From scratch · Stocks and sauces
Vegetable stock
Onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms and herbs, simmered an hour.
✋ 25 min hands-on
⏱ 2 hr 10 min start to finish
🍽 About 2½ quarts (10 cups).
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalk celery, chopped
- 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
- 4 clove garlic, smashed
- 6 sprig fresh parsley
- 2 leaf bay leaves
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 12 cup water
Time
Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.
| Step | Hands-on | Waiting |
|---|---|---|
| Brown the vegetables | 15 min | – |
| Simmer | – | 1 hr |
| Strain and cool | 10 min | 45 min |
| In all | 25 min | 1 hr 45 min |
How long it keeps
- Refrigerator: 3 to 4 days, as for soups (FoodSafety.gov).
- Freezer: 2 to 3 months (FoodSafety.gov).
Nutrition
The vegetables are strained out, so the numbers are USDA’s for vegetable broth; yours has much less sodium unless you salt it.
Steps
You’ll need: large pot, fine strainer.
- Warm the oil in a large pot over medium. Cook the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms, stirring now and then, until they soften and brown a little, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, herbs and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered 1 hour.
- Strain, pressing on the vegetables to get all the liquid. Cool in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours.
⚖️ ScalingScale the vegetables and water together; keep the simmer at 1 hour (longer can turn it bitter).
🛡 SafetyCool it fast: divide it into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking (USDA).
🛡 SafetyBring stock to a rolling boil when you reheat it (USDA).
Good to knowOnion skins add color; strong vegetables like cabbage and broccoli take over the flavor, so leave them out.
Sources
- Cold Food Storage Chart, FoodSafety.gov (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Accessed 2026-10-25.
- Leftovers and Food Safety, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Accessed 2026-10-25.