Grocery

This Chicken Base In a Jar Elevates Everything

Flavor-packed and easy to use, Better Than Bouillon is a cooking game-changer.

12/08/24
3 min read
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As a food writer and single-gal-on-the-move, I’ve really honed how to cook for one person over the last decade. I’m not great with leftovers — I get bored easily — so I try to cook one or two portions of whatever it is I’ve decided to make. 

For years, I struggled with the many recipes that call for some form of broth. I found myself using the amount I needed and then sadly letting the rest of the can or carton go to waste because I  didn’t use it within a week. I tried freezing the leftover broth, but then I’d forget about it and open a new container. Then I discovered Better Than Bouillon’s Roast Chicken Base — and my adventures in solo cooking were simplified forever.

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What’s Better Than Bouillon? The paste-like base makes for the best cooking shortcut I’ve yet to find; the concentrate of real roasted chicken, vegetables, salt, and spices makes for a super umami flavor. Not only is it more flavorful than most broths from a carton, it’s also super easy to use — just add one teaspoon to eight ounces of hot or boiling water for the equivalent of eight ounces of normal broth. With 38 one-teaspoon servings in the eight-ounce jar, it lasts a really long time in the refrigerator, too — up to two years past the manufacture date. In fact, I've had a jar in my fridge for over six months, and it was in perfect condition down to the last teaspoon.

At first, I assumed Better Than Bouillon was simply a broth replacement (it also replaces traditional cubes of bouillon, which tend to be more salt- than flavor-forward), but I quickly discovered that the super robust, rich flavor could punch up dozens of recipes in seconds. 

My favorite way to use Better Than Bouillon is to mix a little with either butter or tomato paste; it’s now become the foundation of basically every sauce I make. From creamy Cajun pasta sauce to the base of a tortilla soup, Better Than Bouillon complements an array of recipes in my arsenal. I add it to my vegetables as I’m sautéing them for stir fry, or toss a scoop into my rice while it cooks. There’s something about this magic mixture that adds depths of savory flavor to anything I happen to be making. 

Though I’ve yet to stray from the roasted chicken flavor, Better Than Bouillon comes in over a dozen flavors including roasted beef, seasoned vegetables, roasted garlic, turkey base, chili base, and more. It’s worked so well in everything I’ve ever used it in — and I can’t remember life in my kitchen without it.

PHOTO CREDIT:
Photography: Paul Quitoriano
Art Direction: Sarah Ceniceros Gomez