Pantry Staples
Best Chicken Broth Substitutes
Out of Chicken Broth? Here are 1 real substitutes, ranked and ratio-backed.
1. Vegetable broth
Ratio: 1:1
A genuinely close substitute for vegetarian cooking — milder and lacks the depth chicken broth's rendered fat and collagen add, but works in nearly any soup, sauce, or braise.
Best for: soups, sauces, braises (vegetarian)
Vegetable broth is the most direct substitute for chicken broth, sharing the same basic water-and-dissolved-flavor composition, which is exactly why it works so cleanly as a 1:1 swap in nearly any soup, sauce, or braise — the substitution is really about flavor depth rather than any structural or textural difference the way a dairy or egg substitution often is.
What vegetable broth can't fully replicate is the collagen and rendered fat that a genuine chicken-based broth (especially one simmered with bones, not just meat) contributes — that collagen is what gives a good chicken broth a fuller, slightly richer mouthfeel and, when chilled, sometimes a light gel, properties a purely vegetable-based broth simply doesn't develop the same way.
For a recipe leaning on chicken broth mainly as a savory liquid base rather than for a specifically chicken-forward flavor, the vegetable broth swap is close to seamless; for a dish where chicken's specific flavor matters more directly, the substitution is a genuine, noticeable trade-off rather than an invisible one.
Mushroom broth is worth knowing about as a middle-ground substitute between vegetable broth and real chicken broth, since mushrooms' natural umami compounds give it a savory depth closer to meat-based broth than a plain vegetable broth manages, even though it's still fully vegetarian and carries its own distinct earthy flavor rather than tasting neutral.
Dashi, the Japanese stock made from kombu and bonito flakes (or kombu alone for a vegetarian version), is a genuinely different but occasionally useful stand-in specifically in an Asian-style soup or braise, where its umami-forward, ocean-adjacent flavor fits the dish's other ingredients better than a Western-style vegetable broth swap would.
Beef broth is a reasonable last-resort substitute when neither chicken nor vegetable broth is on hand, though it's a bigger flavor departure than any of the options above — beef's stronger, more assertive flavor can overpower a delicately seasoned chicken-based dish like a light soup or risotto, so it's better suited to a heartier stew or braise where the swap won't stand out as much.
Need to convert Chicken Broth first? See its conversion page.
Frequently asked questions
Does vegetable broth taste noticeably different from chicken broth?
Yes, to a degree — it lacks chicken broth's specific meaty depth and the fuller mouthfeel that comes from rendered fat and collagen, though in a dish with many other strong flavors (a heavily spiced soup, for instance) the difference is less noticeable.
Is bouillon a reasonable chicken broth substitute?
Yes, reconstituted chicken bouillon (cube or paste dissolved in hot water) approximates broth's flavor closely and can generally be used interchangeably by volume, though it's typically more concentrated in sodium.
Can water with added seasoning replace chicken broth in a pinch?
It can work as a last resort, especially in a recipe with other strong flavors, but it lacks broth's underlying savory depth entirely — a bouillon cube dissolved in the water gets meaningfully closer to real broth's flavor than plain seasoned water alone.
Does the chicken broth substitute change a soup's texture?
Slightly — a broth with real collagen content (from a longer, bone-based simmer) gives a soup a bit more body than a leaner vegetable broth or bouillon, an effect that's subtle but can be noticeable in a soup meant to feel rich and full-bodied.
Is bone broth different from chicken broth for substitution purposes?
Yes, but the difference works in your favor as a swap — bone broth's extended 12-24 hour simmer pulls out enough extra collagen and gelatin that it substitutes cleanly for standard chicken broth and typically adds more body to whatever it's used in.