Mushroom Gravy

Mushroom Gravy is an easy from scratch vegan-friendly homemade brown gravy recipe made with mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Make it ahead of time to reduce stress for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.

I love mushrooms.

I always have a pack in my fridge, usually white button. I add them to soups, sauces, sausage mushroom pasta, even my steak fajitas.

When I go to the Asian markets, I usually end up with shiitake for my tomato mushroom pasta, hen of the woods, or beech. Sometimes all three.

If mushrooms were a vegetable, they’d be my favorite vegetable. Instead they’re my favorite… fungus. Yum?

Since my Gravy Without Drippings and Gravy From Drippings are so popular, I knew I had to work on Vegan Mushroom Gravy next.

Now before you run away from the V word, all the ingredients are pantry-friendly. It simply means I’m using olive oil instead of butter and vegetable stock instead of chicken.

Why vegan gravy? Because I’m trying to be more inclusive with my Thanksgiving Dinner For Two, Christmas Dinner For Two, and Easter Dinner For Two menus.

You have stuffed butternut squash for the main dish. Mashed Potatoes For Two, Green Beans With Almonds, Cranberry Stuffing, and Homemade Cranberry Sauce for the side dishes.

Now it’s time to pour homemade mushroom onion gravy on top.

In order to make this mushroom gravy recipe the most flavorful and best gravy ever from scratch, I used baby bella mushrooms (sometimes referred to as cremini), onion, and garlic.

Brown mushrooms add a more robust umami flavor to your vegan gravy. Baby bellas can be found at most supermarkets, but feel free to mix and match your favorite varieties.

You can also use white button mushrooms as well. It’ll be a bit lighter in terms of flavor but still delicious.

Although this easy mushroom gravy is vegan as written, it’s flexible enough to serve with both meat and vegetable.

Serve it with your lamb chop dinner, stuffed Cornish hen, or pork chops with mushroom gravy.

Ingredients For Mushroom Gravy

The ingredients for your homemade mushroom gravy recipe are:

• Olive Oil: Using oil instead of butter helps make this easy mushroom gravy vegan. Cook with a high-quality extra virgin olive oil suitable for sautéing (not a finishing oil for salads). You can also use another fat, such as butter (vegan or not).
• Onion and Garlic: Known as aromatics, onion and garlic help build flavor into your gravy. Use white, yellow, or even Vidalia onion. I wouldn’t use red onion unless that’s all you have.
• Mushrooms: It wouldn’t be vegetarian mushroom gravy without mushrooms! They add a robust, meaty flavor. Use a brown mushroom such as baby portobellas (aka cremini) or shiitake. In a pinch you can use white button mushrooms, although the flavor won’t be as earthy.
• Flour: Flour helps thicken the gravy by making a roux, which is cooking the flour in fat before adding your liquid.
• Salt: Salt is a flavor enhancer, so it’ll make your mushroom gravy taste even more mushroom-y. Plus it helps draw out the moisture from the mushrooms and onion so they cook down more.
• Vegetable Broth: Another ingredient making your gravy vegan-friendly. Broth is needed to turn your roux into a sauce.
• Fresh Herbs: I used chopped parsley for color and freshness since gravy can be a bit heavy, but you can use almost any herb – thyme, rosemary, sage, whatever you have on hand.

Serve your mushroom gravy for breakfast by making vegetarian biscuits and gravy for two instead of using sausage gravy recipe for 2.

How To Make Mushroom Gravy

To make homemade mushroom gravy with flour:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Once hot, add your mushrooms, onion, and a big pinch of salt.
2. Cook until the moisture is cooked out of your mushrooms and onion and they start to brown, about 10 minutes or so then add your garlic and cook 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in flour to create a roux, which is a fancy word for flour paste.
4. Slowly whisk in broth, smoothing out the roux as much as possible. Bring to a boil then cook until it thickens, roughly 3-5 minutes.

The gravy will thicken as it cools, so I like to pull mine off the heat early. However, if your gravy is too thick, stir in more broth to thin it out.

How To Make Mushroom Gravy Ahead Of Time

The best part about making this easy mushroom gravy recipe is you do not have to wait until your dinner is done cooking to make the gravy.

Most dinners have you waiting for the meat to finish so you can use the drippings.

Well with vegan gravy, there are no meat drippings to wait for!

When there’s about 15 minutes left before dinner is done, I start the gravy. That way when everything is ready, the gravy is ready too.

However, you can certainly save time (and sanity) and make mushroom gravy the day before and refrigerate

It will thicken greatly when cold so right before serving, reheat it in a saucepan or skillet until smooth and pourable again. You will likely need to stir in more broth to thin it out.

What To Serve With Mushroom Gravy

Now that you made the best vegan gravy recipe, what do you serve with it? Here are some ideas:

Note: Not all recipes are vegan

• Stuffed Turkey Breast
• Stovetop Scalloped Potatoes
• Au Gratin Potatoes For Two
• Small Batch Dinner Rolls

First published October 29, 2021