what to use in place of vegetable stock

7 Substitutes for Vegetable Stock

1. Vegetable Bouillon & Homemade Vegetable Stock Powder. While you can easily stock up on vegetable bouillon cubes or powder at your local grocery store, you can make delicious and ...
2. Mushroom stock. Mushroom stock makes for a wonderfully aromatic and rich vegetable stock alternative. ...
3. Chicken or Beef stock. ...
4. Soy Sauce. ...
5. Wine. ...
6. Water. ...

More items...

Full Answer

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.

How do you make vegetable stock from fresh vegetables?

Makes 1 litre / 1 quart vegetable stock (4 cups). Use in place of any recipe calling for vegetable stock (same quantity) or even chicken stock. Simmer 2 hours: Place all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 hours without a lid.

Is it better to make your own vegetable stock?

As with all stocks, homemade vegetable stock is far superior to store bought, with the added bonus that it's the easiest of all stocks to make! The ingredients are simple, affordable and very minimal waste is discarded after straining compared to meat based stocks like beef stock. Makes 1 litre / 1 quart vegetable stock (4 cups).

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.

Can you replace vegetable stock with water?

The simple answer is yes, it's usually okay to substitute vegetable stock with water. In most recipes that call for vegetable stock, its main advantage over water is that it provides flavor, which is especially important if you're making vegetarian or vegan food that's missing the richness from meat.

What can I use if I don't have stock or broth?

If you need a chicken broth substitute, you can use the same amount of white wine or a combination of water with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or melted butter.

Can I use vegetable broth instead of vegetable stock?

So, to summarize, vegetable broth and vegetable stock are the same thing. If the focus of the end preparation is mostly the liquid in question, call it broth. If the focus of the end preparation is something significantly more complicated, like a sauce or a more involved soup, then call it stock.

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 do you replace stock in a recipe?

If you don't have broth on hand and want a little more flavor than just plain water, try subbing in 1 cup of water plus 1 tablespoon of butter for every cup of chicken broth in your recipe.

Can I use gravy instead of stock?

Add a splash of milk, mix furiously all the whole and you'll have a good base. Worst case then yes gravy granules could work. You need something to add flavour and something that will thicken.

Is vegetable stock the same as bouillon?

A vegetable base is simply a concentrated version of a vegetable stock or base where more of the water has been allowed to evaporate while simmering. Bouillon is a dehydrated broth or stock formed into a small cube.

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.

What is difference between vegetable stock and broth?

There is one major difference between broth and stock: Broth is made from meat and vegetables, but stock is made with bones. While both are flavorful, broth tends to be thinner. It's cooked for less time, and it doesn't contain stock's thick, viscous texture.

How do you make vegetable stock from cubes?

Simply add your stock cube to 450 ml of boiling water and stir into your dish to enjoy that great vegetable flavour, or add the cube directly into the dish – you choose whichever way you fancy! You can also mix the cube with olive oil and rub it on your vegetables before roasting.

Can I buy vegetable stock?

Making a good vegetable stock takes time – time we do not always have. That's where purchased vegetable stock comes in. The good news is boxed stock is widely available in stores. The bad news is it varies widely in taste and quality.

What means vegetable stock?

In the case of chicken or beef stock, the stock comes from cooking bones in water on low heat, for several hours. With vegetable stock, there are no bones to cook, so the richness of the stock comes from the variety of vegetables you use.

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 ).

Homemade Vegetable Stock

As with all stocks, homemade Vegetable Stock is far superior to store bought, with the added benefit that it’s much easier to make than seafood and meat stocks which often call for manhandling of considerable amounts of bones (I’m thinking of you beef stock !).

What Vegetable Stock is made of

This is a traditional Western-style vegetable stock, free from any bells and whistles like ginger or obscure vegetables. It’s made with carrot, celery and onion as our base vegetables, plus parsley, bay leave, thyme, garlic, black peppercorns and coriander seeds as our added flavourings. Nothing more.

How to make Vegetable Stock

This is a great classic, simple recipe for vegetable stock where everything is just placed in a saucepan and simmered very gently so the water is infused with flavour from the vegetables and aromatics.

Storing Vegetable Stock

Being free of meat, homemade Vegetable Stock will last at least 5 days in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer. When freezing, I typically freeze in 1 cup measures, just to make it easier to portion out (rather than defrosting an entire 1 litre batch just to use 1 cup).

How to use Homemade Vegetable Stock

The strength of this stock is such that it can be used 1:1 in any recipe calling for Vegetable Stock. It can also be used as an alternative for any recipe calling for chicken stock if you prefer a light, cleaner, vegetal flavour.

Watch how to make it

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Homemade Vegetable Stock

Recipe video above. This is an easy, classic vegetable stock that's an essential addition to every cook's toolkit. It will complement and bring flavour into anything you use it in.

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.

What is chicken stock?

Chicken stock has been a staple ingredient for centuries in any part of the world. It is simply made by simmering chicken bones in water with some aromatic vegetables, spices, and herbs to add flavor. The most common types of vegetables are used to make the chicken stock more flavorful are celery, onion, and carrot.

What is vegetable stock?

Vegetable stock is a flavorful liquid that is made from simmering vegetables in water for hours. It is a great alternative for regular meat stock if you are looking for a vegetarian option.

What are the differences between chicken stock vs vegetable stock?

Chicken stock and vegetable stock are two popular kinds of stock that have many differences. The table below will show you in detail how chicken stock differs from vegetable stock:

What are the similarities between chicken stock vs vegetable stock?

Despite many differences between chicken stock and the vegan counterpart, these two kinds of stock are similar in many aspects as well:

Which one is better?

We hope you’ve learned a lot about the differences as well as similarities between chicken stock and vegetable stock. They are both great for your health and your taste buds. Determining which one is better will actually come down to personal preference.

Bottled Clam Juice

Clam juice is a popular and easy substitution if you cannot make your own fish stock. Buy two or three bottles, depending on how much stock you need. Boil the juice with half a vegetable bouillon cube in an uncovered pot until the liquid has reduced by 25%.

Vegetable Broth

For a faster, lighter flavor, you can mix equal parts of clam juice and vegetable broth without reducing the amount of liquid.

Chicken Broth

Half a cup of chicken broth or half vegetable broth, mixed with half a cup of water, will work as a great fish stock substitute. Cutting the broth with water can stop the flavors of seafood in the dish from getting muddied since both chicken and vegetable broths can be very strong and salty.

Alternate Fish Stock

If shellfish is not an issue, the fish stock can be made using other seafood as well. A simple shellfish stock can be made with shrimp, crab, or lobster shells, some vegetables, and a bit of white wine.

Dashi

Dashi is a traditional Japanese fish stock made with bonito fish flakes, used in many miso soup and noodle dishes. A vegan version of dashi can be made by making a stock out of dried kombu kelp and shiitake mushrooms. It may not taste like seafood, but it will give the dish savory depth and sea-like saltiness. [2]