Boost your dishes with this Simple Homemade Vegetable Stock. It’s a quick, flavorful blend of vegetables and a great way to use up leftover vegetable scraps. Perfect for enriching soups, stews, and sauces, it’s the easy way to elevate your favorite recipes.
Vegetable stock is a staple in any vegetarian kitchen. I use it all the time as a base for soups, stews, and risotto. Rather than relying on the high-sodium store-bought versions, why not make your own vegetable stock at home?
Vegetable stock is very forgiving and very adaptable. This is less of a recipe and more of a starting point. You don’t need to buy vegetables, especially for the purpose of making vegetable stock. You could save up all the scraps of vegetables you are using day to day, pop them in a bag in the freezer, and make some stock when you have enough.
Once you have made vegetable stock at home and realize how easy it is, you will never buy the store-bought version again. It’s something you can rustle up so easily and keep on hand all the time.
Keep your vegetable scraps in the freezer ready to make a stock as soon as you have enough!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to Prepare. Vegetables only need to be roughly chopped, with no peeling necessary, and thrown into a pot with some water and seasoning.
- Budget-Friendly. Stop buying cartons of vegetable stock when you can make your own for pennies.
- Environmentally-Friendly. Instead of becoming waste, vegetable scraps can be used to make vegetable stock.
How to Make Homemade Vegetable Stock
Homemade stock is easy and cheap to make. You’ll never go back to storebought stock. You can find the full, printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Key Ingredients
- Mirepoix Vegetables. Carrots, celery, and onions form the basis of a mirepoix.
- Leeks. Add extra onion flavor.
- Herbs. Thyme and parsley add deep flavor and can be fresh or dried.
- Seasoning. Salt and pepper add much-needed flavor to the stock.
- Bay Leaf. A staple for adding to broths and stocks.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Prep the Vegetables. Wash all the vegetables and chop them into chunks.
2. Build the Flavor. Sauté the vegetables until they begin to soften then cover the vegetables with water until you are easily able to stir them around.
3. Add Herbs and Seasoning. Add in any herbs, a sprinkle of peppercorns, and salt. Set the heat to low and let simmer for a few hours.
4. Strain the Stock. Strain the cooked stock to remove the vegetables and peppercorns. Store the strained stock in an airtight container.
Recipe Tips, Variations, and Substitutions
- Control the intensity of the stock using water. If you want a stock with strong flavors, only add enough water to cover the vegetables and be able to stir them effortlessly. For stock less concentrated add more water.
- Add flavors you love. For example, mushrooms, tomatoes, parsnips, and peppers (all colors) all work well in stock. They will each bring a different flavor to the stock, so stick with the flavors you enjoy.
- Fresh and dried herbs. Both work great in stock and add flavor. Use what you have on hand.
Storage Recommendations
Store the strained stock in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or alternatively, freeze it in portions in ziplock bags or containers so you can conveniently pull some out to use as you need it.
Try These Other Soup Recipes
- Vegetarian French Onion Soup – The classic soup with a vegetarian twist and bold flavors of red and white onions.
- Lentil, Potato, and Greens Soup – This hearty soup is full of comforting ingredients for a rainy day.
- Spanish Garlic Soup – A simple soup filled with garlic flavor with saffron and sweet paprika and thickened with crusty bread.
- Kabocha Squash Soup – Perfect soup for a chilly day with chunky pieces of tender squash.
- Pea and Mint Soup – This soup has only 5 ingredients but packs bold flavors. It’s perfect for spring.
Simple Homemade Vegetable Stock
Ingredients
- 2 carrots chop into chunks
- 3 celery ribs chop into chunks
- 2 onions
- 2 leeks
- 2 sprigs thyme fresh
- 4 sprigs parsley fresh
- 10 peppercorns
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 quarts water
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash all the vegetables. We aren't going to peel them so make sure they are extra clean. Chop all the vegetables into 1/2 inch chunks.
- Add some olive oil into a large pot and heat over a medium heat. Add the vegetables and sauté for 5-10 minutes until they begin to soften. This step serves to intensify the flavors in your stock even more. Once the vegetables begin to soften, cover the vegetables with water until you are easily able to stir them around. The more water you add, the less concentrated your stock will be, so add less water if you want a stronger vegetable stock.
- Add in any fresh herbs you are using, along with 5-10 peppercorns and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set the heat to low and let simmer for 1-2 hours.
- Strain to remove all the vegetables. Store the stock in an airtight tub in the fridge for up to 1 week, or alternatively, freeze it in portions in ziplock bags so you can conveniently pull some out to use as you need it.
Nutrition
Images by Lauren Caris Short.