Learn how to make fresh, flavorful low sodium vegetable broth at home for superior results every time. Why settle for store-bought boxes, cans, or cubes loaded with high sodium and artificial flavors when you can whip up a healthier, tastier alternative in under an hour? With easy-to-follow instructions for both the Instant Pot and stovetop, you’ll have a versatile, nutrient-packed broth perfect for soups, stews, and more. Say goodbye to off flavors and hello to homemade goodness made from wholesome, simple ingredients.
My low sodium vegetable broth takes minutes in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, and 30-45 minutes on the stove top. Use it anywhere you use broth. It's great in soups and stews, risotto, and for cooking rice and quinoa. Make a batch and freeze it in portions. Skip the sodium and add the salt that you want to the final recipe for more control.
Jump to:
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- Easy to make with superior results to store bought stuff.
- Make it on the stovetop or Instant Pot.
- Great for soups, rice, risotto, and sipping.
- No salt added.
Recipe Ingredients
- Water: Use filtered water for the cleanest, healthiest vegetable broth.
- Tomatoes: Large fresh red tomatoes add color and flavor
- Onion: Yellow or brown onions work well. Skip red onions unless you want a pink or red broth.
- Garlic: Get a whole head of garlic.
- Mushrooms: Either white or brown fresh mushrooms, also help to deepen the flavor and add "umami" as do the tomatoes.
- Carrots: Large orange carrots. Buy them with the tops on for fresher carrots.
- Leeks: Green tops from 2 leeks, save the white part to cook with or use 1 whole leek.
- Celery: Fresh ribs, no leaves.
- Bay leaf: Adds depth of flavor, fresh or dried.
- Herbs: Fresh parsley and fresh thyme.
- Pepper: Dried black whole peppercorns.
For more terrific broth recipes try my roasted turkey broth, Instant Pot chicken broth, or chicken bone broth.
Chef's tip: Why make vegetable broth? Read labels on store brands of vegetable broth. Some contain high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, sugar, high sodium levels, dextrose, yeast extract, hydrolyzed soy protein, and flavor-enhancing food additives, MSG and mystery flavorings. Some are made from powdered vegetables. This is why I make homemade vegetable broth!
Recipe Instructions
How to make vegetable broth? First choose your method: stovetop or Instant Pot. Both take and hour or less (or just minutes).
Instant Pot Method
Step 1: Add water and all ingredients to the pressure cooker. Choose the broth setting and set for 15 minutes. Lock the lid on and start.
Step 2: When time is up, hit the cancel button and use the natural pressure release method, allowing pressure to decrease gradually, giving the vegetables more time to infuse their flavors into the broth. It also prevents splattering or mess when dealing with hot liquid.
If you're short on time, allow a natural release for 15-20 minutes then manually turn the vent to open and release the pressure being very careful of hot splattering broth. Put a towel over the top.
Stovetop Method
For stovetop method simply add the water, all vegetables, herbs, and peppercorns to a large pot, bring almost to a boil, turn down the heat to simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes. Do not cook longer to avoid bitter broth.
Would you like to save this recipe?
Never lose a recipe! We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.
Strain off the broth and chill vegetable broth in an ice bath in the sink. When cool, package and freeze in portions if desired.
Chef's tip: Never add salt to broth when cooking; add it to the dish you are preparing when cooking for the best control and seasoning.
Serving Suggestions
Use vegetable broth wherever you would use another broth, such as chicken broth, or water.
- Swap vegetable broth for water when cooking rice or quinoa for more flavor and nutrition.
- Make terrific risotto!
- Use in soups, stews, casseroles, wherever broth is called for.
NOTE! Remember, if you taste the broth after cooling it may taste bland as it has no salt! To sip and taste, add a little salt, as you would for whatever dish you are using the broth in.
Storage
Vegetable broth lasts up to 5 days in the refrigerator and 3–6 months in the freezer. Be sure to label and date your containers. I love to freeze broth in these silicone molds. Store the broth in them until needed or pop the frozen cubes out and place in a freezer-safe bag.
Recipe FAQs
Do not add salt so you can add the right amount of salt to the final dish the broth is going in to. Any chef will tell you, the general rule is never salt homemade broths.
No need to peel vegetables like carrots or tomatoes. Be sure all vegetables are thoroughly clean. The peels add nutrition and flavor. Onion skins add color to the vegetable broth (but no flavor) so use them. Skip celery leaves as some people find them bitter.
Vegetables scraps are usable for vegetable broth. Save them as you cook in the refrigerator or freezer. Be sure they are clean and fresh. Don't use them if they are beyond usable. You want quality broth, not broth made with junk.
Recipes to Use Vegetable Broth
Vegetable broth is an easy swap for chicken broth in soup recipes, especially if you are vegetarian or vegan.
Did You Make This Recipe?
If you make vegetable broth, please add your comment. I appreciate your feedback and enjoy hearing from you. If you loved it, please give it a 5-star rating! They really help other readers.
📖 Recipe
Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (Instant Pot or Stove Top)
Equipment
- large pot or Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 3 quarts filtered water
- 2 large fresh tomatoes chopped into large chunks
- 1 head garlic cut in half across the center
- ½ pound fresh mushrooms rinsed and cut in quarters
- 4 large carrots with skin scrubbed clean and roughly chopped
- 2 green tops from 2 leeks save the bottoms to cook with or use 1 whole leek
- 3 celery ribs roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion with skin roughly chopped
- 1 bay leaf fresh or dried
- ½ bunch fresh parsley
- ½ bunch fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried black peppercorns
Would you like to save this recipe?
Never lose a recipe! We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later.
Instructions
Instant Pot method
- In a 6 quart pressure cooker, add the water and all ingredients. Lock the pressure cooker lid on, close the vent, and set to the broth mode for 15 minutes. When done, hit cancel and allow a natural pressure release. After 20 minutes you can manually release any remaining pressure.
- Strain and chill
- Strain broth from spent vegetables through a sieve or mesh colander. Set up an ice bath in the sink with cold water and lots of ice. Place the broth back in the pot and chill the broth until at 70°F or below before refrigerating or freezing.
Stovetop Method
- Add water and all ingredients to a large pot and bring to just under a boil. Turn heat down and simmer broth for 30-45 minutes. Follow directions above for straining and chilling.
Notes
- No need to peel carrots or tomatoes, and use the onion skins as well.
- Do not add vegetables such as brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, or cabbage as they can make the broth bitter.
Rebecca says
Hi Sally,
The last couple of times that I've made vegtable broth from scratch it has turned out to have a terrible metallic flavor (I did not use your recipe for these bad ones!)
Any ideas on what could be causing that? Too many onions perhaps?
Thanks for the article!
Sally Cameron says
H Rebecca. Hmm, that is strange. What kind of a pan are you using? Also, I'm wondering if it's too acidic and that is coming across as metallic to your taste buds. And since I don't know what's in the recipe you used, hard to say. Try my recipe and see if that happens, and please let me know.
Posicionamiento Web Madrid says
Estaba buscando esa informacion hace edad, te lo agradezco,
estoy de concierto con tu punto de vista y grano igual.
Despues de buscar mucho por Internet encontre lo que buscaba.
Genial!!! muchas gracias
Tonia says
I have a Elite electric presure cooker. I'm very new at cooking with it. Do you cook this the same was as a stove top presure cooker?
Sally says
Hi Tonia. Yes, absolutely, and easier as you don't have to baby-sit it. I've got to go electric.
Katherine says
I'm completely new to making my own vegetable stock, is there any way to make it similar to this but without a pressure cooker? Thank you!!! And,.... I do LOVE your blog!
Sally says
Hi Katherine. Thanks for the kind words! A pressure cooker just speeds things up. You can make it without one by just simmering the vegetables for an hour, or until the broth is a nice deep golden color. You may find that a pressure cooker is worth investing in. Really, I love mine and could not live without them. There are many great recipes you can make with one! They are not expensive, and you can use them without the pressure capability just like a regular pot.One more thing you can do to add flavor )just take more time) is to first roast your vegetables in the oven at 350 until browned and caramelized, then simmer to make broth. Please let me know what you do.
Debbie Burgess says
Sally, I made your vegetable broth tonight after roasting the vegetables at 375 for about an hour, just until they started to caramelize. I'll definitely be making this again. It is absolutely delicious! There are so many different flavors playing together, and the only thing I can think of to improve upon what I made would be to not forget the fennel the next time. 🙂 I'll be canning this in the morning and enjoying it for weeks to come. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
Sally says
Great to know Deb! I'll definitely try that next time. Thanks much for reporting back. And I agree, the fennel is really nice.
Lisa @ The Cooking Bride says
I just started cooking with a pressure cooker this past summer. I make a lot of my own chicken broth and I LOVE using my pressure cooker. It saves so much time and the broth has such a rich flavor.
Sally says
Agreed Lisa! Once you get a pressure cooker you're hooked! Then you might like a few other PC recipes I have. The French Market Soup, the chicken rice soup, the beef and carrot stew (if you eat beef), and have you tried cheesecake yet? Nice for a splurge and so fast! Recipe under dessert category. Enjoy your pressure cooker!
Jessica says
Love your photos and recipe for a healthy broth. Thanks for sharing!
Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum says
Wow - those photos are amazing. I need to try this - I use vegetable broth in tons of dishes!
Erin @ The Speckled Palate says
This broth looks and sounds fabulous, and I'm going to have to add it to my broth rotation, as I need to brew up some veggie broth in the near future. I've never worked with a pressure cooker before, and I don't currently have one... but now, I'm intrigued. Might see if I can find one I can test this out on!
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sally says
Erin, you can use a pressure cooker for lots of great things! You can even make cheesecake and desserts in them. Awesome cheesecake (for a splurge). There's a post under desserts. I could never do without my pressure cookers! Once you get one and start playing with them, I'll bet you will feel the same.
Debra says
On step 2. did you mean low pressure or high pressure?
Sally says
I do it all on high pressure Deb. Please let me know how it comes out for you.
Debbie Burgess says
Sally, this is such a timely post because I've been contemplating making vegetable broth to add to my supply of home made poultry stock (chicken, turkey and pheasant). Have you ever roasted your veggies to the caramelized stage before proceeding with this recipe? I'm wondering if that would increase the flavor and create a darker product, more like stock than broth. I hadn't thought to do this in the pc, but what a time saver that will be! By the way, I can all my broth/stock and that is such a convenient way to store and use it.
Sally says
Hi Deb. I've thought about roasting the vegetables to see if it increases the flavor but have not yet tried it. Using the pressure cooker seems to yield a pretty richly colored broth considering its all vegetables. The only thing with veg broth is that because there are no bones, you don't get the nice gelatinous body that you get from a bone broth. You can yours? That's great. I just freeze mine. Although sometimes I wish I had a bigger freezer!If you roast your vegetables please let me know how it comes out. I'll try that next time too, but it does add time.
Dawn says
how do you can your broth?
Sally says
Hi Dawn, I don't can mine, I just freeze it. Easier, as I use it often. Freeze it in whatever quantities work for you. You can use a muffin tin, then pop the cubes out when they are frozen and put them in a zip bag for small portions. Or freeze them in larger containers. I often use 2-3 cup portions in the OXO BPA-free containers. Some people freeze broth in quart zip bags and lay them flat. My issue with that is sometimes they get a nick in them and can leak when defrosting, unless you place the bag in a bowl or on a rimmed try for safety.
Mary@SiftingFocus says
I have always wanted to make homemade vegetable broth. Thanks for the inspiration Sally. Also, thank you for the recommendation on pressure cookers. I've never owned one but have always wanted one. I might just have to treat myself!
Sally says
Mary, a pressure cooker is a must have if you like to cook! Nice for soups, stews, broths, and many dishes. The 8 quart is really a good size to start with. I have a 10 qt and a small 4 qt but use the 8 qt the most. Plus you can use it like a regular pot without the lid. Amazon has a good price and the link in the post goes there. On cookbooks, Jill Nussinow and Lorna Sass are two big authors on pressure cooking. You can download Jill's book electronically. And check out http://www.hippressurecooking.com. Lauras entire blog is about pressure cooking.
Madonna says
I love homemade broth. Even without a pressure cooker one hour investment is well worth it. I am trying to multitask with a pot simmering on the stove while I fix lunch.