Is Chicken Broth Vegan? Can Vegans Eat Chicken Broth?

Chicken Broth is not vegan since it contains chicken meat, which is not vegan-friendly.

Who didn’t love chicken when they were kids, though? I must admit. Chicken was also one of my favorite food when I was young and not vegan. Now? It’s a no, no.

Chicken Broth or chicken bouillon is a liquid made with chicken simmered in water to make it savory and is used in many different dishes. So the key ingredient in making chicken broth is apparently chicken, which vegans avoid.

If you’re wondering about chicken broth, let’s talk about it here.

What Is A Broth?

A broth, also known as bouillon, is used as a flavor enhancer in many dishes such as soups, sauces, gravies, and many more.

Its history can be dated back to the early 1700s in Great Britain when it was used as a nutrition source for the sick, like patients suffering from dysentery.

In the 20th century, dehydrated broths in the form of bouillon cubes were commercialized.

Some would eat liquid broth alone since it’s already seasoned or salted, but it’s more common as an ingredient in many different dishes. A broth can be either chicken, beef, pork, fish, or vegetables.

Sometimes, the broth is mistaken as stock, which other cooks would consider the same. However, many cooks suggest that they’re different, especially in ingredients.

Stock is made using animal bones, contrary to the meat that’s used in the broth. The stock also has a thicker texture due to the presence of gelatin.

It’s also cooked longer than the broth, which gives it a more intense taste. Additionally, the stock is unseasoned for other cooking purposes.

In the United Kingdom and Scotland, the broth is referred to as the liquid in a soup with pieces of meat, vegetables, or fish, while the stock is a plain liquid.

Chicken Broth Is Not Vegan

Chicken broth contains chicken meat and is seasoned with different herbs and spices and simmered in water for a short period of time.

While the seasonings are vegan-friendly, the chicken meat itself is not, which makes this savory liquid not suitable for vegans.

In vegan cooking, vegetable broth is widely used as a replacement for chicken broth or any other meat-flavored broth. However, most vegetable broth comes in the form of a seasoning powder that mocks the non-vegan flavor enhancer.

Make Your Own Vegan Chicken Broth

While there are several vegan seasonings you can buy from the shelves, sometimes it’s fun and exciting to make your own at home.

The ingredients are almost everywhere, and it’s also easy and quick to prepare. As soon as you have it you can already make the seasoning as a flavor enhancer for your next dishes prepared at home.

Ingredients

• 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 ½ tbsp. onion powder
• ¼ tsp. ground turmeric
• ½ tsp. dried thyme
• ½ tsp. dried sage
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley
• 2 tsp. celery salt
• ½ tsp. paprika

What you need

• Blender or food processor
• Airtight container

What to do

• Using a food processor or blender, whiz all the ingredients into a powder.
• Place the powder in an airtight container, so it lasts for months.
• To make the powder into a vegan chicken broth, dissolve 2 tsp. of the seasoning powder into 250 ml of boiling water.

Vegan Broth Brands To Buy

Don’t worry. If you’re a little busy or a little lazy like me, you can always get vegan broth straight from the shelves at your local supermarket or buy it on Amazon.

• Orrington Farms Vegan Broth Base & Seasoning
• BEYOND BROTH Organic Vegan Broth
• Zoup! Vegetable Broth
• Morga USDA-ORGANIC Vegetable Bouillon Powder
• Rapunzel Pure Vegan Vegetable Bouillon
• Cook’s Delight Non-GMO Vegan Stock
• Spice + Leaf Premium Vegan Broth Base
• RC Fine Foods Vegan Gluten-Free Base
• Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Broth
• Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth
• Edward & Sons Bouillon Cubes
• Bou Bouillon Cubes
• Massel Plant-Based Stock Cubes
• Kitchen Basics Stock and Bone Broth
• Pacific Foods Broth
• Nona Lim Bone Broth

Popular Dishes With Broth

The world has an extraordinary food industry that promises delicious and delightful dishes, may it be vegan or non-vegan.

As for the broth, this popular flavor enhancer has been a household name among cooks for helping them achieve that meaty umami taste of a dish. Every country has its own delicacy, which makes broth extremely useful.

These dishes are mostly native to their own country of origin, although some of them have also reached other countries throughout the world.

• Canja de galinha. Simply known as Canja, or chicken congee, this is a famous chicken soup in Brazil, Portugal, and Cape Verde. It’s usually boiled in broth.
• Rosol. This is a traditional soup based on meat broth native to Poland served with capellini pasta. A vegetarian version is made with oil or butter.
• Scotch broth. This filling soup originated in Scotland but is now known in many parts of the world. It’s made with barley, meat like mutton, lamb, or beef, root veggies, dried lentils, and cabbage, among others.
• Bouillon. Also known as bouyon, this soup is native to Haiti. It’s made with sliced meat, sliced plantains, potatoes, yam, watercress, spinach, celery, and cabbage.
• Court-bouillon. This is used for poaching fish or other seafood. It’s quickly cooked in seasonings, white wine, water, and salt without gelatin. Sometimes, it’s also used for poaching eggs, vegetables, cockscombs, sweetbreads, and delicate meats.

Nutrition Facts

Meat broth has an extremely high sodium content simply because it’s packed with seasonings and other flavored powder to achieve the umami taste. This is why it’s widely used as a flavor enhancer in many different dishes.

The following figures are based on 100 g of meat broth.

• Calories: 267
• Total Fat: 14 g
• Cholesterol: 13 mg
• Sodium: 23,875 mg
• Potassium: 309 mg
• Total Carbs: 18 g
• Protein: 17 g

Equivalent to 994%, the sodium level in meat broth is extremely alarming for every 100 g. It’s not a great idea to include too much broth in your dish due to its high sodium content.

Excessive sodium can lead to adverse health effects over time. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend not to exceed 2,300 mg of sodium intake per day.

Otherwise, over time, it will cause high blood pressure, kidney failure, gall stones, stroke, heart disease, stomach cancer, and many more.

But you should also have at least 500 mg of sodium per day to keep things mobilized and healthy for you.

Best Vegetable Broth

Vegan cooking isn’t as difficult as others think, and we know that. Nowadays, there have been a lot of food manufacturers who have joined the bandwagon in producing vegan substitutes for meat or ingredients with animal by-products.

Not only that, but homemade vegan cooking has also been a thing, especially for those who are too scared to eat out knowing that non-vegan restaurants may be making vegan dishes that are contaminated.

But what are the vegetables best for making broth? Here’s what I think are the best ones.

• Mushrooms. Okay, they might be classified as vegetables, but mushrooms are part of the Fungi Kingdom. They are low in calories and sodium with zero to little fat and cholesterol.
  • The best thing about mushrooms is that they give the umami taste that meat gives to any dish. This is why mushrooms are popular in many vegan dishes as a substitute for ground meat, particularly beef and pork.
  • Mushrooms are also rich in potassium, vitamin B, copper, and antioxidants.
• Tomatoes. While tomatoes are classified as fruits, they are similar to mushrooms that give that umami taste. Tomatoes contain glutamates, which cause the rich and meaty flavor that they give.
  • Tomatoes are a good source of lycopene, folate, potassium, vitamin K, vitamin C, and more.
• Carrots. Because of their earthy, sweet, and woody taste, carrots also make a good vegetable broth for any kind of vegan cooking.
  • Carrots are loaded with vitamin C, potassium, calcium, iron, and other important minerals our body needs.
• Celery. Yes, celery it is. It has crunchy stalks that make a good vegetable broth perfect for dishes that require both mild and strong flavors.
  • Celery is packed with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, and potassium and is also low in sodium and the glycemic index.
• Parsnips. These are similar to carrots and are also classified as root vegetables. Their skin and flesh are cream in color and are a little sweeter with a hint of herbs and spice. This is one reason why they’re great as vegetable broth.
  • Parsnips are rich in calcium, vitamin C, folate, iron, potassium, and many more.

The Bottom Line

Chicken broth is not vegan-friendly as it includes chicken meat alongside other seasonings.

While it has become a staple in the cooking industry throughout the world, chicken broth is not considered in vegan cooking despite the idea that it’s already in its liquid form.

The best thing to do is to get a replacement suitable for vegans, such as vegetable broth and seasoning powder.

There are many seasoning powder brands out there that you can consider, such as Old Bay Seasoning, which I’ve also written about here.