Instant Pot Vegetable Broth

This is the easiest way to make Instant Pot Vegetable Broth. This is one of my all-time favorite hacks. It’s quick and cheap and makes something I will actually USE.

I originally made this on the stove or in my crockpot back before everyone had Instant Pots. I called it Something from Nothing Broth. And that’s pretty much what it is. Using waste to feed your family. Need a bone broth recipe? Try this Bone Broth with Roasted Bones for a healthy beefy broth!

Alternate Working Title “What to do with Vegetable Scraps”

First up, put a freezer container or freezer bag in the freezer. Mark it so you don’t throw it out, I have done that.

Now every time you chop a vegetable or clean a vegetable, toss all the scraps in the bag or box. Don’t forget to toss in extra vegetable leftovers from dinner, they work too.

And yes I MEAN toss it all in. Or almost all the scraps. I don’t add turnip scraps because they have a tendency to get bitter. Beets make it red, and very earthy. And no potato peels either.

Here’s a List of Vegetable Scraps You Can Use for Vegetable Scraps:

• celery stalks, hearts, leaves, and browned bit
• carrots tops and root ends, and all the peels
• onion bits, and the tops and bottoms, the brown outer paper makes your broth very brown
• tomato scraps, tops, bottoms
• pepper tops with all the seeds
• peas leftovers
• green bean leftovers
• corn leftovers
• corn cobs
• all herb scraps, trimmings, and stalks
• squash rinds
• zucchini pieces
• cucumber ends
• kale stems

And Here’s a List of Vegetable Scraps You Don’t Want to Use for Homemade Vegetable Broth:

• eggplant trimmings
• turnip bits
• potato peels
• jicama peels
• broccoli bits

Usually, if I find that if a vegetable has a bitter taste to it, you don’t want it in the broth. So think about how a vegetable is tasting before you just chuck in the scraps for homemade veggie broth.

How to Make Homemade Vegetable Broth in the Instant Pot

It’s so easy, you just save all the scraps I listed above when you have at least a quart of scraps, put it in the Instant Pot and cover with water and cook. Add salt, and herbs as desired.

Herbs I add to Homemade Vegetable Broth:

• bay leaves
• oregano
• sage
• parsley
• thyme
• rosemary
• chives
• dried basil
• celery seed
• dried garlic

Generally, I add whatever flavors I want to have in the finished product to the pot before cooking. If I’m going general usage I just add a bay leaf and salt. If I’m making Old Fashioned CHickne and Noodles I add a little garlic, a scoop of Italian Seasoning, and a bay leaf.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with seasonings, just add a little, no need to go overboard.

How and Where to Use Homemade Vegetable Broth

You can use this scrappy little broth ANYWHERE, in any recipe that calls for chicken, beef, or vegetable broth. Just adjust the added herbs. Try it in my Old Fashioned Chicken and Noodles or my Homemade Beef and Noodles.

And About That Salt

This recipe ONLY calls for a teaspoon of salt. Obviously that’s never going to be enough for a whole pot of soup. But here’s the deal, cook it up like this, add it to your recipe, taste for salt before you serve it and add it then.

If you add a ton of salt, in the beginning, you’re going to have an overly salty recipe on your hands. Start low salt, adjust it before serving, and then you’re not adding so much salt.

And the pepper! I always forget people have a tendency to add pepper at the beginning of a soup recipe but the flavor comes through better if you add it towards the end or right before serving. It doesn’t cook down and get mellow it gets a bit of a weird muddy taste if you cook it too long.