Best Instant Pot Vegetable Stock is a gazillion times better than its store bought version. Learn how to make vegetable stock from scraps & some fresh veggies under an hour & without baby sitting! This homemade vegetable broth instant pot recipe is also vegan, gluten free, fridge & freezer friendly.

Vegetable Stock Instant Pot
Making vegetable broth in an instant pot is easy! You can entirely make this vegetable stock from scraps or use both - fresh veggies + veggie scarps. In this recipe I used both.
Freezing vegetable scraps for stock is so convenient. You can collect the veggie scraps in a zip lock back & than freeze them. Use them whenever you are making veggie broth in pressure cooker, no need to thaw!
The key to a rich & savory quick vegetable stock with a great of depth of flavor is using a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, veggie scraps & flavorings like peppercorns, bay leaves. Learn how to make instant pot veggie broth from scraps with our simple dump & start recipe! No sautéing needed!
Ingredients
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
In this recipe I used both fresh veggies, vegetable scraps and simple flavorings. I will list them below separately.

Fresh vegetables
- Onion - I used unpeeled yellow onion.
- Garlic - A whole head of garlic adds a rich depth of flavor to this instant pot vegetable broth recipe.
- Celery - Use both stalks and leaves.
- Carrots - I used unpeeled whole carrots. If you have carrots with stems & leaves intact, rinse them well, dice them up, rough chop the leaves & stalks and use everything.
- Fresh Parsley- Do not discard the stems. You can also use fresh rosemary, thyme, chives, sage from your garden. Fresh herbs always add so much flavor to stocks/broths and elevates the nutritional profile.
Instant Pot vegetable stock scraps
- Parsley stems
- The scruffy dark green part of leek.
- Tender Broccolini stems. DO NOT use broccoli stems.
- Onion peels & tops.
- Tough white parts of green onion (scallions).
Flavorings
- Whole black peppercorns - Adds a rich savory flavor.
- Whole coriander seeds - Adds a subtle sweet & irresistible flavor & aroma. Skip if you do not like coriander.
- Bay leaves - You'll love the mild flavor of the bay leaves here in this quick vegetable broth recipe.
What should you not put in vegetable stock?
- Cruciferous veggies: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, radishes, turnips, kale to name a few.
- Bell peppers.
- Potatoes.
- Squash.
- Beets.
- Artichokes.
- Radishes.
Helpful Tips
- Rinse/Clean the veggies: Rinse well all the veggies and remove any dirt and debris from the skin before using them to make the stock. Discard any moldy onion skins and clean the root tops of leeks & green onions well.
- Allow Natural Pressure Release: After pressure cooking the vegetable stock in instant pot allow a complete natural pressure release. This will allow all the flavors to blend well into the broth and as a result you'll have a rich broth.
- Extra flavor: For extra flavor you can add fresh herbs of your choice like thyme, rosemary, sage (use in moderation, they have strong flavor). You can also add a few red pepper corns, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder or ½ inch fresh turmeric root, even miso paste or soy sauce for umami flavor.
- Veggie stock color: The color of the veggie broth/stock will vary depending on the type of veggies & scraps you use. For instance, using red onion skins, mushroom stalks & dark green leek tops will result in a darker stock as compared to a simple stock made of only onion + celery + carrots, which is much lighter in color.
How to make vegetable stock in instant pot?
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Gather & rinse veggies
- Rinse Veggies: Gather all the fresh veggies & rinse them very well to remove any dirt or debris. Discard any moldy onion skins and wash the leek greens very well under running tap water. Dirt often sits inside the folds of the leek greens.
- Frozen veggie scraps: If using frozen veggie scraps you do not need to thaw them. You can transfer them directly into the instant pot.
Step #2 Pressure cook

- Dice/Chop veggies: Coarsely dice or chop the fresh veggies so that they fit easily inside the inner lining of the instant pot.
- Transfer ingredients in instant pot: Pour water inside the steel insert of the instant pot. Add the veggies scraps (fresh or frozen) and the diced/chopped fresh veggies. Throw in the flavorings.

- Pressure cook: Secure the lid, seal the valve and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes followed by all natural pressure release.
- Strain veggies stock: Now, strain the vegetable stock with the help of a colander or a metal strainer. Allow the veggie broth to cool down completely.
Step #4 Strain, cool, store

- Store in fridge or freezer: Transfer the cold vegetable stock into mason jars and store them in the fridge for 5-7 days. Follow the freezing directions shared below.
Slow Cooker Directions
- Gather & Rinse Veggies: Gather all the veggies & veggie scraps. Rinse them well under running tap water, remove all dirt & debris.
- Dice/chop veggies: Coarsely dice/chop the veggies.
- Slow cook in crockpot: Transfer the coarsely diced fresh veggies & the frozen veggies scraps directly into the slow cooker. Cover with enough water, secure the lid and slow cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for just 4-5 hours.
- Strain, Cool, Store: Strain the stock with the help of a strainer or colander. Allow the stock to cool completely. Than, store it in mason jars for 3 days in the fridge and freeze the extras for upto 3 months
Stove Top Directions
- Gather & Rinse Veggies: Gather all the veggies & veggie scraps. Rinse them well under running tap water, remove all dirt & debris.
- Dice/chop veggies: Coarsely dice/chop the veggies. This will make them fit easily in the stock pot, Dutch oven, or any large heavy bottom pot.
- Simmer: Add the coarsely chopped veggies into the stock pot, cover with enough water and bring everything to a boil over medium high heat. Once, you see bubbles on the surface & a few wisps of steam lower the heat to low and simmer the stock for 1 hour. This slow cooking method will extract all the great flavors from the veggies resulting in a flavorful homemade veggies broth.
- Strain, Cool, Store: Strain the stock with the help of a strainer or colander. Allow the stock to cool completely. Than, store it in mason jars for 3 days in the fridge and freeze the extras for upto 3 months.

Storing Suggestion
Fridge
- Instant pot vegetable stock will last in the fridge for 7 days.
- Store the stock in canning jars/mason jars.
Freezer
- Use canning jars, do not fill the jars more than ¾ capacity, keep the lids ajar until the broth is frozen.
- You can also freeze the stock in bpa free & food grade safe plastic glasses (about 1 cup capacity), cover the mouth of the glasses with cling wrap and freeze. Whenever you want to use the broth in recipes just pop out few glasses, cut the plastic with scissors & use the frozen stock in recipes. So convenient and easy!
What can I do with cooked vegetable stock?
Homemade vegetable stock is not only budget friendly, tastes the best & loaded with nutrition. It is also the building block of fantastic vegetarian and vegan soups, stews and so much more. You can even use it to flavor up quinoa, couscous, brown rice or batch cook your beans.
Once you make your own homemade vegetable broth in instant pot you'll never go back to the store bought stock! Here are a few recipes you can try using this stock -
- Instant pot vegan mushroom soup.
- Instant pot vegan 15 bean soup
- Instant pot vegan potato leek soup.
FAQs
Gather all the vegetable scraps like onion peels, onion tops, carrot tops, leaves & peels, green onion roots or tops, leek tops, tender broccoli stems, parsley & cilantro stems, celery leaves, fennel fronds, mushroom stems, garlic tops & skins in a large zip lock bag. Store in the fridge for 3 days or freeze the scraps for 2-3 months. Add them in the instant pot when you have enough scraps (about 6 cups to begin with) , cover with water, pressure cook, strain stock & store in fridge or freeze for later.
Yes, vegetable stock and vegetable broth are the same thing. You can use the terms interchangeably.
Vegetable stock needs to be cooked for 30 mins in the instant pot, 4-5 hours or 8-10 hours i a crock pot or slow cooker & for 1 hour on the stove top.
I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU! If you try this Best Instant Pot vegetable stock recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I would love to hear how it turned out for you, or any changes you make. You can also follow me on Pinterest or subscribe our free NEWLETTER for new recipes every week!

Best Instant Pot Vegetable Stock
Equipment
- 6 quart instant pot
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 4 carrots - **unpeeled & coarsely chopped into 2 inch pieces.
- 2 onion - **whole unpeeled yellow onion halved.
- 1 whole garlic - **unpeeled whole garlic pod tip removed.
- 10 sprigs parsley
- 3 celery - **stalks roughly chopped.
Veggie Scraps
- 2 leek - ** tops only. The dark green scruffy part of leek.
- 2 red onion - **only tops & peels.
- 4 green onion - **roots or the white part along with the roots.
- 10 cilantro - **stems only. No leaves.
- 1 cup broccolini - **tender stems only.
Flavorings
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns - **whole.
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds - **whole.
- 2 bay leaves
Liquid
- 10 cups water
Instructions
Rinse Veggies
- Gather all the fresh vegetables & herbs. Rinse them under running tap water. Make sure to discard any moldy onion peels & garlic peels. Remove all dirt and debris from the leek tops, the debris generally hide in the folds of the scruffy dark green part of the leek tops.
- Coarsely dice/chop the fresh veggies so that they easily fit inside the steel insert of the instant pot.
Pressure Cook
- Now, pour water into the steel insert of the instant pot. Add the fresh or frozen veggie scraps (no need to thaw) into the instant pot. Transfer the coarsely diced/chopped fresh veggies and herbs into the instant pot. Throw in the all the flavorings mentioned above in the "flavorings" section of the ingredients list.
- Secure the lid of the instant pot. Seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 30 minutes. Once the cooking cycle is over the instant pot will begin to beep. Wait for a complete natural pressure release. It should take about 15 mins. Once the metal floating pin on top of the lid drops open the lid carefully.
Strain, Cool & Store Veggies Stock
- Carefully strain the vegetable stock with the help of a colander or metal strainer and allow the veggie broth to cool completely.
- Transfer the veggie stock into mason jars and store in the fridge. Follow the freezing directions mentioned in the post above or NOTES below.
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