Recipes

Homemade Salt-Free Vegetable Broth

June 6, 2013

There are some convenience food items that are truly not worth the trouble to make at home. And there are others that are so easy and practical, you just have to give it a try. This is one of those.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Crockpot
Strainer
Large glass measuring cup with a pour spout
Mason jars or food- and freezer-safe plastic containers for storage
Water
Leftover raw vegetables and vegetable pieces

The key to making this so easy is to simply stash leftover veggies in a plastic bag in the freezer. Whenever I’m chopping up vegetables for a salad or for dinner or whatever, I stuff all of the extra pieces — carrot ends, carrot tops, lettuce cores, onion ends, etc — in a freezer bag in the freezer. These are also items that you could compost if you wanted to, but we don’t have a composter set up right now.

Then, pull out your crockpot, dump in your bag of veggies, pour water over everything, and let it cook on low for at least 8 hours for full flavor. I also add in some herbs from the front garden or woody-stemmed herbs that I froze from last season. You could add in an onion or garlic or whatever seasoning you’d like for extra favor, but I like to keep it simple and add those ingredients to the recipe itself.

When the broth has had time to cook, set the strainer over the glass measuring cup. Very carefully pour the contents of the crockpot into the strainer.

Vegetable Broth

And you’re done! Let the liquid strain out and pour it into storage containers.

Vegetable Broth

Let me know if you try out this recipe, or if you have another variation! 🙂

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2 Comments

  • Reply vanessa June 7, 2013 at 7:36 pm

    Hey Dee! I do the same thing!! When I ended up in the ER last fall with high blood pressure I made some huge adjustments to my diet…going totally plant-based was the biggie, but making my own salt free veggie broth, condiments, and marinara sauce were also a few of the staples that I began preparing myself at home. Love having the control of what goes into my body!!!

    [Reply]

    Dee Reply:

    Wow, Vanessa! That’s amazing. We’re gradually switching to a more plant-based diet, as well. We do still eat quite a bit of meat throughout the week — just not at every meal, or as the basis for every meal. We can tell a big difference in our health, too!

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