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There’s nothing more comforting than a delicious soup recipe on a chilly day, and so many of them start with the same simple ingredient: chicken broth. Its one of the best pantry staples—Ree Drummond always has a few cartons or cans on hand. But what if you’re all set to make your recipe, your veggies are already chopped and in the pot, and you reach into the pantry to find out that you don’t have any chicken broth on hand? Fear not, because there are some easy chicken broth substitutes to help you make your favorite stews and instant pot soups, like French Onion Potato Soup and Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.
Chicken broth isn’t just for making soup either: You can use it to deglaze a skillet and make a yummy pan sauce, or chicken broth can be a flavorful braising liquid for meats like Rees garlicky Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs. Of course, you can make your own broth, but youll need a good couple of hours to do it—not exactly a quick solution. Dont worry: These chicken broth substitutes will save you! Before you run out to the grocery store or scratch the whole thing and order takeout, read on to find a chicken broth swap that you already have in your kitchen.
Yes, you can substitute water for chicken broth when cooking rice or pasta, but keep in mind that it will affect the flavor of the final dish. Water is a neutral liquid, while chicken broth adds a savory and flavorful element to the food.
If you are the kind of person who makes homemade chicken stock on the regular and keeps it frozen in various sized containers for all your cooking needs, I truly commend you. Quality homemade stock will invariably add great depth of flavor and body to a recipe. But it’s a luxury, not a necessity—it gilds the lily, as they say. Why? Because a great number of soups, stews, and braises essentially build their own stock while they cook, so starting with a base stock isn’t really necessary. Hearty soups with relatively long cook times like minestrone, for example, are chock-full of aromatics and flavor-lending ingredients like bacon, onions, and garlic. These infuse the water with their flavor and produce a clean-tasting broth all on their own. And when dried beans are involved? Forget it! Those little legumes create such a delicious broth as they cook that adding almost anything to it would be a crime.
When should you go through the trouble of using stock instead of water? Only in cases where the flavor of the stock is really essential—it wouldnt be chicken soup without good chicken stock—or when not many other aromatics are worked into the recipe, as for risotto or French onion soup. Generally speaking, though, water should be seen as a functional ingredient all on its own. Try using it instead of stock for your next stew or braise and save yourself time, effort, and money. Once you go water, you might never go back.
Here at Basically, were all about streamlining recipes. That means not calling for two ingredients where one will do, and cutting only the right corners. One ingredient I have learned to forsake, with very little detriment to most recipes, is chicken stock. Whether we’re talking about a homemade version or the store bought kind, calling for chicken stock is…kind of annoying. No matter how much you try, you almost never seem to have the good homemade stuff around when you need it, and the boxed stuff from the store, well, leaves something to be desired, and spoils quickly to boot. Fortunately, we’re here to let you in on a game-changing secret: Water makes a more than acceptable replacement for chicken stock in most soups, stews, sauces, and braises. And in many cases, water actually produces a better-tasting result.
There are some keys to amping up flavor when using water instead of stock. Make sure you really season your cooking liquid aggressively. Store-bought stock especially tends to have a lot of added salt, so if you’re switching to water you’re probably going to have to add more salt than you’re used to adding. Consider introducing flavor boosters, like a splash of white wine, an old Parm rind, a splash of soy sauce, or a dollop of miso paste into the mix. And, if all else fails, increasing the quantity of the aromatics in a recipe—onions, garlic, celery, herbs, etc.—goes a long way as far as building flavor is concerned. Just make sure you give the ingredients time and space to give up the good stuff by simmering slowly and gently.
Chicken Broth Substitute: Water
Youre sure to have this on hand! If your recipe calls for a small amount of broth for deglazing a pan or thinning out a soup, stew or sauce, try water instead. You may want to add a few more seasonings like salt, pepper, or dried herbs to get the full flavor the chicken broth would provide. If youre making a brothy soup though, like chicken noodle soup, water is not the best substitute.
9 Easy Chicken Broth Substitutes
FAQ
Can I use water if I dont have enough broth?
What to do if you don’t have enough broth?
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Can I use water if I dont have stock?