I’ve been having a lot of fun lately looking at old recipes from The Great Depression and I’m always surprised at how simple they are. They’re always just a few ingredients, barely seasoned, but always filling. The simplicity of those recipes inspired this Vegetables and Gravy recipe, although I did make sure it was well seasoned to fit today’s palate. 😅
This recipe is great for those times when you just need to throw together something simple, warm, and filling using inexpensive ingredients that you might already have on hand. It’s kind of like a cross between potato soup and the filling of a chicken pot pie (minus the chicken). Is it the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life? No. But when money is tight, this dish hits just right.
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What is Vegetables and Gravy?
This dish starts with cubed potatoes that are boiled in vegetable broth until tender. The liquid is then seasoned with herbs and spices and thickened to a gravy with a milk and flour slurry. Next, we add a bag of mixed frozen vegetables to add color, texture, and flavor. And we finish the dish off with some butter for added creaminess, and salt and pepper to taste. Simple, filling, and satisfying!
What Else Can I Add?
If you happen to have some extra ingredients on hand and want to take this dish up a notch, here are some ideas:
- Top with shredded cheese
- Brown some bacon in the pot first and top the finished dish with the crumbled bacon
- Add your favorite seasoning blend(you could do anything from a Cajun seasoning to something simple like Lawry’s)
- Add chopped cooked chicken to make it more like a chicken pot pie (a great use for leftover rotisserie chicken!)
- Add dumplings
How to Serve Vegetables and Gravy
I would consider this a simple all-in-one bowl meal and would not plan to make anything on the side. I might serve with some crusty bread for sopping up all that delicious gravy, but otherwise, everything I need is in that bowl. If you definitely need something on the side, I’d do a simple roasted vegetable. Maybe broccoli or Brussels sprouts.
About Those Leftovers…
Because this gravy is thickened with flour, it does gel up and get quite thick when refrigerated. But don’t worry, it will loosen a bit upon reheating and you can always add a splash of water or milk to thin it out even more, if needed.
Vegetables and Gravy
Servings 4 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1.5 lbs. russet potatoes ($1.96)
- 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.26)
- 1 cup milk ($0.20)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.12)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried sage ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 12 oz. frozen mixed vegetables ($1.00)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.22)
- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) ($0.02)
Instructions
- Peel and cube the potatoes into ¾-inch pieces.
- Add the cubed potatoes to a large pot with the vegetable broth. Cover the pot, turn the heat on to medium-high, and allow the broth to come up to a boil. Continue to boil the potatoes until they are fork-tender.
- While the potatoes are boiling, whisk together the milk and flour.
- Once the potatoes are tender, turn the heat down to medium and add the flour and milk slurry. Also add the soy sauce, thyme, sage, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Allow the liquid in the pot to come back up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken to a gravy.
- Add the frozen vegetables to the pot, stir to combine, then allow them to heat through.
- Stir the butter into the gravy until melted and combined. Give the gravy a taste and add salt, pepper, butter or other seasonings to your liking. Serve hot!
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Equipment
Nutrition
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How to Make Vegetables and Gravy
Start by peeling and cubing about 1.5 lbs. russet potatoes. Cut them into ¾-inch cubes.
Add the cubed potatoes to a large pot and add 2 cups of vegetable broth. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth up to a boil. Continue to boil the potatoes until fork tender (about 7 minutes).
While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the milk and flour slurry. Whisk ¼ cup all-purpose flour into 1 cup milk.
Once the potatoes are tender, turn the heat down to medium and add the milk and flour slurry to the pot along with 2 Tbsp soy sauce, ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp dried sage, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp garlic powder, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper. Stir to combine.
Allow the liquid to come back up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken into a gravy.
Add one 12oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables and stir to combine. Allow the vegetables to heat through in the gravy.
Lastly, add 2 tablespoons of butter to the gravy and stir until it has melted in. Give the gravy a taste and add salt, pepper, or more butter to your liking.
Serve it up hot with a little bread for sopping up that delicious gravy! (I garnished with some fresh parsley because I had it on hand, but it’s not necessary to flavor this dish.)
this recipe is great! idk if my potatoes were less dense than hers tho because 1.5 pounds ended up being a lot more than what is shown in her pics. i ended up needing to add extra water to the broth to cover the potatoes. but it turned out great. i poured mine into a frozen pie crust and made a veggie pot pie. it was so good!
We love this dinner!! Affordable, delicious, easy!!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. If adding canned biscuits as dumplings, when should they be added? Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes!
I would add them on top at the very end and just let the pot continue to simmer (with a lid) until the biscuits are cooked. :)
I tweaked this a little bit to use what I already had on hand. I was short a few ounces on the potatoes, so I added a sweet potato. Instead of a bag of mixed veggies I used equal parts frozen carrots, corn, peas, and spinach. I also added about half a cup more milk to thin it slightly. Five stars for a solid base recipe that’s flexible and easily adaptable!
How many does this serve. I’m trying to cook for 2 now. Our children and grandchildren have moved out and I still cook to much. This recipe sounds great. But saw it only makes 1.5 cups? Is that right
Hi Carol! It makes four servings of 1.5 cups each. :) Of course, if you prefer more or less than 1.5 cups per person that will change the total number of servings you get out of the recipe. I hope that helps!
Can I use a gluten-free 1-to-1 flour in place of all purpose?
Unfortunately, I’ve never used that type of flour so I’m not sure if it would affect the outcome.
I bet a chickpea flour (aka besan) could work, though it wouldn’t be as creamy. Great flavor though
I used tapioca starch as a gluten free substitute and it tuned out great
This recipe was so delicious! And it was so quick and easy to make. I was able to make this along with your Rosemary Biscuits with my 12 year old son for dinner tonight. You have inspired us both to help him learn how to cook more homemade foods. Thank you for the inspiration and for always delivering quality recipes that never disappoint us (we have tried so many from your blog and have not had one we didn’t enjoy!)
So I used vegetarian chicken stock, and then added some fake chicken slices to it. But it was absolutely incredible. I paired it with the sweet potato cornbread recipe from this site and it was one of the easiest, and best tasting, comfort food pairings I’ve had in a long time.
This was good! Used up all the leftover veggies including mashed potatoes and roast chicken. Served over leftover rice or pasta. …but now we have leftovers from the leftovers but all in one dish :)
Mixed frozen veggies is just wrong. Very very wrong. Lazy.
We don’t believe in right or wrong when it comes to food. If it helps you get fed and you enjoy it, then that’s all that is important. Frozen mixed vegetables are a great option for people who can not chop due to disability, arthritis, lack of skill, or even just time limitations. They’re also great for people who don’t live near grocery stores and can not purchase fresh vegetables on a regular basis. We try to help people find solutions, not shame them for their food choices.
What one calls lazy another sees as such a gift when she is trying to teacher her son to cook! Simple recipes like these are what I most enjoy cooking and what also inspire children to believe they are capable of cooking tasty meals. Thank you Beth for all you do on this site. It is our go to website for recipes and you made my son so happy to be able to help with this low stress delicious meal tonight.
Except frozen vegetables are often of higher quality than what you get from the produce section since they are frozen at the time of picking…add to that what Beth said about convenience, ease of saving it in the freezer for later, and the fact that you can get a mix of veggies for cheaper than you would buying all these things separately in larger quantities than you need and thus avoiding food waste…I could go on.
But really, is there anything lazier than criticizing a dish you A) clearly haven’t made and B) don’t know anything about?
Well said, behind you and Beth all the way. There is nothing at all wrong with using frozen ingredients, vegetables themselves are extremely versatile and readily availabe in an abundant combination of not only colour but also variety. Thank goodness for such a wonderful website, long live BudgetBytes, truly inspirational on so many levels of culinary capability, encouraging us all to try new things.
This message was intended as a reply to JBURNS 04/15/22 comment, and not GRANT
Negative comments like yours should be kept to yourself.
Just read through the many reviews and comments that have been left by users over the years, some recipes have generated over 500 comments, probably many others more than that. I recollect seeing some recipes that have had in excess of 700 reviews, mostly complimentary, many advising how they found and or tweaked the recipe to fall in line, either with their taste, available product or just simply improvising.
If you dont like Budgetbytes then stay away, and keep your negative dialogue to yourself.
JBurns: That’s a very privileged statement, that frozen veggies are wrong and lazy. First of all they’re affordable. Second of all they save time. Nor does everyone have access to fresh vegetables. Have you ever heard of urban food deserts?? Besides, no one needs your approval to take a shortcut to a homemade meal. This was an opinion best kept to yourself.
Bet you didn’t expect so many reviews to be against you did you?? Budgetbytes is THE BEST FOODIE WEBSITE/BLOG I HAVE EVER COME ACROSS.
If it is not for you, then stay away please, and let those of us who do like Beth and Budgetbytes enjoy reading the recipes, reviews and learning new skills.
Using frozen veggies also helps to reduce food waste.
What if it’s closing between frozen veggies or not having veggies?!? I say do the best you can – thanks to Budget Bytes for making “the best I can” better!
I have adhd, depression, and an eating disorder and just feeding myself is a struggle, forget about cooking. If i had to use fresh produce every single time I cooked i would literally just never do it. Your arrogant and ableist comment is not helpful
Curious, what is it that makes the liquid ‘gravy’ and not ‘sauce’ ? What the heck, sounds delicious and can’t wait to try it, right up my street. Probably serve with pasta and meat (or chicken) underneath, not on the side!!!
Do you not know what gravy is? It’s a type of sauce. It’s broth, herbs/seasonings thickened with flour and usually milk/cream added. Can’t believe you would need to even ask.
Are you related to Jburns? People shouldn’t be shamed for asking questions.
Not Beth, but I would guess it’s because it’s thickened by the flour?
This dish is cozy and delicious, and gets extra points from me for being lazy-cook-friendly. Great website!
Are you related to Jburns? People shouldn’t be shamed for asking questions either.
Love this recipe – but being a carnivore, I added some cooked, left-over chicken breast that I had diced to this – otherwise follow the recipe exactly. OMG – was this ever comfort food at it’s best. Thank you so much for posting it.
Would it be weird to add frozen cheese tortellini? Thanks, Beth–we live by your recipes!
I think if that sounds delicious to you, go for it! There’s no better way to make new delicious discoveries in the kitchen. :)
I would like to try this recipe, adding lentils to boil with the potatoes. I bet it would be very yummy!
1300mg of sodium! Is it the broth that contributes to the high sodium content? If it is the broth, I can use a low sodium version instead.
Yes, the broth and the added salt at the end. Just keep in mind that nutrition information calculated using a database like this is a broad estimate at best. The total amount of sodium can vary quite a bit depending on the actual ingredients you use.
Oh, this looks right up my alley. I’ve had good luck making recipes like this vegan by just using Earth Balance in place of the butter, and soy or almond milk in place of milk, so fingers crossed it works out this time too.