How to Make Gravy (Simple and Easy)

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The holiday season is here, which means it’s also time for family gatherings, end-of-year parties, and sharing food with others. If you’ve been asked to make the gravy for this year’s holiday party, don’t worry. We’re here to teach you how to make gravy so you won’t have to show up to your cousin’s or in-laws’ house empty handed.

Why You’ll Love This Simple Gravy Recipe

Only 3 basic ingredients. All you need to make a super simple, basic gravy are 3 things: fat (like butter, fat drippings, oil, etc.), flour, and broth, stock, or juicy drippings (in other words, the drippings minus the fat).
Super customizable. You can make any kind of gravy you like, depending on the stock or drippings you’ve got. Chicken, turkey, beef, mushroom, etc. You can even make country or white gravy with milk instead of broth. Add seasonings to amp up the flavor too, like poultry seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, etc.
Comes together quickly. All you need is about 10 minutes to make this basic gravy.
Scalable so that you can make more (or less), if needed. If you want less gravy, halve the flour and butter and the liquids. The general rule here is 2 parts fat, 2 parts flour, 1 part liquid, by volume.

Spoon pulling out of a small white pitcher full of gravy, with gravy dripping off the spoon.

What is a Roux?

For gravy, you’ll often want to make a roux (pronounced roo) first, which will help thicken it. A roux is a mixture of fat and flour that you cook down to make a paste. This helps cook off the raw flour taste and incorporates the flour so that it’s smooth and not clumpy. If you want richer, deeper flavor, you can cook the roux down longer so that it turns darker in color, then whisk in your liquid. It’s typically made with equal volumes of fat and flour, but for thicker gravies, you can add extra flour to your roux, or keep it as is for a pourable, thinner sauce. More information on different types of roux, check out this Serious Eats article.

The Perfect Ratio for Gravy

A standard gravy ratio is 2:2:1, meaning 2 parts fat, 2 parts flour, 1 part liquid, by volume.

For 1 cup of gravy, you’ll need 2 tablespoons of butter or fat drippings, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1 cup of broth or liquid drippings.
For 2 cups of gravy, use ¼ cup (which is 4 tbsp) butter or fat drippings, ¼ cup (4 tbsp) flour, and 2 cups broth, stock, or liquid drippings.

Ingredients for Simple and Easy Gravy

Fat – for a gravy without drippings, use butter for the fat (you can use non-dairy butter too). If you have drippings from turkey, chicken, or another protein, separate the fat from the broth and use them in place of or in addition to the butter, depending on how much fat drippings you have.
Flour – use all-purpose or 1:1 gluten-free flour.
Broth or stock – any kind of broth or stock will work. If you have drippings from cooking meat or poultry, you can use the brothy parts (fat separated out) in place of regular stock or broth.
Seasonings – in addition to salt and pepper, you can add fresh thyme leaves, poultry seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, or anything else you like.
Optional additions – you can also jazz up any gravy recipe by sautéing onions, mushrooms, or other aromatics, then building the roux on top of those.

How to Make Gravy (Step-By-Step)

Melt ¼ cup (4 tbsp) butter in a heavy bottomed medium-sized pot. If you’re using fat drippings instead or in addition to the butter, add them now too.
Sprinkle ¼ cup flour over the melted butter or fat, then whisk it in until the clumps are gone and the mixture has formed a loose paste, also called a roux. For a thicker gravy, you can add more flour (½ to 1 tbsp more for this recipe), which will give you a thicker paste.
Slowly whisk in 2 cups of warm broth, stock, or drippings (fat separated out) to the roux until it’s fully mixed in.

Melt butter in a pot
Whisk in flour
Add warm broth

Season with pepper, salt (you may not need much or any if your broth or drippings are salty), and poultry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce, if using.
Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, whisking often, until small bubbles form and the gravy thickens up slightly. Note: if it’s not as thick as you want it, you can add a cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch whisked with 1 tbsp cold water) and bring it to a low boil again.
For an extra smooth gravy and to remove any unwanted clumps, you can pour it through a fine mesh strainer before serving.

Rachel & Emily’s Tips for How to Make Gravy

A standard, basic gravy ratio is 2:2:1. That means 2 parts fat (butter or fat drippings), 2 parts flour, and 1 part liquid or broth, by volume. So in this recipe, we have 4 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp flour, and 2 cups flour, which gives us the same ratio.

Rachel and Emily from Cooking with Conks, standing side-by-side in green and yellow aprons.

If you want a thicker gravy, add a little more flour to the roux in the beginning. For this recipe that uses ¼ cup (4 tbsp) flour and ¼ cup fat, you could add 1 extra tablespoon of flour when you make the roux (the fat + flour paste). If you’re making a half batch of gravy, you can add ½ tbsp of extra flour to the roux.
To add thickness to the gravy after you’ve mixed in the broth, whisk in a cornstarch slurry. To make a slurry, whisk together 1 tbsp cornstarch with 1 tbsp cold water. Mix it into the gravy and bring the gravy to a boil, which will activate the cornstarch and thicken the gravy.
Use warm broth, stock, or liquid drippings because it will mix into the roux more easily and smoothly. You can warm the liquid up in a pot or in the microwave before adding it to the roux.
For a smoother gravy and to remove any lumps that may accidentally occur, pour the gravy through a fine mesh strainer into your serving bowl. The strainer will catch any unwanted lumps of flour or seasoning. Just note that if you’ve added onions, mushrooms, or fresh herbs, they’ll be caught in the strainer too.

Small white pitcher full of gravy resting on top of a wooden board.

Storage and Serving Suggestions

To store leftovers, place it into an airtight container in the fridge. For best results, reheat it in a pot on the stove over medium heat, stirring often. You can also microwave it in a microwave-safe bowl.

We like to serve this with mashed potatoes, like our Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream, or simple turkey or chicken dishes.

FAQs: How to Make Gravy

Yes. To make a gluten-free version, you can replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour and use it in the roux to thicken the gravy. Alternatively, you can add a cornstarch slurry to warm broth or drippings instead of making a roux in the first place. You’ll need less cornstarch than you would flour, so for 2 cups of liquid, start with a slurry made with 2 tbsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp cold water. You can always add another slurry later if your gravy isn’t thick enough, or more warm broth if it’s too thick.

Definitely! Just use a plant-based butter for the fat and vegetable broth instead of poultry or meat-based broth or drippings.

For a clumpy gravy, you can pour it through a fine mesh strainer at the end. This will remove any clumps of flour or other solids from the gravy. Note that if you add sautéed onions or mushrooms to your gravy, straining it will remove those too.

Yes! Gravy typically freezes well. Place it in an airtight, freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 3 months. When you want to use it, thaw in the fridge overnight, then place it in a pot over medium heat and cook until it’s warmed through.

Ingredients

¼ cup butter, fat drippings, or other fat (4 tbsp)
¼ cup flour (4 tbsp)
2 cups chicken or turkey broth, stock, or liquid drippings
½ tsp poultry seasoning optional
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Melt ¼ cup (4 tbsp) butter in a heavy bottomed medium-sized pot. If you’re using fat drippings instead or in addition to the butter, add them now too.
¼ cup butter, fat drippings, or other fat
Sprinkle ¼ cup flour over the melted butter or fat, then whisk in until the clumps are gone and the mixture has formed a loose paste, also called a roux. For a thicker gravy, you can add more flour (½ to 1 tbsp more for this recipe), which will give you a thicker paste.
¼ cup flour
Slowly whisk in 2 cups of warm broth, stock, or drippings (fat separated out) to the roux until it’s fully mixed in.
2 cups chicken or turkey broth, stock, or liquid drippings
Season with pepper, salt (you may not need much or any if your broth or drippings are salty), and poultry seasoning and Worcestershire sauce, if using.
½ tsp poultry seasoning, Salt and pepper, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, whisking often, until small bubbles form and the gravy thickens up slightly.
For an extra smooth gravy and to remove any unwanted clumps, you can pour it through a fine mesh strainer before serving.

Notes

If your gravy isn’t as thick as you want it, you can add a cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp cornstarch whisked with 1 tbsp cold water) and bring the gravy to a low boil again.

Final Thoughts

Family gatherings and dinner parties can be stressful on their own, but now that you know how to make gravy, there’s no need to stress about being asked to bring it. Make a batch for your holiday table, or whip some simple gravy up to top your next easy chicken dish. It’s a great recipe to have in your back pocket whenever you need a simple sauce for protein.

If you love this recipe, we’d love for you to rate it and comment below, and don’t forget to tag us on Instagram!