.
In the true spirit of keeping it simple, let’s go with a vegetarian broth since it will fit every recipe whether it’s plant-based or a mixture of lean meat, chicken, and/or seafood. And, let’s go with a homemade broth that isn’t loaded with salt/sodium like so many broth products at the grocery store. When you make it yourself, you control how much salt goes in and letting the flavors of the vegetables and herbs shine is high priority.
Cook it Low and Slow
There are several options for cooking broth that don’t require you to hover over the stove – thank goodness — and everyone has a favorite electric cooker to help out. I’m a crock pot gal and every so often I load mine with veggies, pour in about 10 cups of water and then turn it to low to cook all day long. When the day is over and the soggy vegetables are removed, I have a delicious big bowl of homemade broth and it’s usually enough for more than one use.
Step-by-Step to Homemade Vegetable Broth
Here are the basic steps to make your own broth from vegetables and herbs. Keep in mind that there’s a lot of flexibility in this process and you can use pretty much any vegetables with flavors you like.
- Get out your crock pot, slow cooker, or instapot.
- Choose your broth vegetables. For example, 2-4 cloves garlic; 1-2 onions any color or spring onions or leeks; 1-2 long carrots; 1-2 stalks celery; 1-2 small potatoes (white or sweet); 1 Bell pepper; 8-10 fresh or dried mushrooms; 1 big bunch fresh parsley; other fresh herbs such as oregano, thyme, basil, and/or a dried bay leaf. Feel free to switch out and switch in other veggies; however it’s best to stay away from broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage which can make the broth very strong.
- Wash vegetables in the kitchen sink with cool water.
- Cut washed vegetables into 1 inch pieces and add them to your cooker.
- On top of vegetables, add 10-12 cups water, depending on the capacity of your cooker.
- Set cooker to low and allow to cook for about 8 hours. Some recipes I’ve seen advise to cook for 24 hours; however, that length of cooking time may cause some flavor to be lost.
- Turn off your cooker.
- Strain broth + cooked veggies into a big bowl and allow broth to cool for about 1 hour. While broth is still hot/warm, add your desired amount of salt. Usually 1 teaspoon is a good starting point, stir well and then taste before adding more.
- Transfer broth to storage containers.
- Label and date storage containers, then keep in the fridge (up to 3 days) or the freezer (up to 3 months.)
Homemade Broth Fits a Healthy Kitchen
Many ingredients fit into a healthy home kitchen and a simple homemade broth is one of them. There are many ways to use broth, such as in a homemade soup or stew or risotto or when you cook a whole grain or lentils. And, knowing that you made it yourself is very satisfying as well as delicious. It’s fun to learn how to cook with other healthful ingredients, too, using my free Mediterranean Menus and Recipes. Making an effort to enjoy homemade flavors and better health is so worthwhile.
How will you use your pot of homemade broth?