I used the last of the veggie broth we had in the house when I made soup, and it turns out that my husband had been saving that for the breakfast he cooks (that lasts him all week). I know a lot of recipes say “broth or water” but what could we add to the water to make it taste more like broth and change the recipe least?
Uh… you could add vegetables to the water and then simmer them. then you would have vegetable broth.
If you are asking if there’s some magic combination of non-vegetable yet vegetarian items that will make water taste like vegetable broth, the answer is no. (vegetable broth bouillion cubes aside).
If you are asking if there something you can add to water to give it more taste than “nothing” then you could try some dried herbs of your choice. Its hard to recommend something specific without knowing what other flavors will be present.
Do you have any veggies lying around? Making veggy broth is dead easy; if you’ve got an onion, some celery, and a carrot or two, just peel them and throw them in a few cups of water and bring to a very low simmer for an hour. Bonus points if you throw in peppercorns, garlic, and a bay leaf. Really, almost any veggy works - just grab whatever you have in the fridge, peel & trim, and go to town.
You can make a very quick vegetable broth with grated or finely minced (use a food processor) carrot, celery, and onion. Simmer those in water for 15 minutes then strain and use. If you have no vegetables on hand then try adding spices like celery salt, onion salt, bay leaf, and parsley for flavour.
One of the BEST cheats that I know for veggie broth is … V-8 juice! Granted, it will turn everything pinkish red, but the flavor is outstanding.
Another great cheat is to buy dried mushrooms at an Asian market. You won’t believe how cheap things are in an Asian market, plus it’s fun to shop there. Soak an assortment of dried mushrooms in warm water, and Voilá! Broth! Strain the broth through a coffee filter, because sometimes there is grit in the mushrooms.
~VOW
We don’t have any veggies lying around. We have a few bags of frozen veggies that are destined for side dishes but I don’t want to waste a whole bag of frozen veggies on the broth.
In a similar vein, I try to keep tomato juice on hand for adding to things like lasagna or baked ziti, VOW — particularly if I am freezing them. The pasta ends up absorbing so much of the liquid it really help keep things pert and saucy.
Good suggestions… I just remembered we do have some celery so we cold use that, onion salt, parsley, and bay leaf… maybe that will work.
Well, if he’s going out, he may as well just stop at the grocery and buy a new thing of veggie broth. 
The V8 juice we do have. I’ll suggest it to him.
It turned out we needed cheese for later (dinner) anyway so he ran to the store and is buying vegetable broth, but I’m saving this thread for the next time I’m making stuffing or something else that says “broth or water” because this would probably taste better! Thanks for all the tips! Maybe I’ll print it out and put it in my cookbook notebook.
When I make veggie broth I simmer the odds and ends of veggies, strain it out, then save it and do it a couple more times in the same liquid. Sometimes you need to add a little more water, to cover the veggies adequately, but after two or three simmerings you get a really flavorful broth.
Then you can reduce it even further if you want to flavor sauces or gravy. Just put the broth on the lowest temp setting and simmer until the liquid is greatly evaporated. All the flavor is concentrated in a much smaller amount.
And you can take the reduced broth and freeze it in the ice tray.
Good ideas! I’ve actually never made my own broth. I really should do it next time I have veggie odds and ends around, and then freeze it like MrDibble suggested.