No-Salt Vegetable Stock
Store-bought broth is often the single largest sodium source in a homemade soup. Making your own solves the problem for pennies.
Sodium note
Made without added salt, the sodium comes only from the vegetables, typically an estimated 20 to 60 mg per cup.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, quartered (skins on for color)
- 3 carrots, roughly chopped
- 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
- 8 ounces mushrooms, halved
- 2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
- 10 black peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, a few parsley stems
- 4 quarts cold water
Method
- 1
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook without stirring much for 10 to 12 minutes so they brown well.
- 2
Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to caramelize.
- 3
Add the water, peppercorns, bay leaves and parsley stems. Bring to a bare simmer.
- 4
Simmer gently, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes. Do not boil hard, which makes stock cloudy and bitter.
- 5
Strain, cool, and refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Nutrition (estimated, per serving)
- Calories
- 15
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 3 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Sodium
- 15 mg per cup
Nutrition and sodium information is an estimate only and will vary based on ingredients, brands, serving sizes and preparation methods. Always check the labels on the products you buy.
Substitutions
- Mushroom stems add savory depth if you have them; leek tops work too.
- Skip the tomato paste for a lighter, clearer stock for fish or chicken soups.
- A strip of kombu adds savoriness, but adds a small amount of sodium.
Tips
- Keep a freezer bag of vegetable scraps to use here. Skip brassicas like cabbage, which turn sulfurous.
- A strip of dried mushroom or a spoonful of nutritional yeast deepens the savory quality.
- Freeze in ice cube trays for small pan-sauce portions.
New to cooking without salt? Start with our beginner guide and 25 ways to add flavor without salt.
