Homemade Vegetable Broth

Homemade Vegetable Broth recipe
makes 1 quart

All ingredients are flexible, so feel free to make substitutions based on what you have on hand as long as it's similar (ex: leeks for onions, sweet potato for potato, etc).  The veggies can all be roughly chopped into about 1-inch pieces.  The longer the broth simmers, the deeper it's flavor will be.  Alternatively, you can keep a gallon bag of veggie scraps like carrot peels and onion skins in the freezer; when the bag is full, just empty it into a pot and cover with the 6 cups of water.  

I don't add salt during the simmering process to keep the broth flexible to add to other recipes like soups and ramen, but if you are sipping it plain, definitely add a pinch of high quality sea salt to your mug of warm broth.  For long-term storage, pour into 1 cup containers to freeze or into an ice cube tray so you can add just as much to a recipe as you'd like.  

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 russet potato, chopped
3 sprigs of parsley
6 cups of water (or enough to cover veggies in your pot)

optional add-ins:
1-inch piece of ginger or turmeric, chopped
1/2 cup of dried shiitake mushrooms
1-2 cups of leftover bones from a cooked chicken (if you are a meat eater)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (if adding bones)
1-2 cloves of garlic
3 black peppercorns

1. In a soup pot, add all chopped veggies and cover with water.  Bring to a simmer and let gently simmer for 45 minutes, covered or uncovered.  Don't let it boil to strongly or you'll evaporate too much water.   

Instant Pot instructions for Vegetarian version (no added bones):

1. Place all ingredients in Instant Pot and secure lid.  Turn on high pressure cooking mode and set for 10 minutes (on my model you press manual, then toggle to the number 10.  There is no start button or anything to press after setting the number 10).  The pressure will build up (you'll hear steam coming from the release valve) and once it reaches pressure the time will count down from 10. 

2. When you hear the beeping signaling that the time is up, you can press the cancel button (or let it stay on warming, the default) and let pressure come down manually for 10 minutes.  Then release the rest of the pressure manually with the valve, give the pot a shake to make sure there aren't any trapped bubbles, release the valve again, and remove lid. Strain off vegetables and serve broth or store for later.

Instant Pot instructions for version WITH added bones:

1. Place all ingredients in Instant Pot including bones and apple cider vinegar and secure lid.  Turn on high pressure cooking mode and set for 120 minutes (on my model you press manual, then toggle to the number 120.  There is no start button or anything to press after setting the number 120).  The pressure will build up (you'll hear steam coming from the release valve) and once it reaches pressure the time will count down from 120.  The lengthy cooking time is to help draw gelatin out of the bones.  If you aren't concerned with that, choose a cook time of 20-30 minutes instead. 

2. When you hear the beeping signaling that the time is up, you can press the cancel button (or let it stay on warming, the default) and let pressure come down manually for 10-20 minutes.  Then release the rest of the pressure manually with the valve, give the pot a shake to make sure there aren't any trapped bubbles, release the valve again, and remove lid.