Best packaged vegetable bouillon according to redditors
We found 46 Reddit comments discussing the best packaged vegetable bouillon. We ranked the 17 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 46 Reddit comments discussing the best packaged vegetable bouillon. We ranked the 17 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Since you're on this sub, you probably can't afford to spend 7-10 bucks a day on lunch at your job. I HATE sandwiches so the best thing to do was this.
My variation/generalization of the Serious Eats post on the idea found here.
Each of these is a pint jar (mine are blue, ignore the weird color), and at lunch time just fill up with hot water (I use the hot water spout on the coffee machines) and let steep for 3 minutes or so, and enjoy.
Per Jar you'll need (all oz are weight)
Cook the noodles like normal, drain, then rinse the noodles with cold water to stop the cooking. If the noodles overcook then they'll be soggy in the jar. Drizzle a little amount of olive oil to coat the noodles and add a little flavor.
YO YOU BEST NOT OVERCOOK THEM NOODLES CUZ DAM SON YO NOODLES GONN BE SOGGY YO
The 3 oz of protein can basically be anything, just not raw. Beef jerky, any kind of beans, shrimp, shredded chicken, etc. The meat in mine is home-made roast beef.
Slice the onion/shallot thinly or dice finely depending on what you like. The other vegetable can again be personal preference. I'm using shaved radishes and carrots since I had that on hand. Frozen vegetables work perfectly fine, just make sure the vegetables are in small pieces, like frozen peas or break up the block of spinach.
The good bouillon is probably the most expensive part, if you can get something like Better than Bouillon it works great, if that's too pricy you can use a regular dry block of bouillon. Normally I'd use a whole TBSP of bouillon, but my roast beef was heavily spiced so I cut back a little.
Lastly salt,pepper and herb to taste. Mine have thyme and oregano in them. I don't have fresh herb, but the serious eats people like to keep fresh herbs on hand and put them in after the soup has steeped.
Since I splurged on my meat these are a little more expensive, but overall its very cheap. A 1 pound box of noodles makes 16 of these jars, and if you buy your vegetables on sale its very cheap. Mine came out to be about 2.50 a jar. Try them out and let me know what combinations you did!
Here's a list that I keep posting anytime someone asks for vegetarian crock pot recipes. Not all of them are "dump & forget", but all of them are great!
>cooking a simple butternut squash
>sweet & spicy chili with that butternut squash - SO GOOD!
>quinoa stuffed peppers - sub TVP or minced seitan for the beef
>veggie lasagna - this one's so good it's in regular rotation! you can put pretty much any veggies in that you want. i usually get a bag of frozen squash to toss in there. or you can do just spinach. or whatever you like honestly
>tortilla soup - instructions aren't for crockpot, but just toss it all in and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low 4-6
>french onion soup - this one requires some conversion to be vegetarian and crockpot friendly. i do the first step for caramelizing the onions in the oven, then transfer the onions to the crockpot for the rest of the instructions and then simmer on low for 3-4 hours. substitute not-beef bullion cubes and vegetable broth for the meat broths. traditional worchestershire sauce isn't veg-friendly either, but there is a vegan brand out there somewhere (can't remember the name right now)
>stuffed cabbage rolls. i added some TVP to the stuffing too, and it was great!
>aloo gobi - not written as a crockpot recipe, but just toss it all in and turn it on high. usually takes ~5-6 hours on high for the potatoes to get fully tender. if you use red potatoes, it might not take as long since those are more tender. not spicy at all, so i highly recommend adding some chilies, habanero, or ground spicy pepper if you want spicy!
>chana masala - i added some blackeyed peas i had in the freezer, and it was a great addition!
>eggplant parmesan - this one is excellent!
>mexican casserole - pretty good, but i still prefer making something like this in the oven (with crushed tortilla chips and cheese on top, which gets nice and crispy)
>scalloped potatoes - this one has a can of condensed soup in the ingredients, which i don't like to do. but i've successfully subbed this from-scratch 'cream of anything' (with vegetable broth, of course)
>quinoa chili - so so excellent. the quinoa gives it a nice thick texture. the instructions aren't for a slowcooker, but just toss all the ingredients in and let her cook on high 4ish or low 8ish hours.
>white bean and spinach soup - a hearty, delicious soup for cold winter days.
>another good and simple one is tossing potatoes wrapped in foil on top of whatever you're cooking. rub them down with some olive oil and season with salt/whatever then wrap em up tight. works with regular potatoes or sweet potatoes.
>seitan - super versatile, but I like it best just sliced thin on cold sandwiches. Also pretty good chunked up in pot pies
>falafel - I haven't tried this one yet, but it looks great!
>red lentil dal
>honey glazed carrots - haven't tried it yet, but it sounds great!
Great questions /u/bezjones & /u/reddstudent & /u/mfdaw & /u/Drmadanthonywayne! I've been mostly vegan for over a year and strict vegetarian for 10 years. When I was vegetarian I was becoming lactose intolerant (threw up after eating ice cream, felt terrible after eating pizza), so I gave up cheese. Then eventually, reluctantly, yogurt. Then my politics caught up with my food choices & I was fully vegan. Here are some things I have been eating much of for Keto:
Things I want to try:
Here are some frustrations:
You might look for better than bullion It's a thick paste that you mix with water to make broth, that I'm my opinion is a lot better than the cubes.
Man, I fucking love squid ink pasta. Here's a recipe that I make often for a lobster reduction sauce that pairs well with this kind of pasta:
Was it this stuff? Because I did the exact same thing! Thankfully they do have a vegan version available. But I know how you feel, it's really annoying to slip up on something so innocent sounding.
Vegetable Bouillon is an awesome replacement. I've used it in recipes and had meat eaters comment on how it's even better than chicken stock.
However, it's packed with sodium, so you have to adjust your amount of salt if you use it.
Oh, and I don't trust any of the vegetable broths you can buy in the store. They are always too sweet for my taste.
In the context of adding umami,
This https://www.amazon.com/Edward-Sons-Not-Beef-Bouillon-3-1-Ounce/dp/B00113SKZW
and this https://www.amazon.com/Edward-Sons-Not-Chickn-Bouillon-2-5-Ounce/dp/B00113ZTVK/ref=pd_bxgy_325_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3BWB187WQ2KT1T0EZC05
add a ton of umami while being vegan, and easily find-able in any grocery store.
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Ham-Base/dp/B00016LA8E
hi-5 /u/omitoe
[Rapunzel!] (http://www.amazon.com/Rapunzel-Vegetable-Bouillon-2-97-Ounce-Packages/dp/B001E5DZIY/ref=pd_bxgy_gro_img_y) Seriously, try it. When I was working on boats and traveling around a lot, this would be one of the few creature comforts I would bring along. It really has a nice umami flavor. I just want to be clear: I am a Rapunzel vegetable boullion fan. I'll sometimes drink it out of a coffee cup it is so good.
https://www.amazon.com/Marigold-Swiss-Vegetable-Bouillon-150g/dp/B003UG4WMI
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Beef-Vegetarian/dp/B004W9SLPQ?th=1
We found an awesome substitute. Yeah, it's technically vegetable stock, but it's still pretty beefy.
Buy beef bouillon. I prefer "better than buollion" the flavor is SO good!
Better Than Bouillon Beef Base 8 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VDWQXA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_se6aAbB8NMD6B
I made my gravy using Better than Bouillon vegetable base -- would highly recommend using this stuff over any cans or cartons of vegetable broth!
Sodium. Potassium. Magnesium. In that order.
Want to make it easy? Buy bullion paste or cubes. Drink hot broth twice a day with 1/8-1/4 tsp of potassium salt in in. That's what I do. Have some next to me right now as a matter of fact.
This is what I use specifically:
Boullion:
Potassium:
Magnesium:
[Although I recently switched to four of these a day:] (http://www.amazon.com/Cardiovascular-Research-Magnesium-Taurate-Capsules/dp/B00014D5TS/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1450453968&sr=8-2&keywords=magnesium+taurate)
Split pea soup is a dangerous recipe for pressure cookers and should only be attempted by someone who has a lot of experience knowing how to look for signs of trouble due to clogging of the pressure valves from excessive foaming.
All the people here who say the problem is due to overfilling, well, they're wrong. Split pea soup can foam up and clog the vent EVEN THOUGH IT IS WELL BELOW THE MAX FILL LINES. In fact, split pea soup can foam up even when there's only one inch of soup in the pot. The issue isn't merely how much soup that's in the pot, nor how much space is left to allow for some foaming: the most important issue is controlling the foaming itself, which involves the thickness of the soup as the starches absorb the liquid, how much fat and oil is in the soup (since they tend to help reduce foaming), and taking care to AVOID RAPID BOILING of the soup at any time during the pressure cooking process, ESPECIALLY THE DEPRESSURIZATION.
Split pea soup recipes must be drastically altered in order to avoid foaming and to take advantage of pressure cooking.
When using ham hocks, they should be pressure cooked separately before adding any other ingredients. They should be cooked in water or stock for about 20 minutes at full 15psi, or 25 minutes in an InstantPot or other medium pressure cooker. For split pea soup, I highly recommend using a high quality ham base for the cooking liquid, which you can find at restaurant supply stores, at some Walmarts, or on Amazon. Look for the Better than Buillion or similar that has a lot more ham flavor than salt.
After cooking the ham hocks you should strain the liquid to separate the meat and bones, then use a fork to strip the bone of the meat, then dice the meat so that there are no long-stringy pieces. You can then add the meat back to the stock to proceed with the pea soup.
One ingredient you were missing was celery. Celery is the most important flavor of split pea soup, just like how cumin is the most important flavor of chili. However, celery, onion, and carrots cook very quickly under pressure and will turn to mush. That's ok for building up the flavor of the soup, since these are "sacrificial" vegetables that give up their flavor and help to thicken the soup. But the soup will be much better if you reserve part of these vegetable to add only after pressure cooking so that they will retain their flavor, color, and texture so that you can have a more complex and interesting result than pea soup mush. These vegetables will cook relatively quickly without pressure, and it's much safer to cook them without pressure due to the danger of foaming when depressurizing and repressurizing to cook them. It is possible to cook them under pressure if you're very careful, but you don't really save time since doing a natural release takes the same amount of cooking time for them. Barley is also a good grain to add to pea soup if you want a more chunky country texture.
For the pea soup itself, add the split peas to the ham stock along with the sacrificial veggies. Since you like bacon, add it at this time too, but I suggest reserving some bacon bits to add with shredded cheese, green onion and sour cream to add to the bowl on top just before serving.
To pressure cook the split peas, I highly recommend using a stovetop pressure cooker instead of an electric one because you can control the temperature and steam release much better when you know what you're doing. You should minimize the steam that is being released under pressure. You should use very low heat. You should use a larger pressure cooker than normally necessary so that you can maintain a much larger amount of space for foaming above the liquid level. Only use a natural release - meaning just let it sit there and cool off until the pressure goes back to normal. There should not be a lot of steam being released while it's depressurizing. If a lot of steam is being released, then the soup inside is very likely boiling rapidly, which is the cause of the foaming that you want to prevent.
Note that split pea soup will continue to thicken as it cools down. Don't be surprised if the pea soup thickens so much in the fridge that it becomes a solid block of pea soup. It gets more smooth and creamy if you let it fully cool, leave it in the fridge, and then reheat it later by using water or milk to thin it out enough to stir at low heat.
After cooking split pea soup, you need to quickly and carefully clean the pressure cooker lid or the starches and food will solidify like glue inside the valves, which is very dangerous for the next time you use it if you don't do a thorough cleaning.
Better Than Boullion is so awesome, stores only carry Chicken/Beef stock but online you can get ham base (would be killer for ramen), lobster base, mushroom base, even clam base.
http://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Ham-Base/dp/B00016LA8E/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1405215602&sr=1-2&keywords=pork+bouillon
Try adding this stuff when you get a chance, lots of flavor
For something like beef, I'd go with seitan. Instead of using vegetable broth to make the seitan, use "Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base" or you could also use "Not-Beef Cubes". Another tip: If your seitan becomes a little too spongy or wet, wrap it in foil and bake it in 20 minute intervals, checking on it occasionally, making sure it's firm enough. Also, the Gardein Beefless Tips aren't bad either.
Quinoa is incredibly versatile and can be used in so many ways!
A lot of people will have awesome recipes, but I just want to add that if you're doing something like stirfry and want to create a 'meatier' flavour, you can add some vegan 'chicken' or vegan 'beef' bouillon when boiling the quinoa.
Chili is pretty "generic" here. That doesn't mean that it's bad... it's just not distinctive.
I honestly prefer my own chili, which I make with a pound each of ground beef and ground pork, Carroll Shelby's chili mix (with the cayenne and masa flour), a can of green chilies or jalapenos (or a couple chopped fresh jalapenos), and beef base instead of water. I think the mix of meats is the key - the pork gives it a unique, slightly unexpected (in a good way) flavor you don't always get with canned\restaurant chili.
You could try using a spoonful of Better than Boullion's Turkey Base along with the chicken broth to infuse a little bit of that turkey flavour.
I was going for what I already had in the fridge. :-)
This is what I always have on hand. It's way cheaper than this right off the store shelf.
this brand of mushroom powder usually does the trick.
There are already some great suggestions here, but I would add that if you have a favorite soup that isn't obviously meaty, you can probably substitute veggie stock for chicken stock with minimal change to the taste of the soup. I would also add that if you make a lot of soups, keeping Better Than Boullon in the fridge could be a good move. It keeps a long time, and a spoonful in some water means instant veggie stock. The mushroom and "no chicken" versions are good too.
Rapunzel!! Doesn't matter if its the herb version or not as long as it is the kind with salt. (They have a non-salt version. But duh that's not broth-like at all.)
The no-chicken vegetarian broth powder is also good. I see it in bulk at a lot of grocery stores with bulk. It's off-white/yellow with some herb particles scattered throughout.
Thanks for the reply! I mentioned in one of the posts above, electrolytes are a bit of a concern. I take magnesium citrate tablets before bed (400mg in total), and use losalt as much as I can but otherwise it mostly comes from food. Occasionally I might have a cup of this bouillon with extra losalt in it, but that's not daily. Regarding sweeteners, I do have a bottle of EZ-sweetz but try to use it as little as possible, and if I do it's mostly a few drops in my coconut milk porridge or something along those lines.
I've been toying with keto since April but had some ups and downs due to summer trips, etc. Have been sticking with it properly since August.
https://www.amazon.com/Superior-Better-Than-Bouillon-vegetable/dp/B006MUHQWW/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1497115308&sr=8-4&keywords=bouillon
The hard part in making vegetarian soup is getting the right base. This is pretty damn good: https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Vegetarian-Silicone/dp/B01N3SGPCJ/
I know I'm super late to the party.
My SO and I have been doing keto for almost 3 years now and I was with you in thinking that keto is expensive. However, our household took a huge income cut this year we have since changed our outlook on that since we're super broke.
Chicken thighs, whole, and rotisserie chickens are great for meal prepping. I honestly don't even consider just buying breast meat unless it is on sale simply because I think it dries out faster, whereas thigh meat tends to freeze/heat up better IMO.
Creamed spinach and chicken thighs/shredded chicken are the easiest meal prep in the world. I found some old pictures on my phone so please excuse the mess, but you can get the general idea. I bought all of this (and the chicken thighs) from Costco and it was under $100. This was the end result. I can go into more details if you would like. I don't have macros or specific calories but it's keto, filling, and heats up nicely.
I haven't tried it but you can use any type of meat you want for some diversity.
Roasting/boiling a whole chicken will give you a lot of options. Shred it up and make soup, salad, tacos, you name it. If you don't want to eat all of it in one week, freeze it. I've found having at least some of a meal already cooked and frozen has stopped me from going out for non-keto things. Plus if you boil the chicken you can make your own chicken stock.
I found that if I'm not sure what I want I just look on this subreddit. It doesn't take long to stumble upon a shredded chicken recipe like this one posted a few days ago, or where shredded chicken can be subbed in.
Another meal prep idea is pork butt. Throw it in a crockpot with some Better than Bullion (chicken is the best IMO), there's a ton of recipes online just pick one you like. Again, obviously this will make a lot and if you want diversity just freeze most of it for a later date. Pulled pork goes great with so many things, much like the chicken. We even put some in omelettes and it's awesome. 10/10 will have pulled pork omelettes again.
This got way longer than I thought, so I can go into more detail if you would like but I'm just going to stop here.
I drink this and it's fucking delicious. You can pick up this brand at any Whole Foods
So I'm on this highly restricted diet -- kind of like Atkins but without the fat. It's been a dramatic change from cooking with butter and oil and roux etc. to cooking with no fat at all. But I made a shrimp dish that was pretty simple and similar to this one as far as being minimalistic and quick to make.
I took:
Season shrimp with seasoning mix. Heat a cast iron skillet very hot and coat with cooking spray. Toss in the shrimp and mix around for a minute, then toss in the chopped garlic. Sear until shrimp are almost done and sticking to the pan. Pour in the reconstituted lobster stock and a squirt or two of the Sriracha while stirring and scraping the pan. Remove shrimp and put on plate. Then carefully (without igniting yourself) pour in some of the dark rum into the skillet to make a thick hot rummy garlic sauce and scrape the pan clean with the liquid. Remove from heat before it starts to evaporate and pour it over the shrimp. You can use more stock or rum to your liking if you like them saucy. You can also substitute the Vietnamese chili garlic paste for the hot sauce and it works just as well.
As posted, the recipe should equate to less than 250 calories with zero fat (other than what's naturally in the shrimp). I saute onions and zucchini or some other veg in the same skillet to add to the pan flavors and to pick up whatever flavors I can get from the shrimp.
I don't have a rice cooker, but I have a pressure cooker. Still, I've tried it once in there and wasn't impressed. I prefer the old-fashioned stove top way. Sure, you have to time it, but it's great and works really well for me.
My tried and true recipe is straight out of Sushi for Dummies. I use short grain rice (I've only ever used Lundberg Sushi Rice, but any one will do), and rinse it until I am sick of rinsing. This recipe calls for a "splash of saki" and something pickled(?) to add flavor. Since I had neither of those, my tip is to take a bit of condensed stock/base (my favorite is Better Than Bouillion), and mix it up in the water. Which flavor you choose is up to you, but I prefer the vegetable base. I have a lobster base that I've been eager to try, but even with the veggie base, it always comes out delicious enough to eat on it's own, but not overpowering or outshining anything I make with it.
Red curry: probably didn't use enough curry paste and/or didn't cook it off in the pan with a little oil first so the flavors can "bloom." You may have also just used a bland paste or sauce. May I suggest Maesri brand? This container is huge for the price, I've had mine over a year. They have a lot of different kinds of vegan curry pastes, just be sure to read the labels to make sure to read the labels because some do have fish sauce and stuff. Try cilantro and like added at the end of a curry to lighten it up.
Maesri Red Curry Paste 14oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MOTZN0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3DsOAb6PF2Q2X
Rice and bean bowls: cook rice and beans in a vegetable stock if possible. I keep my veggie scraps in the freezer and then once I have enough to fill my stock pot make a bunch of stock and freeze it just for stuff like this. Also cilantro goes a long way in many bowls like this, and you can freeze it between bowls so it doesn't go off. A squeeze of lemon or lime at the end once done can brighten them up. Use sauces/salsas/etc if you fancy. Lastly, try a different brand or strain of rice if you didn't like your rice. Not all rice is equal.
Lentil Loaf: only tried once and wasn't a fan. Can't help there. I prefer just lentils in non loaf form 🤷♀️
EDIT:
Have no stock but want flavor? THESE ARE SO GOOD.
Edward & Sons Not-Beef Bouillon Cubes, 3.1-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00113SKZW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_FLsOAbTYCJDJ5
Again, price seems steep but you get a TON (96 cubes) and they don't go off for ages. I cook my collards in them, use the stock in vegan green bean casserole, cook beans in the stock, and more.
https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillion-Vegetable-Base/dp/B00016LA9S/
I meal prep with this + beans, rice, potatoes, sweet onions, green onions, garlic, bell pepper. Serve with sourdough bread. Super hearty and healthy. Very easy. Good luck!
My grocery stores have the beef base paste. At least the big ones (like a Shoprite in my area). Maybe not Whole Foods or Trader Joes. I find it in the aisle with the cans of broth. The brand is Better than Bouillion (see https://www.amazon.com/Better-Than-Bouillon-Beef-Base/dp/B000VDWQXA). It really tastes much much better than bouillion cubes and is nice to have on hand when you run out of broth (homemade or canned) or your broth is just not strong enough. Some are low"er" sodium. They have many flavors (chicken, beef, roasted veggie, fish, and I think a couple others). I've only used the low sodium chicken and beef so I can't say if the other flavors are good.