It’s so easy and inexpensive it is to make your own Vegan Instant Pot Bouillon! You just need a few veggies and herbs plus a little inspiration.
Is Bouillon the Same As Veggie Broth Or Vegetable Stock?
To me, bouillon is broth’s practical big sister. Both bring the depth of flavor that your soups, stews, and other recipes need. If you prefer broth by all means use it, but I like grabbing a cube out of the freezer as I need it.
Broth takes up a lot of space in your fridge and/or freezer because it’s the strength that you will use it. Bouillon is concentrated flavor so you use less, which means it takes up less storage space. Broth can be made with leftover scraps while my vegan bouillon recipe uses whole veggies and herbs.
At it’s base vegetable bouillon is just cooked and pureed veggies. The flavor becomes more complicated as you cook an onion, carrot, and celery along with some herbs. After that you can add flavorings like nutritional yeast, mushroom powder, tomato powder, and many more to add a slant. Nutritional yeast makes the flavor chickeny and mushroom powder makes it more beefy – all while being 100% vegan.
Are Bouillon Cubes Vegan? Gluten-Free? Oil-Free? Salt-Free?
One great reason to make your own bouillon is to know exactly what’s in it so you’re guaranteed that’s it’s vegan, gluten-free, and has no added salt or oil. In fact you can change out any ingredient that you are allergic to or simply don’t like.
Store-bought bouillon is another story altogether! There are vegan chicken bouillon that sometimes sit next to real chicken bouillon so always read the labels carefully.
You can get bouillon powder and some of those are oil and/or salt free, but you always want to read the labels. Same thing for any bouillon cubes you can get at the store. They tend to sneak in oil, salt, and even preservatives into them. Honestly, once you make your own bouillon you’ll never look back!
Is It Hard to Make Bouillon?
Absolutely not! You’re going to cut up a few veggies, through in some herbs and cook them in your Instant Pot in a strainer. Then you’ll puree them with some extra flavoring like nutritional yeast. Easy peasy!
Can I Freeze Bouillon Cubes?
Yes, you can and it’s the best thing ever! Once you puree the veggies and add your flavorings, portion the bouillon into ice cube trays. Most regular sized ice cube trays hold 2 tablespoons. Once frozen, pop out into a resealable bags or a freezer safe container.
How Much Vegan Instant Pot Bouillon Do I Use in Place of Store-bought Bouillon Cubes?
I use 1 of my frozen bouillon cubes where it calls for 1 store-bought cube. If I want more flavor I may sneak in a second one, but since there’s no salt it doesn’t throw off your recipe.
How Do I Use Bouillon in Place of Broth?
Basically use the same amount of water that the recipe calls for in broth. Then add a bouillon cube for every 3 to 4 cups of water depending on how strong you want the flavor to be.
Turn Your Instant Pot into an Air Fryer!
Sandy Knapp says
June 26, 2018 at 3:27 amIs this msg free with the inclusion of nutritional yeast?
Kathy Hester says
July 1, 2018 at 6:59 pmHonestly, I wouldn’t know. Many things naturally contain msg like potatoes, peas, tomatoes, etc. If you are on an msg free diet I would consult your Doctor.
P says
December 12, 2018 at 10:05 pmCan I make it without onion and yeast? And if yes, will that taste like chicken broth? Thanks!
Kathy Hester says
December 19, 2018 at 3:21 amYou can, but it will not taste like chicken broth. It’s the nutritional yeast that makes it taste similar.
Colleen says
January 24, 2019 at 8:54 pmAre you pureeing it with a food processor or mixer or blender? Thanks!
Kathy Hester says
January 24, 2019 at 9:03 pmYou can use a food processor or a blender. I use a blender.
alyr says
January 26, 2019 at 5:40 pmOMG this is fantastic. I’ve been using it for a couple months now and you have saved me countless hours making 12 cups per week home made broth/stock in my Instantpot. I’m a vegan Nutritarian and eat A LOT of soup! LOL I came back today since I misplaced the recipe and didn’t feel like making regular broth.
Now if I run out of my weekly soups or base, I can throw a “cube” in a pot or my Vitamix with some water and sauted mushrooms and onions or broccoli/asparagus etc and onions and have mushroom or broccoli or asparagus soup (etc.) in no time.
When I do make the stock/broth, here’s my recipe:
(Ratio 1:1 onion to half carrot half celery or if you just weigh them make sure you have double the amount of onion to the total of both celery and carrot.)
This will be slightly sweet but I use even less onion now since I’ve been completely Nutritarian for a long time and as time passed I wanted things less sweet.
I don’t use any added sodium so there’s no salt or fake salt involved.
Throw in:
Jumbo red onions chopped – covering about 2 inches in the pot bottom
Two inches half carrot and half celery covering the onion- chopped
2 bay leaves
cap full of whole peppercorns
few cloves of smashed garlic
A lot of thyme sprigs – at least 8-10
Fill with water
On “soup” or pressure cook for about 45 min.
Thank you for inventing this great recipe/idea.
Kathy Hester says
January 26, 2019 at 6:48 pmI’m so happy you like it and made it your own! I have saved so much money making my own.
alyr says
April 13, 2019 at 8:39 pmI’m back lol. No you misunderstood. I make the bouillon exactly as your recipe. The recipe I wrote is for regular IP stock. 🙂 Thanks again for a great website.
Barbie says
March 25, 2019 at 3:23 pmI’m allergic to onions, mushrooms, and peppers. What do you recommend to replace these to get a savory bouillon?
Kathy Hester says
March 28, 2019 at 4:10 pmIt’s going to be a bit of a challenge, but maybe try potato and carrot as the body with herbs of your choice.
alyr says
April 13, 2019 at 8:40 pmI’m back lol. No you misunderstood. I make the bouillon exactly as your recipe. The recipe I wrote is for regular IP stock. 🙂 Thanks again for a great website.