A Work Horse of a Pantry Item
A basic vegetable broth will help you out in a variety of ways. Use it to thin sauces or as the basis for soups. Use it to cook some low FODMAP, gluten-free pasta for a quick noodle soup in less than 10 minutes!
Many commercially prepared vegetable broths contain onion and/or garlic and some even have artificial or natural flavorings added – all of which we would rather steer clear of.
Learning to Tame the Garlic & Onion
But getting back to the onion and garlic, the thing is that it is hard to make a flavorful veggie broth without them, so you can see that our recipe begins with Garlic-Infused Oil, either homemade or purchased, and then adds a generous amount of both leek and scallion greens.
You can also “make” the oil on the fly as follows: simply place 2 tablespoons of oil in your stockpot and add 2 cloves of whole, peeled garlic. Sauté for a few minutes over medium heat until garlic is soft, remove all the garlic pieces, then proceed with recipe. Your recipe will still be low FODMAP.
Make sure to check out our low FODMAP recipes for Beef Stock, Chicken Stock and Turkey Stock!
Low FODMAP Vegetable Broth
Low FODMAP Vegetable Broth couldn't be easier. Just give yourself time for it to simmer on the stove.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes about 4 quarts (3.8 L); serving size up to 1 cup (240 ml); 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons Low FODMAP Garlic-Infused Oil made with olive oil or vegetable oil, or purchased equivalent such as FODY Garlic-Infused Olive Oil
- 1 cup (72 g) chopped leeks, green parts only, divided
- 1 cup (64 g) chopped scallions, green parts only, divided
- 1 large bunch fresh flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 6 medium sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 large bay leaf
- 3 medium carrots, scrubbed, peel intact, cut into 1-inch (24 mm) pieces
- 2 medium gold or white potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
- 2 medium parsnips, 225 g, scrubbed, ends trimmed and sliced into 1/2-inch (12 mm) rounds
- 1 medium fennel bulb, root end trimmed away, bulb sliced and fronds (the top, feathery leaves) and stems chopped
- 1 medium celery stalk, cut into 1-inch (24 mm) pieces
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Water
Preparation:
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Add the oil to a 5 to 6 quart (4.7 L to 5.7 L) stockpot and heat over low-medium heat. Add half of the leek and scallion greens (just eyeball it) and sauté, stirring frequently, for a few minutes until softened. Add parsley, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaf, carrots, remaining leek and scallion greens, potatoes, parsnips, fennel, celery and salt to the pot.
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Add enough cold water to cover the vegetables by about 2-inches (5 cm). Cover pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat; adjust heat and cook at a gentle simmer for 1 hour. Skim off any froth that rises to the top during the first half hour. Check occasionally and add water if necessary to keep all solid ingredients just submerged. Taste for flavor. If the broth seems weak, keep simmering for a while. You might also want to adjust salt level.
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Strain into a clean pot or storage container(s) and discard solids. Allow broth to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. Skim all of the fat off of the surface, if desired. Divide the broth into airtight containers in small portions for ease of use. We like to make 1 cup (240 ml) and 2 cup (480 ml) amounts in particular and either refrigerate up to a 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months. You can also freeze the broth in ice cube trays, then pop out the cubes once frozen and freeze in heavy plastic zipper top bags.
Notes:
Tips
- If you are not vegan and want to try an extra ingredient that adds tons of flavor, add a big hunk of parmesan cheese rind with the rest of the ingredients during simmering. It adds flavor as well as a little body.
If You Can Tolerate
Fructans:
- If you have passed the Onion Fructan Challenge, feel free to use a white or yellow onion or two (to your tolerance) in lieu of the leeks and scallions, and it may be left in during simmering.
- If you have passed the Garlic Fructan Challenge, feel free to use minced garlic (to your tolerance), added at the beginning and sautéed, and it may be left in during simmering.
Polyols:
- If you have passed the mannitol Challenge consider adding up to 3 stalks of celery. It adds such a wonderful flavor to soup bases.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
Sounds great, but I’m confused. The recipe says it’s okay to leave the onions in while simmering if you’ve passed the onion challenge. But I’ve read the recipe several times, and I don’t see an instruction to remove the onions, or indeed any onions in the ingredients other than the leek and scallion greens. What am I missing?
Hi David, Thank you for asking. The IF YOU CAN TOLERATE sections that accompany some recipes are meant to be additions, and do not reference the recipe as it is presented above. This recipe is presented using leek and scallion greens, sautéed and left in the soup, which is partially what earned it a certification from Monash. The idea behind FODMAP Everyday is that we want to be with you throughout your FODMAP journey – Elimination phase, through Challenge phase and beyond, when you Integrate all the information you have gathered about yourself during the Challenges. So, if you learn that you can tolerate onion, and you have learned what amount sits well with you, the If You Can Tolerate section is saying go ahead and sauté onion and leave it in. Ditto for garlic, IF indeed you know that you can tolerate it. Let me know if this makes it clear. Happy eating!
I had the same question as David J, but your answer is not clear to me. For a person just starting a FODMAP diet, where tolerances are not yet known, following your recipe as written seems to involve (1) sautéing half the scallion greens and leek greens in the (garlic-infused) oil and then LEAVING THE SAUTEED PIECES in the soup; then (2) adding the other half of the (fresh, not sautéed) scallion greens and leek greens to the soup for the simmering stage. Thus, both steps involve the green parts of “onions” (scallions and leeks). Is that OK? Are the green parts fine for everyone? Does the IF YOU CAN TOLERATE note mean that the white parts of these “onions” can be added if you know you can tolerate them?
Hi Julia, there are 4 issues here: 1) The If You Can Tolerate section of our recipes is for AFTER one has PASSED a certain Challenge. You will note that when it comes to Fructans, which are in onion, garlic and wheat (among other foods), that we are specific. In other words, you would want to have passed the very specific Onion Fructan Challenge before adding onions to your recipe or diet. If you have only passed the Garlic Fructan Challenge, this would not be enough info in order to add onions. Some people end up being able to tolerate one OR the other, but not both, even though fructans are still in each. 2) I have suggested adding the leek and scallion GREENS in stages to take advantage of the varying levels and mounts of flavor that they give the dish with the different preparation steps. 3) The reason why we take the approach that we do, in regards to leeks, scallions, onions and garlic, is for the following reasons: there are generous serving sizes of leek and scallion GREENS that are Green Light Low FODMAP approved (per lab testing) and that fructans are oil soluble, so in other recipes you will see that we sauté onions and/or garlic themselves in a pot, with nothing else present, and then remove the solids and this would leave a low FODMAP oil. 4) The reason why this recipe is strained and the solids are removed is simply because we want a “clear” broth without solids and has nothing to do with FODMAP content. I hope this clarifies!
So you can infuse garlic and onion in oil and still have a low-FODMAP result but you can’t cook them in water then strain all food particles out and get the same result?
What about pressure cooking – does it help to break down any of the high FODMAPs and make them tolerable? I have noticed that homemade, soaked, strained then pressure cooked beans and legumes are easier on me.
Thanks 🙂
Hi Diane, the fructans in onions and garlic (the FODMAP they contain) is NOT oil soluble, so as long as NOTHING else is introduced and you just have garlic and oil or onions and oil and strain out the solids, the flavored oil will be low FODMAP. You CANNOT do this with a soup or a stew because there will be water (water, stock, tomatoes) in the dish and the fructans will leach out into the dish. Pressure cooking will not get rid of FODMAPs, however if you are soaking, cooking and draining/straining beans, then some of the FODMAPs will have gone into the liquid you are discarding (because the FODMAPs are water soluble), therefore lessening the FODMAP load in the beans themselves. This is why the canned, rinsed and drained beans on the Monash app are lower in FODMAPs than some other ways of preparing them.
Thank you for such a thorough reply!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I didn’t know about the beans – really good info! I’m making your recipe tomorrow night.
I wasn’t sure if you meant greens? As in, about the leek and scallion greens? Anyway, I am glad you found our recipes and that they have inspired you. Happy soup making!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe! Would it be possible to make this in the slow cooker instead?
You could try, for sure. I have not tested it that way, so you will have to use your instinct on timing and temp.
Thank you for this recipe! I made it tonight and it turned out really delicious. I didn’t have carrots on hand, so I added more parsnips instead, and also increased the salt just a bit. I’m excited to use this broth for some yummy soups, and there was an unexpected treat in the pot when everything was strained: the potatoes and parsnips held up so well that I turned them into mouthwatering mashes! As someone who’s used to tossing all stock veggies into the compost bin , I felt happy to rescue a few for eating this time.
Parsnips and carrots are both No FODMAP and have that wonderful earthy sweetness. I do tend to undersell, if anything, so your adjustments do not surprise me – and do not alter the FODMAP load. I also use the leftovers! Love that you did as well.
How many quarts does this recipe make?
Hi Tina, the info is right in the recipe card:
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes about 4 quarts (3.8 L); serving size up to 1 cup (240 ml); 8 servings