Homemade Turkey Gravy Recipe (2024)

This homemade Turkey Gravy Recipe is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table! It’s delicious on white or dark meat & mashed potatoes!

Why We Love Homemade Turkey Gravy

• This turkey gravy is pretty amazing. Velvety smooth, loaded with flavor, and all those delicious roasting juices. OMG, so good!
• Our family loves pouring this gravy all over their turkey and whatever potatoes are being served. I’ve even been known to dip my stuffing and rolls in it. Yum!
• To keep and saltiness down, I use low-sodium chicken broth and leave out the salt. Really. There are salt and pepper shakers on the table. Anyone who wants more salt can add their own.
• This is an easy 10-minute recipe that’s a must-have at your holiday table.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make the Turkey Gravy from Drippings

TURKEY DRIPPINGS: We’re using turkey drippings from roasting a turkey or turkey breast as the base for this gravy.

PANTRY ITEMS: You’ll need all-purpose flour (or the roux), black pepper, and low-sodium chicken broth.

BUTTER: For this recipe grate the parmesan cheese yourself. This ensures that you don’t have any filler and it will melt perfectly for you.

How to Make Turkey Gravy

Jump to Recipe

STEP 1 Pour the pan dripping from your roasted turkey or turkey breast into a fat separator or 2-cup glass measuring cup. Let that sit while you start the gravy so the fat settles at the top of the liquid.

STEP 2 Add the butter to a medium saucepan and melt it over medium heat. Then add the flour and whisk to make a roux. Continue to cook the roux for 1-2 minutes.

STEP 3 Pour the turkey drippings into the saucepan (see tips below) while whisking to prevent lumps. Then add as much chicken stock as needed to equal 2 cups of liquid and whisk to combine.

STEP 4 Simmer the gravy, whisking occasionally, until thickened to your desired consistency. Then trasnfer the turkey gravy to a gravy boat for serving.

Tips & Tricks

• Chicken broth is used to make sure there is enough liquid for the gravy in case the turkey drippings don’t come up to a full 2 cups. If you want to make turkey gravy without drippings, use 2 cups of turkey stock or broth instead of the drippings and chicken broth.
• If you’re using a measuring cup to separate the turkey drippings from the fat, you’ll need to use a spoon to skim the fat off the top. You don’t want all the extra fat getting into the gravy and making it really thin. (It throws off the roux ratios.) It’s not the end of the world if a little fat makes it in, but try to avoid it as much as possible.
• If your gravy isn’t as thick as you would like, you can add a slurry to help thicken it more. Stir together 1 tablespoon cold water with 1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch and then whisk that mixture into the gravy. Continue to simmer until the gravy thickens more.
• In contrast, if you want to thin out the gravy, pour in a little more chicken broth and whisk to combine. Continue adding splashes of stock and whisking until the gravy is thinned out the way you like.

Turkey Gravy Recipe FAQ

How is gravy made from turkey?

Gravy is essentially a liquid that gets combined with a roux to thicken the liquid into a sauce. Using turkey drippings or turkey broth/stock makes this a turkey gravy. Other types of gravy use different liquids – country gravy uses milk and beef gravy uses beef broth/stock.

How do you enhance the flavor of turkey gravy?

Salt and pepper are always a must. I use low-sodium chicken broth so that the gravy can be seasoned to taste. Other flavor-boosting options you can try include stirring in a splash of Worcestershire sauce to up the umami factor, making brown butter for the roux, or adding a little Dijon mustard for tang. Once the gravy is finished, chopped fresh herbs like sage and thyme are great add-ins since they were probably used for your turkey too.

Which is better for turkey gravy, flour or cornstarch?

You want to use all-purpose flour to make the roux base for the gravy. Cornstarch can be used, but there are recipe adjustments that need to be made and the final product will be different.

When it comes to flour vs. cornstarch to thicken the gravy, either will work. For cornstarch, combine 1 tablespoon of cold water with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to make a slurry. For flour, combine 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon of butter to make a paste. Then whisk the thickener into the gravy and simmer.

Other Recipes You May Like

• How to Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving
• Homemade Cranberry Sauce
• Scalloped Potatoes
• Creamed Spinach with Bacon
• Milk and Honey Dinner Rolls
• Double Layer Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie