Actually Good Vegetable Stock

The BEST way to make a vegetable stock that tastes like *something*

Hi Friends,

This week’s recipe is a building block of our family kitchens—a Green Spoon All Star, if you will. We love to use chicken or beef bone broths in many of our recipes, but a flavorful vegetable stock packs an equally delicious (and versatile) punch. We often batch prepare it to use throughout the week, or freeze some to have on hand in a pinch.

Vegetable broth is a bit of a tricky member of the broth family: the store bought stuff is insipid and pale, and most attempts at making it at home yield something that tastes like Eau de Onion Skin. This method, which combines vegetables with aromatics and blasts them in the oven prior to boiling, gives the stock a complex sweetness and roast-y depth.

There are two possible versions of this recipe: one with a “strictly necessary” list of ingredients and one that takes a more “maximalist” approach, using all of the ingredients marked as “optional”. Both will make a tasty stock, but the version with fewer ingredients will—naturally—have a lighter flavor profile (better for more delicate dishes) while the more-is-more version makes a good addition to hearty soups and stews, and can better sub in for chicken or beef broth.

Below, we’ve also included a few quick recipes that are especially good for babies or little kids, or anyone grappling with this year’s nasty “Super Flu” but, of course, this vegetable stock will also taste great in any recipe that calls for stock!

Fanny + Greta