Print

Easy Vegetable Stock from Veggie Scraps

Veggie stock from kitchen veggie scraps

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

Wondering how to make delicious homemade vegetable stock from your veggie scraps? This easy, 1-pot recipe shows you how – with recommendations on which veggie scraps to collect and how to boost the flavor with extra ingredients. 

Ingredients

  • Olive oil (optional)
  • Frozen veggie scraps
  • Filtered water
  • Extra herbs, spices, aromats (optional)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. As you cook your meals, collect your veggie scraps. Keep sweet or fragrant vegetables (like onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, etc.) and avoid bitter ones (like broccoli, cabbage, arugula, etc.) *See recipe notes for a detailed list.
  2. Throw the veggie scraps into a one-gallon eco-friendly freezer bag, and freeze them. Over the next few days or weeks, continue to add scraps to the bag, until it’s full.
  3. When you’re ready to make stock, throw the scraps into a pot – either a large stockpot or a Dutch oven is best. Add in some olive oil first, and sauté the veggies first (this will give your stock more flavor and a little bit of “fat”). Or, skip the olive oil and simply fill up the pot with the scraps and filtered water, until the veggies are submerged and/or floating in the water. Bring the stock to a boil, put the lid on and simmer for at least 30 minutes, but up to 3 hours. The longer, the better.
  4. As the stock simmers, you can add some salt and pepper, to taste. You might also like to throw in some extra ingredients to tailor your stock for a certain dish or specific cuisine (like garlic, chili, lemongrass, bay leaves, dried herbs, or miso paste). *See recipe notes for more ideas.
  5. Let the stock cool, then strain out the stock from the veggies. If you want to, with clean hands, you can also squeeze out the excess stock from the veggies. You can also use a nut milk bag to make this easier.
  6. Store the stock in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. 

Notes

  • Veggies to use: carrots, potatoes, onions, celery, herbs, bell peppers, chilis, sweet potatoes, zucchini, lemongrass, mushrooms, corn cobs, garlic, pumpkin, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, asparagus, etc. Any scraps from sweet or fragrant vegetables will work nicely in your stock!
  • Veggies to avoid: bitter vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, arugula, radishes, etc. Bitter veggies will make your stock bitter.
  • Ideas for optional add-ons: dried herbs (like parsley, basil, dill, or oregano), bay leaves, miso paste, parmesan rind, extra fresh veggies (like garlic or onion), ginger, galangal, lemongrass, chili, kaffir lime leaves, etc.

You cannot copy content of this page.