A good, clean eating vegetable stock is the start to so many great recipes!

Few things beat a good, homemade broth or stock. Store bought just cannot compare. But there are things you need to know about making vegetable stock at home. So today, I’m going to go over that information and then give you a recipe you can follow if you so choose.

Vegetable stock has always been a little ambiguous to me because there are just so many ways to make a good broth. You can follow a recipe or just toss in the veggies you have on hand (for the most part). I think that’s why I waited so long to try it myself.

But now that I’ve had to make stock for culinary school, I can’t believe I ever bought the stuff. There is just so much more flavor in the homemade variety. And when you start with a good stock, anything you make with it is going to taste pretty darn amazing. This recipe is very close to the recipe I used for school but with a couple of tweaks for flavoring the way I like it.

VEGETABLE STOCK BASICS:

• Hardy veggies are always going to be your main ingredients. Think, carrots onions and celery.
• You can use anything on hand to help flavor your broth.
• You want to add a small amount of salt during cooking. Don’t wait until the end because the salt helps bring out the flavors.
• As you cook, store up things like carrot tops, celery ends and extra onions in the freezer to use for stock when you’re ready.
• The best stocks are not made from scraps alone. Makes sure you’re adding in some of  the whole vegetables too.

VEGETABLE STOCK FLAVORINGS:

• Garlic cloves (you don’t even have to chop them! Just crush them with the side of your chef’s knife and toss them in!)
• Pepper corns
• Bay leaves
• Sun dried tomatoes (these add the most wonderful flavor!)
• Fresh herbs like parsley. Choose your herbs based on what you will use the broth for.

YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY THESE CLEAN EATING RECIPES:

• Chicken Stock
• Chicken Stock Concentrate

CLEAN EATING VEGETABLE STOCK RECIPE:

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Clean Eating Vegetable Stock

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 30 mins

Total Time

1 hr 40 mins

 

Anything you use stock or broth for is made better with a homemade stock.

Course: Base Recipes, Soup

Cuisine: American

Yield: 1 batch

Author: The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients

• 4 cups chopped celery
• 4 cups chopped red onion
• 4 cups chopped carrots
• 8 medium garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (dry packed, not oil packed)
• 3 medium bay leaves
• 2 tsp. pepper corns
• 1 cup chopped, fresh parsley
• 1/2 tsp. salt (good quality)
• 16 cups water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce to a strong simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Allow to cool.

4. Strain the broth into food-safe storage containers and keep in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Recipe Notes

Please note that the nutrition data is not available for this recipe. Data will depend heavily on how far your liquid cooks down during simmering.