How to make Sustainable Vegetable Stock from Scraps

This do-it-yourself vegetable stock is simple to make and completely sustainable, made from the vegetable scraps in your kitchen!

Making vegetable stock from scratch is a great pride of mine because it combines a few of my favorite things: sustainability, cooking, resourcefulness, and frugality!

I first learned how to make vegetable stock through various cookbooks that would instruct me on what kind of vegetables to use. Each of these books show something different, and there’s a variety of different vegetable stocks as well, like mushroom-based stocks, gourd-based stocks, and so on. Then, I dove into the book Joy of Cooking, which discussed free-form vegetable stock making. Doing it the first time was nerve-racking, but exciting. I was amazed by the result. The stock wasn’t too salty and it reminded me of my favorite vegetables that I use. Making your own vegetable stock is like putting your own stamp on your dishes.

By the way, as a cozy person, I love soup! I grew up drinking delicious soups like pho, congee, and Chinese vegetable soups with noodles. I make soup a lot, but the price on my favorite brand of vegetable stock isn’t cheap! So learning to make vegetable stock was a game changer for me. Even better, I don’t feel bad when I have to throw away perfectly good scraps, like the stems off collard greens or the heads of bell peppers.

Let’s learn how you go about making your own vegetable stock from scraps!

Supplies

Making sustainable vegetable stock is super easy to do, and all you need are a few things:

• a large pot or steamer
• a quart-sized freezer bag
• leftover vegetables and scraps
• storage containers like clear Mason jars or large Tupperware
• an hour of time while you read blogs, play video games, etc

Now where are we going to get leftover vegetables and scraps?

While you can technically make Vegetable Stock with brand new whole vegetables, it’s all the more satisfying when you make them with scraps that you’ve saved for a season. Not all vegetables are made equal for stock though.

Best Practices for Yummy Vegetable Stock

First of all, some words of advice.

Do use scraps as soon as you get them. The ends of green onions, the tops of red bell peppers, and carrot tops are perfect. Throw them in your freezer bag as soon as you finish prepping whatever other meal you’re making.

Don’t use vegetables that are already going bad! If you know something won’t be used, you can save it in the freezer bag. However, once it starts to go bad, it’ll just ruin the freshness of your broth. Toss anything moldy or soft.

Some universally recommended vegetables to use for stocks are:

• onions
• celery
• carrots
• scallions or green onions
• garlic cloves
• ginger
• mushrooms
• leeks

These impart great flavor, and adding a diversity of scraps will give a balanced flavor. My typical additions make up of the above, along with cilantro, bell pepper, tomato, peppers, and cauliflower.

Joy of Cooking gives the following advice on what to potentially avoid as well. Cabbage, and cabbage-like vegetables like broccoli, mustard, kale can add a “sulfurous note.” She also mentions that turnips, beets, parsnips, and asparagus can “dominate” their characteristics in a stock, and should be used in moderation.

But with that advice imparted, I say rules are meant to be broken in cooking! I’ve used Taiwanese cabbage in my stock, and I don’t regret it! Use her words as a guideline, but do what you want.

If you’d like to get more creative with your stock though, here are some ideas for spices/ingredients you can throw in to make the stock a little more savory. These ideas are taken from chefs who have shared their advice in other various cookbooks that I read.

• dashi
• tomato paste
• ginger
• thyme sprigs
• bay leaves
• peppercorns

Once your bag is full, you can dump its contents into your stock pot and fill it with two quarts of water, or 8 cups. Potentially, you can add even more water. This will dilute your stock, but if you like a milder stock or more cups, then go for it.

Preparing the Stock

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The hardest part is collecting the vegetables and adding the water. Here comes the easy part! Cover your stockpot with a lid, and bring it to a boil. This can take a long time especially if you have a lot of water. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat to low and let it simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. After that, let the stock cool and carefully drain it with a colander. The broth should now range in color from light orange to pale yellow. Neat!

Pour your new vegetable broth into air-tight containers. The mushy, water-logged vegetables can now be composted.

Keeping the Vegetable Stock

The stock will keep for 4-6 days in the refrigerator, or freeze it to make it last longer. While I hate food waste, (but am often guilty of it as someone with ADHD,) I try to stay on the safe side. The stock is no longer good once it is cloudy. This will be easy to see and visible if you store it in clear mason jars like I do.

Make sure to consume food made with the stock within the same timeline as well.

What to make with Vegetable Stock

My own vegetable stock is deliciously earthy, robust, and perfect for congees and soups. I’ll soon be releasing my own recipe for plain congee made with this stock in a little bit.

In the meantime, check out these delicious recipes that you can make with vegetable stock!

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• West African Peanut Soup with Tofu and Chickpeas
• Chinese Scallion Pancakes with Dipping Sauce
• Spicy Serrano Vegan Mac and Cheese
• Tabitha Brown’s Vegan Mac and Cheese

Want to learn more about sustainability? Check out this article I wrote about sustainability within the fashion industry as well.