Until about a month ago, I had never made my own vegetable broth.

I always bought boxes of broth at the grocery store for about $3 a pop because I assumed it was too much work and way too difficult to make it myself.

Turns out I was wrong!

Not only is it easy, but it’s also CHEAP. The secret is using vegetable scraps you would have probably thrown away, so you don’t even have to spend extra money 🙂

I learned about this technique when I attended a soups and stocks cooking class at Pure Sweets & Co. in Philadelphia earlier this month.

It’s just one of the ways they make using all organic vegetables more sustainable and affordable because they use the ENTIRE vegetable…no waste!

Once you see how EASY it is to make your own broth, I bet you will actually do it!

veggie broth banner

Ingredients

  • Scraps, peels, stems, skins, ends, nubs from a variety of vegetables (garlic, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, celery, herbs, squash, turnips, broccoli) – use a variety or you will have a one-note broth 🙂
  • Water

scrap soup how to pics

Directions

  1. Save your scraps. Whenever you are prepping vegetables or herbs, put all of the stuff you would normally throw away (butts/ends, stems, skins, tops, leaves, peels) into a bag and store the bag in your freezer.
  2. When you’re ready to make your broth, simply fill about 1/3 of an 8-quart pot with the vegetable scraps and the rest with water. If you have extra fresh veggies like carrots, onions, or parsley, you can chop them up and throw them in, too.
  3. Bring pot to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cover. Let simmer for 1-2 hours. The longer it simmers, the richer the flavor will be.
  4. Let broth cool to room temperature, then strain off the vegetables so you’re left with just broth. Compost the scraps.
  5. Pour the broth into glass jars, leaving AT LEAST 2 inches of air above the broth before you seal it, so the broth has room to expand in the jar once you freeze it. If you don’t leave enough room, the jar could crack from the pressure…which may have happened to me once already…Oops! (By the way, we swear by this canning jar funnel to prevent spills. It’s totally worth it.)
  6. Store broth in the fridge for up to one week or in the freezer for up to six months.

We had lots of scraps…sooo now we have about 32 ounces of vegetable broth 🙂 Stock up on those mason jars for storage! You can find them at Home Goods, Michael’s, Target, Walmart, and online.

Do you have any favorite soup recipes or requests? I have white bean and fennel soup and creamy butternut squash recipes coming up soon. Let me know if you have any requests!