A mouthwatering vegan gravy recipe packed with flavor and perfect for any holiday dish or gravy craving. The instructional cooking video shows you how to make vegan gravy that is great for Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas dinners, gravy fries, any other gravy occasion, or even for Earth Day celebration! Vegan, vegetarian, and meat-loving guests will love it.
click below to watch the instructional cooking video
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Are you looking for a plant-based gravy recipe that is just as flavorful as traditional gravy? Browned mushrooms and the use of dried shiitake mushrooms are the foundations to a delicious vegan gravy, but what takes this recipe to the next level is the use of umami-filled ingredients like a good dry sherry, soy sauce, and mushroom stock.
Maybe you're hosting a dinner with guests that have various dietary restrictions. I use to make 2 different gravies for Thanksgiving dinner to please the whole extended family, but decided to serve this vegan gravy to meat lovers as well when I realized they liked it just as much as turkey gravy.
With a few cooking techniques and the right ingredients, you can learn how to make this flavorful umami vegan gravy easily.
main ingredients at a glance
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE
- 8 ounces button mushrooms
- 1 medium shallot
- 2 cloves garlic
- fresh chives
- fresh thyme
- fresh parsley
- extra virgin olive oil
- ground white pepper
- salt
- dry sherry
- all purpose flour
- 1 quart mushroom stock
- low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup dried shiitake mushrooms
- vegan butter (optional)
cooking equipment and pantry items used in this vegan gravy recipe
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how to make vegan gravy – step by step
Each step is all about creating layers of flavor. You can make it the day before you need it so you have more time to spend with your friends and family.
- First, prep your ingredients.
Button mushrooms: clean and dice (photos 1-3).
Shallot: peel and mince (photos 4-8).
Garlic cloves: peel and mince (photos 9-12).
Chives: wash, dry with a clean kitchen towel, and mince (photo 13).
Herb bouquet: give your fresh thyme and parsley a rinse and tie them together with kitchen string (photos 14-15). - Make the gravy base:
Heat a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add olive oil immediately followed by diced button mushrooms. Allow mushrooms to brown (about 5 minutes), then season with ground white pepper and salt (photos 16-17).
Add minced shallot, and cook for another 2 minutes while stirring. Add minced garlic, herb bouquet, and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir and deglaze with dry sherry, scraping up brown flavorful bits (photos 18-21). - Thicken the gravy:
Reduce to medium-low heat, sprinkle the flour into the pan, add mushroom stock, and whisk until thickened and smooth (photos 22-23).
- Add extra umami:
Add soy sauce and dried shiitake mushrooms to the gravy base and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from scorching (photos 24-25).
- Finish with vegan butter and stir until incorporated (photo 26).
- Remove herb bouquet. Season to taste and serve.
- Optional step for extra thick gravy:
Strain or blend until smooth depending on preferred consistency. Adjust seasoning if needed.
need a gluten-free option?
- Substitute low sodium soy sauce with tamari
- Use cornstarch instead of flour - skip the adding flour step and continue to deglaze your pan with sherry and adding mushroom stock. Create a cornstarch slurry by whisking 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 cup of water. Add the slurry to the simmering gravy base while whisking over medium-low heat until thickened.
umami vegan gravy: pro tips and tricks
This recipe is easy to make for beginners and is easily customizable.
- Don't have dried shiitake mushrooms? No problem! You can use dried porcini mushrooms or omit altogether. As long as you take your time with browning the button mushrooms, the addition of soy sauce and mushroom stock will add plenty of depth of flavor.
- Prep ahead by making this gravy a day in advance and reheating the day of or you can freeze for later.
- How to thicken vegan gravy: all purpose flour or King Arthur's gluten-free flour (*affiliate links) would work best, but you can also thicken with a cornstarch slurry. You can even skip the thickening step if you plan to puree the mushroom gravy base.
COOKING WITH KIDS - what can the kids help with?
- wiping mushrooms
- making the herb bouquet
- measuring out dry and wet ingredients
recipes that go well with vegan gravy
I love gravy fries and this recipe is a perfect topping for oven roasted vegetable fries. It's also great on mashed potatoes, celery root puree, or even rice (I'm thinking vegan or vegetarian loco moco)!
Please give this recipe a star rating below and leave a comment. I would appreciate it so much and would love to hear about your experience or if you put your own twist on the recipe. Show off your results by taking a photo and tagging @thesoundofcooking on Instagram. I would love to share what you come up with!
Disclosure: The recipe below may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon
umami vegan gravy
watch it step-by-step: the sound of cooking® video
ingredients
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 5 stems parsley, flat leaf (Italian)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
- 8 ounces button mushrooms, cleaned and small dice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt, kosher
- 1 medium shallot, peeled and minced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- ¼ cup sherry, dry
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 quart mushroom broth (can substitute with low sodium vegetable stock)
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup sliced dried shiitake mushrooms (or dried porcini), about 6 grams
- 3 tablespoons earth balance vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
instructions
- Make a herb bouquet by tying kitchen string around the fresh thyme and parsley stems and set aside.
- Heat a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add olive oil immediately followed by diced button mushrooms. Allow mushrooms to brown (about 5 minutes), then season with ground white pepper and salt. Add minced shallot, and cook for another 2 minutes while stirring. Add minced garlic, herb bouquet, and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir and deglaze with dry sherry, scraping up brown flavorful bits.
- Reduce to medium-low heat, sprinkle the flour into the pan, add mushroom stock, and whisk until thickened and smooth.
- Add soy sauce and dried shiitake mushrooms to the gravy base and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from scorching.
- Finish with vegan butter and stir until incorporated.
- Remove herb bouquet. Season to taste and serve.
- Optional: strain or blend until smooth depending on preferred consistency. Adjust seasoning if needed.
notes
try these other vegan recipes
- taiwanese summer squash fava bean cold noodles
- tri-color cauliflower, lentils, and cherry vegan tacos
- roasted fuyu persimmon and pear with brussels sprouts and radish
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