11 Ways to Fancy Up a Box of Store-Bought Broth (2024)

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Meghan Splawn

Meghan Splawn

Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.

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updated Nov 19, 2019

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11 Ways to Fancy Up a Box of Store-Bought Broth (1)

Soup season is here, and while I’m sure we’d all love to be that home cook who always has homemade broth stocked in the freezer, the reality is sometimes you’ve got to make really good store-bought broth into really great homemade soup. So first find a brand of broth you love, and then enhance it with one (or more) of these kitchen staples.

1. Add spices.

Whole spices are a fast and easy way to doctor up homemade broth. Lightly crushed peppercorns can enhance chicken broth destined for chicken and dumplings, or you can add cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and coriander to beef broth for a quick interpretation of pho.

Try it: How To Make Quick Vietnamese Beef Noodle Pho

2. Add aromatics.

Celery, carrots, and onions are standard soup starters, but you can also add fragrant ginger and garlic to a simmering pot of store-bought broth. When deciding whether to add the aromatics in whole parts or finely chopped, keep the final flavors and texture in mind. Lightly crushed garlic cloves lend a delicate flavor, while minced cloves will be quite strong.

3. Simmer with fresh herbs.

Bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, sage, lemongrass, and lime leaves are simple upgrades to store-bought stock. Also consider saving herb stems for quickly simmering in soup broth instead of using whole herbs.

4. Throw in a cheese rind.

Save your Parmesan rinds for soup fodder. These leftovers make for an incredibly savory broth. My favorite place to use them? In the broth for a hearty minestrone soup.

Try it: Easy Green Minestrone

5. Simmer with fruit peels.

This suggestion might raise an eyebrow or two, but citrus peel is not an uncommon addition to soups. Thai coconut soup can be made with lime peel in place of its infamous lime leaves. I even know a chef who is fond of whole apples in his pho broth, so a few apple peels in a chicken broth destined for cheese soup sounds ideal.

Try it: How To Make Tom Kha Gai: The Best Method for Most Home Cooks

6. Add a sprinkle of smoked salt.

Pho relies on charred aromatics for its smoky background flavor, and while you can absolutely replicate this step and add those aromatics to store-bought beef broth, smoked salt is a fast and easy way to add smoky flavor to broth. Be cautious of the store-bought broth’s sodium content before trying the enhancement.

7. Add a sauce.

Soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, or chili paste can quickly and efficiently flavor store-bought broth — a little bit goes along way with these ingredients. We often add a few drops of fish sauce to chicken broth before making wonton soup.

Try it: Won Ton Soup

8. Stir in miso paste.

Many of us know and love miso from miso soup, but its addition to broth isn’t limited to miso soup. For the best results, add this thick flavorful paste at the end of cooking when the soup will no longer come to a boil.

9. Add a splash of white wine.

Depending on the wine, a splash of wine can either enhance store-brought broth with a subtle sweetness or a nice acidity. This is another addition that is best made at the end of cooking.

10. Add a little vinegar.

My favorite chile recipe calls for a splash of apple cider vinegar (it supposedly aids digestion), and many French onion soup recipes call for a thimbleful of sherry vinegar for serving. This is another one to add just before eating.

Try it: How To Make French Onion Soup in the Slow Cooker

11. Concentrate it.

This is one of my favorite tricks that I learned from mastering tom kha gai. Bringing store-bought broth to a boil and reducing it by half vastly improves its texture and body. If you’re looking for a really flavorful base for chicken noodle soup, this will do the trick. Use a wide, shallow pan for this step to cut the time in half.

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11 Ways to Fancy Up a Box of Store-Bought Broth (2024)

FAQs

11 Ways to Fancy Up a Box of Store-Bought Broth? ›

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says.

How do you make store bought broth richer? ›

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says.

How to make boxed beef broth better? ›

  1. Parmesan Rinds. I keep a container of Parmesan rinds in my freezer at all times for dropping into slowly simmering soups, tomato sauce, and beans. ...
  2. Dried Mushrooms. ...
  3. Fermented, Spicy Pastes. ...
  4. Sautéed or Roasted Aromatics. ...
  5. Garlic (Lots of It) ...
  6. Woody Herbs. ...
  7. Warm Spices.
Oct 27, 2022

What to add to store bought bone broth to make it taste better? ›

How do you make store bought bone broth taste better? You can make store bought bone broth taste better by doing any of the following: Add spices including curry powder and allspice. Add aromatics like onions, celery and carrots.

How long is boxed chicken broth good after the expiration date? ›

An unopened box of chicken broth lasts up to one year past the printed date. If the unopened box of broth is stored properly — in a dry and cool place — and the marked sell-by date is within the year, your box is safe to use.

How to improve boxed broth? ›

11 Ways to Fancy Up a Box of Store-Bought Broth
  1. Add spices. Whole spices are a fast and easy way to doctor up homemade broth. ...
  2. Add aromatics. ...
  3. Simmer with fresh herbs. ...
  4. Throw in a cheese rind. ...
  5. Simmer with fruit peels. ...
  6. Add a sprinkle of smoked salt. ...
  7. Add a sauce. ...
  8. Stir in miso paste.

How can I improve store bought soup? ›

Here are some ideas to liven up your canned soups and make them taste more like homemade:
  1. Sauté some onions and/or garlic: Low and slow is the way to go. ...
  2. Add protein: Leftover chicken or steak, some cooked diced ham or bacon or sausage (just a little — that soup is already salty).
Apr 25, 2023

How do you dress up beef broth? ›

SOME CHOICE COMBOS
  1. BEEF BROTH + GINGER + WHOLE STAR ANISE + LIME JUICE + FRESH CHILIES.
  2. CHICKEN BROTH + TURMERIC + GROUND CORIANDER + APPLE CIDER VINEGAR + GHEE.
  3. CHICKEN BROTH + ROSEMARY + LEMON ZEST + GARLIC + RED PEPPER FLAKES.
  4. BEEF BROTH + LEMONGRASS + GARLIC + COCONUT OIL + CILANTRO.
Feb 18, 2021

Why do you put vinegar in beef broth? ›

Then add apple cider vinegar, which is added primarily because the acidity breaks down the collagen and makes it more abundant in the broth. You can also sub lemon juice, but we prefer apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.

What can I add to beef broth to drink? ›

Parsley + Cilantro

Parsley is full of vitamins A, B, and C, and is wonderful in supporting a healthy immune system. In a saucepan, bring bone broth, salt, parsley, and cilantro to a boil. Reduce and simmer for 5 minutes, then strain into a mug and enjoy!

Why do I feel better after drinking bone broth? ›

Some believe this gelatin layer in bone broth provides amino acids that help reduce inflammation and lead to better sleep. Bone broth enthusiasts also claim ingesting collagen improves their joint pain, while alleviating some osteoarthritis symptoms in the knees.

Does bone broth help you lose weight? ›

Bone broth can be a part of a healthy weight loss regime. It is loaded with protein—about 10 grams per serving—that can help you feel full for longer. This extra protein can also assist in building lean muscle mass, which in turn enables your body to burn more calories throughout the day.

What makes beef bone broth taste better? ›

Turmeric, cayenne pepper, and ginger can also be added for extra flavor and possibly even some nutritional benefits. Just make sure that you choose your seasonings based on the type of bone broth you're trying to make and the flavor you're trying to create by the end of it. Not all broths are created equal.

Is there a difference between broth and stock? ›

Stock is generally made from bones, and broth is generally made from flesh. In both cases, they are often supported with aromatic vegetables, but in the case of stock, left unseasoned for maximum flexibility in recipes, whereas broth will usually contain at least salt and pepper.

Can I use 2 week old chicken stock? ›

Information. Chicken broth can be refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen (for best quality) for 2-3 months.

How to tell if boxed chicken broth is bad? ›

Your chicken stock should only smell like fresh chicken; anything else is a sign that it needs to go. If you cannot tell by sniffing, pour a little of the liquid into a clear glass container to check for a change of color and signs of cloudiness or mold, all of which point to bad chicken stock.

What makes a broth rich? ›

The trick to getting a rich creamy soup is to use parts of the chicken that have a lot of collagen and fat, cooking them long enough to allow the collagen to break down into gelatin, and then emulsifying the fat into the stock.

How do you thicken store bought stock? ›

Gelatin is found in homemade stock made by boiling animal bones, and it's what gives the resulting stock a rich, lip-sticking body. To make store-bought stock just as rich, add unflavored gelatin powder, which is easier to measure and dissolves more quickly, or sheet gelatin, which has less of an aftertaste.

What is richer broth or stock? ›

As a result, stock is usually a healthier product, delivering a richer mouth feel and deeper flavor than broth. Stock is a versatile culinary tool that can deliver taste to any number of dishes. Darker in color and more concentrated in flavor than broth, it's ideal for use in soups, rice, sauces and more.

How to make vegetable broth more flavorful? ›

Just warm up the broth, toss in some parsley, cilantro, tarragon, sage, thyme, or a combination, and let the broth steep like tea for several minutes before fishing the herbs out. Don't boil fresh herbs in broth, though, or they could make the stock bitter.

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