The most common vegetables to use are:
- Celery
- Carrots
- Onions
- Garlic
- Tomatoes (these are easily omitted if you want to make a clear stock)
- Mushrooms
- Adding in a couple of aromatic herbs never hurt, either:
- Bay leaves
- Dried thyme
- Peppercorns or freshly ground black pepper
- Salt (to taste, depending on whether or not you’re making a dish with added salt)
What is a good substitute for vegetable stock?
It can help to cook the dish for a little longer than usual if you are using this basic substitute for vegetable stock. Water is not an ideal substitute for vegetable stock, but it can be used if no other options are available. Chefs should add water in place of the stock and allow the ingredients to cook in it for a long period of time.
What can I use instead of chicken stock in cooking?
Flavor cubes are handy when chicken stock is unavailable. They can last for a year. If you want to prepare one cup of stock, add one bouillon cube to a cup of water and simmer the mixture until the cube dissolves completely. Use this broth as a chicken stock substitute in your recipe.
What kind of stock do you use to make soup?
Any brothy non-puréed soups should be made with your favorite vegetable stock if that’s what the recipe calls for—the stock is what you’ll mostly be tasting. The same can be said for starches like risotto or polenta, which soak up flavor from the liquid as they cook.
What can I use instead of vegetable broth?
Mix a bouillon cube with a cup of boiling water to create a broth. Chicken and beef stock can also be used instead of vegetable broth. Conversely, vegetable broth offers a substitute option for recipes that call for chicken or beef stock.
What can you use to substitute stock?
Fortunately, we're here to let you in on a game-changing secret: Water makes a more than acceptable replacement for chicken stock in most soups, stews, sauces, and braises. And in many cases, water actually produces a better-tasting result.
What is vegetable stock made of?
For a nice rounded vegetable stock base, begin with onion, garlic, celery, leek, carrot and mushrooms. The standard aromatics are bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and parsley stalks. You can then add other vegetables, herbs or spices to flavour your stock however you wish.
How can I make vegetable stock at home?
To make basic vegetable stock, boil 3 cups of water in a deep non-stick pan. Add the cauliflower, onions, cabbage, carrots and celery and boil on a high flame for 10 minutes. Strain the water using a strainer and discard the vegetables. Use the basic vegetable stock as required.
Is vegetable stock the same as chicken broth?
The short answer to that is flavor. Chicken stock is made from chicken and vegetables, while vegetable stock is made only with vegetables. This difference produces specific flavor profiles as well as a variety of nutritional benefits for each type of stock.
1. Bouillon
Bouillon is the French word for broth and, as such, bouillon is essentially just broth in a more concentrated but dehydrated form (via Leaf ). This is why bouillon cubes and powders are the most obvious and closest substitutes for vegetable broth.
2. Homemade Broth
Although homemade broth won't work for a last-minute substitution (as it takes a little bit of time to prep), making your own batch of broth is the best way to control the flavor of your dish. And, not only will you save some money doing it this way too, but you will also be able to put to good use veggies that are on their way to going bad.
3. Chicken or Beef Stock
Using chicken or beef stock as a substitute for vegetable broth is a no-brainer, unless you follow a vegetarian or a vegan diet. Both vegetable and chicken broth, in particular, have a similar flavor profile and color, which makes it easy to substitute one for the other (via The Pioneer Woman ).
4. Mushroom Broth
If you're familiar with mushrooms and just how much flavor they can impart, it will come as no surprise that vegetable broth can be substituted with mushroom broth pretty easily (via Food52 ). Mushrooms have an umami flavor and reducing them to a broth will add a bold and meaty flavor, similar to that of beef.
5. Water
The handiest substitute for the times when you're fresh out of vegetable broth is actually water. However, with its convenience comes a bit of trickiness. For one, water has no flavor, so if your final dish largely depends on the broth for taste, water won't be the best option (via Bon Appétit ).
6. Tomatoes
Similar to mushrooms, tomatoes also bring an umami flavor to the table. Tomatoes contain glutamates, an amino acid that gives the fruit its rich and meaty flavor (via Umami Information Center ). This is why tomatoes are an excellent vegan and vegetarian substitute for vegetable stock in any food where you want a meatier flavor.
7. Wine
Wine has long been used in cooking because of its ability to give food depth of flavor. This is because of the alcohol that wine contains. While alcohol itself doesn't add any flavor to food, it helps to bring out the flavors of all the other ingredients that you're cooking with it, in a way that even a vegetable broth cannot (via All Recipes ).
Bouillon Cubes
Bouillon cubes are concentrated, dehydrated blocks of beef, fish, chicken or vegetable stock. Bouillon cubes are easier to store than liquid stock and can also be less expensive. Bouillon can also be purchased in granular form. Mix a bouillon cube with a cup of boiling water to create a broth.
Chicken or Beef Stock
Chicken and beef stock can also be used instead of vegetable broth. Conversely, vegetable broth offers a substitute option for recipes that call for chicken or beef stock. Beef and chicken stock is the liquid left over from certain types of preparation.
Homemade Stock
If you don't have any vegetable stock, you can make a substitute with common seasonings and spices. Mix together dried parsley flakes and onion powder. Add salt-free lemon pepper, celery seeds and garlic powder. Combine this with sage, thyme, marjoram, oregano, basil, pepper, dill weed and summer savory.
Get the recipe
This is a “necessity is the mother of invention” kind of recipe, born from isolation, scant ingredients, an oversupply of kimchi, and sheer hunger. Yet this unconventional one-pot approach also happens to be one of the simplest ways to prepare mac and cheese.
One-Pot Kimchi and Squash Mac and Cheese
This is a “necessity is the mother of invention” kind of recipe, born from isolation, scant ingredients, an oversupply of kimchi, and sheer hunger. Yet this unconventional one-pot approach also happens to be one of the simplest ways to prepare mac and cheese.
There Are a Few Easy Options
Erin Huffstetler is a writer with experience writing about easy ways to save money at home.
One Broth for Another
Some broths are more interchangeable than others. Vegetable broth swaps more seamlessly for chicken or beef broth than chicken broth does for beef or vice versa. But, if you are in a pinch, and your recipe calls for chicken broth and all you have is beef broth, you can substitute one for the other without ruining the dish.
Bouillon for Broth
If you don't have any kind of broth on hand, you can resort to bouillon cubes or granules to make a broth substitute. To create the equivalent of 1 cup of broth, combine 1 cube or 1 teaspoon of granules with 1 cup of boiling water and mix until the bouillon dissolves. Scale the recipe up to make as much as you need using these ratios.
Other Ingredients
If you don't have another type of broth or bouillon, you still have a few options to use in place of broth. These substitutes won't have the same flavor as the broth they're replacing, but they'll work in a pinch. Consider how they'll fit with your recipe before you give them a shot. They might be suitable for some recipes but not for others.
1. Chicken stock
The chicken stock concentrate is just concentrated chicken stock. In most recipes, you could add water to turn it into chicken stock anyway, so you can just use regular chicken stock.
2. Vegetable stock or other alternatives
If you cannot find chicken stock concentrate or you don’t want to use a meat-based concentrate or stock, you can always substitute this for vegetable stock. Or vegetable stock concentrate.
3. Bone broth
Bone broth has become incredibly popular in the culinary world. This salty, nutrient-rich liquid made from boiling down bones and connective tissue of animals has a lot of health benefits. You can use it to make soups, sauces, or consume it plain.
4. Salt and spices
The easiest way to substitute chicken stock concentrate is by using salt and spices to flavor your dish instead. The chicken stock concentrate is used to flavor and add umami to your dish.
5. Gravy granules
Gravy granules make a perfect substitute for chicken stock concentrate, as they are also concentrated and you will need to add water to them.
6. Beer
If you want to add a depth of flavor to meals, a great substitute for chicken stock concentrate is beer, especially when making something like a sauce or stew.
7. Wine
Wine is another ingredient frequently used in cooking, especially in stews because it adds a lot of richness and flavors. Depending on your dish you can either use red wine or white wine as a substitute for chicken stock concentrate.
Chicken Broth
If you are making a stew, soup, or creamy sauce, chicken broth could be an ideal choice. Just like beef broth, chicken broth is also made of meat, therefore acting as a perfect meaty substitute.
Vegetable Broth
Here’s one for the vegetarians! Vegetable broth is often used instead of beef broth as it adds extra flavors and is wonderfully versatile for most meals.
Bouillon Cubes
A bouillon cube is also known as a stock cube or a broth cube. Most of these cubes are not suitable for vegetarians as they are made with meat stock, fat, vegetables, salt, and some seasoning.
Wine or Beer
As we mentioned red wine, let’s look at our next option! Believe it or not, wine or beer are excellent substitutes for beef broth. They add flavor, texture, and richer colors to enhance your dish.
Liquid Aminos
Here is another vegetarian choice that is a great alternative for beef broth. Just like soy sauce, this can provide umami (savory) flavors to your dish.
Soy Sauce
We mentioned soy sauce as an additive to the mushroom broth. It may seem crazy but soy sauce adds color and flavors.
Health Benefits of Broth
There are many health benefits of various broths. Beef broth has highly nutritious values containing iron, amino acids, and calcium.
