Bouillon Powder

Most bouillon powders or stock cubes are chock full of additives, flavor enhancers, sugar, salt and other weird things that you don’t actually need. Although using stock cubes is an easy way to e.g. give your soups extra flavor, it can also give you all those things that you would probably prefer not to ingest. Therefore I went on an experimental journey, to see if I could make a powder as an alternative for stock cubes!

The first (and probably easiest) option to avoid all the flavor enhancers in regular stock cubes, is to not use them at all. This works often, but not always. I mean, let’s be honest about it: sometimes you just need a little extra flavor, and what’s easier than tossing in something ready made?

The second option is to go to your local health food store and to check all the labels of the stock cubes (which will take FOR EVER) and then to pay $8 for a package of 6… Yeah, I’m not a fan of that either.

Thirdly, you can make your own bouillon powder as an alternative to store-bought stock cubes. Bingo! When doing research I found a lot of different versions of how to make your own bouillon powder, most of them were either based on dried and then pulverized vegetables, or based on dried herbs and spices. This version falls in the latter category, which makes this “recipe” really really easy and quick to put together once you have all the ingredients on hands.

Another benefit of making your own bouillon powder is that it is simply much cheaper than its store-bought counterpart. Two birds one stone ;)

Also, there is an AMAZING recipe for instant noodle soup, that uses this bouillon powder as its main flavoring, so make sure you have this bouillon powder on hand if you want to make it. It’s really good! It’s perfect for on-the-go with an Asian twist, and it is both simple and delicious.

Bouillon Powder
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: –
Total time: 5 mins
Yield: about half a cup

Ingredients
1/2 cup (33 gram) nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (a.k.a. pimentón)
1/4 teaspoon dried turmeric
1/8 teaspoon dried ginger
1 tablespoon coconut sugar

Instructions
1. Simply mix everything together and store in an airtight jar.
2. Use about 1T for every 250ml water you want to flavor for a strong bouillon, or use less for a lighter broth.

Nutritional information per tablespoon
29 kcals
0.3 gram fat
5.5 gram carbohydrates
of which 1.3 gram fiber and 2.2 gram sugar
2.1 gram protein