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.
Serve it with your favorite mains, or drizzle it on our stuffed butternut squash, mushroom Wellington, or lentil loaf.
Table of Contents
Dietary Note: this recipe is suitable for a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diet.
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.
Mushroom gravy video
Ingredients & Substitutions for mushroom gravy
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.
How to make mushroom gravy
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.
Serving suggestions
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
Side dishes
- 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
Storage & Make Ahead
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.
More Mushroom Recipes
Use up your mushroom leftovers and try these wholesome and tasty mushroom recipes:
Holiday Desserts
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
Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
Sautéed Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound mushrooms sliced 1/8 inch or 3mm thick
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic grated
Gravy
- 2 tablespoons butter or dairy-free butter
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable broth or more for a thinner gravy
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Clean 1 pound 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.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, add the mushrooms, season with ½ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper and cook on medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until they brown.Add 2 cloves garlic (grated) and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Note: the mushrooms will first release water. Keep cooking them until the pan is completely dry and they squeak and brown on the pan.Transfer the mushrooms onto a plate and set them aside.
- Then in the same pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter, add 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour and whisk until the flour-butter mixture starts to bubble (about a minute)
- Add 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 sprig rosemary, then simmer while stirring until the liquid thickens.
- Stir in the mushrooms, taste and adjust for salt.Add more broth if necessary to reach your desired consistency.
- Serve as a side to mains, veggies, or mashed potatoes. Check out our serving suggestions chapter for more ideas.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Listen, I can’t make gravy to save my life. Even before I was vegetarian, i just couldn’t get that to come together and was always lumpy or bland. This was easy and very delicious. I think frying the mushrooms until all the water is gone is essential, it imparts seared bits of flavor on the pan that make this so yummy!
Hi Stacey,
Amazing – I’m so happy you enjoyed it! And you’re right, the key to success (and more flavor) is charred fried mushrooms 💪
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment here.
All the best,
Louise
Easy to make and very tasty! Thanks Nico and Louise!
I’m so very happy you liked it, Alex!
Thank you for leaving a comment here 🙂 Kindest,
Louise
Perfect! Tasty! I love it🌈🦄
Amazing, Manuela! I’m so happy you like it!!
I was wondering why in your nutrition list you don’t include sodium amounts. It would be very helpful.
Hi JoAnn,
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide this information since our calculator does not provide accurate sodium amounts.
Kindest, Louise
I am not plant based but this is the best mushroom gravy I have found on line.
Amazing, Valerie. Thank you so much, I love that you loved it!
Have a great Sunday.
Louise
How much is a serving?
Hi Mary,
1 serving is about 6 ounces, depending on the water content of mushrooms and the amount of vegetable broth added.
I hope that helps. Have a great rest of your day!
Kindest, Louise
😋😋👍🏼