Homemade Vegetable Broth from Food Scraps

A simple and delicious recipe for homemade vegetable broth by using food scraps. A great way to use frozen vegetables and reduce food waste.

Reducing Food Waste

As we all try and make less trips to the grocery store, reducing food waste and using up as much of your foods has become a goal for many.

Some of the ways that I’ve been trying to eliminate food waste, this past month especially, includes the following –

• trying to make a plan for meals each week to use up fresh produce first
• freezing fruits and veggies if they aren’t getting used
• creating new meals out of leftovers

One of my favorite tips I shared previously is freezing pineapple core for smoothies.

Saving Vegetable Scraps

Last year I visited a Culinary Kitchen that taught people in the community how to cook for better health.

In addition to their wonderful tips, they showed how everyday they placed three little buckets at their cooking stations. The buckets were to put corresponding food waste in as you cooked. One was scraps to make vegetable broth, the second was for compost and the third was scraps that had to be thrown away.

I loved the idea of using food scraps to make vegetable broth. Since I don’t have enough food scaps to make a pot of broth multiple times a week, I place a sealable, plastic bag in my freezer (labeled “veggie scraps”) and just pull it out when I’m chopping or cooking in the kitchen. I add my scaps as I go and just seal it up and pop it back in the freezer.

Once the bag is full, I make a batch of veggie broth and start the process all over again.

What Kind of Vegetable Scraps Go Into Broth

Not all veggies make a good fit for broth, some are bitter when simmered for long periods of time. These are my recommendations –

• Veggies to Use – carrots (peels and ends), onion (including skins), scallions, garlic (including skins), celery, (ends and leaves too) mushrooms (including the stems), slightly wilted mild greens (like spinach)
• Veggies to Avoid – cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini (may get bitter when simmered)
• Additions for extra flavor – ginger, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorn, turmeric, fresh herbs, dried herbs

How to Make Homemade Vegetable Broth

Making your own homemade vegetable broth from scraps is pretty simple. Once your freezer bag of scraps is full, simple add the contents to a large pot, add fresh/dried herbs, ginger, peppercorn, or garlic. Then cover with water and simmer for 4-6 hours on stove. Strain veggies out and store broth in fridge or freezer.

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Homemade Vegetable Broth Using Food Scraps

A simple and delicious recipe for homemade vegetable broth by using food scraps. A great way to use frozen vegetables and reduce food waste.

Course broth, Soup, vegetable

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Keyword broth, couscous, vegetarian, food waste, vegetable broth

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Author Brynn McDowell, RD at The Domestic Dietitian

Ingredients

• 1 gallon bag Frozen Vegetable Scraps see below notes on veggies to include for best flavor
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 inch ginger (unpeeled), fresh
• 1 tbsp dried parsley (or fresh if you have it)
• 1 sprig rosemary, fresh

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients in a large stock pot
• Add enough water to completely cover the contents of the pot
• Place on medium high heat on the stove and bring to a boil
• Once boiling, reduce to low, cover and simmer on stove for 4-6 hours
• Strain until just broth remains. Store in fridge for up to 5-7 days or freeze for later use

Notes

Veggies I recommend using – carrots (peels and ends), onion (including skins), scallions, garlic (including skins), celery, (ends and leaves too) mushrooms (including the stems), slightly wilted mild greens (like spinach)

 

I place a gallon size bag in the freezer and add the above veggie scraps to it while I am cooking. After each use, I place it back in the freezer and make this soup once the freezer bag is full. 

Looking for more recipes to Make Yourself and Home?

We started the Make it Yourself Monday series a few months ago as a way to encourage you to try making more things at home that people typically purchase instead. These have included –

• Homemade Spaghetti Sauce (no added sugar)
• Homemade Basil Pesto
• Homemade Ricotta Cheese