Soup season is here, and at our house that means one thing: a big pot of broth bubbling away on the back burner.

Good soup starts long before the noodles hit the pot. It starts with the broth. A rich, homemade broth is the difference between a bowl of soup that is "fine" and one your family asks for again next week. The good news? Making it is easier than most people think. It takes a few bones, a few vegetables, some water, and a little patience. Your stove does most of the work.

We pulled together everything you need in one spot: our favorite broth tips and secrets, every broth and stock recipe on our site, and the soups we love to make with them. Save this page and come back to it all fall and winter.

Every Grandma's Broth and Stock Recipe

Here is the full lineup. Whether you have 40 minutes or a lazy Sunday, there is a broth here for you.

Grandma's Homemade Chicken Broth

Tucked inside Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup is our favorite chicken broth. A whole chicken, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and a splash of apple cider vinegar simmer low and slow in the crockpot until the broth turns deep gold. If you only make one broth this year, make this one.

Best for: chicken noodle soup, pot pies, and sipping on a cold day.

Grandma's Homemade Turkey Stock

Grandma's Homemade Turkey Stock starts with roasted turkey wings and caramelized vegetables, then gets a gentle simmer with fresh sage, thyme, and parsley. It makes 10 to 12 cups in about 4 hours.

Best for: Thanksgiving gravy, stuffing, and turkey noodle soup.

Grandma's Beef Bone Broth

Our Beef Bone Broth uses oxtail, short rib, knuckle, and shank bones. They are roasted first, then simmered for 12 hours with leek, onion, celery, garlic, and a little vinegar. The result is rich, full-bodied, and loaded with gelatin.

Best for: sipping, beef noodle soups, and braises.

Grandma's Brown Stock

Grandma's Brown Stock gets its deep color from roasting beef or pork bones with onions, celery, and leeks before a 5 to 8 hour simmer. It is the classic base that makes gravies and stews taste restaurant-worthy.

Best for: gravy, stroganoff, stews, and hearty soups.

Grandma's Vegetable Stock

Short on time or cooking meat-free? Grandma's Vegetable Stock is ready in about 50 minutes and makes 6 cups. Browning the vegetables in olive oil first gives it a flavor that store-bought versions cannot match.

Best for: vegetarian soups, risotto, and cooking your noodles for extra flavor.

Homemade Fish Stock

Our Homemade Fish Stock combines fish bones with fennel, leek, garlic, tarragon, and a splash of white wine. It only needs 20 minutes of simmering, making it the fastest broth in the bunch.

Best for: seafood noodle dishes, chowders, and shrimp scampi.

Stock or Broth? Here Is the Quick Answer

People use the words interchangeably, and there are no official rules. But here is the simple way to think about it:

• Stock is mostly bones. It is richer in body, usually unsalted, and meant to be a building block.
• Broth is mostly meat. It is lighter, more flavorful on its own, and usually seasoned.
• Bone broth is a stock that simmers for a very long time (often 12 hours or more) with a splash of vinegar to pull out as much gelatin and minerals as possible.

Want the deeper history, the difference between white and brown stocks, and our Foods Lab chicken stock recipe? Read our original post, All Your Stock Questions Answered.

Grandma's 10 Best Broth Tips and Secrets

These are the little things that make a big difference. Grandma never wrote them down, but she always did them.

1. Save your scraps all week

Keep a bag in the freezer for onion ends, carrot peels, celery tops, parsley stems, and leftover chicken or turkey bones. When the bag is full, you have a free batch of broth. That is kitchen economy Grandma would approve of.

2. Roast first for deeper flavor

For beef, pork, or turkey, roast the bones (and some of the vegetables) until they are golden brown before they go in the pot. Then pour a little water into the hot pan and scrape up all the browned bits. That is where the flavor lives, so do not leave it behind.

3. Start cold and go slow

Cover your bones with cold water, about an inch or two above the top, and bring it up to temperature slowly. A slow start pulls more flavor out of the bones and keeps your broth clearer.

4. Skim early, skim often

As the pot heats up, a gray foam will rise to the top. It is harmless, but skimming it off gives you a cleaner-tasting, clearer broth. Secret: once it starts to boil, add a cup of cold water. The temperature drop brings even more foam to the surface so you can scoop it away.

5. Never let it boil hard

Once the foam is gone, turn the heat down to a lazy simmer with just a few bubbles. A rolling boil makes broth cloudy and greasy. Low and slow wins every time.

6. Hold the salt until the end

Broth cooks down as it simmers, which concentrates the salt. Season it after straining, or wait and season the finished soup instead. You can always add more salt, but you can never take it out.

7. Add a splash of acid

A tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar helps pull minerals and gelatin from the bones. For brown stock, a spoonful of tomato paste does the same job and adds rich color.

8. Go for the jiggle

A great broth turns slightly jiggly when it is cold. That means it is full of gelatin, which gives soup a silky, rich texture. To get more of it, add chicken feet (look for them at Asian markets) or choose collagen-rich beef bones like oxtail and knuckle.

9. Cool it fast and skim the fat

Strain your broth through a cheesecloth-lined colander, then cool it quickly by dividing it into shallow containers before it goes in the fridge. Bacteria love warm broth, so do not let a big pot sit out. Once it is cold, the fat hardens on top and lifts right off.

10. Freeze it in handy portions

Freeze broth in quart containers for soup night, in flat zip-top bags that stack neatly, or in ice cube trays for pan sauces. Refrigerated broth keeps about 5 days, and frozen broth keeps for months.

Cook Times at a Glance

Now Make the Soup

Once your broth is ready, dinner is almost done. Grandma's Frozen Egg Noodles cook up tender and hearty in minutes, so a pot of homemade broth turns into a full meal fast. Here are our favorite egg noodle soups, grouped by the broth that makes them shine.

Made with chicken broth

• Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup: the from-scratch classic
• Easy Weeknight Chicken Noodle Soup: comfort on a busy night
• Quick and Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: ready in about 20 minutes
• Chicken Tortilla Noodle Soup: a zesty twist on the classic

Made with turkey stock

• Turkey Noodle Soup (Made With the Turkey Carcass): the best thing to happen to holiday leftovers
  

Made with beef, pork, or game broth

• Hearty Venison and Noodle Soup: a hunter's favorite
• Creamy Elk Sausage and Kale Soup: creamy, cozy, and filling
• Spicy Pork Soup with Winter Greens: bright, spicy, and full of greens
• Ham Pot Pie: the Pennsylvania Dutch noodle classic built on ham stock

No Time for Homemade? Try These Shortcuts

Some weeks, a 12-hour simmer is not happening, and that is okay. Grandma would rather you make soup than skip it.

• Buy low-sodium. Boxed broths can be very salty. Low-sodium gives you control.
• Doctor up a box. Simmer store-bought broth for 15 minutes with half an onion, a carrot, a celery stalk, and a sprig of thyme. Strain it and it will taste much closer to homemade.
• Stir in a little extra. A spoonful of nutritional yeast adds savory depth to vegetable broth, and a small splash of vinegar or lemon brightens any soup at the end.
  

Start a Pot This Week

You do not need a perfect recipe or a free Saturday to make good broth. Save your scraps, pick a recipe that fits your week, and let it simmer while you go about your day. By dinnertime, your kitchen will smell like Grandma's house, and you will have the start of something good for the week ahead.

However you make it, broth has always been about taking a little and turning it into a lot: a few bones, some vegetable ends, and time. Add a handful of egg noodles and you have a meal worth gathering around. Grandma would be proud.