If vegetarian chicken broth, non-fat, low-sodium has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 27 recipes to try it in.

What is vegetarian chicken broth, non-fat, low-sodium?

Vegetarian chicken broth is a meat-free broth built to taste like chicken. There is no bird in it.

The savory, poultry-like flavor comes instead from vegetables, yeast, onion, and gentle seasonings. This particular version is also non-fat and low-sodium, which makes it a useful base when you are watching either.

It gives you the familiar comfort of chicken broth in a dish that needs to stay vegetarian or vegan.

It comes as a carton of ready liquid, or as a powder or paste you reconstitute. However it is sold, the job is the same: a savory, golden, chicken-style backbone without the animal.

Cooking With It

Use it exactly where a recipe asks for chicken broth or stock.

It carries soups, risottos, gravies, and the braising liquid for vegetables, and it keeps the whole dish vegetarian without anyone missing the meat.

It is the natural choice for meat-free comfort food. A Veggie Meatloaf with Checca Sauce leans on it for savory depth, and it moistens grains beautifully in a Barley-Mushroom Pilaf.

It does quiet work in lighter cooking too. A splash simmers the vegetables in Stir Fried Fresh Lotus Root and forms the gentle poaching liquid under Poached Eggs over Spinach & Mushrooms.

Flavor and Pitfalls

The flavor reads savory and rounded but lighter than real chicken broth. It misses the fat and gelatin a simmered carcass gives, so a soup made with it can taste a touch thin.

A spoon of olive oil or a knob of butter at the end restores some of that richness. And lean into what it does have: the yeasty, umami backbone loves mushrooms, thyme, a little miso, and a squeeze of lemon to lift it.

Because this version is low-sodium, treat it as a blank base rather than a finished broth. It will taste flat straight from the carton, so plan to season the dish with salt and aromatics as you build it. That is the upside of low-sodium: the salt is in your hands.

One label note. Most are vegan, but some chicken-flavored broths use egg or dairy, so check if that matters to you.

Substitutes

The simplest swap is any vegetable bouillon, a vegetable stock cube or spoon of paste in hot water, plus a pinch of nutritional yeast to nudge it toward poultry.

A good vegetable stock works in almost any recipe, though it tastes more of vegetables than of chicken. If the dish does not need to stay meat-free, real chicken broth is the obvious stand-in, just add salt to match if yours was low-sodium.

In a pinch, water with a little soy sauce and dried herbs covers most soups and braises.

Buying and Storing

Look for cartons or jars labeled vegetarian or vegan chicken-flavored broth, often near the regular broths or in the natural-foods aisle. Powder and paste forms pack the most flavor per spoon and keep the longest.

An unopened carton keeps for months in the pantry. Once you open it, treat it like fresh: refrigerate and use it within about 4 to 5 days, since a low-sodium broth has less salt to slow spoilage and can turn faster than a salty one.

Freeze what you will not use soon. Ice cube trays give you splashes for pan sauces, and quart containers handle soup nights, up to about 6 months. For the general rules on stock versus broth and how seasoning concentrates, see the main stock page.

Quick facts

Where to find vegetarian chicken broth, non-fat, low-sodium: Vegetarian chicken broth, non-fat, low-sodium is usually found in the canned goods section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

素食鸡汤，不含脂肪，低钠盐

British (UK) term

Vegetarian chicken broth, non-fat, low-sodium

en français

bouillon de poulet végétarien, non gras, faible en sodium

en español

caldo de pollo vegetariano, sin grasa, baja en sodio

Recipes using vegetarian chicken broth, non-fat, low-sodium

There are 27 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 27 recipes