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These homemade beef bouillon cubes are the perfect way to enjoy beef broth without the junky-added ingredients! This recipe is made entirely from real beef and vegetables.

A stack of beef bouillon cubes on a plate on the counter.

Bouillon cubes are one of those cooking staples that always come in hand! They’re great for flavoring rice, soups, sauces, and even making a quick chicken or beef broth. However, the ones that you buy from the store are loaded with mystery ingredients, sodium, and just aren’t the freshest of things.

After coming out with my chicken bouillon recipe, I knew I had to do a beef version! Not only did I get a lot of requests to do it, but it’s so hard to find a good beef stock without caramel coloring, so it’s something I wanted on hand for myself too 😉

The Ingredients

  • Ground Beef. I’ve tested this recipe with other cuts of beef, and ground beef comes out the best! Plus, the bonus is that it’s one of the cheaper cuts.
  • Carrot, Leeks, Onion, Garlic and Celery. These are the vegetables used to add extra flavor to bouillon.
  • Parsley and Thyme. 
  • Water and Lemon. The secret with this recipe is using a very small amount of liquids so the flavor is extra concentrated!

How to make Homemade Beef Bouillon Cubes

  • Step One. Brown the ground beef .
  • Step Two. Saute the vegetables until fork tender.
  • Step Three. Add the beef, water, salt, pepper, and lemon juice to the pot with the vegetables and simmer.

  • Step Four. Allow to cool and blend.
  • Step Five. Spoon the mixture into molds and freeze.

A stack of homemade beef bouillon cubes on a counter.

TIPS & TRICKS

  • Adjust the salt to taste. Traditionally, bouillon cubes are VERY salty. This recipe uses a bit less salt, but taste the liquid before blending to see if you need to add more.
  • Mix up the vegetables. If you have extra vegetables on hand that you want to use, go for it!
  • Make sure to keep the water to a minimum. I know you may feel tempted to add more water, but soup is not the goal here. We’re looking for a highly concentrated flavor, and adding more water will dilute the flavor. We use a low amount of water and allow the vegetables to sweat out more of their liquids as that’s far more flavorful than water!

CAN YOU DEHYDRATE THESE TO MAKE A POWDER?

I haven’t tried this, but I assume you should be able to.

HOW LONG DO THEY LAST IN THE FREEZER?

These will last a minimum 3 months in the freezer. Don’t transfer them to the fridge or they’ll return to liquid… unless you’re planning on using it immediately. As long as you’re using hot liquid to cook with them, they’ll easily defrost to cook!

HOW DO YOU USE THEM?

  • Add 1-2 (or more) cube to hot water to make a quick beef stock.
  • Add a cube to the water when you’re making rice for a flavorful beef broth rice.
  • Use 1-2 cubes in sauces that you want to have a deeper flavor.

A hand taking a homemade beef bouillon cube off a stack on the counter.

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Homemade Beef Bouillon Cubes

  • Author: Michelle
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 20 servings 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 leek, white part chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 cup water
  • Juice of half a lemon

Instructions

  1. Using a Dutch oven or stock pot, add the ground beef. Lightly season with half of the salt and pepper, and crumble until fully cooked. Set the cooked beef aside and leave the fat in the pout. Add extra fat if needed.
  2. Add the vegetables and season with half a teaspoon of salt. Saute for 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables begin to release their natural juices into the pot for extra liquid, and are lightly fork tender.
  3. Reduce the heat to low. Add the beef back to the pot and cover with water and lemon juice. Cover for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The vegetables should be totally fork-tender.
  4. Allow to cool before blending with an immersion blender or high-speed blender until totally smooth. This will take a while to completely blend into a puree.
  5. Spoon the mixture into a mold that holds about 2 tbsp per space. I use my Souper Cubes, but an ice cube mold will also work. Allow to freeze solid overnight before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Keep frozen for 3+ months and use it as you would regular beef bouillon, in broth, soups, etc!

Notes

All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.

  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 40
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: Global

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 serving
  • Calories: 36
  • Fat: .7g
  • Fiber: 2g
  • Protein: 5.2g