
7 Substitutes for Vegetable Stock
- Vegetable Bouillon & Homemade Vegetable Stock Powder. While you can easily stock up on vegetable bouillon cubes or...
- Mushroom stock. Mushroom stock makes for a wonderfully aromatic and rich vegetable stock alternative. Mushroom stock...
- Chicken or Beef stock. Quite possibly the easiest and simplest of substitutes for vegetable...
How do I choose the best substitute for vegetable stock?
Recipe 2:
- Add chopped onions, celery, carrots, and garlic into a slow cooker.Allow the vegetables to cook for a while and then add herbs, thyme, pepper, and salt to taste. ...
- Add enough water to cover the mixture and leave it to cook on low heat for some hours. ...
- Once the stock is ready, allow it to cool to room temperature. ...
Can I use vegetable stock instead of beef stock?
Vegetable broth is often used instead of beef broth as it adds extra flavors and is wonderfully versatile for most meals. You can add numerous vegetables to this broth such as carrots, garlic, mushrooms, and onions. It doesn’t stop at vegetables! You can also add an array of seasonings like thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and pepper for added tastes.
Can you use vegetable broth instead of stock?
You can use both vegetable broth and stock to thin out sauces, make risotto, or as the main broth for quick soups. The question of which is better than the other depends on what you want. If you want something that you can just pop from the freezer, defrost and consume then vegetable broth will work best for you since it’s already seasoned.
Is V8 good substitute for Veggies?
While V8 contains purees of all sorts of vegetables, drinking V8 should not take the place of eating vegetables.

Can I use water instead of vegetable stock?
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.
Is vegetable stock necessary?
You have a little wiggle room here. Stock will add flavor, but when blitzed with your cooked veggies, it's not totally necessary. Just don't forget to season well with salt and pepper—that will make all the difference.
Can you substitute water for stock?
Water. Don't be shy to straight-up swap water for chicken broth. Yep, water is a perfectly acceptable 1:1 substitute for chicken broth and it happens to be our favorite out of the bunch since it doesn't require another grocery store run.
What is the point of vegetable stock?
Vegetable stock is a common ingredient for vegan, vegetarian and meat-based dishes alike. Stock is often used for heartier dishes, especially soups, sauces and casseroles, as it simmers with the ingredients to enhance their flavour.
Who will need alternatives
This should be obvious, however, meeting people’s dietary requirements is a basic politeness aspect. If you don’t like cooking for someone who has a wacky food requirement (I know people who are incredibly picky in basic flavours) do not invite them over rather than not meet their requirements.
What you are trying to replace
Broth and bouillon cubes are excellent ways to add flavour to a recipe and enhance the existing flavours. I find that whenever I am adding water to something, there is a flavour enhancer in there to umph it out. It is something that is just better than plain water.
What are these alternatives?
There is the normal vegetable bouillon cubes, but I want to give a list of things that just – a little bit different.
What is Vegetable Broth?
Vegetable broth is basically water that has been simmered with onion, celery, carrots, and other vegetables until they are completely soft. It looks like this when prepared:
5 Best Vegetable Broth Substitutes
Similar to vegetable broth, vegetable stock is a food product that you can use as an alternative for making many recipes that call for vegetable broth.
Vegetable Broth Uses & Benefits
Vegetable broth contains a lot of healthful nutrients. It’s made from vegetables that contain flavonoids, carotenoids, folate, fiber, vitamins B1 to B3 and C as well as other minerals.
What Does Vegetable Broth Taste Like?
Vegetable broth may taste a bit like water at first but it has a significant amount of flavor. The best way to describe vegetable broth is salty, seasoned water.
Can You Use Water Instead of Vegetable Broth?
Yes! Water is a very common vegetable broth substitute. It is inexpensive, flavorful and you’re already using it in the recipe for hydration anyway.
Can You Just Drink Vegetable Broth?
Yes! You can use fresh vegetable broth for drinking and it is always recommended to drink a glass of warm broth first thing in the morning.
Can I Replace Vegetable Broth with Chicken Broth?
Yes! Chicken broth can be a good vegetable broth substitute. It is richer than vegetable broth and can be used in more dishes.
Chicken Broth
If you need Vegetable broth, however, have chicken at home; feel free to utilize what you have.
Beef Broth
Beef broth can likewise be utilized rather than vegetable broth. It is the fluid left over from a specific type of cooking done while making beef.
Bouillon Cubes
They’re concentrated, dried cubes of animal or vegetable broth. They’re simpler to store than fluid broth and can be more affordable.
Make your Vegetable Broth
While this likely will not assist you with eating on the table around evening time, making broth is truly simple to do, and it permits you to control the fixings.
Water
If a recipe requires a limited quantity of Broth to deglaze the dish after the meat is cooked, use water instead.
White Wine
White wine is a wonderful substitute for Vegetable broth, and it can likewise be utilized to supplant sweet Vegetable broth.
Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is something that can be effectively found and made. It can fill in as a great substitute for vegetable broth.
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 ).
Broth vs. Stock vs. Bouillon
Before we get into broth substitutes, it’s important to now what broth is and how it differs from other liquids.
Can You Use Water as a Broth Substitute?
Yes, you can use water as a broth substitute, but you may sacrifice the flavor of a dish. It’s important to understand how much broth impacts the taste. For example, if you’re cooking grains in beef broth, which is rich and savory, the broth will play an integral role.
Chicken Broth Substitutes
There are many substitutes for chicken broth. You can even try making your own if you don’t have store-bought broth on hand.
Beef Broth Substitutes
Similar to chicken broth, you could use water, vegetable stock, or a water and butter mixture in place of beef broth if needed. In my opinion, beef broth brings a bold, savory flavor to recipes that I don’t notice as much with chicken or vegetable broth, so I try to use the real thing when possible.
Vegetable Broth Substitutes
Vegetable broth is typically made with a mix of sweet (ex. carrots) and savory (ex. mushrooms) vegetables, and further enhanced with flavorful herbs. You can use water or alternative broths as a vegetable broth substitute. If you don’t have vegetable broth available, flavoring plain water with herbs will enhance the dish’s flavor.
1. Vegetable Stock
Making soup is no small task- but with vegetable stock, it’s a lot easier. We have just enough salt in our recipe to get those little flavor crystals going and replicate that savory umami mouthfeel without being too salty.
2. Chicken Stock
You can use traditional chicken stock as a substitute for seafood stock, soups, sauces, and risotto. All you need is some water or broth and your favorite vegetables – onion, carrot, celery stalk or leaves, and the allusive garlic clove.
3. Beef Broth
Imagine a rich, hearty soup bubbling away on the stove.
4. Fish Sauce
Who doesn’t love a little zing in their fridge? For centuries, Cambodians have been using fish sauce to add flavor to many dishes. Introducing SEAFOOD FISH SAUCE! They can use this savory and rich condiment as an alternative for soup stocks, or the base of a variety of rice dishes.
5. Beer
Beer is the most traditional alcoholic beverage in the world. It’s also one of the oldest, with archaeological evidence suggesting it was invented between 7 and 10 thousand years ago in ancient Mesopotamia.
6. Wine
The wine is a light, dry red that will never leave you feeling weighed down. It’ll also have zero effect on your health with its alcohol content in the single digits.
7. Oyster Sauce
Oyster sauce is a versatile ingredient for stir fry dishes, stews, or even cocktails. And unlike seafood stock, it’s vegetarian-friendly – perfect for all your adventurous friends! It tastes amazing with tofu and rice noodles too.
1. Chicken broth
When you think of replacing bouillon cubes, the first thing that comes to mind is using chicken broth. Very similar in taste and texture, the broth can be used in many recipes and you can even make it at home. You can replace a cube with a cup of chicken broth. Use it in almost any recipe as you’ll get perfect results.
2. Dry white wine
Very suitable for replacing bouillon cubes is using dry white wine. Alcohol gives a nice touch to your meals and it would be ideal to replace the bouillon cubes. Add it to most of the recipes and make amazing dishes. Cooking with dry white wine would be a delicacy with a great finish.
3. Chicken stock
One of the replacements that come to mind that is very similar to bouillon cubes is the chicken stock. Your recipes will be even tastier and you’ll have very similar flavors. If you are eating salty food, then you may need to increase the amount in your cooking.
4. Bouillon powder
A powdery seasoning that is suitable to replace bouillon cubes is to use bouillon powder. You can add it to many recipes and you can use a teaspoon for every cube of bouillon. The dish meals would have a similar taste. However, be careful on the texture.
5. Water with seasoning
If you want to omit the bouillon cubes you can always add water with extra seasoning and salt to imitate the taste of the cubes. It may not be the same, however, it is suitable in different most recipes. Add salt based on your taste and increase if needed.
6. Bone broth
A very rich and flavorful replacement for bouillon cubes is the bone broth. You can always add other seasoning or vegetables like onions, carrots, celery, or many others to boost the taste and flavors.
7. Stock concentrate
Another way that you can replace the bouillon cubes is by using a stock concentrate. It is actually stock or broth which has a more intense flavor.
