Learn how to make Homemade Brown Gravy from scratch. So easy, this gravy can be made without drippings as it is thickened with flour.
The flavor comes from beef broth/stock whilst the rich texture comes from some butter and a splash of heavy cream.
The perfect gravy for serving with your beef roast, pork chops or sausage and mashed potatoes.
What is brown gravy? Why not just call it gravy.
Brown gravy is the classic gravy that you would serve with a roast dinner.
It is traditionally made with roasted meat drippings and thickened with flour.
In the UK it is just called gravy, but I like to call it brown gravy so it isn't confused with the white gravy typically used in biscuits and gravy and chicken fried steak.
Can you make gravy without pan drippings?
Yes! This simple brown gravy recipe is made without drippings. It is rich, full of flavor and no one will know that you didn't have any pan drippings!
How to make gravy without drippings
Instead of dripping we use butter to add the richness. Then by adding beef stock or beef broth, you can get a deep beefy flavor without any beef drippings or juice.
I like to add a splash of heavy cream at the end. It adds a wonderful roundness to the gravy. But don't add too much we want this to be a brown gravy!
How to thicken homemade brown gravy
The key to thickening gravy is a mixture called a roux.
A roux is just a mixture of fat and flour. This is cooked over low heat to give it a deeper flavor. This thick paste is the basis of your gravy. Once the roux has been cooked you slowly add in beef stock/broth. Don't add any salt at this stage, we are going to simmer the gravy and this can concentrate the flavors. If you add the salt in the early stages your gravy could end up too salty.
Help my gravy is lumpy!
Firstly don't panic! We can solve this and no one at the table will know!
Just continue to whisk and cook your gravy as directed and when you are ready to serve, pour it through a fine mesh strainer/sieve into your gravy boat. The lumps will be removed and everything will taste great.
Because you have removed a bit of the flour your gravy might not be quite as thick as normal, but it will still taste good.
Pro Tip:
Next time you make gravy try adding the beef broth a little more slowly at first and whisking between each addition. This should help to eliminate the lumps.
But even Delia Smith has admitted to having lumps in her gravy at one time or another, so you are in great company!
How to make gravy from scratch
- Melt your butter in a saucepan
- Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes making sure not to burn the mixture.
- Add in half a cup of beef broth and whisk as it thickens drastically.
- Add another half cup of broth and whisk until the mixture starts to thin.
- Slowly whisk in the remainder of the broth.
- Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce, some Beef better than bouillon and a pinch of pepper.
- Simmer the brown gravy for 3-4 minutes.
- Add in your splash of heavy cream
- Check your seasonings and serve.
What is Beef Better than Bouillon?
Beef better than bouillon is an intense beef base. You can replace it with the beef paste or half a crumbled beef stock cube. It adds great beefy depth and saltiness to your gravy helping to replace the flavor missing from drippings. You can leave it out but you will find you need to add more salt to your brown gravy.
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Meals that go with Gravy
Brown gravy is so rich and delicious that it will enhance so many different meals.
These are my top 10 foods that are great with gravy!
- Toad in the Hole (Seriously good!)
- Sausage and Mash
- Lamb chops
- Hamburger Steaks with fried onions
- Roast Chicken with the works (including Yorkshire pudding)
- Beef Dip Sandwich
- Open faced turkey sandwiches
- Chicken Schnitzel and Mash
- French Fries (drizzled over UK style or poutine/jazz fries style)
- Meatloaf
- Beef Manhattan
- Seared Steak with mash and peas
- Pork Chops
Enjoy x
For more delicious gravies and sauces why not try:
Get the Recipe
Easy Homemade Brown Gravy Recipe (no drippings)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon AP flour
- 1 ½ cup beef broth/stock
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon beef - better than bouillon - See note 1
- pinch pepper (Black or white)
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes until well combined and golden brown.2 tablespoon AP flour
- Whisk in ¼ cup of the beef broth, the mixture will become a very thick paste. Gradually whisk in ¼ cup more broth. Once the mixture has thinned slightly you can gradually whisk in the remaining broth.1 ½ cup beef broth/stock
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, the beef base, and the pepper.½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce½ teaspoon beef - better than bouillonpinch pepper
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes until thickened and glossy.
- Add the heavy cream, taste and season with salt if needed.2 tablespoon heavy creamsalt to taste
Notes
- Beef better than bouillon is an intense beef base, you can replace it with the beef paste or half a crumbled beef stock cube. It adds great beefy depth and saltiness to your gravy helping to replace the flavor missing from drippings. You can leave it out but you will find you need to add more salt to your brown gravy.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Thomas James says
Look yummy! One of my favorite Brown Gravy, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will cook this for family this weekend. Thanks you!
Claire McEwen says
Thank you Thomas,
I hope you and the family enjoy it 🙂
Donnie says
Can the heavy cream be left out? Don’t use & hate to buy for such a small amount.
Claire McEwen says
Hi Donnie,
You can definitely leave out the heavy cream. It could be substituted with a little milk if you have it. Or just leave it out entirely.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Moe DeLonn says
After scrolling thru 20 pages of ads and stuff like "What is brown gravy?" & "why is my gravy lumpy?" , I closed this silliness and just went with my good old 50 year old Betty Crocker cookbook....no ads, no "other" stuff...just recipes.
Never got down to the recipe....never again on this site.
Claire McEwen says
Had you never made gravy before then knowing why it was lumpy and how to solve the problem would be really useful. And many people appreciate the hints and help I provide.
And only in America is it called 'Brown Gravy' the rest of the world just calls it gravy, so I wanted to provide some clarity and explanation to those not in the US. Again because not everyone is in the same position as you.
So no worries Moe, you go back to the cookbook you paid for and I will keep providing free recipes that cost people nothing except a bit of scrolling or a click on the jump to recipe button.
Have a good day 🙂
Cx
Sara B says
Claire you are absolutely wonderful for making that comment above💖. I plan on making your gravy for a sirloin roast for Easter, something different for a change, along with Yorkshire Puddings, mashed potatoes and other veggies. Your gravy looks perfect for my dinner! I am not a fan of jar or packaged high salt, full of chemicals gravy.
Thank you so much!!
Sara
Kate says
I made this for Tgiving this year & it was a hit. I used it for a gravy w/ my Golumpki ( Pigs in a blanket) & it was great! I will make this again & again! Thank You.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so happy Kate, thank you for coming back to comment.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving (but with gravy and pigs in blankets who couldn't?? 😉 )
Cx
Stephanie says
I made this last minute for Thanksgiving this year. We got tons of snow and I didn't want to go to the store to buy gravy. I used Better than Bouillon concentrate to make the beef "broth" for the whole recipe because it was what I had on hand, and then I didn't add any extra better than bouillon in for the final step. It turned out great! Definitely saving it to be my go-to brown gravy!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased to hear that Stephanie, and great to know you can sub in for the broth.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I feel honoured that my recipe was part of your celebration.
Krystle says
I made this exactly as directed and it was so thin and runny, not a good gravy sauce at all. Don’t recommend.
Claire McEwen says
I am really sorry to hear this Krystle, everyone usually raves about it.
Did you use all purpose flour? or one of the substitutes?
Kelly says
I agree with you! Just followed it to aT and soo excited to love it after seeing reviews and mine was VERY runny and no flavor 🙁
Claire McEwen says
I am really sorry to read this Kelly as it is a favourite recipe of ours, I make it at least once a fortnight.
The lack of flavor can only be down to the type of broth used. If it was a very weak broth then that would give it less flavor. If you want to add extra flavor then you could add extra better than bouillon to boost the flavor of your broth.
As for not thickening, you have to ensure that once the broth has been added that you bring it to a boil to really activate the flour and then simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Shannon says
Hi Claire! I'm going to be making this recipe for Thanksgiving, but I'll be quadrupling the recipe. When making the roux for a larger batch, how should I add in the broth? Should I follow the 1/2 cup additions until I've added all the broth, or should I add a larger amount each time? Thanks
Claire McEwen says
Hi Shannon,
I would increase the additions a little, so start off slowly adding a cup or so of broth, you will find it goes very thick (like wet sand) but don't panic, keep adding the broth a cup or so at a time and whisking well between additions. Once it stops looking like sand and more like a very thick gravy you can add the broth in larger quantities.
The key is the first few additions. Whisk well then and you will find it comes together with no lumps.
Make the gravy in a really big saucepan, so you have plenty of space to whisk.
Hope that helps
Cx
Karen Howard says
Recipe sounds good, hoping this will taste like my mom used to make from bacon grease. Where can i find this Beef Better than Bouillon?
Claire McEwen says
You can buy it in most grocery stores in the US. And amazon have the whole range.
If you aren't in the US, then any bouillon concentrate will work. Or even a crumbled stock cube.
Hope that helps
Cx
Jasmine Tan says
Hi, Looking forward to making this for Friendsgiving for Mashed Potatoes. We are have 12 people, how many servings do you suggest.
Claire McEwen says
Hi Jasmine,
Food Network suggest that an average serving of gravy is 1/3 cup. Personally I like to make a little more than that per person as my family loves gravy!
Working on 1/3 per person the recipe would serve 5, but I never like to run out of gravy, so for us the recipe serves 4.
I would suggest you at least do 2.5 times the recipe and depending on your love of gravy and thoughts on leftovers I would even say triple the recipe. (Assuming you make it as written it will freeze, defrost and reheat really well.)
You can easily increase the recipe by clicking in the servings box, change the number there and the recipe will automatically scale up for you.
Either change it to 10 servings for 1/3 cup per person or 12 if you want a little more per person.
Hope that helps. Please message again if you want any further clarification 😀
Claire x
Michelle says
Any tips for making this recipe then adding drippings later? I'm so stressed at gravy making time it would be nice to have this made in advance. Thank you!
Claire McEwen says
Hi Michelle,
I would make the recipe up to and including step 5. It will then keep in the fridge for 48 hours with no issue.
When you are ready to serve if your drippings are really fatty drain a little fat off first, then add 3 tablespoons of the drippings to the gravy and whisk together in a small pan over medium heat. Once hot add the cream and check the seasoning.
Hope that helps 😀
Claire x
Hilary says
This looks so easy and delicious! I haven’t made it yet but I wanted to ask if you think it’s possible to make this ahead and then heat it up in a saucepan before serving? I’m traveling (driving 3+ hours, not flying!) for thanksgiving and there won’t be enough kitchen space for my contribution so I need to prep ahead of time. Sorry if this is a dumb question, I am still a novice in the kitchen!
Claire McEwen says
I'm a firm believer that there are no dumb questions when you are learning something new xx
Assuming you make the recipe as it is written i.e using standard all purpose flour, then it will heat up wonderfully and be just as thick without any lumps. Just prepare it as directed up to, and including, step 5, then allow it to cool, pop it in an airtight container and it will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Heat it back up slowly on the stove stirring it frequently and add the heavy cream once it is heated through and you are ready to serve it.
(You can do it in the microwave, (I do this quite often) but you do have to stop the microwave frequently (every 30 seconds or so) to stir the gravy so you don't get hot spots or any over heated chewy bits around the edge of the jug.)
Hope that helps.
Have a great Thanksgiving
Cx
jill cavazos says
Made this gravy tonight didn't like it I think the packaged brown gravy is much better sorry.
Claire McEwen says
I am sorry to hear that Jill.
Charlotte Evans says
Delicious!!!
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed it 😀
Kris Hodges says
Your recipe is definitely my favorite. I used another 1/2 teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon because I wanted deeper beef flavor and I used evaporated milk instead of the cream because that's what I had. I really like what the milk does for the taste. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe. I will be making often.
Claire McEwen says
I love the deeper flavor too and often add extra better than bouillon. Glad I am not the only one who likes really deeply flavoured gravy 😀
Isn't the creamy addition just the best, it sort of rounds everything out. Great to know that evaporated milk works too!
Thank you for coming back to comment Cx
Amanda Paris says
Super good! I substituted to make vegetarian, so instead of using beef, I used veggie broth and mushroom better than bullion. It turned out delicious!
Claire McEwen says
Oh that is great to know that you can turn it into a vegetarian gravy as well! Thank you for coming bak to comment Cx
Kelsey says
FANTASTIC!!! I was worried about making brown gravy without drippings, but WOW!! This recipe was on point, glad I used the 'Better Than Bouillon' beef base! Will definitely use again.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so glad you enjoyed it Kelsey and I am glad you grabbed the 'Better than Bouillon' it adds so much flavor doesn't it? 😀
Thank you for coming back to comment.
Annette says
Fantastic gravy. Will definitely be making it again, many times.
Claire McEwen says
Oh I am so pleased you enjoyed it Annette, what did you serve it with? 😀
Cx