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Home » Super Soups » Easy Traditional Vegetarian Scotch Broth

Easy Traditional Vegetarian Scotch Broth

Author: Karon Grieve Published : January 2021

Recipe Video
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vegetarian scotch broth with kale pistou pin image

Rich, flavourful and filling, Scotch broth is as synonimous with Scotland as mountains, lochs and the proverbial haggis. Traditionally made with mutton this is instead a vegetarian Scotch broth that boasts an amazing Kale pistou for an extra kick of flavour and a touch of French chic.

vegetarian scotch broth view of two soup bowls

Soup in Scotland

We live in a cold country and soup is comfort food. Like most Scottish households my Mum made soup every week. With a huge pan being topped up with water and stock and lasting for days.

Whether it was Scotch Broth, lentil soup or traditional Cock-a-leekie soup, there was always something simmering in that soup pot to fill hungry tummies. and this vegetarian Scotch broth recipe was always a firm favourite.

ingredients for scotch broth

Scotch Broth

Broth is something of a misnomer here as one thinks of a broth as a clear flavourful soup and not this barley, vegetable and grain packed soup that you can very often stand your spoon up in.

Scotch broth fills you up and ‘sticks to your ribs’ as my Grandma used to say.

Traditional Scotch Broth

Traditionally Scotch broth is made with mutton. The neck of the sheep. Cheap cuts that boast a lot of flavour from slow cooking.

The traditional way to eat Scotch broth is how my Mum would serve it. She’d make her soup in the normal way then take the mutton out and serve the Scotch broth just as a soup – no meat in the bowl.

Then for the main course you would get the mutton from the soup served alongside boiled potatoes. That’s the old fashioned Scottish way of serving Scotch broth.

Vegetarian Scotch Broth

I’ve taken the mutton out completely and used vegetable stock instead. You can either make your own or use stock pots or cubes.

I’ve made my version of Scotch broth vegetarian (actually vegan) as I like to cut out meat now and then. And since this is Veganuary and we are all looking towards healthier options it seemed like a good time to share this super tasty soup recipe with you.

Not only is this soup light on the meat front it is lighter on your pocket too, and let’s face it a lot of us could do with saving a few pennies after Christmas.

scotch broth mix

Scotch Broth Mix

The backbone of Scotch broth is the Scotch Broth Mix. Don’t worry this isn’t something only found in the outer reaches of the Highlands buried beneath the heather. No, it’s something you can buy in almost any supermarket throughout the UK either under the name of Scotch Broth Mix or just as Broth Mix.

It’s made up of pearl barley, split yellow peas, red lentils, green split peas and blue split peas. The latter are just green split peas with their skins still on.

You can of course make up your own Scotch broth mix but make sure that at least 50% of that mixture is the barley as it is the main component of the soup.

Soaking the broth mix

I soak my broth mix overnight in cold water (after rinsing it under the tap till water runs clear to remove any dust or debris in the dried broth mix) then drain through a sieve next morning once it has fattened up by absorbing as much of the water as it can.

vegetables being chopped for soup

The vegetables for traditional Scotch broth

Here in Scotland root vegetables were always the order of the day for soups. This is a hard country and your root veggies can usually withstand almost anything that Mother Nature cares to throw at them.

Carrots, turnip (swede if you live outside Scotland) and onion are the original choice in the veggie department. Things like celery weren’t introduced to this country when Scotch broth originally came into being.

The other vegetable that comes into play with Scotch broth is kale which is added just before serving so as to preserve its vibrant green colour.

Back in time every home in Scotland would have a small garden where you could grow vegetables to support your family. This was not referred to as a garden but as a Kale Yard as kale was the most important vegetable to grow there.

Kale was the original peasant food and after that was only ever used to feed cattle in Scotland. It is only in recent years that it has regained popularity due to its amazing health benefits.

If you’d mentioned such things as kale crisps to my Grandma she’d have laughed in your face thinking you were making a snack for the cattle.

kale pistou with spoon in front

Kale Pistou

Instead of adding the kale to my vegan Scotch broth in the traditional method I decided to turn it into Pistou and add it to the finished broth. Pistou is the French version of Pesto hailing from the Provencal area of France.

Normally made from basil, garlic and olive oil (here is my homemade pistou recipe) it is very often added to soup just before serving in Soup de Pistou which is a summer vegetable soup. I have used it in my own version of this classic soup but mine is a Winter vegetable soup de Pistou!

Anyway my pistou is simply made using kale, olive oil and garlic and boy does it add a kick of amazing flavour to this simple vegetarian Scotch broth.

The kale pistou will keep for up to a week in the fridge and you can use it just as you would pesto by adding to pasta, baked potatoes, bruschetta etc.

broth cooking in pan

How much vegan Scotch broth does this recipe make?

I’ve made this broth for 4 people and these are big hearty portions. If you were using small bowls you could get 6 portions out of this but I must admit I do like a nice big bowl of soup. If you want to make more just multiply the ingredients to suit.

Storage of vegetarian Scotch Broth

This vegetable soup will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. Though having said that back in my childhood that soup pot never saw the inside of a fridge in its life and we all survived. But don’t think of going that way, store your vegan Scotch broth in the fridge please.

You can also freeze this soup for up to 6 months. I like to freeze my soups in those ziplock bags and lay them flay on a baking tray in the freezer till they are solid then I can ‘file’ them upright and they take up hardly any room in the freezer. Just make sure you remember to label the freezer bags clearly.

bowl of soup with pistou in background

Serving this vegetarian Scotch broth

I serve mine with this swirl of kale pistou as a hearty lunch time meal either with oatcakes on the side (check out my recipes for homemade oatcakes) or a simple Scottish sida bread (here is my Scottish soda bread recipe).

I have even served my Scotch broth in shot glasses as part of a party buffer for Hogmanay and it features in my cookbook A Wee Taste Of Scotland which is packed with over 50 Scottish-inspired party nibbles and drinks too.

spoon of soup being lifted from bowl

So there you have it folks, a nice healthy yet hearty start to the New Year, my vegetarian Scotch broth with kale pistou. Hope you enjoy it.

larder links

Looking for more delicious winter soup recipes? Then check these out before you go;

Traditional Scottish cullen skink soup

Italian inspired mushroom and tomato soup

Spiced carrot and cauliflower soup

Puy lentil soup

Traditional 5 ingredient Scottish cock-a-leekie soup

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
vegetarian Scotch broth with kale pistou

Easy Traditional Vegetarian Scotch Broth

Karon Grieve
This is hearty and tasty vegetarian Scotch broth packed with flavour and full of goodness. It's traditional Scotch broth but meat free and with delicious pistou too
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Total Time 55 mins
Course Soup
Cuisine Scottish
Servings 6 people
Calories 266 kcal

Equipment

  • large pan

Ingredients
 

For the soup

  • 100 g Scotch broth mix
  • 1 onion diced
  • 400 g carrots chopped
  • 125 g parsnips chopped
  • 400 g swede/turnip chopped
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil or vegetable oil/olive oil
  • 1 lt vegetable stock
  • salt and pepper to taste

Kale Pistou

  • 100 g kale
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

For the Scotch broth

  • Rinse the broth mix under running water till water runs clear then put in a bowl and cover with at least 1 litre of cold water and leave overnight. Next day drain through a sieve.
  • Heat the oil in a large soup pan and saute the onion for 5 minutes till softened but not browned
  • Add the other soup ingredients and cook for a further 3 minutes
  • Now add the broth mix and the vegetable stock and simmer covered for 30-40 minutes.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste

For Kale Pistou

  • Whizz all ingredients in a mini food processor till you get a rich vibrant green sauce and season to taste.

Serving

  • Serve the Scotch broth with s swirl of the pistou on top.

Video

Notes

You can either use homemade vegetable stock or a stock cube/stick pot for this soup.
Cut out the thick stems of the kale before you weigh it and put it through the food processor.
Broth mix is available in most supermarkets in UK – Broth mix is 50% pearl barley plus split peas, split lentils and blue split peas 9same as normal split peas but unskinned), as long as you use 50% barley you can make up your own personal broth mix.
If you want to make a more traditional Scotch broth then instead of making the kale pistou you just add the kale (without those tough stalks) to the soup 10 minutes before it finishes cooking.
You can use your kale pistou just like pesto in pasta dishes, on baked potatoes, on bruschetta etc.
The pistou will keep for up to a week in the fridge
This vegetarian Scotch broth will keep up to 5 days in the fridge or you can freeze it for up to 6 months.
 
 
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 4gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 66mgPotassium: 650mgFiber: 7gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 12802IUVitamin C: 46mgCalcium: 92mgIron: 1mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Keyword healthy soup, Scotch broth
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Super Soups

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Comments

  1. Lisa says

    January 7, 2021 at 3:00 am

    Hi Karon! This sounds like a great recipe, thank you for sharing it! You mention your soda bread recipe but there isn’t a link to it – am I missing a link? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      January 7, 2021 at 9:04 am

      Hi Lisa
      Thanks SO much for pointing this out. Was so excited to get my first post up for the year that I didn’t put in those all-important links to the soda bread and oatcakes. Thanks to you they are in there now. Hope you make this one.
      All best for 2021
      K

      Reply
  2. Debbie says

    February 25, 2021 at 2:33 pm

    5 stars
    I love soup during the cold months. This is quite nice! Looking forward to more of your soups

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 26, 2021 at 8:42 am

      Hi Debbie
      Glad you like the soup recipe, there is a whole section of soup recipes here on larderlove. I tend to make rather a lot of it as do love a good bowl of soup myself.
      K

      Reply

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