Quick Vegan Gravy Recipe

So, you're in charge of bringing the gravy to the next holiday potluck and you just found out that some of the guests are vegan? This cooking conundrum is becoming all too common for many holiday cooks in recent years, but there's no need to fret, and there's certainly no need to exclude your vegan pals from the feast. Recipe developer, Kate Shungu, brings us this recipe for a quick vegan gravy, and it's so tasty that you might not even realize it's meat and dairy free!

Typically, gravy is made from the drippings off the main meat course. Without those, the flavor in the gravy can often be lacking, but not in this case. "The goal here is to create an umami-rich gravy that mimics one made with meat drippings," Shungu explains. "So I created a flavorful base with the shallot, thyme, and parsley, used vegan butter for richness, and added soy sauce for umami flavor."

Gravy is most often served with holiday dishes, but don't let that stop you from using this on more typical eats. Shungu advises, "You can serve the gravy with vegan meats or mashed potatoes, ladle it over biscuits, or serve it on top of baked potatoes." And hey, there's no stopping you from topping off any non-vegan dishes with this vegan gravy as well.

To make this quick vegan gravy, you can start by gathering your ingredients. For this recipe, you will need vegan butter, a shallot, thyme, parsley, flour, soy sauce, vegetable stock, salt, and pepper.

Get started by placing the vegan butter in a saucepan on the stove top over medium heat. To the saucepan, add the chopped shallot, thyme sprigs, and parsley. Don't worry, we will strain out the large bits later on. For now, the thyme and parsley will infuse their flavor into the beginnings of the gravy. Continue to cook this down until the shallot is tender, which should take about 4 minutes.

Next, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. It's important to make sure you allow the flour to cook as this will help thicken the gravy. Then, whisk in the soy sauce and the vegetable stock into the gravy. While you may be questioning this unexpected gravy ingredient, Shungu tells us, "The soy sauce adds an extra depth of flavor, a little saltiness which is needed in gravy, and a rich umami flavor."

Bring the mixture to a boil before lowering to a simmer. Continue to simmer for about 4-5 minutes until the gravy has thickened. Lastly, strain the gravy through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the herbs and chunks of shallot. You should be left with a thick, but smooth gravy. Pour this into a gravy boat to be served immediately.

Naturally, you'll want to serve this gravy atop mashed potatoes, but it also tastes wonderful on stuffing, green bean casserole, or, if you eat meat, you can't go wrong with a classic turkey pairing.