When it comes to adding rich flavor and texture to your soup, gravy, sauce, or pasta, you always think of beef broth. You sauté beef meat and bones in a pot in olive oil; once the color of the beef changes, you add water and reduce it to one-third. You can cook a homemade beef broth in less than four hours, full of taste and flavor. However, sometimes, you are not in a mood to go with beef or planning to try a beef broth substitute that doesn’t take that much time in preparation.
If that’s what is in your mind right now, you will explore six beef broth substitutes in this post.
6 Best Beef Broth Substitutes
Some of the substitutes are good for vegan people, while others are cool ideas for those who want easy cooking. Let’s start reading and get nutritional details of each substitute with a complete recipe.
#1. Soy Sauce
If you want a simple substitute for beef broth, then you can replace one cup of your beef broth with one cup of soy sauce. Fermenting soybeans and wheat create this salty liquid condiment. The main ingredients of soy sauce are wheat, soybeans, salt, and fermenting agent.
Nutrition Value
When you check the nutritional value of Soy sauce, you find out that one tablespoon of traditionally fermented soy sauce has eight calories, one gram of carbohydrates, zero gram fat, one gram of protein, and 902mg sodium.
#2. Vegetable Broth
One of the best substitutes for beef broth is vegetable broth. It’s full of nutrition and provides rich taste and flavor exactly like beef broth. Vegan lovers would always make their vegetable broth because it’s a healthy version of broth. Although you can get a variety of vegetable broth in the market, the main problem is their high sodium level. If you are concerned about your diet and weight, it’s always suggested to make your vegetable broth at home.
Nutrition Value
Before I share an easy broth recipe, you need to look into the nutritional value of vegetable broth. One cup of vegetable broth has ten calories due to 8 grams of carbohydrates in this liquid. One cup of beef broth has 20 calories, so when you count your daily calories and want to reduce them without making any change in your soup or pasta, then go with vegetable broth.
Vegetable Broth Recipe
How to make it? Take as many vegetables as you want. Wash all your vegetables and cut them into big chunks. No need to peel them as their skin contains healthy nutrients. Take a pan, toss all vegetables with one tablespoon of olive oil and sauté them for at least five minutes. Now transfer them to a pot, fill it with water, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, cover the pot and let it simmer for at least 45-60 minutes, it would be best to slow down the heat level, so vegetables impart nutrition into water. Now strain this mixture, and your vegetable broth is ready to use. Add some parsley and other herbs to enrich this flavor.
#3. Beef Stock
When you are not a vegan lover, then you can replace the beef broth with beef stock. The taste is the same with both products. Beef stock is made by reducing beef bones and vegetables in the water while the broth is made by boiling and reducing both meat and bone. You won’t have a meatier taste in stock. This beef broth substitute is more watery and less thick in texture.
Beef Stock Recipe
It’s time to check the recipe for easy homemade beef stock. All you need is a large pot in which you will heat oil and then add sliced onion (one large is enough). Add bones to the pot and then sprinkle a pinch of salt and black pepper. Sauté onion and bones until they turned light brown. Add four glasses of water and then boil this mixture. Once it starts boiling, turn down the heat, cover the pot with the lid, and let the bone simmer for at least 3 hours. Strain it and use the stock. This beef broth substitute might take some time, but it will offer the same flavor.
Nutrition Value
One cup serving of beef stock contains 31.2 Calories, 2.9g Carbs, 0.2g Fat, 4.7g Protein, 8% iron, and 11% Vitamin B6.
Also Read: Bavette Steak Recipes
#4. Mushroom Broth
The rich, creamy texture of mushroom broth makes it an excellent substitute for beef broth, especially when making soup and pasta.
Nutrition Value
As far nutritional value of mushroom broth is concerned, then it’s 220gram, or one cup contains 13 calories with 13 percent Vitamin A, 1 percent iron and 1.5 Percent Vitamin C, and 28 percent sodium. However, you can reduce the sodium level by making your mushroom broth at home. The best part of mushroom broth is that it contains zero percent cholesterol, so when you are on a strict diet, you can easily substitute it for your beef broth and still enjoy the same flavor and taste.
Mushroom Broth Recipe
How to make Mushroom Broth at home? It’s relatively easy to make mushroom broth. First, take a pan and saute chopped mushrooms and yellow onion for five minutes. Add bay leaf, parsley, a pinch of salt, water, a few peppercorns, and bring it to boil. Let this mixture simmer for one hour. You can use either button or assorted mushrooms. If you want to boost this simple broth’s flavor, add a splash of red wine with one tablespoon of soy sauce. As you are adding soy, limit salt quantity.
#5. Bouillon Cubes
An easy try to substitute for beef broth is Chicken cubes; they are readily available in the market. Concentrated chicken and vegetable stock is dried, ground, and compressed to create cubes.
It’s effortless to use these cubes. Take a pan and add one cup of water. Now add one cube and boil the solution, so the cube gets dissolved in water. You can replace a cup of beef broth with one cup of chicken cube.
Nutrition Value
When you check these cubes’ nutritional value, they have 11 calories in one cup serving one percent iron and one percent calcium.
#6. Wine or Beer
If you want a quick subtitle for beef broth, consider adding wine to your sauce and pasta. It will add a rich flavor to your meal and let you have a delicious gravy. You can replace one cup of beef broth with half wine/beer and half water solution. You can substitute red wine with white. In case you don’t want alcohol in your sauce, then try using non-alcoholic beer. Allow your sauce some time for cooking, so its alcohol content evaporates.
