Homemade Vegetable Stock Powder
Vegetable stock is a common ingredient in our kitchens but have you read the ingredients? Monosodium glutamate, caramel color, fats, flavorings, preservatives, etc.
Homemade vegetable stock powder is much better than the one you buy at the store. You can be in control of the ingredients you use, it’s 100% natural, free of preservative and has less sodium. It’s made with fresh vegetables, herbs and salt blended together.
Use it in any recipe calling for stock or broth: soups, stews, stir-fry, risotto, etc….
I really like the simple combination of vegetables in this stock but feel free to experiment with other herbs and vegetables and come up with your own personalized homemade stock powder. For example, you can add garlic, tomato, leek, mushroom, basil or sage.
After you wash and chop the vegetables and herbs weigh them to know how much salt you need to add. The salt is 20% of the weight of the vegetables. It seems a lot but salt is a natural preservative which inhibits the growth of molds and bacteria.
It can be stored for up to 3 months in an airtight glass jar, away from light or moisture.
If you have never made your own vegetable stock powder at home, consider doing it at least once. It is definitely worth the time and effort!
How To Make It: Homemade Vegetable Stock Powder
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot unpeeled
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 medium onion
- a handful of parsley with stalks
- 2 twigs of fresh thyme
- 2 twigs of fresh rosemary
- sea salt or table salt 20% of the weight of your vegetables and herbs
- You can add other vegetables and herbs: garlic, tomato, leek, basil, sage, etc.
Instructions
- Wash, pat dry and finely chop all your vegetables and herbs. (I put them in a food processor).
- Weigh them and put them in a medium pan.
- Add salt. The salt is equal to 20% of the weight of your vegetables. For example: my vegetables weighed 455 grams (16.4 ounces) therefore I put 91 grams (3.2 ounces) of salt.
- Cook over low heat for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
- At first you will see lots of water coming out from the vegetables. Wait until the water is completely reabsorbed.
- Spread the mixture on a baking tray lined with parchment paper
- and bake at 150 degrees C (300 degrees F) , until it’s dry and slightly crispy (about 1 hour 15 minutes). Don’t forget to stir from time to time.
- Once the vegetables are cool, put them in a food processor and blitz until you get a crumbled powder.
- Store the homemade vegetable stock powder for up to 3 months in an airtight glass jar, away from light or moisture.
- Use 1 teaspoon for 1 liter (4 cups) of water.
Notes
I started making this a couple years ago as my husband has Rheumatoid Arthritis and processed stock powder was making him ill. I cannot fault the recipe at all. We do not use any other stock but this! Thank-you!
Thank you for the feedback, Nadine! It’s great to hear that this recipe has been helpful for you!
I google for this recipe every year!  I don’t know why I don’t write it down.  I add turmeric and nutritional yeast and dried parsley flakes and fresh ground pepper at the end. Â
Thank you for posting this! I’ll be giving it a try this week with veggies from my garden. It is such a simple idea, I don’t know why I haven’t made something similar before! We have so many fresh herbs and vegetables from our garden and also have a vegetable dryer. I may use that to do the final ‘baking’. I’ll let you know how it works out. Many thanks for a preservative free alternative. What a FABULOUS idea!
I hope you will like this recipe, Jane! :)
I did not bother cooking, just washed, pureed in food processor and baked in thin layer on a large oven baking sheet till dry and crumbly about 90 minutes. Stirred them once or twice while baking.
Added a few dry bay leaves and blitzed in the food processor.
When it turned into powder I mixed in, salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, a bit cayenne . Thanks for giving me the idea that it is possible to make it at home and without MSG or other preservatives. I keep it in a large spice shaker, and got rid of many small spice jars. Use only this shaker for everything even salads.
It literally just occurred to me I might be able to make vegetable broth powder as I was spreading out celery scraps to dry them. It’s still winter, I’m saving veggie scraps for my garden. Also, trying to buy less, to avoid packaging and reduce my carbon footprint, has me on this DIY mission, lol. I’m going to do this with mostly scraps!
Hi Elena, I wanted to make a home made stock powder with no salt to use when I cook for my 8 month old. Would this recipe still work well without salt or is that critical to help dry out the veggies and for the shelf life? Thanks!Â
Hi Rachel! I wouldn’t try it without salt as it will affect shelf life. However, I tried this recipe with 8% salt instead of 20% (I made it in August and still using it).
Hi Elena. It has been two months since I first made the veggie stock powder and I just have to send you an update as I’m now ready to make a second batch. I cannot say enough about how fantastic this recipe is. I use the powder in so many recipes- anywhere broth or stock is required, and even when I cook grains like brown rice and lentils. I store mine in an airtight container in the fridge and it keeps perfect. Thanks again for sharing the recipe. I do hope others are willing to give it a try. :)
Hi Marlene. Thank you so much for the update, I appreciate it!
So happy you liked this recipe. :)
Hi Elena! I am so excited to find this recipe. I was just recently diagnosed as being allergic to tomatoes- a difficult discovery as I am half Italian and have spent 60 years of my life eating everything and anything tomato-based. Many store-bought vegetable stocks have tomatoes in the ingredients as well so I’m happy to see a recipe I can try that does not include them. I’m off the the market to get my fresh veggies and herbs and will let you know how it goes! Thanks again!
I hope you will like this recipe, Marlene! :)
By the way, I tried this recipe with less salt, 8%, if you would like to reduce it.
Turned out perfect! Everything went just as your recipe stated. I added fresh garlic, tops from the carrots and a few beetroot stalks. Now I can’t wait to try it in one of my favorite soups/dishes! Thanks again, Elena! :)
You are welcome, Marlene! :) Thank you for the feedback!
Hi Elena! So many stock cubes use palm oil, and the ones that don’t just don’t seem flavoursome enough, so when I found this recipe earlier today I checked my veggies and rushed out to buy celery. Spent the afternoon making this perfect stock powder. It’s brilliant. I’ve got a fan option for my oven, so it made the drying so much quicker. Whizzed up the crumbles in my little whizzy thing and then tried a cup of it as a taster. Delicious! This recipe gives full flavour and no questionable ingredients! Thank you so much!
Will have a go at your alternative recipe in a while and freeze for the winter. :-)
Thank you for the feedback, Suzanne! So glad you liked this recipe :)
Hi there I am from South Africa and I have a friend who is gluten intolerant and I have been looking for a recipe to help her enjoy more option of food. Thank you so much for this . I am so going to make this.
Hi Madelein! I hope your friend will like it! :)
fantastic find!! I have just made this and it is perfect. I hated using commercial products as I felt they had too much salt and junk added. Thanks very much for your post.
So glad to hear that, Maurice! Thank you for the feedback!