Vegan "Chicken" Broth Powder & Seasoning

Make your own vegan chicken-style bouillon and broth at home! This quick and easy broth powder tastes SO good you'll want to sip hot bowls of broth just for the flavor and nutrients! Use this vegan pantry staple to add umami and depth of flavor to soups, gravy, casseroles, and sauces. Made without oil and free from the top 8 allergens. Ready in 5 minutes!

Why this recipe works

I've purchased my fair share of vegan chicken bouillon products over the years, especially last year while working on this Vegan Turkey Roast.

Some of those broths and bouillons taste better than others, and all of them are rather pricey and not exactly made with the healthiest ingredients.

Ingredient notes

While there isn't much room for substitution in this recipe, a few of the ingredients are flexible.

For the best chicken-y, bouillon-like flavor, I would love for you try the recipe exactly as written before tweaking the seasonings.

• Nutritional yeast - this is the most important ingredient in this recipe and cannot be omitted.
  NOTE: If you think you don't like nutritional yeast but have only tried fortified brands (e.g., Bragg's), I highly recommend this non-fortified one by Sari Foods. Their nutritional yeast contains naturally occurring B1, B2, B5, and B6, as well as 18 amino acids and 15 minerals. It does not contain B12 or Folate, which are usually added to other brands of nutritional yeast. You can learn more about fortified vs. non-fortified nutritional yeast on the Sari website.
  
• Fine sea salt
  
• Sugar - I use organic cane sugar. This can be omitted if you strictly avoid sugar.
  
• Poultry seasoning - I like this one by Frontier. It includes sage, thyme, onion, pepper, marjoram, celery seed, and cayenne.
  If you have sage, thyme, and celery seed on hand but not poultry seasoning, feel free to use a tiny pinch of each. The problem is that it's difficult to measure such small amounts, and the celery seed will need to be turned into a powder first.
  
• Turmeric - this gives the vegan chicken broth a golden hue and very subtle earthiness but can be omitted if necessary.
  
• Onion and garlic powder - important for overall flavor.
  
• Ground ginger - this one's optional, but I do like to include a tiny pinch for subtle flavor.
  
• Black pepper - depending on how you plan to use the powder, you may or may not want to include pepper. For example, if you're making broth for someone who is feeling under the weather or highly sensitive to spicy foods, feel free to omit the pepper.

Preparation tip

If you include oil in your diet, try adding just a few drops of a mild-tasting olive oil to the broth once it's prepared. Oil contributes a richness that would normally be found in chicken stock and broth (which obviously includes fat from the chickens). 🙁

Ways to use it

Now the fun part! Use this vegan chicken broth powder to make a vegan version of chicken noodle soup. Try it with soy curls, cubed tofu, or shredded seitan.

Speaking of soy curls, use this broth to re-hydrate soy curls for use in all sorts of recipes. Why re-hydrate them in plain water when you can add so much flavor?

Replace the bouillon called for in this Seitan Turkey Roast with this DIY version, and add it to seitan sausage for extra flavor.

Include a tablespoon or two of powder when cooking rice, quinoa, and other grains.

Also include this powdered seasoning when cooking lentils, curries, stews, and chili. Reduce the salt you would normally add to account for the saltiness of this seasoning.

And stir it into creamy pasta sauces, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy.

The next time you see a recipe that calls for vegan chicken broth or bouillon you're all set! No need to search the store aisles or order specialty products online.

I hope you love the recipe as much as we do! If you try it I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

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