Homemade Vegetable Broth Herbs (Printable)

A fragrant base made from fresh herbs and vegetable scraps, enhancing soups, risottos, and sauces.

# What You Need:

→ Vegetable Scraps

01 - 4 cups assorted vegetable scraps (onion peels, carrot ends, celery leaves, leek greens, mushroom stems, parsley stems, garlic skins)
02 - 1 small potato, chopped (optional)

→ Fresh Vegetables

03 - 1 onion, quartered
04 - 2 carrots, roughly chopped
05 - 2 celery stalks, chopped

→ Herbs & Seasonings

06 - 2 bay leaves
07 - 5 sprigs fresh parsley
08 - 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
09 - 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
10 - 2 cloves garlic, smashed
11 - 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
12 - 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (optional)

→ Water

13 - 10 cups cold water

# Steps:

01 - Place all vegetable scraps, optional potato, and fresh vegetables into a large stockpot.
02 - Add bay leaves, parsley, thyme, peppercorns, smashed garlic, salt, and optional apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
03 - Pour in 10 cups of cold water and stir gently to combine.
04 - Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
05 - Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and skim off any foam during the first 10 minutes.
06 - Simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
07 - Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
08 - Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a large bowl, discarding solids.
09 - Taste the broth and adjust salt or acidity as needed.
10 - Use immediately or refrigerate up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • You'll stop feeling guilty about vegetable scraps and start feeling clever for using them.
  • The smell alone—herbaceous and warm—makes your kitchen feel like a restaurant kitchen, even if you're just simmering.
  • This broth becomes the invisible magic in every soup, risotto, and sauce you make afterward.
02 -
  • Never use cabbage, broccoli, or beet scraps unless you specifically want those strong flavors to dominate—they'll overpower everything else and make your broth taste like one-note vegetable.
  • Boiling hard instead of simmering gently creates a murky broth that tastes greasy and muddy; the quiet simmer is where real, clean flavor lives.
  • That vinegar or lemon juice isn't about taste—you won't taste it—but it's a flavor amplifier that makes every note in the broth sharper and more alive.
03 -
  • Start with cold water every time—hot water shocks the vegetables and prevents them from releasing their flavors gradually and completely.
  • A tiny pinch of vinegar or lemon juice added at the beginning doesn't make the broth taste sour; it acts like a flavor amplifier that makes everything taste more like itself.

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