Originally published August 18, 2016
A full-flavoured vegetable broth recipe with gut-healing properties, or a "vegan bone broth" alternative!
You might have seen a lot and heard a lot about Bone Broth and its "gut healing" properties in the news and media, as it seems to be a health trend at the moment.
So, in addition to creating a vegan bone broth alternative (recipe below) I decided to look into what exactly it is about bone broth is apparently so fascinating...
and was very underwhelmed.
I'm not a health expert and this article is simply a pool of resources I have combined.
I'd like to provide my thoughts as well as an alternative recipe...
Jump to:
🤷🏻♀️ Why Bone Broth is Nothing Special
Turns out, the most beneficial nutrients and electrolytes in bone broth can be found in vegan-friendly sources and the one thing that sets itself apart, the thing that is impossible for vegans to find a veggie replacement for is the collagen.
Collagen? I'll make my own, thanks
Our bodies can't even digest collagen whole.
We simply absorb the nutrients from our food which provides our bodies with the building blocks it needs to naturally create collagen, if and when it needs it.
There is no evidence that there is an advantage to consuming these amino acids and minerals from bone broth over other foods.
Eating collagen does not equal having more collagen.
As put in this article from TIME magazine, "Just as the dietary fat you swallow doesn’t directly translate to body fat, swallowing collagen doesn’t become collagen in or between your bones."
Kantha Shelke, a food scientist and clinical nutritionist, says "Eating a diet rich in leafy green vegetables is ideal.
Plants offer richer sources in collagen building blocks and, in addition, provide nutrients not found in sufficient quantities in meats or broth."
Healing the stomach lining
And as for it being healing for the stomach lining, particularly from the gelatin, there are some great plant-based alternatives for that too. Particularly fermented foods.
There are many other foods that have been shown to contribute towards healing the stomach lining and digestive tract, such as seaweed, aloe vera, healthy fats and turmeric.
Vitamins and minerals
Obviously, all the calcium, potassium and other minerals found in bone broth are more than easy to find in plant-based foods plus they contain much, much more goodness.
Not to mention you'll be avoiding lead and other harmful heavy metals.
So the animal product-reliant parts are not necessary and are over-hyped.
It's all in aid of making what our bodies already naturally produce and plant-sourced vitamins and minerals are the best option to actually help it do that.
🌱 A Plant-Based Option
So now we've established that the bones in this healing broth are not only unnecessary but also not as nutritious as plant-based sources, it seems pretty clear that using a bunch of wholesome plant-based ingredients is going to be healing.
And way more appealing, too.
Drinking broth has been a go-to, for centuries, as a healing food for when we're sick.
This study suggests that it's more the effect of hot liquid that is beneficial, and not necessarily the minerals or nutrients in the liquid.
Plus soup and hot liquids just feel good.
They're warming, comforting and can taste good.
🥣 Vegan Bone Broth Alternative
My version contains lot's of nutritional goodness that is great for overall health but particularly focuses on plenty of gut-healing properties.
Feel free to switch up, leave out or add in any ingredients you like, to suit your diet and taste.
The main stars are:
- Wakame seaweed:
Great source of omega 3 - one of the best for vegans, act as preobiotics which are great for intestinal health, full of vitamins and minerals (particularly good source of iron, calcium, magnesium and iodine).
Not suitable for SCD diets, leave out as necessary. - Shiitake mushrooms:
Aside from giving the most amazing flavour, these mushrooms have been shown to inhibit inflammation in the gut.
They're also full of amino acids, vitamin D, zinc and B vitamins. - Coconut oil or olive oil:
Mainly to aid in absorbing nutrients but coconut oil also has other properties that help destroy bad bacteria, yeast and lower stomach acid. - Turmeric:
Powerful anti-inflammatory to help with gut inflammation and gut permeability, plus adds delicious flavour and a beautiful colour. - Spinach or kale:
Full of vitamins and fibre.
Spinach has also been found to contain a sulfosugar that lowers gut inflammation. - Coconut aminos:
To add flavour, amino acids and the benefit of probiotics that comes with fermented foods.
May not be suitable for some diets as it's considered a sugar, so leave out if necessary.
You can find it in health food stores or on amazon.
I was worried the seaweed might be overwhelming, as I don't like sea flavours, but it wasn't really noticeable and the little bit that was noticeable was actually delicious.
It paired wonderfully with the mushrooms, ginger, chilli and coconut aminos for an Asian-style flavour.
SO good and wonderfully comforting.
❓FAQ
Do I have to strain the vegetables?
No. I created a broth so it would be completely gentle on the stomach, since a lot of people trying this are experiencing gut issues.
However, keeping the vegetables in the broth or blending it will make a delicious soup, if you prefer.
Do you have nutritional information for this broth?
It is too difficult to try and calculate the nutritional information for broths as the amount of nutrients are too variable.
Adding all the ingredients won't work because the vegetables are strained and therefore difficult to tell how much of the nutrients remain in the broth.
If you want to know for dieting purposes, I can tell you it's very low calorie and the only fat is the small amount of oil that is optional to include.
To add it to your food diary, I would just input it as "vegetable broth" with a small amount of oil.
It is likely to be under 50 calories.
How long does the broth keep for? Can it be frozen?
Once made, allow to cool slightly and keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze it.
I recommend pouring it into an ice cube tray to freeze as it makes it easier to defrost and is handy for small amounts of stock needed for soups, risottos and stews.
📖 Recipe
Gut-Healing Vegetable Broth
A nutritious, gut-healing broth as a vegan alternative to bone broth. If you don't like or can't find any ingredients, don't worry. Add what flavours you like and try to get as much variety and nutritional goodness as you can!
Ingredients
- 12 cups / 2 ¾ litres filtered water
- 1 tbsp coconut oil , or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion, quartered (with skins)
- 1 garlic bulb, smashed
- 1 chilli pepper, roughly chopped (with seeds) - avoid if you have a very sensitive stomach
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, roughly chopped (with skin)
- 1 cup greens, such as kale or spinach
- 3-4 cup mixed chopped vegetables and peelings, I used carrot peelings, red cabbage, fresh mushrooms, leeks and celery
- ½ cup dried shiitake mushrooms
- 30 g dried wakame seaweed
- 1 tbsp peppercorns
- 1 - 2 tbsp ground turmeric (use less for a milder taste)
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos, (see notes)
- A bunch of fresh corriander, or other herb of your choice
- (optional) ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes, for extra flavour and vitamins
Instructions
- Simply add everything to a large pot. Bring to a boil then simmer, with the lid on, for about an hour.
- Once everything has been cooked down, strain the liquid into a large bowl.
- Serve immediately with some fresh herbs, for decoration or cool for later. It also freezes well.
Notes
*Coconut aminos can be very salty, depending on what brand you use so taste before adding any additional salt.
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📖 References and resources
Studies
- The risk of lead contamination in bone broth diets
- Essential and toxic metals in animal bone broths
- Effects of drinking hot water, cold water, and chicken soup on nasal mucus velocity and nasal airflow resistance
- Shiitake Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom, Lentinus edodes (Agaricomycetes), Supplementation Alters Gut Microbiome and Corrects Dyslipidemia (animal study)
- Efficacy and safety of Ayurvedic herbs in diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: A randomised controlled crossover trial
- Sulfoquinovose is a select nutrient of prominent bacteria and a source of hydrogen sulfide in the human gut
Caroline Withers says
I'm not vegan, but I have cut way down on my meat consumption. I thought this broth was lovely. I notice you have two pictures. One picture represents broth only, the other a bowl of broth including the cooked veggies. My "gut" tole me to go ahead and eat the veggies and I ate one of the carrots. Then I strained everything and put the boiled stuff in the compost. I probably should have eaten the veggies too. Thoughts?
P.S. I thought the turmeric level wads perfect.
Anna says
Thank you for this recipe. I have been making an effort to waste less food and this recipe was great. Everything went in the pot: cauliflower greens, carrot peels, parsnip ends, kale stems, etc. It was delicious
Lauren Willett says
Could I use Dulse flakes instead of wakame seaweed? thank you :)
Dina says
What is SCD diet?
Thank you
Momo says
SCD is Specific Carbohydrate Diet, hope this helps.
Elza Bell says
Please cite your research to back your claims.
Amy says
Research ? Dear Lord - it’s a recipe/cooking site. I would suggest if you need research to know that boiling animal bones is not the jam - you might undertake that on your own. Pretty sure comments here should be “yummy” or “not my gig”.
Dylan says
If she’s going to explain why this broth is better for you than a bone broth and not back it up with some references then she must be a vegetable herself for thinking people listen to her nonsense.
Ps ‘Don’t have a cow lady’
Heidi says
Ok ok ok we get it. Bye then
Liney says
I agree. You can claim that this recipe is vegan and good tasting. You can't claim that this recipe is gut healing (and better than bone broth for doing so) unless you say why. Collagen breaks into amino acids (just as fat breaks into it monomers) and that is what is used to heal the gut: " Broth made from the bones of chicken, turkey, duck, beef, lamb pork and/or fish are anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and contain nutrients which help rebuild the integrity of the digestive tract. Most importantly, broth is rich in the amino acids proline and glycine, which help regulate digestion, reduce inflammation, and promote healing in every part of the body" (Dr. Sarah Ballantyne). Proline is particularly important to gut health bc of its use in wound healing and immune responses. Glycine is great for regulating digestion at the level of bile salts. Further, ingredients such as nightshades are irritating to many people and should NOT be in a gut healing broth. What about this recipe has been shown to be good for the gut? As she states above "My version contains lot’s of nutritional goodness that is great for overall health but particularly focuses on plenty of gut-healing properties". The comment above which asks for citations would like to know what the gut healing properties are. It should be stated why these ingredients are good for the gut and from what science you know it from. If an author does not know the science, they should not claim anything definitive - just stick to posting the recipes based on their good taste and good vegan karma. If she does know why, than offer explanation for the claim. For example, this vegan recipe author explains why sea veggies are used as a replacement for bones: https://plenteousveg.com/make-vegan-bone-broth-rivals-paleo-version/ - Glycine and proline!
Joy says
I agree too!
Lucy Reilley says
Bone marrow actually contains 96% fat - and it's where animals concentrate toxins. So whilst in theory bone marrow is healthy, given how polluted the world is today and the industrial scale of animal husbandry (which uses antibiotics, GMO feeds and loads of other crap), bone marrow actually contains a concentration of toxins and heavy metals. Even wild reindeer in the Arctic were found to have high levels of toxins in their bone marrow - imagine industrially farmed cows and chickens!
Jacqueline says
Imagine animals raised eating grass (like they are supposed to) and cared for in a humane way. This is a pillar of the Paleo principles. If the world is polluted so are all the vegetables and certainly the wakame.
Tess says
I do not believe bone of herbivores,,boiled down , with chemicals is nutritious and/or “gut healing” !
It’s ridiculous.
A vegetarian plant based diet is much better for people , the environment and the planet .
Wake up people
Jacquie says
Before you start preaching how bad bone broth is for you because of all the so called toxins and heavy metals in bone marrow. Don't forget about vegetables that you buy in the market that is ladened with pesticides. Washing before use does not remove all the residue. So when you make that so-called healthy vegan broth just think of all the chemicals you are ingesting. Also organic is best when buying veggies but not everyone can afford the over inflated prices. So when you talk about how bad bone broth is for you remember so is vegan broth.
Lindsay Deanna Kill says
Organic veggies are cheaper than factory farmed meat and definitely cheaper than grass fed meat. At least where I live.
Rosi says
Yes, Lindsay Deanna Kill. We can save a lot of money, and also decrease our effects on climate change by eating a vegan diet. When we grow our own vegetables organically, we also decrease the toxic load to our bodies.
It takes a lot of work, and time, to create a new relationship with the earth, and with our bodies, and to keep ourselves healthy.
Cid says
I have to agree with Liney - if you're going to claim that a recipe provides a certain profile, then you really have to be able to back it up with the data. Anyone can claim anything on the internet.... doesn't make it so. When dealing with peoples health, if you are pushing a recipe that claims to be healthful, in this case as good or better than bone broth, then the responsible thing would be to provide evidence to back up your claims. In regards to bones being toxic, anyone who is remotely interested in their health and has bothered to educate themselves a bit, would never use commercial bones. They would only source their ingredients from 100% grass fed humanely raised animals who are not treated with hormones, antibiotics, or other chemicals. I would suspect it would be the same way for vegans and vegetarians, who would either grow their own organic produce or purchase it to avoid the contaminants in our food source. I do think that vegetable broth in most forms from organic produce is always a good thing, and I appreciate this recipe because it advocates using what most folks consider waste; however, it really would have been nice to know why this particular recipe makes the claims it does. Just my 2 cents worth.
vendy says
proline and glycine re contained in seaweed