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How to Make Vegetable Broth from Kitchen Scraps

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vegetable scraps in blue pot

Waste not, want not!  Make rich, delicious vegetable broth with scraps from your kitchen.  It’s so easy!

Hey, hey!  New year, new health goals.  And one of my goals this year is to consume less and to conserve more. If you are anything like me, you probably spend a ridiculous amount of money on food.  Am I right?

I’ve been making a point to waste as little as possible, especially when it comes to my precious, expensive food.  One of the things I’ve been doing is making crazy good vegetable broth from little vegetable scraps.  You guys know that I’m a big fan of bone broth, but did you know that a good vegetable broth is a powerhouse of minerals as well? You can do so much with a cozy, warm, flavorful vegetable broth.  I use it as a base for soups, stews, and sauces.

three glass jars of vegetable broth

blue pot with vegetables in it

And all you need is some scraps from the kitchen. It’s so easy and cheap to make. Just throw your vegetable scraps into a bag in the freezer until you have enough for a batch of broth.  Then freeze broth in small portions for making the best soups and sauces EVER!  No more buying broth at the grocery store.

There are no rules to what you can or cannot use.  I basically use it all.  I know that people say not to use cruciferous veggies (like cauliflower, broccoli, and kale), but I throw in little bits all of the time, and my broth tastes amazing.  Of course, I balance it out with lots of sweeter vegetables like carrots and sweet potato scraps for a nice flavor.

NOTE:  Be sure to use only clean vegetables and scraps.  Dirty, gritty broth is no good.  And please use your common sense.  If it’s moldy, you probably don’t want it in your broth.

What I use in my vegetable broth:

  • any veggies that may have gotten a bit sad and wilty in the fridge
  • carrot peels and small ends
  • sweet potato peels and small ends
  • celery ends and leaves
  • onion and shallot skins
  • green onion or leek ends
  • mushroom stems
  • small amounts of broccoli stems or kale stems
  • slightly wilted greens from fridge
  • any other fun vegetable scrapes I may have

The possibilities are endless.  And your broth will taste different every time depending on what you put in it.  I like to mix it up and add some extras for flavor and to boost nutrients. The recipe below is just a place to start.  Feel free to experiment.

vegetable scraps on a baking sheet

Things I add for flavor and nutritional value:

  • fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, cilantro)- loaded with vitamins and minerals
  • garlic – anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial
  • ginger -anti-inflammatory and  immune boosting
  • peppercorns
  • bay leaf
  • shiitake mushrooms – rich flavor, immune boosting, and loaded with vitamins and minerals
  • turmeric powder – anti-inflammatory

How to store vegetable broth:

  • Be sure to use clean, glass containers.
  • Vegetable broth is good for up to a week in the fridge.
  • Freeze in thick glass containers.  I like to store in smaller portions  (about 2-3 cups) to use as needed.  I use THIS and THIS.  Be sure to leave room for expansion so as not to crack the glass.
  • Freeze in large silicone ice cube trays and store in large freezer bags. I have THESE and THESE. 

frozen cubes of vegetable broth

Here’s to a healthy, happy, and less wasteful New Year. Big love to you all!

xo,
K

blue pot with vegetable broth cooking

blue pot with vegetable broth

vegetable scraps in water in blue pot

 

 

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How to Make Vegetable Broth from Kitchen Scrapes \\\\ www.savorylotus.com

How to Make Vegetable Broth from Kitchen Scraps

★★★★★ 5 from 11 reviews
  • Author: Katja from Savory Lotus
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Yield: about 3 quarts 1x
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Ingredients

  • 1 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1 ribs of celery, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
  • 4 cups of vegetable scraps
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • one inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary
  • a handful of parsley or cilantro
  • salt to taste
  • 12–14 cups of clean water (I use about 3 and 1/2 quarts)

Instructions

  1. Place everything in a large stock pot. Add water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (covered) for 1 hour.
  2. Turn off heat. Using tongs or slotted spoon, remove solids. Then strain through a mesh sieve.
  3. Store in airtight jar for up to a week. Or freeze in small portions for use later.

Notes

I’ve seen recipes where you saute the carrots, celery, and onion in a bit of oil before you add water. Feel free to do this if you like. It does add a nice flavor. But I’ve been doing this broth for a long time and love how easy and delicious it is just the way it is.

 

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How to Make Vegetable Broth from Kitchen Scraps

 

 

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. I love the idea of adding in all of those herbs and mushrooms for more nourishment! What a great idea! I tend to forget to make veggie broth from my scraps just tossing them in with regular bone broth but veggie stock has so much potential! Thank you for this reminder!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. I love a recipe that allows me to experiment and with different results every time! This is such a fabulous way to reduce kitchen waste. Love it.

    Reply

  5. Great idea! I’ve made other kinds of brothbefor, but not veggie broth yet and it would be great to use up left-over vegetable scraps.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  13. I spend about $1000AUD on food a fortnight..!!!!! I blame my eating disorder and insatiable appetite 😛 I always have to throw out so many veggies because I don’t eat them in time. And it’s VERY hard to find healthy, clean stocks here in Perth (Australia) supermarkets, so this is a fabulous recipe for me!!! Thank you 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  14. I am retired and do most of the cooking. We love trying new recipes from all types of cuisines.Saving veggie scraps is easy and plentiful. Have a pot on now. Thanks for the recipe of sorts and the idea.

    Reply

  15. Oh my, Katje! In the process RIGHT NOW! My kitchen smells WONDERFUL!
    All those years of waste ?
    In my early years did compost – ok but also smelly?
    Then the too many wasteful years – and they end NOW!
    Thank you thank you!
    Can’t wait to share with my daughter & daughter in law??

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  16. Thank you so much for this. In the past we fed the left overs to my neighbors FFA animals but thats no longer an option. I have learned how to grow my own crops of veggies and herbs and to can and preserve them when its time. I now know what to do with all the little ofds and ends. Have you ever tried to can your broth? I dont always have a large amount of freezer space. Thank you again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  17. This is great! I used to compost but am not able to now under my current living situation. This is another great way to avoid wasting!

    Reply

  18. Hello, I have been looking for a great tasting soup broth. I have a question about your post. If you are using all these fine wilted veggies to make broth, why throw them out? Shouldn’t they part of the end product. I love soup but haven’t mastered how to make the soup broth. It’s the liquid solution if made right. What are your thoughts?

    Reply

    • I use veggie scraps in my broth, and they are pretty mushy when the broth is done. I prefer not to use them in the soup as veggie peels and scraps generally do nit have a very nice texture. But the broth is delish.

      Reply

  19. Is it possible to just use scraps & spices? I have 4 gallon size freezer bags of scraps, so wondering if fresh veggies are still necessary?

    Reply

  20. Hi Katja!
    I had the same idea, so I looked online to see if someone has tried it and what a surprise when the first thing that popped up is your blog! Great job on the blog. I am sure going to try other recipes from you.
    All the best in 2018 and hopefully we will see each other this year.
    Best,
    Tereza

    Reply

  21. This was delicious, thankyou! I even drank some on it’so own as a soup and build up immunty. Yummy! Thanks again 🙂

    Reply

  22. At first my husband thought I was losing my mind, putting scraps in the freezer, but when I explained what it was for he was impressed!! Now that I have made a few batches he loves the idea!!! Thank you so much for putting this recipe out here, I adore it!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  23. Hi, love your recipe and will use it!
    I was wondering what you’re thoughts were for adding used tea leaves as scraps for stock? I use organic tea leaves to make some delicious turmeric tea and thought of throwing it in my ‘stock’ bag. Any suggestions about doing this?

    Thanks

    Reply

      • I am also adding turmeric:). Great suggestion! I make my own stocks from seafood to veggie, more often than I buy a box. I use fresh and local whenever I can, and no part needs to go to waste during round one! Compost after…great!

        Thank you for inspiring more of our humankind, to utilize what truly isn’t waste:)

        ?? Sat Nam!

        Reply

  24. This is a fantastic way to reuse scraps that tastes great! My husband and I really enjoy the different flavors, but the one it has helped the most has been our dog. He’s older and suffers from Addison’s Disease so it’s usually difficult to find foods he can stomach. By adding some of this broth (minus any vegetables that are harmful to dogs of course), he is able to get a great boost to his meals that he enjoys. Thank you for sharing this with the world and helping families of all types – even the fur kind!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  25. I also save scraps until a ziplock is full. I pour the contents into the crock pot. Cover wuth water and cook on low overnight. Drain and freeze 2 cups worth in each freezer bag.

    Reply

  27. I recently noticed how much I throw away each week as far as veggies go. This recipe is going to help so much. Thank you so much.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  28. I’ve tried saving scraps once and when I took the bag out of the freezer after a month and thawed it, I found that everything had gone mushy, including the mushroom stems. It was quite gross and I had to toss the whole thing out. Is this normal? The scraps in your photos look so fresh and vibrant, I’m sure I’m doing something wrong. Any input would be highly appreciated, Thanks!

    Reply

    • Some things may get mushy, especially if they defrost and refreeze a few times. Mushrooms will def get mushy in freezer. It’s totally fine if things are not super fresh-looking. It still works.

      Reply

  29. I use a large freezer bag, keep adding until full and store in freezer. No particular recipe just keep adding. I add onion skins, garlic skins and all veggie peels. I grow my own herbs and add stems after dehydrating leaves. When full add water to large pot and let simmer, strain and freeze. Always comes out great.

    Reply

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