The Best Mushroom Gravy
Step aside beef gravy, our silky mushroom gravy has an umami-packed flavor that will make you forget all about traditional meat-laden gravy! Both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike will enjoy the depth of flavor. This easy-to-make, from-scratch velvety gravy with mushroom recipe will be yours in less than 45 minutes and ready to be doused over your favorite comfort foods. Although it’s reminiscent of fine dining, we think it’s versatile enough for everyday meals. We can’t imagine pouring anything else over a big bowl of mashed potatoes.
What Is Mushroom Gravy Made of?
Mushroom gravy is simple and budget friendly yet still has a deep flavor. Basic gravy contains stock or drippings, attributing to lots of delicious complex flavors, and a thickener, such as corn starch or flour. Our mushroom gravy recipe gives you the option of your choice of stock, so if you want to make it vegetarian, you can! Most of the ingredients needed for brown mushroom gravy are found in your pantry. While mushrooms can sometimes be expensive, we like to go standard with cremini due to their subtle earthiness and budget-friendliness (white button mushrooms also work well!). Feel free to make it your own and go fancier, such as porcini or shiitake, when choosing your mushrooms. Our mushroom gravy recipe uses a handful of pantry staples like:
Cremini Mushrooms
Kosher Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Unsalted Butter
Garlic
Flour
Beef, Chicken, or Vegetable stock (use veggie to make it vegetarian!)
Thyme
Low-Sodium Soy Sauce or Tamari
Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Lemon Juice
How Do You Thicken Mushroom Gravy?
There are multiple ways to thicken mushroom gravy. For homemade mushroom gravy, we opt for making a roux to create that depth of flavor and nuttiness. A roux is when flour and butter combine and cook together and help thicken a sauce or gravy. Other mushroom gravy recipes might call for cornstarch or tapioca, but we prefer a roux for additional flavor. If you’re looking to make gluten-free mushroom gravy, we recommend swapping the all-purpose flour in the recipe for a gluten free 1:1 flour.
What Goes Well With Mushroom Gravy?
There are countless ways to devour this mushroom gravy…dare we say, directly from a spoon? We like to serve ours over Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Steak Frites, and Turkey Quinoa Meatloaf. It also pairs well alongside any roast beef, such as a Classic Pot Roast or pork like this melt-in-your-mouth tender Pork Loin Roast or serve it as a variation of our Pork Chops with Mushroom Cream Sauce. Friends and family who have enjoyed it mentioned that smothering it over Chicken or Pork Schnitzel is their favorite! To keep it vegetarian, we love to cover fries with mushroom gravy, like in this Homemade Poutine Recipe. It’s the perfect addition to any holiday table: pour it over Classic Sausage Stuffing or Roasted Brussel Sprouts at Thanksgiving or sop it up with Homemade Focaccia at Christmas. For chicken with mushroom gravy, we recommend a classic: Whole Roast Chicken with Carrots.
How to Make Mushroom Gravy
Brown the mushrooms! This step is critical for a dark, flavorful gravy. We salt the mushrooms early on to release moisture and then when they’re just about done cooking, we add in a little extra oil to crisp them up! The results are crispy, golden brown, umami-packed mushrooms.
Make the roux! This is our thickening agent made from flour and butter! Feel free to swap out regular butter for vegan butter to make it more dietary-friendly! Simply cook the garlic in butter then add in the flour and mix until it forms a paste. It’ll smell nutty and delicious. A roux creates a base foundation for complex flavors.
Finish the sauce! Slowly add in the stock followed by the remaining ingredients, including the perfectly browned mushrooms. Allow it to thicken and for the flavors to marry together.
Serve over everything! We mean it. Make boring veggies shine with a little dollop of mushroom gravy. Try it over mashed potatoes for a warm comforting side. Slather it over your favorite steak.
Tools You’ll Need for Easy Mushroom Gravy
Sauce is the Boss!
Sauces are flavor bombs! Here are our favorite sauces that make every dish better:
Mushroom Gravy Over Everything!
What did you pour your mushroom gravy over? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so we can see your handiwork! Happy eating!
