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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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.)
It’s rare to find a recipe that easy, cheap, & delicious, but this is it! I love that it uses pantry staples & that it comes together so quickly. Super recommend!
This was great. Recipe was right on and easy to follow. Awesome comfort food. I pulled out all my open bags of frozen veggies and added an assortment of different cuts and sizes from different bags (even some that had been open a little too long). This was a great way to clean them out.
I added dumplings which were great, but in cooking them, I burned the bottom of the dish since this was so thick. I’ll have to think about that more next time – because there will be a next time.
Very tasty. Added sauteed diced onion to mine.
This recipe is exactly what I needed tonight after being sick all week and it being freezing outside. It was so easy to make and was warm and cozy to eat.
I didn’t have frozen mixed vegetables, so I added some fresh carrots with the potatoes, then some frozen green beans and a little bit of fresh kale towards the end. I think I overdid it with the veggies so I added a little more liquid to compensate. I also mixed a little bit of leftover cooked turkey into my bowl.
Just made this and overall it turned out really good! I used freshly dried sage that I grow myself and it unfortunately overpowered the other spices, so I think next time I make this (because I definitely will be making this again!) I’ll leave out the sage. I also added in some chopped up sugar snap pea pods (I eat the peas out but don’t like the pods raw lol) for some crunch since I thought celery might be too much water for this recipe, and it turned out to be a great decision! I saw someone asking about non-dairy milk: I used unsweetened almond milk and my dish ended up a LOT thicker than Beth’s, so keep that in mind!
I made this for my six-year-old who currently doesn’t like ANYTHING, and she liked this so much she asked for seconds. Total win!
I made this vegan, doubled the herbs and spices, and added a touch of smoked paprika to adjust it to our tastes. It was phenomenal, especially for how cheap and easy it was!! I so happy with this comforting recipe. In fact, right as I finished making it, the power went out for a couple of hours, but we felt very cozy eating this stew by candle light. 😊
This looks awesome and I can’t wait to try it. Do you think I could freeze the leftovers?
I had purchased the ingredients and then took my time making this. In my head, I was thinking that it was going to take more time than I wanted to dedicate. Turns out, I was wrong. This was pretty darn fast (and I sautéd the veggies in a pan with some vermouth). What a wonderful dish. I’ll certainly be making it over and over
This looks great! Can I replace the milk with non-dairy milk? Will the consistency be the same?
Go for it! Make sure you’re using a fatty non-dairy milk, like coconut. XOXO -Monti
This is one of my favourite comfory recipes now. I’ve made it so many times and usually just serve with bread.
This was great! Besides the chopping of the potatoes & an onion I added since we didn’t have powder my 10 year old niece made this all by herself. We added in some ground chicken & the frozen veggies we used had a butter sauce so we skipped the 2 tbs of butter as well. Such a solid yet simple recipe! We didn’t have any ground sage but it had such a great depth of flavor regardless (thanks to the hot sauce). We doubled the recipe & are planning to feast on this for days to come!
Love that you’re cooking with a kiddo. This is how we teach the next gen! XOXO -Monti
My god this was delicious, and almond milk worked beautifully. Thickened up perfectly. Be sure to salt to taste before serving. I served with freezer garlic bread I needed to use up, very tasty.
If I want to make for a large family, can I just double everything?
Yes :)
I would double the spices. It turned out kinda bland and I had to put a lot of salt into it at the end.
Tally-ho!