12 Genius Ways To Use Better Than Bouillon In Your Cooking

We bet that right now, there's a small jar of bouillon sitting at the back of your kitchen cupboard, pretty much being roundly ignored. Most of us reach for it when we need a quick broth. All we do is dissolve a spoonful in hot water and call it a day. But while that is its most obvious use, it's also the least interesting of the bunch.

Better Than Bouillon was always meant to be more than a starter ingredient for soup. In reality, it is a flavor bomb of concentrated aromatics that completely transforms most dishes it's added to. From jazzing up a simple grilled cheese to perfecting a salad that breaks from the same-old, same-old, the little jar packs more power than people realize. It helps that bouillon is now available in a range of flavors like chicken, beef, roasted garlic, mushroom, vegetable, and turkey. Each one has its own character and its own best uses, and understanding which one to reach for is half the skill.

If you have ever made your own vinaigrette — shaken or stirred (or relying on Ina Garten's nifty salad dressing trick) — and been slightly underwhelmed with the results, here's what it may have been missing. All you need is a small amount of Better Than Bouillon stirred into your regular salad dressing recipe. Now, if you worry that this will make your dressing taste like watered-down stock, we assure you it won't. In fact, it just enhances the existing flavors. The olive oil will taste more olive-y (we speak from experience here). The vinegar tastes sharper, and the flavor profile of the whole dressing just feels more united — almost as if it had been simmering on the stove instead of being shaken together in a jar in under a minute.

For an easy formula to keep in mind, simply combine dissolved Better Than Bouillon along with the likes of lemon juice or vinegar, plus your preferred seasonings. You can also balance out the flavor with a touch of maple syrup or honey. Shake together until well mixed.

When adding Better Than Bouillon, start small. It's extremely concentrated, so you probably don't need as much as you think. Dissolve it in something warm or acidic first, like lemon juice or a splash of warm water, so it doesn't sit in little clumps at the bottom of the jar. And always taste before adding salt — bouillon is already bringing the salt to the mix.

Scrambled egg add-ins are very on trend right now, with social media awash with recommendations ranging from chili oil to pesto. Included in the mix should also be Better Than Bouillon, which is a surefire way to add some much-needed umami to your regular breakfast routine.

One popular method involves cooking the scrambled eggs until almost 80% done before stirring in a small amount of paste. Adding it near the end, off the heat, means the seasoning melts into the eggs without turning them into a watery mess. Another approach requires a bit more time but promises to be worth the effort. You need to make a quick sauce first from butter, flour, milk, and a touch of Better Than Bouillon. Whisk this in a small bowl separately before folding it into the eggs (again, once they're nearly done). This method produces eggs with a silky, almost sauce-coated texture that ensures they don't turn dry and unappealing. 

A few things to keep in mind. Always cook your scrambled eggs on low heat, and when adding bouillon, this is even more important. Bouillon flavor blooms best when the eggs cook slowly rather than scrambling hard and fast. Finally, adding chives or a small spoon of crème fraîche at the very end rounds out the dish with a touch of freshness.

Don't let the name faze you. Compound butter is nothing but butter with other ingredients mixed in. Once this is understood, the door opens to all kinds of additions. And of course, a spoonful of Better Than Bouillon belongs firmly on this list.

Making bouillon-flavored butter follows the same basic steps as any compound butter. You beat softened butter until light and airy, and then whisk in a small amount of bouillon paste. The Italian herb variety of Better Than Bouillon works particularly well. When added at this stage, the powder brings a savory, almost roasted depth to plain old butter. Once mixed, the butter can be formed into a log using parchment or plastic wrap. This allows you to slice into coins and store them in the fridge or freezer for later use. Plop these butter coins on everything from a grilled steak to a steaming bowl of pasta. Doing so adds a surprising amount of flavor with almost no effort.  

Bouillon, as we mentioned earlier, is pretty concentrated, so start with a small amount and build from there, tasting as you go. You can also pair it with herbs that complement a savory base. The likes of thyme, rosemary, or chives work particularly well.

The idea of gravy sounds amazing, but the idea of slaving over a hot stove with drippings collected from a roast is slightly less so. There is an alternative, and it's far from a sad substitute. All you need to do is build your roux for the gravy with Better Than Bouillon whisked into the butter and flour.

As the gravy thickens, you can slowly add water, whisking until it turns into the smooth, flavored addition you need. The depth and richness of the gravy can be adjusted simply by using more or less of the bouillon base. Start with roughly a tablespoon of bouillon per 2 cups of liquid as a starting point and increase according to taste and salt levels.

For a slightly different approach, use a bouillon broth that's brought to a boil. Season with onion powder, and thicken with a flour-and-water slurry. Cook, stirring well until the gravy reaches the right consistency. A few practical notes to remember: If the gravy turns out too pale, a small amount of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce can deepen the color. If you find the gravy a bit meh flavor-wise, adding a wee bit more Better Than Bouillon can help. Alternatively, finish it off by adding a small pat of cold butter.

By now, it should come as no surprise that adding Better Than Bouillon to a béchamel will add a zing to any run-of-the-mill version of mac and cheese. However, there's another approach worth knowing. This one builds flavor in from the very beginning, and you do this by cooking the pasta directly in bouillon-seasoned water.

Chuck your dried pasta into a large pot of water along with butter, seasoning, and a spoonful or so of Better Than Bouillon. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Doing this will help the pasta absorb the seasoned liquid and taste delicious on its own. Once the pasta is done, milk and cheese are stirred in directly, turning the whole pot creamy in a couple of minutes. You could experiment with a chicken or vegetarian version of Better Than Bouillon, thereby adapting the same one-pot method to whoever's eating it without changing the technique at all. 

As it's fairly neutral in flavor, mac and cheese provides plenty of opportunity to experiment. When using bouillon to elevate this favorite comfort food, there are a few tips worth keeping close. For example, garlic powder and a touch of ground mustard alongside the bouillon can round out the savory base without competing with it. And be sure not to skimp on freshly grated cheese — that pre-shredded stuff isn't conducive to an ooey, gooey bake.

Meal prepping and marinating your meats (and tofu) becomes a whole lot more interesting when there's a bit of Better Than Bouillon thrown into the mix. For example, pair your usual chicken marinade with a roasted garlic or chicken bouillon, especially paired with citrus or a hint of smoked paprika. Beef marinated in a complementary beef base, combined with the likes of soy sauce, garlic, and a touch of brown sugar, adds a delicious char when grilled. Tofu, inherently a blank slate ingredient, benefits enormously from a bouillon-based marinade, since the paste anchors the tofu and gives it a distinct flavor once it's pressed and seared.

Sometimes, despite the ingredient list looking promising on paper, marinades do have a tendency to taste flat once the meat hits the pan. This is usually a sign that the marinade was missing a savory backbone, something that clings to the surface of the meat rather than just a coating of flavor. Bouillon paste fills that gap nicely. Dissolved into the liquid portion of a marinade — whether that's oil, citrus juice, vinegar, or even a splash of water — it adds an umami quality that plays well with almost any other flavor profile. 

There are several internet hacks floating around on how to make the best mashed potatoes. Today, we urge you to play around with a spoonful of Better Than Bouillon to add some unexpected depth to your favorite comfort food.

When stirred in alongside the butter while the potatoes are still warm, Better Than Bouillon gives the whole bowl a savory undertone that plain salt can't reach. One straightforward approach involves boiling the potatoes until very tender, draining them, then returning them to the pot before mashing with bouillon and butter and stirring in sour cream. The order in which you add the ingredients matters more than you may think. Adding the bouillon before the dairy gives it a chance to melt evenly throughout the potatoes rather than sit in clumps near the surface.

Surprisingly, the same approach works just as well with cauliflower. Cauliflower mash, on its own, can be — let's say — uninspiring. But add Better Than Bouillon to the mix and suddenly there's a much-needed savory backbone to the dish. A few things worth keeping in mind: Chicken or roasted garlic Better Than Bouillon tends to be the more popular choice here, working with almost any meal it might be served alongside. Meanwhile, the beef variety pairs beautifully with richer mains like a roast, giving the potatoes a deeper, almost gravy-adjacent flavor.

Popcorn seasoning is one of those small, low-stakes places to experiment, and Better Than Bouillon turns out to be a surprisingly serious contender amongst the flavor faves. The technique to get that "fried chicken popcorn" hit just right might surprise you, though. But stay with us –  dissolve the bouillon in a small amount of water, then simmer it down until reduced by half before adding butter. If you do this before any aromatics go in, it allows the butter to pick up that concentrated savory base as it melts and browns. Once strained over hot popcorn and tossed through, it coats every piece with a savory depth that plain melted butter could never quite reach. 

For anyone wanting something simpler than this full reduction method, you could add a small amount of Better Than Bouillon whisked directly into melted butter. This works too, just expect a slightly different texture since the water content changes how the butter behaves. In terms of flavors, roasted garlic bouillon makes an excellent base for cheesy garlic-style popcorn, while a beef base, paired with a little smoked paprika, edges toward something almost steakhouse-adjacent. We've said it before, and we will say it again — bouillon brings plenty of salt on its own, so it's worth tasting the finished popcorn before reaching for the shaker.

Now plain rice is fine, and sometimes even necessary, when the accompaniments are flavorful and intense. But every once in a while, rice deserves to be more than a functional backdrop to a meal, and all it takes is one small addition to the cooking water. By now, you would have guessed that this little something-something is Better Than Bouillon. Chicken or vegetable bases are easy starting points, though a mushroom base does bring something earthier and more autumnal to the table.

To make rice with Better Than Bouillon, stir the paste directly into the cooking water until fully dissolved before adding the rice. This ensures even flavoring throughout the rice dish. An easy formula to follow for perfect rice is a ½ teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon paste per cup of water, giving the rice just the right amount of saltiness and flavor. This works whether the rice is cooked on the stovetop, in a rice cooker, or even in an Instant Pot. You can then extend this ratio to well beyond plain white rice. Try using a Better Than Bouillon base when cooking brown rice, farro, quinoa, and even steel-cut oats (for a savory breakfast).

A good stir-fry sauce is built from a small handful of staples, and most people already have them on hand. Common building blocks include oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, rice wine, and a liquid like water or chicken stock, thickened with a bit of cornstarch.

Once the stir-fry comes together, taste and check if it needs more depth. If yes, a touch of chicken-flavored Better Than Bouillon added at this point, rather than mixed into the sauce from the start, makes all the difference. Adding bouillon at the very end is one easy way to add extra depth to the sauce after it's already done its job of coating the vegetables and protein. 

If you are whipping up a vegetarian stir-fry, try mushroom Better Than Bouillon as an easy swap. This is particularly useful in vegetable-heavy stir-fries, which can sometimes taste a little thin compared to ones built around meat. 

Better Than Bouillon may be exactly what your dips are yearning for. If you have ever resorted to whisking together some sour cream and mayo with dried onion soup mix and calling it a dip (and a day!), here's a simple hack to have your guests clamoring for more. 

Now you can add a bit of bouillon to your ready mix recipe, enjoying your onion dip hot or cold, or you can try an easy from-scratch version that won't take much longer to prepare. Start with the likes of dried onion flakes, onion powder, garlic powder, fresh chives, and a small amount of beef Better Than Bouillon, all stirred together until smooth. The bouillon does the heavy lifting here, and beef is the flavor to reach for. With this style of dip, the beef mirrors the broth used in French onion soup, and the paste form gives that depth without adding extra liquid that would thin out the dip.

In case you want to experiment with other flavors, roasted garlic Better Than Bouillon stirred into a yogurt or sour cream base with herbs would make a delicious savory herb dip, while a mushroom base works beautifully in a creamy spinach dip. Don't forget to let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour so the flavors can fully come together. This lets the dip thicken slightly and tastes better the longer it sits, making it a no-brainer starter for entertaining crowds. 

Ground beef is the perfect blank canvas to play around with flavors and textures. However, when making burger patties or meatballs, we have a tendency to stick to simple seasonings and let the add-ins or sauce do most of the heavy lifting. Better Than Bouillon is that tiny addition to your basic recipe that can transform patties and meatballs from plain and boring to rounded and wholesome (even on their own).

The method is about as simple as cooking gets. Take your usual amounts of ground beef, finely chopped onions, salt, and pepper, and add a couple of teaspoons of beef Better Than Bouillon. Mix until combined directly in a bowl until well blended, then shape into patties or meatballs. When using bouillon paste, working it in early with the wet ingredients — such as egg or Worcestershire sauce — helps distribute it evenly through the meat rather than clumping in one spot. These small changes ensure that the meat is seasoned in every bite from the inside rather than only on the surface, like a sprinkle of salt and pepper would.