Homemade Vegetable Stock Recipe from Kitchen Scraps

Easily create a base for your soups, sauces, sides and more.

Vegetable stock is a kitchen staple that can be used for cooking quinoa, gravy, sauces, soups, and beyond. Did you know that you can easily create your own vegetable stock? It’s quick, it’s easy, and it gets rid of what you likely already have lying around your kitchen: food scraps.

In this blog post, I’ll be showing you how to create vegetable stock.

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Vegetable Scraps

There is a bit of prep work up front, but don’t worry – it’s very simple. First, you’ll want to start saving your vegetable scraps. When you cook, start to put any veggie scraps you have in a freezer ziplock bag and pop it in the freezer until you’re ready to make your stock. 

What counts as veggie scraps? 

You can use the peels, ends, and leafy bits of:

• Carrots
• Onions
• Garlic
• Fennel
• Celery
• Broccoli
• Herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
• And more! 

Make sure you cleanse your scraps of dirt and debris before popping them in the freezer. It’s helpful if you label your ziplock bag with the names of the veggies you put in it. That way, when you’re ready to use it, you’ll know what’s inside. I usually use the same ziplock bag to add scraps over the weeks. I’ll use a permanent marker to write whichever veggies I add. Once it’s full, I’ll create stock. 

These are my veggie scraps taken straight from the freezer. Carrot and parsnip shavings, onion ends, fennel and celery stalks, and sage stems.

Tools

For this recipe, I’ll be using my slow cooker. You can make this recipe on the stove with a large stock pot. However, it’s will be more hands-on if you use a stove, which is why I prefer to use my slow cooker. I have a smaller, 2-quart Crockpot as I generally cook small batch recipes. My yield of stock for this recipe was 35 oz of stock. If you have a larger crockpot, you’ll get quite a few more ounces of stock. 

In addition to a slow cooker, you’ll need standard kitchen supplies: a strainer, a stirring spoon, a ladle (optional, but helpful for spooning your strained stock into jars), and jars for your stock.

Ingredients

• Vegetable scraps, fresh or frozen (2 qt bags for a 2-qt slow cooker, a gallon bag for a 6-qt slow cooker)
• Enough water to cover the vegetable scraps

Step by Step Instructions with Photos

Step 1: Place your vegetable scraps in your slow cooker.

Step 2: Add enough water to your slow cooker so the vegetables are covered. Place the lid on your slow cooker.

Step 3: Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.

Step 4: Turn off your slow cooker. Strain your stock. You can compost or discard the solids. 

Step 5: Add stock to freezer-safe containers. Freeze or refrigerate. It will remain fresh in the fridge for about a week. It will keep in the freezer for around 6 months. 

As you can see, my yield of stock for this recipe was 35 oz of stock. As a reminder, if you have a larger crockpot, you’ll get a lot more ounces of stock.

Homemade Vegetable Stock

Vegetable stock is a kitchen staple that can be used for cooking quinoa, gravy, sauces, soups, and beyond. Making it yourself is quick, easy, and gets rid of what you likely already have lying around your kitchen: food scraps.

Print Recipe

Equipment

• Slow cooker

Ingredients

• Vegetable scraps, fresh or frozen (one 2-qt bag of vegetables for a 2-qt slow cooker OR one gallon bag of vegetables for a 6-qt slow cooker)
• Enough water to cover the vegetable scraps

Instructions

• Place your vegetable scraps in your slow cooker. 
• Add enough water to your slow cooker so the vegetables are covered. Place the lid on your slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.
• Turn off your slow cooker. Strain your stock. You can compost or discard the solids. 
• Add stock to freezer-safe containers. Freeze or refrigerate. It will remain fresh in the fridge for about a week. It will keep in the freezer for around 6 months. 

Notes

• If you are using frozen vegetables, there is no need to thaw them before placing them in the slow cooker.
• If you have a smaller 2-qt slow cooker, you may need to (carefully) dice larger vegetables so they can fit. It’s easier to chop these vegetables if you let them sit for a couple minutes. But again, no need to let them thaw out.
• As you cook throughout the month, store your vegetable scraps in a freezer ziplock bag in the freezer. Write the names of the vegetables you add to the label. Every vegetable you add to the bag will contribute to the flavor of your veggie stock.
• For your stock, you can use the peels, ends, and leafy bits of:
  • Carrots
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Fennel
  • Celery
  • Broccoli
  • Herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary, etc.)
  • And more!
• (Optional) Before you add your stock to jars, you may like to add salt. If you prefer unsalted broth, you can forgo this step.