Two Vegan Broth Recipes with Tons of Flavor

A good broth, or stock, is the foundation of so many tasty vegan recipes. For example, using broth as the base for soups, rice, and quinoa dishes really improves the flavor. Thankfully, with our veggie stock in your freezer, super-tasty meals are always within reach!

Veggie Broth and Stock Recipes – Are they Different?

Well, we did some reading on this and the answer seems to be, no – not really. This is because the terms “broth” and “stock” refer to using meat vs. bones. Obviously, in a vegan recipe, this isn’t a useful way to define things. Instead, we can base our definition on how we’ll use the liquid. If we stick with the traditional ways broth and stock are used:

• When the liquid itself is the focus of a vegan recipe (e.g. ramen), you can call it broth.
• However, it’s more like veggie stock if it’s a building block for a more complicated recipe – like a sauce, paella, or vegetable soup.

Of course, you can also just call it whatever you want! Broth, stock, vegan or veggie – we’ll know what you’re talking about!

Introducing the Broth Brothers

We’re actually writing about two vegan broth recipes here. Firstly, there’s …

The “Classic Vegetable Broth”

Classic is the older Broth Brother. He’s reliable and always there when you need him. But seriously, this recipe is a simpler and more classic veggie broth of celery, onion, carrot, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. The Classic Vegetable Broth is lighter in flavor and less bombastic than his little bro …

The “Umami Broth”

Umami Broth is a bit of a rebel! Also, he really stands out in a crowd. This broth recipe pumps up the flavor by adding more veggies: asparagus, corn, dried shiitake mushrooms, spinach and rosemary. These extra ingredients all pack that notorious umami PUNCH!

Waste Not, Want Not

Did you know the Broth Brothers are into recycling? Well, it’s true! In addition to buying your broth veggies fresh, you can also add kitchen scraps. For example, you can save:

• Mushroom stems
• Leftover parsley, thyme and rosemary
• Potato skins
• Carrot tops and peels
• And all kinds of other vegetable offcuts

Just place these into a container and freeze them. Once you have collected enough to fill your cooking pot, use them instead of (or in addition to) fresh veggies. It doesn’t matter if they don’t exactly fit the recipe ingredients we’ve used here.

How to Make Vegan Broth

There are several cooking methods you can use for a vegan broth recipe.

• Obviously, you can make it on a stovetop. For this, you’ll need to add all the ingredients and bring them to a boil. After that, simmer for 1 – 2 hours and you’re done!
• Alternatively, you can use a slow cooker – just add all the ingredients and cook on “low” for around 8 hrs or “high” for about 4hrs.
• Finally, our preferred option is to use a pressure cooker like our Instant Pot. That’s as easy as loading up the veggies and water, and then cooking on high pressure for 30 – 45 minutes.

The next step is very easy – just pour everything through a strainer to separate the broth from the veggies.

And again, in the spirit of avoiding waste – once you’ve removed the veggies, why not try and compost them?

How long is Vegan Broth Good For?

Now that you’ve finished the recipe, you’ll need to know how to store any leftover broth. Well, if you’re going to use it quickly it can stay in the fridge for 4 – 5 days. However, if you need it to keep longer, you should freeze it (that’s good for up to 6 months). We like to freeze our veggie broth in a variety of quantities for different recipes. For example:

• 1 – 2 cups of broth in freezer bags
• Smaller quantities frozen in muffin tins, then bagged
• Or even smaller amounts frozen into ice cubes (also bagged)

How to use Vegan Broth in a Recipe

Our vegan broth recipes can be used in all sorts of ways. For example, use them to add some oomph to:

• Pasta sauce
• Mashed potatoes
• Vegan gravy
• Rice, including risotto and paella
• Ramen, pho and dumpling soups

The Classic tends to be subtler in flavor. Therefore, try using the Classic veggie broth when you don’t want to overpower the other flavors in a recipe. Some examples are plain rice, quinoa salad, and light soups.

In contrast, if you’re aiming for a rich, savory flavor – use the Umami version. This broth works well in something like chana masala, or a rich tomato soup recipe.

So, we’ve chatted about vegan broth and stock recipes. You’ve also met the Broth Brothers! In addition, you have some pointers on how to recycle kitchen scraps and cooked veggies. Now the only thing left is to start cooking!

We hope these Vegan Broth Recipes find their way into many great meals at your place! If you try them, please leave a comment and rating. Every bit of feedback helps make the blog even better!

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