Veggie stock is super easy. Just keep a gallon bag in your freezer and throw all of your scraps in it. When it’s full, boil the scraps and season to taste (salt, pepper, bay leaf, garlic cloves, whatever). Boil for an hour or two, then strain. Done. You can freeze the stock if you don’t use it all immediately.

Or as others have said, the jars of better than bullion are the best store bought option.

Bean liquid is the way to go, especially if you use aromatics to cook your beans. But water is generally a fine substitute, too.

I ususally make my own veggie broth- random veggie peelings and scraps, onion skins, carrots, celery, leek, sweet potato. Whatever I have lying around, cover in boiling water until it's ready. Also, imagine food makes a "no chicken broth" that may be more up your alley. Alsoa mushroom broth, but it's harder to find. For soups where the broth isn't really the highlight, I use water with Osem brand "chicken" consume. You'll find it in a big yellow and red tub in the kosher section.

So many great ideas here! Thank you. I like the caramelizing vegetables and then adding water idea. I also already make a lot of dried beans so will experiment with using that liquid. I haven’t tried Pacifico brand but will keep it in mind, And it definitely sounds like I should look at the better than bouillon options.

Look for some coconut milk based recipes

But also - try the Pacifico organic broth. I HATE most commercial veg broths but I really like this one. It doesn't have that sour under-taste (not sure I am explaining this right) that so many others have.

There are some butternut squash soup recipes that you won't need a specific broth for, too. Not sure if your kid is vegan or veg - but if just veg, then look for cream-based soups, too.

I just recently bought some mushroom better than bullion that people have recommended - i haven't tried it yet to say if I like it, too, but maybe that's another thing to try.

As someone who went veg as a really young kid myself, thanks for working with your kid to accomodate and support their new diet. I'm still vegetarian, 45 years later, and I will never not be grateful to my parents for letting me make this choice as a really young person. and helping, rather than fighting.

You can just use water instead of broth. Or simmer veg scraps in water for a few hours and make your own.

Personally I use a powder version (Orrington Farms) but you don’t have to use broth at all if you don’t want to! Just water and a little extra salt will work.

Limited-time deal: Orrington Farms Vegetable Flavored Granular Base, 6 Ounce (Pack of 6) https://a.co/d/0EmMWry

I make lots of veggie soups without broth. If you start the soup with aromatics like onions, carrots, celery, etc, let them caramalize before adding the water. Then they will provide lots of flavor on their own.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Make your own broth and freeze it?

Can you recommend a recipe? I would rather have the convenience of commercial broth but can consider making it if it tastes better. Thanks.

The teen should be able to make it too. This is one place to experiment because everyone likes different flavors. Google a few recipes and you can see the common ingredients- eg carrots, garlic, onion, celery Some like mushrooms. Some hate most in the onion family but leeks are okay…… And start experimenting.

We cook a lot of beans at my house and I save the broth to use for soups. Could you try that?

I like this recipe, which calls for vegetable stock or water. I have only tried it using stock or broth, so I don't know how tasty it would be with water. I use canned vegetables and drain them, but I guess you could include the liquid to help replace some of the flavor missing from not using broth?

https://simpleveganblog.com/vegetable-soup/

Anonymous wrote:Have you tried some of the vegetarian Better Than Bouillon flavors?

I haven’t! I will check them out.

Anonymous wrote:Make your own broth and freeze it?

Can you recommend a recipe? I would rather have the convenience of commercial broth but can consider making it if it tastes better. Thanks.

Have you tried some of the vegetarian Better Than Bouillon flavors?

Make your own broth and freeze it?

Do any exist? I dislike commercial vegetable broths and now have a vegetarian teen. Can anyone share any recipes for vegetarian soups without vegetable broth? Maybe bean based? Or are there some good brands of vegetable broth someone can recommend? Thanks for any help - I miss our family’s soup recipes!