This easy brown gravy recipe has only FIVE ingredients, is made without drippings, and is perfect on meatloaf, potatoes, or whatever you like to pour gravy over!
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As much as I love the packets of powdered gravy, I wanted to graduate to homemade gravy. A version I could make from scratch without drippings, because I never have those.
My first gravy-making experience was as a dipping sauce for my turkey & stuffing egg rolls and while it was delicious, I wanted a darker, beef gravy for meatloaf and mashed potatoes and came up with this recipe that is so good & so easy!
If you’re serving turkey, check out my make ahead turkey gravy!
Ingredients needed to make brown gravy from scratch
Brown gravy is made of onion, butter, beef broth, water, and corn starch. That’s it! Minimal ingredients and so easy to make.
Possible gravy additions
Want to jazz up your gravy? Here are some additions that would be really good:
- Mushrooms (or try my easy mushroom gravy)
- Fresh herbs – thyme, sage, parsley…
- Splash of wine
- Splash of soy sauce – will darken the gravy & add flavor
How to make brown gravy without drippings:
- STEP ONE: First, to a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the minced onion. Cook and stir until the onion is tender.
- STEP TWO: Next, add the beef broth and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
- STEP THREE: Then, in a small bowl, make a slurry by adding the water and cornstarch and mixing together until smooth. Once fully mixed, pour the slurry into the gravy & stir to distribute and thicken.
How to thicken brown gravy
You’ll make a slurry of water and cornstarch then add it to the beef broth. That is what thickens it up beautifully. If you don’t have cornstarch, you can substitute flour.
How long does gravy last?
Gravy should be used within 2-3 days of making it. Any longer than that, you’ll want to either freeze it (up to a few months) or toss it.
Equipment used to help you make gravy
- Sauce Pan – A good non-stick, dishwasher safe covered sauce pan is a great addition to the kitchen.
- Silicone Spatulas – I love these one-piece, heat safe, silicone spatulas. I use them daily.
- Onion/Vegetable Chopper – This chopper makes dicing onion easy and tear-free.
- Gravy Boat – There are so many pretty gravy boats! My local HomeGoods store had many to choose from and most were around $5.
Easy Brown Gravy (no drippings!)
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons onion minced
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 cups beef broth
- 4 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- To a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook and stir until tender.
- Add in the beef broth and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Make a slurry by adding the water and cornstarch to a small bowl and mixing together with a fork.
- Pour the slurry into the saucepan and cook for 1 minute or until thickened.
- Pour into a gravy boat & serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This was such an easy gravy to make!! It turned out really good, my new go to brown gravy
Thank you, Krystal!
How about chicken gravy? Same recipe only chicken stock? Thanks
Yep! I’ll add that one to my to-do list 🙂
When I don’t have drippings, I used this recipe to make beef gravy. I recently found “Bisto” on Amazon, and I have to say, it’s the best “instant” gravy I think I’ve ever had. I now even add it to my gravy made with drippings (in the place of corn or potato starch).
HI melissa,
This is exactly the way I make it (with one TINY change). I skip the water.. I just reserve a 1/4c of unheated broth to make the slurry. So yummy. Now I need to go make your meatloaf recipe (Ii’s been a few years for me, as well).
I like that idea! Let me know when you try the meatloaf 😊
Just made this for the second time and added baby Bella mushrooms and plan on serving over pork chops tonight!
Yay, thanks for letting me know 🙂
This was a great recipe. I used flour instead of cornstarch. It was so good.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Darlene 🙂
Sounds delicious. I’m making your Meatloaf with brown gravy tonight. Of course you have to make the gravy cause it’s the star of the dish. Such a simple recipe and sooo good. My mom made gravy with flour but the cornstarch is much better. It really enhances the beef flavor. A++
Agreed, thanks Terri!