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My Easy Gravy Recipe takes only 5 minutes and is perfect for turkey, chicken, or beef! It’s a foolproof gravy that thickens perfectly and has tons of flavor (even if you don’t have drippings!)

Gravy in a white gravy boat on a blue and white napkin

Easy Gravy Recipe in 5 minutes!

I’ve come to realize as I’ve gotten older that gravy is the star of the meal. My husband could drink gravy, he loves it so much, and he drowns everything in it, so it’s important that it not only tastes good but is the perfect consistency. Watery gravy was never my thing, and I was always looking for the perfect thick gravy that was easy to make.

THIS is the perfect gravy for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and ANY time you want to make homemade gravy for turkey, chicken, beef, or even vegetarian gravy! It’ll thicken up every time and has so much flavor even if you’re just using stock and not drippings!

Ingredients in gravy

Easy Gravy Recipe Ingredients

  • Butter: I love butter in gravy – it makes it so thick and rich. It’s best to use unsalted butter and then add salt to taste because you never know how much salt is really in stock or bouillon and you don’t want your gravy recipe to be too salty.
  • Flour: Use all-purpose flour for this. The butter and flour mixture cooks and makes a roux which thickens the gravy to the perfect thickness.
  • Chicken Stock or broth: Use your favorite brand – but use a good one. I prefer using low sodium stock. You can also use drippings from your roast or turkey.
  • Bouillon: I use this to add extra flavor when I’m just using stock or broth. If I’m using the drippings I don’t usually add this because turkey or beef drippings have tons of extra flavor.
  • Spices: Use your favorites, but I love adding herbs and onion powder.

Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions. See below the recipe card for even more information: process shots, variations, FAQ and more.

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Turkey with gravy on a white platter

Dorothy’s Expert Tips for Gravy

  • This gravy recipe calls for stock so make sure to use one that is high quality. The more flavor the better!
  • If you are making a turkey or chicken with drippings, strain it, remove the fat, and measure it with the stock to add tons of extra flavor.
  • If you’re using stock and not drippings don’t skip the bouillon. But if you’re using drippings you can reduce them or omit them.
  • It’s best to use unsalted butter, just because stock, drippings, and bouillon often have lots of salt. Taste your end product to see if it needs extra salt or pepper.
  • It really only takes 5 minutes. Don’t walk away from the stove; this gravy thickens fast!
4.35 from 418 votes

Easy Gravy Recipe

This Easy All Purpose 5-Minute Gravy recipe is perfect for turkey, chicken, or beef. Use this method to make the most flavorful gravy ever!
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2 cups

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups (474ml) chicken, beef, vegetable, or turkey stock
  • 2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes
  • 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup (31g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ teaspoon dried sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions 

  • Combine the stock and the bouillon cubes in a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Heat for 1 minutes and stir. Repeat until bouillon is dissolved.
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour, onion powder, thyme, sage, and rosemary and cook for 1 minute to cook the flour. Slowly whisk in the stock until smooth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, whisking, until smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Notes

  • If you have pan drippings, use those then add stock to make 2 cups.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 80kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 238mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

© Crazy for Crust. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization is strictly prohibited.

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4 images showing a pot on a stove showing the steps for making gravy

How To Make Gravy From Scratch

  1. Always melt the butter first, before adding the flour or flavors.
  2. Always whisk the flour into the melted butter so it makes a thick “rue” or paste. It needs to cook a few minutes to get rid of that “flour” taste.
  3. Adding hot stock makes this boil much faster than if it’s cold!
  4. Whisk almost constantly so it doesn’t stick.

FAQs

How do you thicken gravy?

This gravy recipe is thickened with flour – the butter and flour make a rue that thickens the stock.

Can you make gravy gluten free?

You’d have to use cornstarch to thicken the gravy. Bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan and use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the boiling stock until it thickens.

How to store leftover gravy?

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will gel; heat to thin and add additional stock or water if you want it thinner.

Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

4.35 from 418 votes (302 ratings without comment)

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223 Comments

  1. WOW!
    I substituted cassava flour to make it gluten free and I used drippings from the chicken with the stock. My whole family loved it! I’m so glad I found this recipe so I can have gravy again. It was so quick and easy to make. Thank you!

  2. I was looking for easy gravy recipe that doesn’t need drippings and came across this recipe. Didn’t expect much but wow, best gravy I ever made! Thank you for the recipe!

  3. I always mess up the gravy and never leave a recipe review; but, who woulda thought “gravy” would knock my socks off. Best, absolute best beef gravy I’ve ever served; even my son said how good it was! And easy, easy, easy! Thank you!

  4. This recipe is fabulous. I used it for a beef dish. My daughter is gluten-free so I substituted rice flour and it was still fantastic! I also used beef beyond bullion and I didn’t have all the individual spices so I just used poultry season, which included most of the spices the recipe called for. Thanks for making gravy sooooooo easy!

  5. Made this gravy for Thanksgiving dinner. It was wonderful. I tripled the recipe because I was confused about the number of servings, but I had gracious plenty. One recipe would easily serve 4 – 5. It tasted a little strong at first when tasting, but turned out to be a wonderful compliment to turkey, dressing, and potatoes. I did put slightly less sage than called for. I made it ahead of time and reheated it on the stove before serving. Will definitely make this recipe again.