Instant Pot Vegetable Broth (From Scraps!)

Hello, lovelies!

Comin' at you today with a quick and easy recipe. I'm not even sure if it would technically be considered a recipe - because it's honestly SO simple!

But before we get into that, let's talk updates.

First of all, did you see that I started a YouTube Channel?!? That's right! So far I've only posted one video, but I've got others in the works for you! Right now you can find my Morning Movement Stretch Routine video on the channel - it's a great little 15 minute stretch routine to give your muscles some love and get the juices flowing first thing in the morning. It can also be a great little stretch break if you've been sitting at a desk all day and just need to find some movement. Be sure to check it out, and don't forget to follow the channel for future updates! Right now I'm focusing on fitness videos, but eventually some cooking videos may make their way into the mix as well, so stay tuned!

And of course, we wouldn't really be talking updates unless there was some brief mention of quarantine life. As I'm writing this my husband and I are reaching the end of week 6 for our quarantine, and there are many mixed emotions that come with that! I miss teaching fitness classes in the studio and gym like crazy, and I definitely miss seeing many of my Austin friends. But I'm also weirdly enjoying having so much time to work on all of my other projects! It's been fun to offer more virtual fitness classes and get that YouTube channel started, plus I've got some other surprises coming that you'll here about in the coming weeks!

Okay, enough of that - let's get onto the real reason you are here. THE RECIPE.

Today I am going to teach you how to make your own vegetable broth from scraps - all you need is a bunch of veggie scraps, an instant pot, and some sort of strainer! I started making this about 6 months ago, and I've never looked back. I honestly don't even remember the last time I BOUGHT veggie broth at the store. You don't even need to buy specific ingredients for this recipe - you just have to save scraps that you wouldn't have used anyway, so this recipe really is a home run. You're saving money by making this at home, so what are you waiting for?

Ingredients

As far as the scraps go, you can really use any vegetable scraps you have. I always have a big gallon Ziploc bag in the freezer, and whenever I have veggie scraps leftover from something, I throw them in the bag. Once the bag is full, I make my broth! A gallon Ziploc worth of scraps is just the right amount to fill a 6 quart instant pot.

There really is no specific veggie that you MUST HAVE to make this veggie broth work. I always use whatever lands in my bag of scraps, and it hasn't failed me yet. That is the beauty of this recipe! Granted, if you happen to have a lot of garlic peels in your scraps, obviously the broth will be a little more garlicky - and that goes for any ingredient. But as long as you are okay with your broth taking on the flavor of whatever you throw into it, you're golden.

Here are some veggie scraps that often end up in my soon-to-be-broth bag:

• Carrot ends/peels
• Potato and sweet potato peels
• Celery ends
• Onion and shallot ends/peels
• Bell pepper and jalapeño scraps
• Broccoli and cauliflower stems
• Garlic peels/ends
• Tomato scraps/stems
• Green onion ends
• Kale stems
• Zucchini ends
• Brussel sprout ends
• Leftover herbs or other veggies that won't be used in time!

Directions

1. Dump your veggie scraps into your instant pot.
2. Fill the instant pot with just enough water to cover all of your veggie scraps.
3. Set the instant pot to pressure cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.
4. Walk away and let the instant pot do it's thing.
5. Let it naturally release.
6. Strain liquid using a fine mesh strainer, discard the solids.
7. Store in airtight containers in the fridge, or freeze broth for future use.

Super simple, right? I know that veggie broth doesn't seem super expensive, but think about how often you buy it and how much you can save over a long period of time if you make your own. Wild, right?

Tips and Tricks

I've been making this regularly for long enough now that I've got a couple tricks up my sleeve. Here's a few of them.

• Once a week, do a quick run through of your fridge. If you have any veggies sitting around that are still good right now but might not be for long, think about whether or not you'll use them within the next few days. If you don't think you will, throw them in your freezer bag of scraps! This way they won't go bad, and you won't have to throw them out in a few days and feel like you're wasting them. Instead, they'll be used to make your veggie broth! Even crazy foodies like me sometimes buy too many ingredients for a recipe and have some leftover, or occasionally forget that something is in the fridge and don't make a plan for it quick enough. Throw it in that bag and put it to good use!
• If you have A LOT of scraps from one particular type of vegetable, consider having two scrap bags going in your freezer - that way if you have 2 cups of potato peels, for example, you can put 1 cup in each bag. If you want to throw all of them into one bag, that's cool too - just know that the broth you make from that bag will likely be very potato-y. This way, you have two bags going and the veggie broth from each bag will be moderately potato-y instead. (Is potatao-y a word? It is now.)
• I use the gallon Ziplocs and they are the exact size I need to fill my 6 quart instant pot (convenient, I know). However, you can make less if you don't have a full gallon bag of scraps. Follow the same directions as above, just with less veggie scraps. Make sure to use just enough water to cover however many veggie scraps you have. The same idea can be used if you have a larger instant pot and want to make a larger amount of broth - use as many scraps as you'd like, and cover with water. Easy Peasy!
• Most of my broth is usually stored in mason jars - but sometimes I'll pour the broth into a muffin tin or an ice cube tray, freeze it, and then throw the chunks of frozen broth into another large ziplock bag in the freezer. This way if I need just a little bit of broth (for sautéing veggies, adding to sauces, etc), I can just reach in the freezer and grab a couple frozen broth chunks, melt it in the microwave or stove top if necessary, and I'm good to go! This is a great method if you don't want to thaw out an entire jar of broth but just need a little bit.

There you go! I hope you enjoy this super easy veggie broth. If you make it and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don't forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) so I can get appropriately excited about your broth-making ways.

Stay well, friends!

<3 Laney