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Mushroom Broth substitute

Best substitute

Dried mushroom soaking liquid

½ oz (15 g) dried mushrooms steeped in 2 cups very hot water for 20 minutes, used 1:1

Best for risotto

Close match

The best swap is dried mushroom soaking liquid, which is more or less the same thing: steep half an ounce of dried shiitake or porcini in two cups of very hot water for twenty minutes, then pour it off carefully and leave the grit behind. If you have no dried mushrooms, use vegetable broth with a teaspoon of soy sauce per cup, which restores the dark colour and the savoury weight that vegetable broth lacks. Beef broth works measure for measure if the dish does not need to be vegetarian and is arguably better in French onion soup or risotto. What mushroom broth is really supplying is liquid plus salt plus glutamate-rich savoury depth, so anything that covers those three will work.

Other mushroom broth substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Mushroom Broth with ratios

  1. 2Vegetable broth plus soy sauce

    Different taste

    Use 1 cup vegetable broth plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce for every 1 cup mushroom broth

    The likeliest thing to already be in the cupboard, and the soy sauce is doing specific work rather than being a garnish.

    What changes

    Vegetable broth on its own is too light and too sweet to stand in; soy sauce adds the glutamate, the salt and the brown colour that make mushroom broth read as meaty.

    Best for
    soups, risotto, vegan gravy, braises, grains, stews

    Comes out lighter and sweeter than the real thing, with a noticeable carrot and celery note from the vegetable broth that mushroom broth does not have. Adding a pinch of mushroom seasoning powder, or half a teaspoon of white miso, makes it markedly closer. Taste before salting, since the soy sauce brings its own.

  2. 3Beef broth or beef stock

    Different taste

    Use the same amount

    The direct swap in the other direction.

    What changes

    Mushroom broth is usually chosen as a vegetarian stand-in for beef broth, so if the dish does not need to be meat-free, going straight to beef broth gives you the depth and the colour with no adjustment at all.

    Best for
    French onion soup, risotto, gravy, beef stews, barley soup, pan sauces

    Meatier and fattier with a little gelatin, so sauces made with it have a fuller, glossier body that mushroom broth cannot give. It tastes of beef rather than of earth and mushroom, which in French onion soup or a barley soup is an improvement and in a delicate mushroom consomme is the wrong dish. Clearly not vegetarian.

  3. 4Kombu broth, or water with kombu and a pinch of MSG

    Different taste

    1 strip kombu steeped in 2 cups hot water for 20 minutes, used 1:1

    A clean vegan route with real savoury power, since kombu is one of the most glutamate-rich ingredients there is.

    What changes

    Steep it in hot water below a simmer, because boiling kombu turns the liquid slimy and bitter.

    Best for
    noodle broths, ramen, clear soups, steamed dishes, braised vegetables, rice

    Much lighter in colour and cleaner in flavour, with a faint oceanic note rather than an earthy one, so a soup made this way tastes elegant and thin instead of dark and meaty. Combining kombu with dried shiitake is the classic pairing and gives a far more complete savouriness than either alone. A pinch of MSG or mushroom seasoning powder pushes it further.

  4. 5Water plus miso and soy sauce

    Different taste

    Use 1 cup hot water plus 1 teaspoon miso plus ½ teaspoon soy sauce for every 1 cup mushroom broth

    The two-minute version when there is nothing in the cupboard but condiments.

    What changes

    Miso supplies salt, body and fermented savour, soy sauce supplies colour and glutamate, and together they turn plain water into something with genuine backbone.

    Best for
    noodle soups, braises, risotto, greens and vegetables, stews, grains

    Cloudier and beanier than mushroom broth, with an obvious miso character rather than an earthy one. Red or darker miso gets closer to the deep brown savouriness, white miso stays sweeter and lighter. Whisk the miso into hot rather than boiling liquid off the heat so it does not go grainy.

  5. 6Salted water, honestly assessed

    Different taste

    Use 1 cup water plus ½ teaspoon salt for every cup of mushroom broth

    In a dish with plenty of flavour of its own, a heavily spiced stew, a tomato braise, a pot of beans, the mushroom broth was contributing much less than the recipe implies, and salted water performs the same job.

    What changes
    Best for
    spiced stews, tomato-based dishes, beans and pulses, cooking grains and rice

    It genuinely fails in anything where the broth is what you taste. A clear mushroom soup, a mushroom risotto or a French onion soup made with salted water comes out thin and hollow, and more salt does not fix it because the missing element is savoury depth rather than saltiness. Brown some sliced mushrooms hard in the pan first and you recover most of it.

What is Mushroom Broth?

Mushroom Broth is Mushroom broth, also called mushroom stock, is a dark savoury liquid made by simmering fresh or dried mushrooms with aromatics, prized because it delivers a deep meaty flavour and a brown colour with no meat in it at all.

Cooking tips

  • Mushroom broth and mushroom stock mean the same thing here. With meat, stock implies bones simmered long for gelatin while broth implies a lighter seasoned liquid, but mushrooms have no bones and contribute no gelatin, so the two labels describe the same product and any recipe calling for one is happy with the other.
  • Brown your mushrooms before adding liquid if you are making broth from fresh ones. Raw simmered mushrooms give a pale, slightly grey and rather thin liquid, while mushrooms browned hard in a dry or lightly oiled pan until they squeak and colour give something much darker and deeper. This one step is the difference between watery and rich.
  • Keep mushroom stalks and trimmings in a bag in the freezer. Shiitake stems in particular are too tough to eat but are packed with flavour, and a handful of them simmered in water for twenty minutes gives you free mushroom broth whenever you need it.
  • Dried mushroom liquid is always gritty because the grit settles out of the mushrooms as they rehydrate. Lift the mushrooms out with a fork rather than pouring, then ladle the liquid off the top and leave the last quarter inch in the bowl, or strain it through a paper coffee filter.
  • Pair glutamate sources with mushrooms for a bigger effect than either alone gives. Dried mushrooms are rich in guanylate and kombu is rich in glutamate, and the two together taste dramatically more savoury than the sum of the parts, which is why a shiitake and kombu broth punches far above a mushroom broth on its own.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just use water instead of mushroom broth?

In a heavily flavoured dish such as a spiced stew, a tomato braise or a pot of beans, yes, with about half a teaspoon of salt per cup, and you will not notice. In a mushroom risotto, a clear mushroom soup or a French onion soup, no, because the broth is the main thing you taste and water leaves it hollow. The quick fix in those dishes is to brown a handful of sliced mushrooms hard in the pan first and add a teaspoon of soy sauce to the water.

Is mushroom broth a good substitute for beef broth?

Yes, and it is the standard vegetarian route for exactly that, one to one. It gives you the dark colour and the deep savoury weight that make beef broth useful, particularly in French onion soup, gravy, barley soup and stews. What it cannot give is fat and gelatin, so sauces made with it stay thinner and less glossy, and the flavour reads earthy rather than meaty. Adding a knob of butter and a teaspoon of soy sauce narrows the gap considerably.

How do I make mushroom broth quickly?

Steep half an ounce of dried shiitake or porcini in two cups of just-boiled water for twenty minutes, then pour the liquid off carefully so the grit stays behind, and season it with salt. That is the fastest route and often stronger than shop-bought. With fresh mushrooms, brown eight ounces of sliced mushrooms hard in a little oil with a chopped onion, add four cups of water and a bay leaf, simmer twenty minutes and strain.

What mushrooms make the best broth?

Dried shiitake for a smoky, deeply savoury broth that suits ramen, Asian soups and braises, and dried porcini for a sweeter, more perfumed broth that suits risotto and Italian dishes. Among fresh mushrooms, plain brown chestnut or cremini mushrooms give more flavour than white button ones, and portobello caps give the darkest colour. A mix is better than any single type.

Can I use vegetable broth instead of mushroom broth?

Yes, with one adjustment worth making. Straight vegetable broth is lighter, sweeter and more carrot and celery forward, so it leaves a dish tasting thinner than it should. Add a teaspoon of soy sauce per cup, and ideally a pinch of mushroom seasoning powder or half a teaspoon of miso, and it lands very close. Without that adjustment a mushroom risotto made with vegetable broth tastes noticeably flat and sweet.

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