Mushroom Gravy

Gravy can make or break your dinner, so we developed a creamy and tasty mushroom gravy recipe that is excellent with most mains and your guests will rave about it.

Creamy, with a bold flavor and tasty browned mushrooms, our mushroom gravy is a terrific sauce for special holiday meals and cozy family dinners.

Our mushroom gravy is the perfect accompaniment to upgrade your meal.

Whether you serve it over mashed potatoes or for smothering your vegetarian centerpiece dish, mushroom gravy adds a rich, umami-packed, and earthy flavor and a creamy, velvety texture that is hard to resist.

And you’ll love how easy it is to make with simple ingredients.

Our recipe combines mushrooms, browned to perfection, with aromatic herbs and vegetable broth, thickened with a mixture of flour and butter – or vegan butter.

If you want a holiday dinner menu, we recommend serving it with our selection of holiday centerpiece meals: 1) Mushroom Wellington, 2) Stuffed Butternut Squash, and 3) Lentil Loaf.

Add sautéed green beans, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots on the side, and your guests will love this.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Mushrooms

Use fresh mushrooms, as they are easier to brown.

Frozen mushrooms can be used, but you must cook them well until all liquid has gone from the pan.

We make mushroom gravy with white button mushrooms.

Substitute brown button mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, baby bella mushrooms, porcini, and portobello or baby portobello mushrooms.

You can also mix more mushroom varieties or add in a few dried porcini mushrooms or shiitake that you previously rehydrated in water for 10 minutes.

Olive oil

Use extra virgin olive oil to brown the mushrooms.

EVO oil withstands high temperatures well thanks to its high antioxidant content, so we prefer it to butter for browning the mushrooms.

Substitute olive oil, avocado oil, or butter for extra virgin olive oil.

Garlic

Garlic adds a ton of flavor to this gravy, and we recommend it.

Fresh garlic, crushed, grated, or finely minced, is best. Optionally, you can add a pinch of onion powder.

Flour and Butter

We mix all-purpose flour and melted butter to make the so-called roux, which is the thickening agent of our gravy.

Use vegan butter to make vegan gravy.

There’s no need for cornstarch in this recipe, and if you want to make it gluten-free, you can use gluten-free flour.

Vegetable broth

Vegetable stock is the liquid element of this gravy and acts as an excellent flavor base.

You can, of course, substitute beef broth or chicken stock for vegetable stock; however, using vegetable stock is an easy way to reduce meat consumption while still making a delicious vegan mushroom gravy recipe.

Soy sauce

Soy sauce adds so much umami flavor and that dark brown color that looks so good in gravy.

Adding just a tablespoon makes a huge difference in looks and depth of flavor, so we recommend you don’t skimp on it.

We use reduced-sodium soy sauce. You can substitute tamari sauce or coco aminos for soy sauce.

Rosemary

A sprig of fresh rosemary infuses the mushroom gravy with earthy rosemary notes.

You can substitute fresh thyme sprigs or bay leaves for rosemary.

Fresh herbs like parsley or chives work well as garnish.

Salt and pepper

We use sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Depending on your soy sauce and vegetable broth, you might need to add more or less salt, so taste and adjust.

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Clean the mushrooms; rinse them under running water if they are heavily soiled, or brush them with a wet paper towel if they are not too dirty.

Cut them into not-too-thin slices of about 1/8 inch or 0.3 centimeters.

Tip: purchase pre-chopped mushrooms to speed up this recipe.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped mushrooms, season them with salt and black pepper, and cook them on medium-high heat for about 10 minutes or until they brown.

Add grated garlic and cook for 2 more minutes, until you smell the fresh aroma of the garlic.

Note: the mushrooms will first release water. Keep cooking them until the pan is dry, and they squeak and brown on the pan. Color equals flavor.

Transfer the mushrooms onto a plate and set them aside.

In the same pan, melt the butter on medium heat, add the flour, and stir with a whisk until the flour-butter mixture starts to bubble.

Add vegetable broth, soy sauce, and the rosemary sprig, then simmer while stirring until the liquid thickens. This will take about 30 seconds to a minute.

Next, add in the mushrooms and stir until you reach your desired consistency.

Add more broth if the sauce gets too thick, then taste and adjust for salt.

Serve in a bowl or a gravy boat at the center of the table so people can help themselves.

We recommend it with:

Main dishes

• Mushroom Wellington
• Stuffed Butternut Squash
• Lentil Loaf (coming soon)
• Zucchini Boats

Mains

Mushroom Wellington

Mains

Stuffed Butternut Squash

• Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Vegetarian Stuffing (coming soon)
• Roasted Vegetables
• Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Sautéed Green Beans
• Roasted Butternut Squash
• Sautéed Kale
• Roasted Broccoli and Carrots
• Glazed Roasted Carrots
• Roasted Broccoli
• Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Roasted Potatoes

Sides

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Sides

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Sides

Sautéed Green Beans

Sides

Roasted Carrots

Make ahead: you can make mushroom gravy up to 24 hours before. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge, then shortly before serving it, reheat it in the microwave, stirring in a dash of water if necessary. Alternatively, reheat in a saucepan with some water.

Refrigerator: keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freezer: let the gravy cool down completely, then transfer it to a freezer-friendly container and freeze for 3 months. Thaw in the fridge over several hours.

Use up your mushroom leftovers and try these wholesome and tasty mushroom recipes:

• Italian mushroom risotto
• Vegan mushroom pasta
• 30-minute mushroom Alfredo pasta
• Easy mushroom ragu

Pasta

Mushroom Ragu (Mushroom Bolognese)

Mains

Mushroom Risotto

Pasta

Lentil Bolognese

Mains

Mushroom Wellington

Here are some ideas for ending your holiday dinner with a bang.

• Sweet potato casserole
• Vegan carrot cake
• Easy apple cake or pear cake
• Hasselback baked apples
• Apple Crisp
• Vegan apple pie (coming soon)
• Vegan pumpkin pie (coming soon)
• Baked apples

Recipes

Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole

Desserts

Vegan Apple Crisp

Desserts

Hasselback baked apples with cinnamon

Desserts

Vegan Apple Cake