Gluten-free Gravy Recipe

If you’re looking for a quick and easy gluten-free gravy recipe that you can make WITHOUT meat drippings in 15 minutes or less, then you’re in the right place! You can make this into chicken, beef or veggie/vegan gravy and it’s Coeliac-friendly and low FODMAP too.

That’s right, because you won’t need meat drippings, you can make this gluten-free gravy recipe well ahead of time and then simply reheat it whenever you need it. Because sometimes I don’t want to roast an entire turkey just to make some gravy… in fact, 99% of the time, that’s the case! You can even make it gluten free, low FODMAP and veggie/vegan if you want too.

So why did I create my gluten-free gravy recipe without meat drippings specifically? Because 99% of the recipes out there on the internet all start with: ‘Step 1: Take the drippings from your meat…’

And whilst drippings will impart amazing flavour, I’m usually quite happy with the convenience and flavour of my gravy granules to be quite honest! Yet even so, with a few small additions I’ve included in the recipe, I find that this gravy is easily a step above any supermarket gravy granules I remember using in the past.

Yet whilst gluten-free gravy granules are fortunately quite readily available in supermarkets and are more than fit for the job… I can’t ever eat any of them. Why? Because my dodgy gut can’t tolerate onion or garlic at all! So that has always put me in a gravy-less world, back to square one when my Doctor first told me I couldn’t eat gluten anymore.

So that’s exactly why I made this recipe, that’s just as convenient as gravy granules, but can be fully customised and made to suit my own requirements. And I’m confident that, because it’s so simple and customisable, it can do the same for you too!

Gluten-free Gravy Recipe: What you’ll need…

• Butter or dairy-free alternative: Of course, just use butter if you’re not dairy-free – I use unsalted butter straight from the fridge. If you’re dairy-free, simply use a dairy-free ‘buttery’ margarine instead.
• Gluten-free plain flour or cornflour: This is simply to thicken the sauce so either works fine.
• Gluten-free stock: I make mine from 500ml of boiling water and 1x gluten-free stock cube. Any flavour works, be it beef, chicken, ham, turkey or veggie/vegan stock cubes. This is where you can really choose a stock cube to suit your own tastes and dietary requirements.
• Gravy browning: This is literally just for colour, so if you don’t have it, it’s not a huge deal. I use Sarson’s gravy browning and have done for years, which is gluten-free – you’ll easily find it in supermarkets.
• White wine: This is simply to enrich the gravy so if you’d prefer if it was alcohol-free, then just add the same amount of water.
• Tomato puree: This helps to thicken the sauce too and adds an extra depth of flavour. I used double concentrate tomato puree as that’s all I ever seem to find these days!

So what does my gluten-free gravy taste like? I know this sounds reductive or crude, but it tastes exactly what you’d want gravy to taste like! The stock and gravy browning both contain salt, so it’s only going to enhance everything else on your roast dinner plate, most of which isn’t usually salted whatsoever.

Depending on which stock cube you choose to use, the flavour will vary accordingly, of course! But whatever you choose, this gravy is never short of flavour despite being so incredibly simple to make and without meat drippings in sight.

The butter, tomato puree and white wine help to elevate the stock from tasting just like gravy granules or thickened stock – which is exactly what it’d be without them!

Gluten-free Gravy Recipe: Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?

It is gluten-free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination.

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make sure that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten-free products.

Can I make your gluten-free gravy recipe dairy-free?

All you need to do is use a dairy-free ‘buttery’ margarine instead of butter. That’s it!

Can I make your gluten-free gravy recipe veggie or vegan?

Of course! To make it veggie-friendly:

• Use a gluten-free veggie/vegan stock cube to make the stock
• Ensure the wine is veggie/vegan friendly.

To make it vegan:

• Combine the dairy-free and veggie advice above.

Is this recipe low FODMAP?

It can be – simply use a low FODMAP stock cube and omit the tomato puree. Here’s some links to low FODMAP stock cubes we use with the first two being available in supermarkets:

• Knorr Ham Stock Cube
• Massels 7 Veggie/Vegan Stock Cubes
• Massels 7 Beef Stock Cubes
• Massels 7 Chicken Stock Cubes

We actually use the Knorr Ham stock cubes for all our gravy as it has a lovely, smoky flavour. But it’s mostly because it’s more readily available and easily found in most UK supermarkets!

Where do I find gravy browning?

Pretty much in all major UK supermarkets – I use Sarson’s gravy browning which you can find in store in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.

Like I said earlier, it’s just for colour and your gravy will just look more like chicken gravy without it. Not a huge deal!

Can I leave the white wine out?

Of course. If you’d prefer it to be alcohol-free, simply add a like-for-like quantity of water. It adds flavour, though doesn’t make the gravy taste like wine, if that’s what you were worried about!

Can I leave the butter out?

No – not just because I love the flavour of butter so much! You use the melted butter to mix into the flour to create a roux, which forms the base of the sauce and thickens it.

However, you can use olive oil instead or margarine, if you’d prefer. But you must use something otherwise the flour won’t have anything to mix into and it’ll just burn or become lumps in your stock!

The gravy is too thin – what should I do?

As there’s flour in the base of the sauce (and tomato puree) there’s no way your gravy won’t thicken with simmering. Of course, don’t simmer it with the lid on as this will seriously limit the gravy’s ability to reduce and thicken up!

So if it’s too thin, just keep simmering it until it’s not.

The butter and flour mixture (roux) turned lumpy and won’t mix into the stock – what happened?

It’s important to whisk (using a whisk!) the melted butter and flour together vigorously to form a smooth paste. If it’s not smooth before you add the stock, it certainly won’t be after.

Also, melting your butter on a scorching hot heat – then adding the flour and attempting to mix it in – is a surefire way to ensure your roux turns lumpy. Your pan will be so hot that the flour will almost instantaneously solidify in lumps as soon as it hits that super hot butter.

Instead, you just want gently melted butter that isn’t too hot so that you have time to properly mix in the flour until smooth, before the flour cooks. Adding the stock in stages as described in the recipe helps to prevent this too.

Though prevention (as I just described) is better than cure, if your stock is full of buttery lumps, you can easily fix it. Simply sieve out the lumps and proceed with the recipe as normal BUT now your stock won’t thicken as you just sieved out all the flour. So instead, mix 2 tbsp of cornflour with 6 tbsp water until smooth in a small dish. Add this to the sieved gravy whilst simmering on a low heat and immediately mix in. Problem solved!

Can I freeze your gluten-free gravy?

Yes – and we do this all the time! Simply allow to cool, transfer to a zip-lock bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost in the fridge or at room temperature, then reheat on the hob or in the microwave until piping hot, stirring well at first, then occasionally after.

Is gravy gluten-free?

Normally, gravy isn’t gluten-free – especially if we’re talking about gravy granules. Gravy granules are made very similarly to this recipe, in the sense that they’ll be thickened with flour – unfortunately, that almost always means wheat flour.

Though gravy in restaurants is often thickened with cornflour as it’s a more traditional flour used to thicken sauces (so you might find that gravy is sometimes gluten-free in some pubs or restaurants), wheat flour is much cheaper than cornflour, hence it being used more commonly in gravy granules and supermarket products.

Fortunately, you have this recipe now (and there’s gluten-free gravy granules available in free from aisles of supermarkets) so none of that is a problem when you’re at home!

Can I make your gluten-free gravy ahead of time?

Definitely – and that’s half of the appeal! You can easily make this up to 2-3 days ahead of time, allow to cool, then keep covered in the fridge.

To reheat, simply simmer on the hob or reheat in the microwave – give it a good stir once it’s a little warm, then again occasionally as it reaches temperature – and it’ll taste as fresh as the day it was made.

I want to use meat drippings to make my gluten-free gravy… what do I do?

Well, you shouldn’t use this recipe for starters! Fortunately, I included an awesome homemade gluten-free turkey gravy recipe on page 117 of my Gluten-free Christmas recipe book. It’s just as quick and easy to make, but of course… you can only make it having just roasted an entire turkey!

More Gluten-free roast dinner recipes:

• My BEST EVER super crispy roast potatoes
• Gluten free Yorkshire pudding recipe that rises like crazy
• My roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon recipe
• My sticky roasted parsnips and carrots recipe
• The only gluten-free stuffing recipe you’ll ever need

Thanks for reading all about my gluten-free gravy recipe without meat drippings! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out with your roast so don’t forget to take a snap of your creations and tag me on Instagram!

Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me on Instagram and leaving me a comment on a recent photo!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

Oh and don’t forget to pin this for later!