Homemade Basic Vegetable Stock - Easy DIY Stock

Glass jar with pale brown clear vegetable stock, on a yellow striped mat with a dark blue black background

Homemade Basic Vegetable Stock - Easy DIY Stock

An easy recipe for homemade vegetable stock for soups, ramen, risotto, sauces, casseroles, or for cooking couscous or even in a vegetable khichidi instead of plain water, to give it more body and flavour.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Base Ingredient

Cuisine: American, british, continental, European

Keyword: Basic Stock, Basic vegetable Stock, Homemade Stock, Homemade vegetable stock, Stock, Vegetable Stock

Servings: cups

Calories: 32kcal

Author: Sujata Shukla

Equipment

1 Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Thick bottomed pot
1 Colander/ Strainer

Ingredients

2 Onions About 1 cup when chopped. With or without the peel
3 Carrots About 1.5 cups when chopped. With or without the peel
4 Shallots About ½ cup when chopped. With or without the peel
2 Celery stalks and tender leaves About ½ cup when chopped
3 Garlic cloves lightly smashed
1 Bay Leaf
½ tablespoon Parsley minced/ sliced small
½ teaspoon Black Peppercorns
10 cups Water 10-12 cups
1 pinch Salt

Instructions

Preparation for making Vegetable Stock

This recipe uses about 3.5 cups of vegetables with about 10-12 cups of water. Measurements are not important here, but this will give an idea of the proportions.¾ of the volume may be substituted with scraps (refer the post above for type of vegetables and scraps to use).
Wash and scrub the vegetables. Carrot and onion, as well as apple and pear, if using need not be peeled. Top and tail garlic (slice away the head and end).
Chop all of them into chunks about an inch in size.
Mince (slice very small) or tear the herbs and scraps.

Making Vegetable Stock

Bring a pot of water to boil, add all the chopped vegetables and herbs. Add a pinch of salt. Crush and add black peppercorns. Add bay leaf, if using.
Once the water begins to boil again, reduce the heat to low. Slow cook, for about an hour.
Strain the clear stock. Cooked vegetables left after straining may be added to the compost bin or garden soil, or discarded.

Cool and Store

Once the stock has cooled, use or freeze in small portions such as 1 cup containers/freezer bags till required.
The Nutrition table below is for each cup of stock prepared as per this recipe, and not for individual servings, as the stock is not directly to be consumed at table.

Notes

The nutrition table provided is for each cup of stock prepared, and not for individual servings, as the stock is not expected to be served at table but used in the preparation of other dishes.

Nutrition