In the Fall/Winter I use a lot of broths to make soups, chili, sauces, etc. I LOVE making homemade broth out of veggie scraps. It is cost-effective, less wasteful, and will give your food a much richer and deeper flavor. It is super easy too!
Reasons to make your own broth out of scraps:
- FREE
- Fresh and Delicious Flavor (SO much better than a store-bought broth)
- No Waste
- Freezer Friendly
- Less Sodium
- All Natural
- Requires Little Effort
- Saves money
What scraps you can use to make broth:
- Peels from potatoes, carrots, onions, shallots, squash, garlic
- Ends of onions, celery, and carrots
- Green onion or leek ends
- Unused herbs leaves and stems (avoid using cilantro as it will make broth too bitter)
- black peppercorns
- celery stalks
- Mushroom caps/stems
- broccoli stems
- Bay leaves
- Any other greens slightly wilted
- Chicken/beef bones from cooked meat to make a meat broth/stock
As you cut up washed veggies, herbs, etc. when your cooking, put the “scraps” aside in a bowl. Then add scraps to a freezer gallon bag and place it in the freezer. Keep adding veggie scraps throughout the week(s).
Note: Be sure that any scraps are free of slime, mold, and are not spoiled or rotten!
I keep my scraps in a gallon Ziploc freezer bag in the freezer and continue to add until full
I use the Instant Pot but you can also put them in a large stockpot (See Recipe Notes Below)
Strain the veggies and then put the broth in storage containers. I always include the date on the container. Remember, the taste will be slightly different every time you make this as you will use different scraps!
If you have any questions/comments, please CONTACT me and/or leave a comment below
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PinIngredients
1 Gallon filled Freezer bag of random veggies and herbs
8–10 cups water
Salt/Pepper or peppercorns
*optional: fresh herbs/bay leaves
Instructions
- Place all scrap veggies/herbs from gallon bag in InstantPot
- Add 10-12 cups of water or until fill line is reached in Instant Pot
- Add salt/pepper, fresh herbs (*optional)
- Press Manual Button on InstantPot and set to 40 minutes, allowing a natural release.
- Strain liquid through a fine-mesh strainer and discard solids
- Allow the broth to cool until you can handle and store in airtight gallon freezer bags or other containers (Refridgerator-up to 1 week, Freezer-4-6 months)
Notes
SUGGESTIONS FOR SCRAPS TO USE IN BROTH:
carrot peels/ends, potato peels, onion ends/peel, celery scraps, fresh herb stems/leftovers, bell pepper scraps, garlic scraps, mushroom stems, squash peels,
TO MAKE IN STOCKPOT: put all ingredients in the pot, turn heat to high until boiling. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat until you have a slow simmer. Simmer everything for 45min-1 hr. Let cool and store in gallon Ziploc bags, mason jars, or other containers in fridge (up to 1 week) or freezer (about 4-6 months)
Add chicken bones/carcass from cooked chicken to make delicious stock/broth
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