There are three basic broths that every vegan should know how to make: “beef”, chick’n, and “turkey”. Homemade broth is less expensive and much more flavorful than store-bought, and I always have some of each kind in my freezer. This post will show you how to make vegan “beef” broth, which I use to make my amazing vegan burgers and the best “beef” gravy you have ever tasted! Here are the ingredients you will need for the broth:
Magical Seasoning Blend and Magical Broth Powder are unique blends, and you will need both of them in order to make the “beef” broth. The broth flavor will not be right without these blends. (You can order both from freelyvegan.com and they are available in low or reduced sodium versions as well.) You can either make your own vegan Worcestershire sauce or buy store-bought.
Combine the balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, miso, and seasoning blends in a small bowl. Whisk to combine, then add the Tamari and whisk again. It will look like this:
Add a gallon of water to a large soup pot:
Add the vegetables and the liquid mixture to the pot with the water:
Place the pot on your burner or induction cooktop, turn the heat to medium-high, and give the mixture a good stir:
Bring to a boil, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes:
Reduce the heat, and simmer for two hours, stirring every 20 minutes. The broth will reduce quite a bit and will be a lovely dark brown:
Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and allow the broth to cool. I usually let it cool for an hour, then put the pot in the fridge overnight. You don’t have to wait, though, and can proceed to the next step as soon as the broth is lukewarm if you wish. You will need to strain the broth, so get set up to do that:
Start by weighing a large bowl and write down how much it weighs. (If you don’t have a scale, you will need to measure your broth later.) You want your finished broth to weigh 2,880 g, which is 12 cups. Add the weight of your bowl to 2,880 to get the target weight:
Update! It is much easier to strain your broth using a nut milk bag!
You can skip some of the following steps, and just pour the broth through a colander to remove the vegetables, but I prefer a clearer broth. I line a colander with eight layers of cheesecloth, and then set the colander in the large bowl:
There are about 2 cups of broth in the vegetables, so you will need to squeeze that out of them. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to the lined colander:
Gather up the corners of the cheesecloth, and then twist the top to squeeze out the broth:
The broth you see in the bowl would have been lost without that last step. Next, discard the vegetables and place the cheesecloth back in the colander. Pour the broth through the lined colander:
Now, gather up the corners of the cheesecloth again, and twist the top like before to get all the broth out:
Remove the colander from the bowl:
The next step is to add enough water to make exactly 12 cups of broth. You will need to turn your scale on, then weigh the bowl of broth. Add enough water to equal the target weight you calculated before:
Your target weight will be different from mine, unless your bowl also weighs 135 g, so look back to your paper to see what it should be. (If you don’t have a scale, you can measure the broth and add water until you have 12 cups.) Give your broth a good stir to be sure the added water is mixed in, then transfer your broth to containers. Freeze whatever you will not use within a few days.
How to Make Vegan "Beef" Broth
Make vegan "beef" broth that tastes like beef broth! All of the flavor, none of the cruelty!
Ingredients
- 15 g (1 TBS) Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
- 32 g (2 TBS) Miso Paste
- 30 g (2 TBS) Balsamic Vinegar
- 24 g (2 TBS) Magical Seasoning Blend
- 18.6 g (2 TBS) Magical Broth Powder
- 90 g (3/8 c) Reduced-Sodium Tamari Soy Sauce
- 1 Gallon Water
- 2 Onions
- 2 Carrots
- 2 Celery Stalks
- 2 Roma Tomatoes
- 8 oz Mushrooms
Instructions
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Chop the vegetables into approximately 1" pieces and set aside.
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Fill a large soup pot with one gallon of water and set aside.
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Whisk the vegan Worcestershire sauce, miso, balsamic vinegar, Magical Seasoning Blend, and Magical Broth Powder together in a small bowl. Add the Tamari and whisk again.
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Add the chopped vegetables and the liquid mixture to the pot, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes.
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Reduce the heat, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool.
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Strain the broth, being sure to squeeze all the liquid out of the vegetables. Weigh or measure the broth, and add enough water to make an even 12 cups (see blog post for detailed directions).
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Transfer the broth to containers with tight-fitting lids. Freeze any that won't be used within a few days.
On my way to your Mushroom Bourguignon, I made this broth. It is beautiful!! In the past I have used a different recipe for “beef” broth. I am so glad I found yours. It has so much more depth of flavor!! It is now my “go to!”
Thank you for your kind words, Julie! As a chef, it is the best feeling ever when someone makes your recipe and loves it!
Hello! I cannot find the blog post where it would be best to leave this comment, so here is next best. I saw someone asked you last year how to make a vegan version of pork broth. I thought maybe I could cast a ray of light (maybe not).
It’s been years since I’ve had pork broth, but I remember the flavor of pork. It does not taste like beef broth. It’s deep and savory tasting, but also sweet and a bit salty, or sometimes a bit smokey. The vegan ingredients that come to mind when I imagine the flavor of pork broth are things like Salish Alderwood smoked sea salt. It gives dishes an authentic smoke or char flavor. It used to be sold at Kroger, but now you can order online from the company. It is superior in flavor to liquid smoke. Another vegan condiment that reminds me of the essence of pork, is Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos. It’s an alternative to soy (or Tamari) sauce, with a sweet and lightly salty taste. Other ingredients that I think would be a step in the right direction- leeks with their green tops, a mild miso, maybe even kombu, or a bit of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos? Perhaps some sweet and savory condiments like Hoisin sauce, or plum sauce? Maybe even a bit of fresh or dried ginger? I don’t know how to put it all together to mock pork broth, but whoever cracks this code will be applauded.
Pork is a very popular taste the world over.
You can Google vegetarian/vegan pho recipes to find more inspiration, or you can Google vegan soul food. American soul food cuisine is heavy on the pork products. Also,
I think Tofurkey (and others?) makes a ham style roast now. I have yet to taste it myself, but maybe it will be a spark for your flavor creativity.
I think building a porky broth from your turkey broth recipe makes more sense than trying to build it from your beef broth recipe. Pork does not taste dark like beef. Nor does it taste like chicken. Hope this helps a little!
This is wonderful info! Thank you so much for sharing your ideas!
Hi, I did some searching and I think I may have found some recipes that could help in regards to creating a vegan “pork” broth. Vegan Collards with Smoky Pot Likker, from the Serious Eats website, says it tries to convey a taste similar to ham hock.
It uses a base of Hearty Vegetable (Vegan) Stock, also from Serious Eats.
This recipe contains dried mushrooms, leek tops and kombu. Bon Appetit has a recipe for vegan Umami Broth. It also uses dried mushrooms and kombu.
The Nutrition Press website has a recipe for Rich Vegetable Stock, with Japanese Mirin (sweet) and Korean fermented soybean paste(rich and salty). You can read about Korean fermented soybean paste on Bon Appetit. This Korean cooking ingredient is called Doenjang, I believe.
I read it tastes similar to Japanese miso, but is deeper and saltier. Lastly, the website Yumsome, in a recipe they call Best Vegan Sausage, uses Coconut Aminos (and pork sausage seasoning)
Now, I have not tried these recipes myself.
I do not know if they taste like pork.
I did notice that they contained ingredients (or flavor profile) mentioned in the comment about the taste of pork.
I also saw that Bon Appetit has a YouTube video on How to Make the Most Flavorful Vegan Broth Ever.
I did not watch it though.
I wonder if these recipes are more like a hodge podge of deep flavors, rather than the flavor of just pork?
One thing I am confident in, is that one recipe is not necessarily equal to another, similar recipe. Example: the vegan broth on this post tastes “beefy,”
whereas some other vegan broths taste like mere vegetable water, even though they contain similar ingredients as this broth.
Great info! I am going to have to get to work on “pork” broth!
For the meat-eaters (and even vegetarians) considering reducing animal-based products in their diet for any number of reasons, the Vegan dot com Facebook page, Twitter account and website, are an excellent resource.
No nonsense. It features links to current events articles relating to issues of animal welfare, technology, diet and health, reviews of goods and services, food production sustainability, climate and the environment, anti-vegan misinformation and much more.
Do you think you could never be vegan? Do you think a pescatarian (fish) diet is the answer? Check out Vegan dot com Facebook page and Twitter account for some
food for thought.
No matter what your current diet may or may not include, these sites offer useful information.
Don’t forget to return to this site, for some tasty vegan creations inspired by American home style cooking basics and comfort foods!
https://www.vegan.com/ is a great resource! Thanks for sharing!
I have Salish Alderwood smoked salt by Salt Works in my pantry right now. It has lasted me over a year. It is a great smoked salt. The smell and taste are exactly like wood smoke. The first time I tasted it I thought of smoked salmon, but I’m from the Northwest so that makes sense. When I got passed that first impression, my creatively was unleashed. I can make my food taste like it came off of a charcoal grill just by salting it.
Since I’m here, I should also mention I have San-J gluten-free hoisin sauce in my fridge right now, too. It is dark in color. The taste is deep, savory, salty and sweet. It seems to have a citrus-y flavor in it, but it does not list citrus as an ingredient. I suppose that flavor comes from the combination, which includes ginger. It is somewhat pork like.
I find hoisin sauce mixed with Trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce makes a nice flavoring for fluffy white rice, or vegan pot stickers. I do not know if either of these products is strictly vegan.
They are gluten-free.
I need to try these!
Hey folks,
I found a product from Canada, all vegan, that is marketed as a substitute for bacon grease. It’s called Vegan Magic (formally Magic Vegan Bacon Grease). I think US costumers can order it from Vegan Essentials. I think.
That sounds interesting – I’ll check it out!
These comments have been interesting to read. Good tips. I can agree with them. I also can say Salish Alderwood salt smells and tastes like authentic wood smoke. It is strong. I also bought it at Kroger. I have not checked to see if they still carry it or not. The company that produces this salt also produces a product called Yakima Applewood smoked salt. I have not tried that one, but I would really like to. When I still ate pork bacon, it was always the thick-cut applewood smoked bacon. I think the applewood salt will taste milder.
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This was FABULOUS! Thank you!