Homemade Vegetable Stock, Light and Flavorful
Homemade vegetable stock with carrots, celery, onion, and leek: light, fragrant, and natural. The base for risottos, soups, and broths.
Want a vegetable stock that’s light but genuinely flavorful, natural and free of bouillon cubes, to use as a base for risottos and soups? Then follow this recipe: a few vegetables, cold water, and an hour of quiet cooking.
Vegetable stock is one of the most useful bases in the kitchen: it flavors risottos, extends soups, cooks grains, and perfumes broths. It’s made with simple vegetables and needs no attention: once it’s in the pot, it does almost everything on its own.
It has at least three real advantages: it’s budget-friendly and vegan, it’s far healthier and tastier than a bouillon cube, and it keeps and freezes easily, so you always have a base ready.
The most important tip is to start from cold water: by submerging the vegetables in cold water and bringing them slowly to a boil, they release far more aroma than in already-hot water. And salt lightly, only toward the end: that way the stock stays versatile for any recipe.
Once strained, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it: you’ll have portions of stock ready whenever you need them.
Ready? Let’s make vegetable stock.
Steps
- Clean the vegetables and cut them into rough chunks: there's no need to peel them much, just wash them well.
- Put them in a large pot with the peppercorns and cover with the cold water. Starting from cold water helps the vegetables release more flavor.
- Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook gently for about 1 hour, skimming now and then if foam forms on the surface.
- Salt only toward the end of cooking, adjusting based on how you'll use the stock.
- Strain the stock through a sieve and use it right away for risottos and soups, or let it cool and store it.
Helpful tips
Always start from cold water: the vegetables give off more aroma than they would in already-hot water.
Salt lightly and late: if you use the stock for an already savory risotto, it's better kept neutral.
Avoid bitter or overly starchy vegetables in excess; one potato makes it more full-bodied but slightly cloudy.
It freezes beautifully: pour it into ice cube trays for ready-to-use portions.
Average nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 15 kcal
- Carbohydrates
- 3.0 g
- Sugars
- 2.0 g
- Protein
- 1.0 g
- Fat
- 0.0 g
- Saturated fat
- 0.0 g
- Fiber
- 1.0 g
- Sodium
- 200 mg
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