Author: Writing a cookbook has caused two problems in my kitchen.
- I either have an insane amount of food around the house or insane amount of grocery shopping to do (there never seems to be an in-between stage).
- I have a TON of leftover veggie scraps that are difficult to use up. I'm talking random herbs that are beginning to dry out, ends of onions, peels from carrots and squash, kale stems, ends of celery, the list goes on.
I'm not a fan of wasting food, so this means my roommate and I are splitting entire pans of lasagna, apple pies, fudge, or whatever else I'm cooking up. I also deliver food to my friends, family, and force feed anyone who visits.
As for the veggie scraps, I'm not wasting those either! My two main plans of attack, are to juice the scraps (green juices baby!) or make a delicious Vegetable Broth from Veggie Scraps that I can use in other recipes, such as my Tuscan Vegetable Soup, Lentil Tacos, or Quick Vegan Pho.
Isn't that a gorgeous, rich, vegetable broth? Campbell's, you ain't got nothing on me. Vegetable Broth from Veggie Scraps for the win!
It seriously makes me feel exceedingly satisfied putting all those leftover veggie scraps to use. It's just so easy to do... if you don't spill it everywhere and get tangled in wires. Aye yai yai!
So, save up the veggie scraps, sauté up some onions and garlic. Add the scraps to the pot along with some spices, and water. Boil, strain, done. Homemade vegetable broth, BOOM.
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How to Make Vegetable Broth from Veggie Scraps
Servings: Cups
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic,, minced
- 1 freezer bag full of veggie scraps, (onion ends, leftover herbs, carrot peels, broccoli stems, kale stems, squash skins, mushroom stems, celery ends, or any veggie scraps you have)
- 12 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- ½ teaspoon salt, optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in the onion and garlic and sauté for around 5 minutes until it begins to brown. Add in all the veggie scraps, water, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes until they broth is fragrant and rich in colour. The broth will vary in colour and taste depending on the scraps used. Put a fine colander over a large bowl or another large pot. Strain out the veggie scraps and discard. Use your broth right away or store it for later. It freezes very well.
Notes
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Bon Appetegan!
Sam.
Susan R Gravatt says
Because of this recipe I don't buy vegetable broth EVER anymore! I'm always cooking with veggies so I have plenty of scraps to turn into broth. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Susan! So thrilled you love it 🙂
Charlotte says
Hi,
How long does this broth last in the fridge? And are we able to refreeze it after creating it?
Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
You can absolutely refreeze it, and I would say it lasts about 3 - 5 days.
Lee says
Hi Sam. Wonderful broth. And since I save all what is vegetable I use I did have enough to make a pot of broth. So so good.
Thank you. One remark I was terrified to see your long hair bouncing around. Hope some did not land in the broth.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed! Haha, my broth was hair free, but keep in mind that short hair can just as easily fall into food as well. 😉
Jodell says
I made this broth for the first time and used it to make vegetable soup. It was so delicious and had an earthy smell when cooking which made the whole house smell wonderful! I can’t imagine using any packaged broth after this. I also felt good using the scraps
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Wonderful, Jodell! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Holly says
Are there any veggies would wouldn't recommend putting in this broth?
Sam Turnbull says
Here is a fabulous list that lists all the veggies. Hope that helps!
Bonnie Janoska says
Love, love, love the sounds of this receipe, a must try for sure!!! Question: Can you use any kind of LEAFY vegetables ie: lettuce, romaine, beat, carrot, Swiss chard, garlic sprigs, onion greens, cauliflower, radish? Now I'm talking "the leafy parts"?
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you, Bonnie! I would stay away from lettuce, romaine, cauliflower, and swiss chard, as they are mostly water and won't really do much for your broth. The sturdier greens, however, will have more flavour punch, especially garlic and onion! Definitely toss those in. Enjoy!
Shelley says
Can I use corn cobs with the corn cut off and corn husk, and green bean ends or will it make it taste weird?
Sam Turnbull says
You can totally use corn cobs! I saw another blogger make an all corn cob broth here. Enjoy!
Merideth says
Love this - you are a total trip and had great content to boot! So happy I came across your video today!!
Sam Turnbull says
I'm so happy too! Thank you so much for the lovely compliments, Merideth 😀
Molly says
I'm now a 2 year Vegetarian and I'm getting bored with my recipes! I'm so thrilled to find your blog, via Pinterest! I'm currently making stock but was curious how long to boil....so I searched Pinterest and found you! Mine has been boiling for 10 months now and smells amazing! I added to my pot, ends of a celery bunch, one wrinkly red bell pepper, a rosemary sprig, my garlic end (plus 2 cloves), 4 red onion rings, some cilantro and a single left over slice of a tomato from burgers a few days ago! I can't wait to try it with Quinoa layer for dinner tonight! Vegan On, new friend! Can't wait to look more into your recipes!! I'm hungry!
Molly says
Oh, I forgot to add that I put an entire jalapeño (minus the guts) in mine too!!
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! Your broth sounds delicious! Welcome to my blog, so happy you found it! I look forward to seeing you around 🙂
Rene says
Wow 10 months I don't have time to make this
Noele says
Hello Sam, I'm going to try do this (starting from saving the scraps!) and I wanted to know for later, how long does this broth stay fresh or "useable?" is that a word? hehe... I guess I could freeze some but how long would you say you could leave it in the fridge for before it goes bad? How does it go bad anyways? does it grow mold? Does it get like...vinegary? Sour? Thanks so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Noele!
I would say the broth will stay fresh for about a week when kept in an air-tight jar the fridge. About 4 months in the freezer. I don't know what would happen when it goes bad as I have always used it within a few days.
Kat says
When jarring the broth to put away, pour 1/4 - 1/2 inch of olive oil on top. This will turn solid in the fridge creating a "fat cap" that will seal it.
That way your broth SHOULD stay fresh in the fridge for at least 3 weeks (supposedly up to a few months, but I haven't tried it that long yet.)
When your ready to use the jar use a fork to pierce and remove the fat cap.
I suggest placing it in a bag or jar and keeping in the freezer. This will keep the fat fresh and you can break off little bits and put in the frying pan, or wherever, when cooking. It will melt at room temperature pretty quickly. 🙂
Jackie Galbraith says
This looks amazing! I can't wait to try it out this fall when I'm going through tons of veggies! Scraps always bothered me. I was wondering though, have you ever tried canning this recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Glad you like it. I haven't tried canning, but I am sure that would work perfectly well as well. 🙂
Sue says
I canned my broth and it sealed but when I opened it there was a muddy looking sedament on the bottom. Is there any way to avoid this?
Sam Turnbull says
You could use cheesecloth to strain it before canning, or simply give it a shake to combine before using. Enjoy!
Beverley @ Born to Sweat says
This is so awesome Sam! I have been meaning to make my own vegetable broth for sometime now - i dont have the same amount of veggie scraps lying around, but i would still rather make my own than use the cubed stuff. Great video!
Sam says
So happy you like it! If you don't have an entire bag full of scraps, just use less water. It's a pretty forgiving recipe. 🙂
Sonja says
Can you freeze the scraps or will that ruin the taste? I'm new at eating veggies and I always cry when I have to throw away the scraps (mostly because I think they would make great compost but your idea is so much better)?
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! I just keep a bag in the freezer and add to it until I have a full bag 🙂
Sonja says
Celery too?
Sam Turnbull says
Yep! Usually the only reason you can't freeze things is because it may ruin the texture, but since we are just getting the flavour from the scraps it doesn't matter if the texture changes 🙂
Melissa says
That's what I have been doing since my canning sites mentioned not discarding scraps but saving for vegetable stock/broth. I started mine last night for the first time. I'm not sure what the taste should be but wasn't loving it. I may get some carrots to add to it to give it a better taste. On the other hand, mine looks like your pics, a rich, brown full flavor stock.
Sam Turnbull says
I hope you like it! You can always season accordingly, but keep in mind that vegetable broth is generally pretty mild. Next time you purchase a vegetable broth, make sure to taste it, so you can know what to expect from your own homemade version. Hope that helps! 🙂
Bethery says
Great dance moves, indeed! I wanna come to your place and get force fed delicious vegan food.
Sam says
Haha! I love dancing... dancing well, on the other hand, is not a skill of mine. Haha. I will happily force feed you delicious vegan food! haha. 😉
Deanna Tolman says
You are adorable. The veggie broth is adorable, and now I'm going to ask a very rude question. You have accomplished so much -- I made that incredibly yummy lentil loaf puff pastry thing for Easter and my husband went BONKERS for it -- and you look about 12. So, would you reveal how old you are really? Just so I can feel really, really bad about how I look if you are actually over 21?
By the way, just to be fair, I'm 62. My husband is 64. We're old people. But seriously, you look younger than my 16 and 18-year-old granddaughters.
Thank you for all the yummy, nummy recipes, for being adorable and funny. I'm a nurse practitioner and I show all my patients your website while I'm trying to get them to eat a whole food plant-based diet. Because it's so cute -- like you. And the recipes are totally awesome.
Can't wait to make the veggie broth -- I will feel so wonderfully frugal!!
Margaret J says
I agree with Deanna, Sam! I'm almost as old as she is, and proud to be one of your older fans. I think almost any still of you from this video would make a very cute profile picture for you, and I love that you share your spills and lack of knife skills, etc., and do it in a funny way! I make homemade vegetable base for the freezer by grinding up carrots, celery, onions, sun-dried tomatoes, leeks, herbs and kosher salt in my food processor, but I think I'll start saving my vegetable scraps like you do, too.
Sam says
Aww shucks, thanks so much Margaret! I'm not a chef, I'm just a home cook, so I want to make sure people realize that if I can cook scrumptious vegan food, so can they! Hence why I share all the disasters that occur... that and because it's entertaining I hope. Haha. Ooo your veggie base sounds delicious too! 🙂
Sam says
Hahaha! I love your comment Deanna. Not rude at all, I'm actually 31 (almost 32)! I know, I look young... although I think 12 is a new record! Haha. I get told I look younger often, and I always respond with "Eat your veggies"! 😉
Thank you so much for recommending my site to your patients! That means so much to me. I hope you enjoy the veggie broth 🙂
Carol Campbell says
This sounds so good! Even by itself!
Sam says
Haha thank you Carol!
Srivani says
You are just the cutest vegan chef EVER! LOVE the video, love the energy, love the humour, love the technical difficulties. Your personality just shines, Sam! And I'm super happy to say that I already do this (freeze scraps and make both). Great post and video to get people making their own both, so simple. Although, I have a question re. cookbook making ('cause you're a "cookbook maker"), what do you do with the so-so or downright nasty food creations? Surely not every cookbook / blog recipe is amazing the first time you make it; you must have some duds.
Sam says
Awww Srivani, you're the best!! Thank you 😀
For the so-so creations, I tend to just eat them with a lot of hot sauce (assuming it's a savoury dish). For the downright fails, those get sacrificed to my green bin 🙁 Luckily, most things are a least palatable!
So happy you're already brothing it up!
Wendy Beautyman says
that looks super easy to make, I reckon I'm gonna stop wasting money on stock cubes and go for this delicious homemade broth from now on, cheers Sam
Sam says
Amazing! You're most welcome 🙂
Johanna Woodbury says
Veeeeegan!
Sam says
Haha! Indeed!
Eya says
Great video -- and I extra love your T shirt.
Sam says
Aww thank you Eya! You can get the shirt here on Etsy if you like 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O yes!!! Perfect way to make sure there is no food waste!! Wonderful idea, my friend!
Sam says
Thanks so much Rebecca! Waste not, want not, as they say 😉