Nourishing Vegetable Broth: A Simple Recipe for Using Vegetable Scraps

I love recipes that make eating well a little easier. And this one has an added bonus: it turns the vegetable scraps you might normally toss into something useful and delicious.

I started making vegetable broth years ago as a simple way to get more use out of the vegetables already in my kitchen. A few carrot ends, onion skins, celery tops, herb stems, mushroom stems, or other odds and ends can become a flavorful base for soups, grains, sauces, or beans.

It doesn’t need to be complicated, either. The beauty of vegetable broth is that you can work with what you have. Keep a freezer bag or container handy and add your clean vegetable scraps as you cook. When you’ve collected enough, it’s time to make broth.

A few of my favorite additions

• Onion and garlic: Great for building a savory base and plenty of flavor.
• Carrots and celery: Classic broth vegetables that add sweetness and depth.
• Mushroom stems: One of my favorite ways to add a little extra umami.
• Fresh herbs: Parsley stems, thyme, rosemary, or whatever you happen to have on hand can add another layer of flavor.
• Ginger and turmeric: These are optional, but I love the warmth and flavor they bring.
• Seaweed: A small piece of kombu can add savory depth and naturally occurring minerals.

The goal isn’t to create a broth with a laundry list of supposed health benefits. It’s simply a delicious way to incorporate more plants into your cooking and make better use of the food you already bought.

And that’s something I can get behind.

Nourishing Vegetable Broth

Adapted from Wallflower Kitchen

Ingredients

• Vegetable scraps, roughly 4–6 cups
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2–3 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2–3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 2–3 garlic cloves, smashed
• A handful of fresh herbs or herb stems
• 1–2 inches fresh ginger, sliced, optional
• A small piece of kombu, optional
• 1 teaspoon turmeric, optional
• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil, optional
• 10–12 cups water, or enough to cover the vegetables
• Salt, to taste

Directions

1. Add the vegetables, scraps, herbs, and any optional ingredients to a large stockpot.
2. Cover with water and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat and gently simmer, partially covered, for about 45–60 minutes. You can simmer longer if you’d like a more concentrated flavor, but there’s no need to cook it for hours.
4. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing gently on the vegetables to extract the liquid.
5. Season with salt to taste.
6. Use immediately, refrigerate for several days, or freeze in containers for later.

A few practical tips

Not every vegetable scrap makes a great broth. I tend to stick with scraps from carrots, celery, onions, garlic, mushrooms, herbs, and other mild vegetables. Very bitter vegetables or large quantities of strongly flavored vegetables can take over the whole pot.

And don’t worry about making every batch identical. That’s part of the fun. Your broth will change depending on what you’ve been cooking that week.

I like freezing mine in smaller containers so I can pull out exactly what I need for a soup, a pot of rice, or a quick pan sauce.

Sometimes nourishing food doesn’t need to be another complicated project. Sometimes it’s just using what you already have a little more thoughtfully.