I really never understood the point of vegetable broth. I tried several brands, & actively disliked most. Then I remembered there was a recipe in the slow cooker cookbook my niece Rachel gave me, & figured I’d give it a go. Homemade is almost always better than bought, so I didn’t think it was fair to dismiss the idea till I’d made some myself.

 Now I get it! I’m a convert! And it’s ridiculously easy to make. I freeze it in zip-top bags, 1 or 2 cups in a bag, so I always have some when I need it. I can stack more in the freezer when it’s frozen flat and square. Next on my to-do list is to find something re-usable to use instead of plastic bags. The recipe makes roughly 2½ quarts (2.4 liters). You can substitute it for chicken broth (or even water) in almost any recipe.

You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

15 garlic cloves

3 onions

4 scallions

2 carrots

2 celery ribs

1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

3 quarts (2.8 liters) water

½ head cauliflower

1 plum tomato

8 fresh thyme sprigs

1 tsp (6.5 g) salt

1½ tsp (5 g) black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

Directions:

1.) Smash & peel the garlic. The easiest way is to position the flat of your knife over the clove of garlic. Place the sharp side away from you and angled just the slightest bit down, so you don’t accidentally hit the sharp edge. Smack the flat of the knife with the heel of your hand. The peel will come right off. Smack it hard enough to smash the garlic, as that will help the flavorful juices escape into the broth.

 

2.) Roughly chop the onions, scallions, carrots, & celery. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, scallions, carrots, celery, and garlic, and cook until vegetables are softened & lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Stir in 1 cup water, scraping up any browned bits (Those brownings are solid gold, flavor-wise!); transfer to your slow cooker pot.

 

3.) Core the cauliflower, & cut into 1″ florets. You should end up with about 3 cups. Add to the pot. Roughly chop the tomato, and add it as well.

4.) Stir the remaining ingredients into the slow cooker. Cover and cook 9-11 hours on low or 5-7 hours on high.

 

5.) Strain broth through a fine-mesh strainer. It’s tempting to squeeze the solids to extract every last drop, but that’ll make your broth cloudy. Better to live with losing a little.

 

Still Tasty says the broth should keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or the freezer for 4-6 months.

I’ve no idea how to estimate the nutrition information, sorry!

Adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution, by America’s Test Kitchen. There are lots of other great recipes in there, too!