Low Sodium Vegetable Broth Recipe

Making your own Homemade Low Sodium Vegetable Broth Recipe at home is both easy and rewarding. Unlike the store-bought kind, homemade broth lets you control what goes into it, making it healthier and more flavorful for people with Chronic Kidney Disease. Whether you're whipping up a soup, sauce, or cooking grains, a good vegetable broth can add a delicious depth to your dishes.

I want to show you how to make a tasty vegetable broth using simple, fresh ingredients. It's a great way to use up leftover veggies and reduce food waste while bringing a cozy, homemade touch to your meals.

A ladle holding homemade vegetable broth in a white serving bowl.

One of the best things about homemade vegetable broth is its versatility. You can customize the flavor to suit your taste by adding your favorite herbs and spices. Plus, it's a fantastic way to use up vegetable scraps that would otherwise go to waste, think carrot peels, celery tops, and onion skins. 

You could use this Homemade Vegetable Broth recipe to make Kidney Friendly Chicken Noodle Soup or even this Cauliflower And Goat Cheese Soup.

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Ingredients For Homemade Vegetable Broth

If you're excited to make this recipe, then I cannot wait to share with you all of these delicious ingredients with you!

Ingredients for vegetable broth lying on a table ready to be cooked.
  • Olive Oil - This serves as the base for sautéing the vegetables, adding a rich depth of flavor.
  • Raw Onion- Onions bring sweetness and complexity to the broth, forming the foundation of its savory taste.
  • Raw Garlic - Garlic adds a robust and aromatic element, enhancing the overall flavor profile.
  • Carrots - Carrots contribute a subtle sweetness and vibrant color to the broth.
  • Celery - Adds a fresh, slightly peppery taste that balances the sweetness of the carrots.
  • Thyme - Introduces earthy and slightly minty notes, enriching the broth's complexity.
  • Rosemary - Offers a fragrant, pine-like aroma that enhances the broth's savory essence.
  • Bay Leaf - Crumbled bay leaf provides a subtle bitterness and depth, elevating the overall flavor.
  • Parsley - Fresh parsley adds a hint of freshness and a touch of bright, herbaceous notes.
  • Black Pepper - Gives the broth a gentle spiciness and mild heat.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions To Make Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Olive oil in a pan ready to make Homemade Vegetable Broth for CKD.

Add olive oil to a large stockpot and heat over medium-high heat.

Celery, onions, and carrots cooked down in a pan to make homemade vegetable broth.

Heat mixture over medium-high heat until it just about boils, and then reduce heat to medium-low

Give it a quick stir and simmer, uncovered, for about an hour. (The exact amount of time doesn’t matter - the longer it simmers, the better the flavor will be).

Place a stainless steel colander over a large pot in the sink. Carefully pour contents of stockpot into the colander to separate out the solids from the liquid.

Carrots, onions, and celery in a pan ready to be cooked down for homemade vegetable broth.

Add onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to heated olive oil and sauté for 5 or 6 minutes, or until the flavor is released.

Add enough water to cover the vegetables, followed by thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, parsley and peppercorns.

A bowl of homemade vegetable soup ready to serve.

Discard solids and allow liquid to cool completely before transferring to freezer safe-storage containers. Freeze until ready to use.

Hint: To maximize the flavor of your homemade vegetable broth, give the vegetables a good sauté in the olive oil until they're nicely browned before adding the water. This caramelization process brings out the natural sweetness and adds a deeper, richer taste to your broth.

Substitutions in Homemade Vegetable Broth

Sometimes you might want to change the way a recipe is to better suit you! I want to share some ideas for substitutions that you could make to adjust the recipe.

  • Olive Oil: If you don’t have olive oil on hand, you can substitute it with coconut oil or avocado oil. Both options will provide a rich base for sautéing the vegetables.
  • Fresh Thyme: If fresh thyme is unavailable, you can use 1 tablespoon of dried thyme instead. Oregano can be used to introduce a different, yet complementary, herbal note to your broth.

Variations for Homemade Vegetable Broth

  1. Mushroom Broth: Add a cup of chopped mushrooms to the vegetables while sautéing.
  2. Spiced Broth: Introduce a teaspoon of cumin seeds and a stick of cinnamon along with the other herbs and spices.

Feel free to mix and match these variations to suit your taste and the specific dishes you’re preparing!

A bowl of vegetable broth on a counter ready to be served.

Storage for Vegetable Broth

  • Refrigeration: Store your cooled vegetable broth in an airtight container or glass jars in the refrigerator. It will keep well for up to 4-5 days. Make sure to label the container with the date to keep track of its freshness.
  • Freezing: For longer storage, pour the broth into freezer-safe containers or resealable freezer bags. Leave some space at the top of the containers for expansion, and lay the bags flat on a baking sheet to freeze, which makes for easier stacking. Frozen vegetable broth can last for up to 3 months. Again, don’t forget to label with the date!
  • Ice Cube Trays: For convenient portions, freeze the broth in ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a freezer bag. This way, you can easily grab a few cubes to add to recipes without defrosting a whole batch.

Top tip for cooking vegetable broth from scratch

Maximize Flavor with Low and Slow Simmering: To extract the fullest flavors from your vegetables and herbs, let your broth simmer gently over low heat for at least an hour, preferably two. This slow simmering process allows all the ingredients to release their natural flavors and meld together, creating a rich, aromatic broth.

FAQ for Homemade Vegetable Broth

Can I use vegetable scraps to make broth?

Absolutely! Using vegetable scraps like carrot peels, onion skins, and celery tops is a great way to reduce waste and create a flavorful broth. Just make sure to avoid using scraps from bitter vegetables like cabbage or broccoli, as they can overpower the broth’s flavor.

How can I make the broth more concentrated?

If you want a more concentrated broth, you can reduce it by simmering the finished broth uncovered until it reaches your desired intensity. Alternatively, use less water when initially simmering the vegetables, which will naturally produce a more potent flavor.

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Homemade Vegetable Broth

Two homemade vegetable broth servings in mason jars.

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Quick and easy to freeze recipe for using in soups and sauces.  Once you make your own vegetable stock, you won’t want to ever buy it again. It’s so quick and easy to make, and it is a great way to use up all those fresh herbs and vegetables you didn’t get around to using. Simply freeze whatever portion you don’t use right away, and then pull it out whenever you want to make a quick soup, stew or slow cooker meal.

  • Author: Mathea Ford, MBA, RDN, LD
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 70
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Soups
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

¼ cup Olive Oil, Salad Or Cooking
2 large Onion, Raw
4 clove Garlic, Raw
3 large Carrot, Raw, Large, 7.25 - 8.5’’ Long
3 large Celery, Raw, Large Stalk, 11 - 12’’ Long
8 cup Water, Municipal
4 tablespoon Thyme, Fresh
2 tablespoon Rosemary Leaf, Fresh
1 teaspoon Bay Leaf, Crumbled
4 tablespoon Parsley, Raw
1 teaspoon Pepper, Black, Ground

Instructions

  1. Add olive oil to a large stockpot and heat over medium-high heat.
  2. Add onions, garlic, carrots, and celery to heated olive oil and sauté for 5 or 6 minutes, or until the flavor is released.
  3. Add enough water to cover the vegetables, followed by thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, parsley and peppercorns.
  4. Heat mixture over medium-high heat until it just about boils, and then reduce heat to medium-low.
  5. Give it a quick stir and simmer, uncovered, for about an hour. (The exact amount of time doesn’t matter - the longer it simmers, the better the flavor will be).
  6. Place a stainless steel colander over a large pot in the sink. Carefully pour contents of stockpot into the colander to separate out the solids from the liquid.
  7. Discard solids and allow liquid to cool completely before transferring to freezer safe-storage containers. Freeze until ready to use.

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2 Comments

  1. It would be helpful if you gave us the nutritional breakdown of this broth

  2. ML Kilbane says:

    I am SO stressed. My husband is stage 3. He is also a cardiac pt and is on warfarin. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO COOK!