You can make this simple and creamy vegan gravy under 20 minutes. It is a mild, but flavorful gravy using onion and garlic as the main ingredients. You will love it poured over your mashed potatoes or next to your favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas main dish.
Is there any Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner without Mashed Potatoes and Gravy? Well, I am not sure there is. This tasty and creamy vegan gravy goes perfectly together with most of the potato-based side dishes like Vegan Mashed Potatoes with Celery Root, or Vegan Scalloped Potatoes. It is also a great addition to our Vegan Lentil Loaf.
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What is vegan gravy?
The original gravy is a sauce made from the juices that are released by the meat during cooking. Well, we don’t want to use any meat drippings, do we?
So the only way to make vegan gravy is to use vegetable stock. It will not be as fatty and heavy as the one made from meat. However, with the proper seasoning, you can still enjoy a thick, creamy and cruelty-free sauce with your mashed potatoes.
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Ingredients of our vegan gravy
Our favorite type of vegan gravy is BROWN ONION GRAVY. You will need only 7 ingredients that are probably already in your pantry.
- onion
- garlic
- vegetable broth -> to make it a gravy sauce
- dairy-free milk -> to make the gravy creamy (we prefer cashew, almond, oat or soy)
- soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free) -> to make the gravy brownish and to tone down the sweetness
- dairy-free butter -> to give a little bit of buttery taste
- corn starch -> to thicken the gravy
What herbs go great with vegan gravy?
If you can turn this basic vegan gravy recipe up a notch, you can certainly add some herbs. Depending on the dish you are making this vegan gravy for, various herbs would go with it. We love to add rosemary, thyme or sage.
How to make vegan gravy?
Prepare the ingredients
Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. You can use a knife, but if you want super fine here is what we recommend. For the garlic, we use this simple garlic press that makes it super easy to have finely minced garlic. For the onion, we use the chopping bowl of our hand blender. It chops the onion so finely, it is practically a puree.
Make vegan gravy
Take a saucepan and heat it up to medium heat. When it is hot, add the vegan butter (photo #1). Stir until it is melted completely. First, add the finely chopped onion (photo #2). Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Now add the finely chopped garlic (photo #3). Stir and cook for a minute. Then, add the corn starch (photo #4) and use a whisk to mix them quickly and thoroughly.
No need to wait here. After the corn starch and the butter are combined, you can add the vegetable broth in 2 or 3 parts – at most 1/2 cup at a time (photo #5). Mix until perfectly combined before adding more to avoid lumps. When it is mixed, add the tamari or soy sauce and whisk again (photo #6). The last one to add is the dairy-free milk also in 2 or 3 parts – at most 1/2 cup at a time (photo #7). Season at the end with salt, pepper and optional dried ground herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage (photo #8). The vegan gravy is ready if it thickened to the desired consistency.
How to thicken vegan gravy?
As we eat gluten-free, we chose to thicken the gravy with corn starch. However, if you don’t need the onion gravy to be gluten-free, you can thicken it with all-purpose flour.
In both cases, you need to stir vigorously to avoid lumps. The corn starch or the flour is only activated (starts to thicken the gravy) if it is heated. You will see the result almost immediately. If you are not happy with the thickness, add always 1 Tbsp extra at a time.
Please note that the gravy will thicken further while it is cooling!
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Top tips to make perfect vegan gravy
- Whole foods all the way – We like cooking with whole foods, so we use real onion and garlic instead of the powder versions. They will make the taste more real and authentic in our opinion.
- How to mince finely? – Have you preferred using powders only because you were afraid that the gravy will be lumpy if you cannot chop the ingredients finely enough? Well, here is what we recommend. For the garlic, we use this simple garlic press that makes it super easy to have finely minced garlic. For the onion, we use the chopping bowl of our hand blender. It chops the onion so finely, it is practically a puree.
- Add liquid in batches – To avoid lumps, make sure that you add any liquid ingredient 1/2 cup at a time and to mix thoroughly before adding more.
- Warm veggie broth – To avoid lumps, add warm veggie broth instead of room temperature or cold.
- Thickening the gravy – Start with 2 Tbsp of flour or starch and repeat if needed. Please note that the gravy thickens further while it is cooling.
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What to eat with Vegan Gravy?
This brown onion gravy is a great addition to a number of side dishes like:
- Vegan Mashed Potatoes with Celery Root
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Roasted Potatoes
- Potato Fries (like in the Canadian Poutine)
- Yorkshire Pudding
- Biscuits
But don’t forget about the main dishes. If you don’t like tomato glaze, you can just skip it and make this creamy brown onion gravy to accompany the following recipes:
- Vegan Lentil Loaf
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Vegan Nutroast
- Vegan Sausages / Bangers
Let us know in the comments what is your favorite combination.
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FAQs and Substitutions
What can I use instead of corn starch?
You can use other starches like tapioca or arrowroot, although they may give you a more pudding-like texture. You can also use all-purpose flour if you don’t need gluten-free. Gluten-free flours like rice or oat flour may give you a grainer finish. Not to mention that if you reheat it, the gravy will get thinner again.
You can read more info on gluten-free flours and starches in our Ultimate Gluten-free Flour Guide.
What can I use instead of vegan butter?
You can use olive oil or coconut oil or another shortening. However, if you want to give a little bit of buttery taste to your gravy, vegan butter can do that for you.
Is soy sauce gluten-free?
You would think that, but unfortunately, they are not. We use tamari instead, which has the same flavor, but gluten-free.
This Vegan Gravy recipe is meat-free, dairy-free and egg-free. It is also suitable for vegetarian, nut-free and gluten-free diets.
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More condiment and sauce recipes
You can browse through our Vegan Condiment Recipes or check out
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Vegan Brown Onion Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Vegan butter 30 g
- Onion (medium) 20 g
- 1 clove Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Corn starch or all-purpose if you don't need GF
- 1 cup Vegetable broth 2,3 dl
- 1 Tbsp Soy sauce or tamari (for GF)
- 1 cup Dairy-free milk 2,3 dl (we use our homemade cashew milk)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the ingredients
- Peel and finely chop onion and garlic. You can use a knife, but if you want super fine here is what we recommend using simple garlic press and chopping bowl of a hand blender.
Make vegan gravy
- Take a saucepan and heat it up to medium heat. When it is hot, add the vegan butter. Stir until it is melted completely.
- First, add the finely chopped onion. Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Then, add the finely chopped garlic. Stir and cook for a minute.
- Now, add the corn starch and use a whisk to mix them quickly and thoroughly.
- No need to wait here. After the corn starch and the butter are combined, you can add the vegetable broth in 2 or 3 parts - at most 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until perfectly combined before adding more to avoid lumps.
- Add soy sauce or tamari and whisk again.
- The last one to add is the dairy-free milk also in 2 or 3 parts - at most 1/2 cup at a time.
- Season at the end with salt, pepper and optional dried ground herbs like rosemary, thyme or sage. The vegan gravy is ready if it thickened to the desired consistency.
Notes
- Whole foods all the way - We like cooking with whole foods, so we use real onion and garlic instead of the powder versions. They will make the taste more real and authentic in our opinion.
- How to mince finely? - Have you preferred using powders only because you were afraid that the gravy will be lumpy if you cannot chop the ingredients finely enough? Well, here is what we recommend. For the garlic, we use this simple garlic press that makes it super easy to have finely minced garlic. For the onion, we use the chopping bowl of our hand blender. It chops the onion so finely, it is practically a puree.
- Add liquid in batches - To avoid lumps, make sure that you add any liquid ingredient 1/2 cup at a time and to mix thoroughly before adding more.
- Warm veggie broth - To avoid lumps, add warm veggie broth instead of room temperature or cold.
- Thickening the gravy - Start with 2 Tbsp of flour or starch and repeat if needed. Please note that the gravy thickens further while it is cooling.
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