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Home » Basics » Vegan Beef Broth aka Umami Broth

Vegan Beef Broth aka Umami Broth

September 6, 2021 By Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan 9 Comments

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This vegan beef broth is a savory, umami-packed vegetarian beef stock that can be used as a substitute for the real thing.

A stream of vegan beef broth being poured into a ceramic bowl

I knew from the moment I typed “vegan beef broth” on this post that the name would anger some people. I see you and I see your anger. If you don’t want to make this recipe because of the name, feel free to make a different one :).

The inspiration for this recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen‘s plant-based cookbook that came out last year. The whole book is great, but their umami broth was one of the first things I fixated on. It packs a punch with many very savory ingredients, so much so that my kitchen smelled “beefy” as I whipped it up.

Vegetarian beef broth in a carafe

The most unusual (and I think crucial) ingredient in the recipe is fermented black beans. They can be purchased on Amazon at that link, or found at Asian grocery stores. You can’t use regular black beans, it’s a different thing. These are black soybeans that have been salted and fermented. The unique flavor is a necessity for this vegan beef broth. It’s the same thing that would be found in black bean sauce at Chinese restaurants.

A bowl of vegan beef broth showing the dark, rich brown color

ATK uses a bunch of dried mushrooms in their stock, but as you might know by now, I hate mushrooms. I can tolerate them somewhat if there are no solid pieces of them remaining in a dish, but I didn’t really want to have to furnish my pantry with them because I wouldn’t use them in anything else.

Instead I turned to a replacement umami bomb that I *do* keep on hand all the time: sundried tomatoes, which I’ve always found to have a slightly meaty flavor. Tomato is a natural glutamate powerhouse, so it makes sense to me that the sun drying process would concentrate it even more. The tomatoes also help give this beef-less broth a nice, rich, golden color in the end product.

After you get all of the (admittedly) weird vegan ingredients assembled for this recipe, the rest is super easy. Put everything in a pot, bring it to a boil, strain it, and then die and go to umami heaven.

Steps to make vegan beef broth: simmer a variety of savory ingredients in water and then strain out the solids

The level of straining is a matter of preference. If you want your beef-less stock super clear, you can strain it through cheesecloth. I don’t care too much about that, so I strain mine with a sieve only.

I prefer this recipe over the powders or concentrates (sold by various brands like Orrington Farms, Better than Bouillon, etc.) because it’s made with whole foods that I recognize and honestly tastes better too. There are certain foods where I prefer the commercial version to homemade and I’m not afraid to admit it… but vegan beef broth is not one of those foods.

I’ll be back here soon to violate the sensibilities of traditionalists who love a certain classic French recipe that uses beef broth. In the meantime, this would also be fantastic in my hearty vegetable stew or in a batch of vegan gravy.

A bowl of French onion soup prepared using homemade vegan beef broth

This makes enough for two big pots of soup. It freezes great, so feel free to do that with the excess, reducing it first if you prefer. I like to freeze mine in an ice cube tray so that I can use the cubes as needed.

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5 from 4 votes

Vegan Beef Broth

This homemade vegan beef broth is an umami-bomb that's perfect as a vegetarian substitute for beef broth anywhere it's normally used.
Course basics
Cuisine American, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword beefless broth, vegan beef broth, vegetarian beef stock
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Servings 4 quarts
Calories 22kcal
Author Yup, it's Vegan

Equipment

  • Large pot
  • Sieve or cheesecloth

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • 6 tbsp fermented black beans (1/4 cup + 2 tbsp)
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp miso paste
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp dried minced onion (or 1 tbsp onion powder)
  • 1 and 1/2 tbsp dried minced garlic (or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
  • 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes packed (~1.5 oz)
  • 4 quarts water

Instructions

  • Combine all of the ingredients except for the water in a large pot. Add the water gradually, stirring to incorporate the ingredients evenly, especially the miso paste.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
  • Strain the broth through a sieve. For very clear broth, layer the sieve with cheesecloth first.
  • Prepared broth can be stored for a week in the fridge, and freezes great for at least a month.

Notes

Recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchen.
Nutrition facts are an estimate based on the assumption that some of the nutrition is retained by the solids which are strained out of the broth after cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 22kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 236mg | Potassium: 1mg | Fiber: 1g

Filed Under: Basics Tagged With: gluten-free, grain-free, meat analogues, nut-free, oil-free, one pot, plant-strong, refined sugar-free, soy, sweetener-free

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Comments

  1. Nora Boyle says

    October 27, 2021 at 12:45

    5 stars
    This is an amazing and simple recipe. Thank you so much for adding another flavor to my cooking arsenal. I love that it comes together so quickly and will be wonderful in a mushroom gravy !

    Reply
  2. Emma says

    October 22, 2021 at 18:10

    5 stars
    First time commenter here to say that this is absolutely phenomenal. You said beefy, you meant it! I did the garlic/onion powder options and, in the absence of sun-dried tomatoes, used tomato powder instead, and was drinking it straight from the pot, no straining necessary. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!!!

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      October 26, 2021 at 08:10

      Thank you so much for the comment/review!!

      Reply
    • Kerrie says

      November 27, 2021 at 16:50

      How much tomato powder did you use in your sub?

      Reply
  3. Judee says

    September 8, 2021 at 08:38

    5 stars
    This sounds very interesting and delicious. As a vegan, I am always on the lookout for more variety in my diet. I’ll be trying this. Thanks

    Reply
  4. Anita says

    September 7, 2021 at 09:58

    sooooooo happy to see you back! I was worried as you hadn’t posted for a long time… faithful clicker, first time commenter 🙂

    Reply
    • Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says

      September 7, 2021 at 10:27

      Thanks so much for the comment! It means a lot to me when people notice things like that. The pandemic was really hard on me and I lost motivation for a lot of things, but I never had any meaningful intention of giving up on blogging, so I’m glad to be back too. 🙂

      Reply
      • Anita says

        September 8, 2021 at 20:03

        relatable. motivation went down the toilet for a lot of us!

      • Carolyn Blakeney says

        September 27, 2021 at 22:13

        5 stars
        It has been a pissassbullshit kinda year and a half for sure. And it’s obviously not done yet. But very happy to see this answer for beefy style broth for when my Better Than Bouillon not-beefy-style runs out!

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I'm Shannon, founder of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. I create healthy plant-based recipes that everyone will love, using seasonal produce and global inspiration.
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