This whole Vegan Before 6 thing means I’m not using chicken or beef broth in my cooking. I hadn’t been worried about using just the meat broth, but figured if I was going to commit to eating vegan style until 6pm, I may as well do it properly. Past attempts to make decent (non salty but still tasty) vegetable broth ended up with tasteless broth the color of dishwater. That is, until I came across this post on VeganYumYum which used tomatoes AND tamari…color and flavor in one fell swoop!
To make vegetable broth you basically open your slow cooker (or a large dutch oven), throw cut up veggies in, cover them with water and let them cook slowly for several hours. Add seasoning and you’re done. You don’t have to be nice and neat about cutting up your veggies as you’ll strain them out of the broth.
There’s really no wrong way to make vegetable broth. I always include onions, carrots, celery and whole cloves of garlic. Opinions vary as to the necessity of peeling the onions and the garlic. This time I cut the root ends off, but only removed the nasty bits on the skins. I washed but didn’t peel the carrots and used the inside pieces of celery (the ones with the leaves).
You could add just about any other veggie you have in the fridge, especially those which may be past their prime but be aware the more assertive veggies (like cabbage, asparagus and broccoli) may take over. I threw in a red pepper, the stems from a bunch of parsley and a couple sorry winter tomatoes. Some salt, peppercorns and a bay leaf or two rounded out the ingredients in this particular batch.
The veggies cooked on high in my slow cooker for about 6 hours. At the end of that time the broth smelled really good, but was boring in color and flavor. After the addition of a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and a quarter cup of tamari, I had something delicious on my hands. We were dipping cups into the slow cooker and drinking the broth (it was all in the family, don’t judge).
I set a colander into my largest mixing bowl to strain the veggies, then stored the broth in the fridge. I didn’t fuss about the small bits of veggie that may have gotten through the colander, but if you want a very clear broth you’d have to use a finer method of straining. A six quart slow cooker yielded just shy of a half gallon. I added enough water to make up the difference. Since I have plans to use the broth this week, I stored it in the fridge. You could also freeze it in ice cube trays to have one ounce portions on hand to use as needed.
Look at the color of the broth! I just cooked some ditalini in it to add some bulk. We enjoyed our “soup” with leftover beets and skordalia for lunch.
I love making broth in the crock pot! Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper Tuesday.
It’s so easy, isn’t it? Makes me wonder why I haven’t done it before. 🙂
I always say I’m going to do this…and just never do! LOL Maybe I should for once and for all! 🙂
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week! 🙂
It was a pleasant surprise to me, that’s for sure. It’s actually easier and less messy than making chicken broth.
Thanks for the tip on vegetable broth as I had never really liked the kind I had made before either. Thanks for linking up with the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board!
What a great idea! I never thought to make broth in my slow cooker! Thanks for sharing at Whatever Wednesday on Thank You Honey! Hope to see you again next week!
This has to be healthier than the salty brands in stores.
It’s definitely tastier. I know what you mean about the salt. I’ve have to add quite a bit to other vegetable broths I’ve made in the past.
Lydia, I’ve never heard of tamari. I’ll have to check it out. I’ve been making my own chicken soup from leftover chicken which I’ve liked immensely. Thanks for linking up with Countdown in Style.
I’ve found it both in the Asian section and the gluten free section.
I love making homemade vegetable broth and it is so easy! Especially in the slow cooker! Yum:) It’s great to have some extra on hand too. I will try adding tomatoes to mine next time- what a great idea!
mm, vegetable broth sounds like the perfect thing to bring a nice cooking smell into the house too! Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friday
Thanks for sharing your post at the HomeAcre Hop!
I’ve never made my own broth or stock before. I’ve heard of how to do it from like Martha Stewart but I’ve never tried it. This looks super easy to try though. I pinned it for later! Thanks for sharing it with us at Countdown in Style! Don’t forget to stop by Friday to see if you are featured 🙂
It’s really easy with a slow cooker, a less messy than dealing with a chicken carcass 🙂
Wow that loom so yummy. I have to try that.
The tamari will add such a nice flavor to it. I often use tomatoes to liven up a stock or soup. I’m stopping by from the Let’s Get Real Friday Link Party. Thanks so much for linking up and sharing this with us. I hope you’ll join us this Friday.
I’m not sure why I never tried tomatoes before, but I admit to pretty much relying on homemade chicken stock. I’m glad to have another broth source. I need to make more in fact. I used two quarts for soup and the other two for cooking lentils.
Hi Lydia! I’m stopping in from Let’s Get Real today. I’ve tried a couple of vegetable broths from the store and haven’t really cared for them. Your recipe sounds like it might actually have some flavor to it. I also think it’s a great use of the extra pieces parts of vegetables that I use for the week. Not that it will last long………but do you have any idea how long this would keep in the refrigerator?
I used it within the week. I think I’d freeze it if I needed to store it for much longer than that (not that I haven’t pushed the envelope on that sort of thing hahaha).
I just saw this post half an hour after putting my own vegetable broth on! Good thing too because you reminded me about the tomato paste! I hope mine turns out okay, it smells really good but I’ll have to wait and see. I’d love to try tamari in mine but I don’t have any, good tip for the future though, thanks!
Stooping by from Sat SITS. I am so glad to finally understand how to make veggie broth in my slow cooker . Thanks so much for the recipe.
Estelle
I’m glad it was helpful to you, Estelle. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment 🙂
It looks pretty good, and it’s perfect for this snowy afternoon.
This looks good. I have made chicken broth but have not attempted to make vegetable broth. I may have to give it a try. Stopping over from SITS.
That looks really delicious!
I am picturing a lot of soups I could make with it!
Yum! I’ve only tried making homemade (chicken) broth once and I thought it was just OK – seems like the consensus is that you may need to try a few times to get it right. I’ve heard so many people RAVE about how good homemade broth, that I want to keep trying. Thanks for sharing!
If you use a lot of broth you can save a ton of $$$ by making your own so it’s worth experimenting until you get a result you like, I think. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to comment. 🙂
This looks really good! I was looking for a good veggie broth, and the last thing I wanted to try was something tasteless. I’m going to give this one a try for sure!
Let me know how you like it, Kalley 🙂 I couldn’t believe the difference in flavor after adding the tamari.
Oh, that looks delicious, Lydia. Thanks so much for sharing – I’ve had the same problem and found it very frustrating. Yes! Love it when I can get rid of one more can! Have a great day.
I am so glad I saw this on the Real Food Fridays link up party! I had the exact same problem with my vegetable broth! I had given up on it and was using a store bought one that I like, but after reading this I think I will try it out again!
I couldn’t believe the difference. Glad it was helpful to someone 🙂