What makes gravy? Well, its basically a liquid thickened by roux (flour particles coated with fat). You can use any liquid (broth, milk, cream) and you can use any fat (meat drippings, butter, olive oil, or vegetable oil). Meat drippings, as in what comes out of a turkey when it’s roasted, creates the most flavorful gravy but since I’m not making a turkey this year I decided to make a butter-based Mushroom Herb Gravy instead. Simply swap out the butter for cooking oil to make this insanely scrumptious and herb infused gravy vegan.
Originally posted 11/18/2010, updated 10/11/16
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There is always at least one vegetarian or vegan guest at Thanksgiving, so it’s nice to make this delicious gravy that can accommodate all your guests. This Mushroom Herb Gravy is so good (especially when made with butter) that I promise no one will even notice. You can make one gravy this year and all your guests will be happy.
What Makes Gravy Flavorful
Since the gravy does not use flavorful meat drippings, most of the flavor comes from vegetable broth, mushrooms, and herbs. You can use any of your favorite herbs, but I happened to have fresh thyme and I love sage with mushrooms. The combo turned out quite spectacular if I do say so myself. ;)
Make it Vegan
Simply swap out the butter for cooking oil to make this insanely scrumptious and herb infused gravy vegan.Mushroom Herb Gravy
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter or cooking oil ($0.33)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 8 oz mushrooms ($1.99)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.25)
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme ($0.32)
- 1 tsp dried sage ($0.10)
- Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Rinse the mushrooms to remove any dirt or debris, then slice them thinly. Mince the garlic.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes or just until soft and fragrant. Add the sliced mushrooms and continue to sauté until they are soft, dark, and all of the moisture they release has evaporated (5 minutes).
- Make sure that all of the moisture released by the mushrooms has evaporated and just the butter oil and mushrooms remain in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the flour, and continue to sauté the flour with the mushrooms and butter. The flour will form a paste like mixture all over the mushrooms and eventually begin to coat the bottom of the skillet. Continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes, or just until the flour begins to turn golden brown on the bottom of the skillet. This will slightly toast the flour and give the gravy better flavor.
- Slowly whisk in the vegetable broth. Whisk well to make sure that all of the flour has dissolved off the bottom of the skillet and no lumps remain. Add the sprigs of thyme, sage, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine.
- Allow the mixture to come to a simmer. The gravy will begin to thicken as soon as it simmers. Allow the gravy to simmer for 7-10 minutes, whisking often, until it is the desired thickness. Remember that the gravy will continue to thicken as it cools. Taste the gravy and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
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Nutrition
How to Make Mushroom Herb Gravy – Step By Step Photos
Rinse and thinly slice 8oz. mushrooms. Mince two cloves of garlic.
I use Better Than Bouillon to make my broth, so I dissolved the concentrate in water before beginning the recipe. That way it’s ready to go when I need it. You’ll need 2 cups of vegetable broth for this recipe.
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for just 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant, but not brown.
Add the mushrooms to the skillet and continue to sauté over medium heat. Sauté the mushrooms until they release all their water and the water has completely evaporated. The skillet should just have mushrooms and some residual oil from the butter and it will sound a little like it’s frying.
Turn the heat down to medium-low and add 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour. Stir the flour into the mushrooms and butter. The flour will form a paste over the mushrooms. Just continue to stir and cook. The flour will eventually begin to coat the bottom of the skillet. Keep stirring and cooking until the flour starts to turn golden brown (but be careful to not let it burn). This toasts the flour and gives the gravy a much better flavor.
Whisk the vegetable broth into the skillet, using the whisk to help dissolve the flour off the bottom. Keep whisking until all the flour is dissolved into the broth.
Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, 1 tsp dried sage, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine. Allow the gravy to come up to a simmer, at which point it will begin to thicken (turn the heat up to medium to help it come to a simmer, if needed).
Let the gravy simmer for 7-10 minutes, whisking often, until it has reached the desired thickness. Just remember, the gravy will thicken a bit once taken off the heat.
Taste the gravy and adjust the salt or pepper if needed. The amount of salt needed will depend greatly on the type of broth you use. Better Than Bouillon tends to be on the saltier side, so I did not need to add any. Remove the thyme stems, if desired, or leave them in for visual effect.
Oh Mushroom Herb Gravy, how I wish I could drink you with a spoon!
Amazing!!
For a quick & easy dinner, use this as a sauce for pasta. It’s really good, and you can always add a little white wine and wilt some greens to make it extra healthy. I’m making this tonight and tossing some leftover kale in as well. Yum!
This is one of the only recipes on this site I don’t seem to mess up somehow. Fantastic. My meat-loving family couldn’t get enough of it! I’ve been veg for a year and I’m so glad I found this.
My husband and I both love mushrooms. This was so simple to make and tasted great!
Hubby has been a vegetarian for almost two years, and has missed gravy so much. I saw this recipe and decided to try it, forgot to buy sage, but it is still AMAZING. He is so happy that he got to have gravy on Thanksgiving, and I have a new, frugal, easy recipe. Love your recipes, have made quite a few (two for Thanksgiving today!) and they are so, so good!
Awesome, and since i am a hater of all things fungus, I did that thing I try to never do, and substituted them out. (I hate changing recipes, but yours always seem to be so versatile and flexible I just had to try)
Mine became a onion and celery sauce BUT that is it, i just subbed some red onion and celery right in the spot the mushrooms would have gone. Promise ;-)
Served with the unique and fantastic wild rice stuffing and the pork loin.
C’est Bon!
Hooray! Despite celebrating over twenty Thanksgivings, my family has never experienced gravy or understands what it is, so I am excited to bring this for dinner on Thursday.
Yep, you sure can! You just need 2 cups, no matter what liquid you use :)
Looks yummy! Could you replace vegetable stock for the boullion cubes, and if so, what quantity should you use?
@Mariah my son wasn’t gluten-free, but when he was younger, he had an allergy to wheat AND corn…potato starch worked fantastically in gravy, though! A bit more expensive, but worth it, if you ever find someone who can’t have the flour OR the cornstarch!
Can anyone give me some suggestions for a vegetable or ingredient that could be used in placed of the the mushrooms?
Hmmm…I think I’ll try this recipe for Thanksgiving! THANKS :)
I love gravy! For gluten-free people I’ve found substituting corn starch for flour gets the job done.
Hahahaha THANK YOU! The whole time I was making/reviewing the post I had this nagging feeling I was forgetting something… hehe. Fixing it now :)
Great recipe! The flour isn’t mentioned in the ingredients list, though, so you might want to add that so people don’t forget it and scramble for it at the last second!