A full-flavored veggie broth goes a long way in boosting the overall taste and nutritional profile of a finished dish. Since more traditional stocks and broths are made with high fodmap ingredients they must be avoided by those following a low fodmap diet. This Low FODMAP Vegetable Stock is specially made for sensitive guts and those needing to adhere to a fodmap friendly program. Roasting the veggies first helps to unlock their full flavor potential making for a more delicious broth. No time for roasting? No worries – you can skip the oven and make this stock recipe right on the stove top!
What is the Low FODMAP Diet?
The low-fodmap diet is a kind of special diet created by a team of researchers at Monash University in Melbourne Australia. It’s since become a popular go-to for people hoping to improve their overall digestive health and find relief for their IBS.
The overall goal of the diet is to help treat, manage and understand the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) through a temporary elimination phase followed by gradual reintroduction of high FODMAP foods.
What are FODMAPs?
(F) Fermentable (O) Oligosaccharides (D) Disaccharides (M) Monosaccharides (P) Polyols,
It’s an acronym for a group of short-chain carbohydrates (aka sugars) found in food that are not easily broken down and poorly absorbed by the digestive tract. When not properly absorbed, these sugars ferment in the gut causing bloating, gas, discomfort and pain.
Unfortunately, many high fodmap foods are likely ones commonly found in many of your favourite recipes (garlic, onion, honey, soft cheeses, etc).
The three-step protocol according to Monash:
- Elimination: Adhere to a diet focused on low FODMAP foods while restricting high FODMAP foods for a limited time. Ideally this should be done with a nutritionist or dietician to ensure that all of your nutritional needs are being properly met.
- Reintroduction: Gradually reintroduce higher fodmap foods back into your diet. This process takes time. Go slowly so that you can properly gauge which foods are tolerated and at what amount. This stage is crucial because it will allow you to eventually eat a much more varied diet over time.
- Personalisation: At the end of this diet you will have a better understanding of what foods you can comfortably tolerate and which are best avoided.
Low FODMAP Vegetable Stock
Since garlic and onion typically make up the foundation of most vegetable broth, bone broth and stock cube recipes – we need to get creative here to make sure we make a truly flavorful stock.
Why this stock works?
- Roasted veggies make it tastier.
- Roasted vegetables taste better – it’s a fact! The dry heat of the oven caramelises the natural sugars in the veg which helps to mellow out potential bitterness. Roasting also helps to unlock ‘new aromatic compounds’ which makes for a more concentrated flavor. Sounds kind of perfect for a low fodmap vegetable stock, right?
- Leeks provide the onion-like flavor.
- Since leeks belong to the same allium family as onion and garlic they are quite handy when it comes to low fodmap cooking. If used correctly, they are a safe and easy way to add that onion-like depth to your food. Just make sure to remove the white bulbs and stick to the dark-green, leafy tops.
- Nutritional Yeast adds a cheesy, umami flavour.
- Nutritional yeast (nutritional savoury flakes) is one of my favorite ways to add flavor to savoury foods. Mix it in towards the end of the cook time to add an extra cheesy, nutty flavour that really makes this stock pop!
The Steps
All in all this is a fairly simple recipe though it does take a bit of time to complete. Since the veggies have to roast for about 40 minutes and simmer for close to 2 hours, you’ll need to be a bit patient here.
- Roast. Roast the vegetable in the oven for about 40 minutes. Drizzle olive oil over the top and toss with freshly cracked pepper, a pinch of sea salt and some dried herbs for good measure.
- Tip: Use a couple of baking sheets. This is so you can spread everything out so they really get a chance to caramelise around the edges. More caramelisation = more flavour.
- Simmer with fresh herbs. Transfer the roasted veg to a large stock pot. Add the fresh herbs, black pepper corns, a couple of bay leaves and cover with water. Bring the pot to boil and then reduce the temperature down a medium heat and let it simmer. Let simmer about 1 1/2 hours.
- Add salt & extra seasoning. It’s important that you don’t add the salt too early to the process. As the stock simmers it will reduce. The amount of stock will decrease but the salt will remain which makes for a saltier broth in the end.
- Tip: I like to add about 1/4 cup of dry white wine toward that last 30 minutes of cooking. I’ve made this low fodmap vegetable stock with and without the wine. It’s good but ways, but better with (personally)!
- Strain and store. When you’re all done, take the stock off the heat and set aside for about 20-30 minutes before straining. Pour the stock through a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl to remove the veggie solids.
Freezer & Storage Tips
In the fridge: use your stock within 4-5 days. Any longer and it will start to ferment and go off.
In the freezer: homemade vegetable stock will keep well four to six months. It’s still safe after four months but it won’t taste as strong.
Containers and jars: Stock will expand in the freezer so make sure you leave at least an inch of space at the top so as not to over fill it. Make sure to store in a freezer-safe bag or container.
In freezer bags: To save up on space, place the bags flat on a baking sheet place in the freezer until solid. You can then take out the baking sheet, but store the bags in a more orderly way. If you’re trying to avoid plastic you can always use reusable silicon-freezer bags.
Freeze in smaller portions: Pour stock into ice cube trays or muffin-cups lined with silicone liners. Once frozen you can pop out the frozen stocks cubes then transfer to a freezer bag or container. This is a great way to portion out smaller amounts of stock to use as and when you need.
More Low FODMAP Recipes You Might Enjoy
Roasted Low FODMAP Vegetable Stock
A full-flavored veggie broth goes a long way in boosting the overall taste and nutritional profile of a finished dish. Roasting the veggies first helps to unlock their full flavor potential making for a more delicious broth.
Ingredients
- 2 large leeks - green parts only
- 3 large carrots, sliced into 3 inch pieces
- 1 large parsnips, sliced into 3 inch pieces
- 1-2 large celery stalks, sliced into 3 inch pieces (see note)
- 1 large tomato, quartered
- 4 to 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup | 60 ml olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large bunch fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 8 cups | 4 litres water
- 1 tablespoons sea salt or kosher salt (more or less to taste)
- 1/4 cup | 30 g Nutritional Yeast (optional)
- 1/4 cup | 60 ml Dry White Wine (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/205°F. Set aside a couple of large baking sheets.
- Prep the veggies: Cut into smaller chunks for roasting and wash well. Add the leeks to one roasting pan and add the carrots, parsnips, celery, tomato and thyme sprigs to the other baking pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over each pan and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Roast 40 Minutes: Place the vegetables in the oven and roast for about 40 minutes. Swap the positions of the baking sheets about halfway through the cook time to ensure an even roast.
- Simmer 2 hours: Once roasted, tip the vegetables into a large pot. Add the parsley, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cover with 8 cups water. Bring the water to a boil then reduce the temperature down to maintain a simmer. Let simmer 1 1/2 hours.
- Add salt and optional seasoning: After about 1 1/2 hours mix in the salt. Add the nutritional yeast and/or white wine if using then let simmer another 30 minutes. By the time you are finished, your stock should have reduced down by about half.
- Cool and strain: Turn off the heat and let cool about 30 minutes then strain out the solids through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer.
- How to use: You can use this stock as a 1:1 substitute for any recipe that calls for stock.
- Storage: Keep stored in an airtight container in the fridge 4-5 days or in the freezer up to six months.
Notes
- No time for roasting? Simply skip the roast altogether. Add everything to the pot and simmer 1 1/2 -2 hours and that's it!
- Don't worry about slicing the veggies perfectly - just try to make them roughly the same size so they roast at an even rate.
Low FODMAP Notes
- Only the dark, leafy green parts of the leek are low fodmap. Make sure to remove the thick, white bulbs at the bottom.
- 5cm of a celery stalk can officially be tolerated on a low fodmap diet (about 1/3 of a large stalk). Unless you plan on drinking about 2/3 of the stock all in one serving without adding it to anything else you should be still be comfortable under that limit. Feel free to only use one celery stalk to be on the safe side.
- Tip: Use garlic-infused olive oil in place of regular olive oil to infuse a bit more flavor into your stock.
Freezer Tips
- Containers and jars: Stock will expand in the freezer so make sure you leave at least an inch of space at the top so as not to over fill it. Make sure to store in a freezer-safe bag or container.
- In freezer bags: To save up on space, place the bags flat on a baking sheet place in the freezer until solid. You can then take out the baking sheet, but store the bags stacked up in a more orderly way.
- Freeze in smaller portions: Pour stock into ice cube trays or muffin-cups lined with silicone liners. Once frozen you can pop out the frozen stocks cubes then transfer to a freezer bag or container. This is a great way to portion out smaller amounts of stock to use as and when you need.
Heather says
My husband just started a low FODMAP diet so we made this broth tonight. We were blown away by how delicious it is! I don’t think I will ever go back to buying store bought vegetable broth. Thank you so much for providing such well thought out recipes. It is making this transition to a low FODMAP diet much more manageable.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Heather! I am so thrilled to hear how much you enjoyed this! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know what you guys thought 🙂
Kim says
The most flavorful veggie stock I have ever tasted!! Loved it!!
Sarah Nevins says
So glad to hear that! Thanks, Kim!