Put those food scraps to good use! This is a quick and easy way to make Vegetable Broth with food scraps using the Instant Pot. Veggie broth is often the base of soups or sauces and you want to make it as flavorful as possible. Using ONLY food scraps works, but adding fresh ingredients makes a far more superior broth filled with rich, savory flavors. If you have no food scraps at all, just use all fresh ingredients!
Tips for Success
- Don’t overcook the broth. Cooking the scraps until they are mush can give the broth an overall bitter flavor as well as impart a distinct “mush” flavor to it.
- You can using dying produce but not dead produce. It can be sad and wilted but nothing rotten — we are not performing a resurrection here.
What veggies can you use?
I use the tough ends of broccoli, onion ends and the outer onion layer that’s rubbery, garlic that is a little past its prime, red cabbage leaves that have wilted, and any odds and ends of savory vegetables that I cut off or are too limp and wilted to use in cooking.
Can you use ONLY food scraps?
You can, but the broth won’t turn out as flavorful. I’ve tried cooking up broth with only food scraps versus scraps + fresh ingredients and the final product has much more flavor with fresh added! If you’re missing some of the fresh ingredients, don’t sweat it; this is just my preferred compilation of ingredients for flavorful broth!
How do you store the broth?
After I make this broth, I like to fill ice cube trays and freeze it. Then I store the ice cubes in ziplock bags for quick and easy defrosting. I also freeze it in containers with 1-2 cup increments (remember to label the lid!).
Vegetable Broth with Food Scraps
Ingredients
- 1 gallon-sized bag of food scraps
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1-2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 5 mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 handful parsley
- 9 cups water
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot and seal lid.
- Set to High Pressure and cook 20 minutes. Allow 10 minutes of natural release, then manually release pressure.
- Once pressure is released, use a strainer and a large pot to separate veggies from liquid. Use a wooden spoon to press on the veggies to get all the liquid out.
- Use broth immediately, or store in the fridge for 5 days, or freeze in ice cube trays or in 1-2 cup increments for up to 3 months. (Remember to label containers!)
How did your vegetable broth turn out? I’d love to hear, leave me a comment below! 🙂
