Turkey Gravy
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Take your holiday turkey up a notch with this rich turkey gravy, made from flavorful turkey drippings. It not only enhances every dish on your table but can also be prepared in advance, saving you time and stress on the big day!
This is my favorite turkey gravy recipe, and I serve it every year with my Thanksgiving turkey—in fact, it is what makes my Thanksgiving turkey. The recipe is modestly adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook. It’s quick and easy enough to make while your turkey rests after roasting. However, if you want to get a head start, you can prepare it mostly ahead of time and then just stir in the turkey drippings when reheating.
“Wow! Everyone raved about this gravy! I was thrilled that I could make it a day in advance and just add the drippings when the turkey was done…My son took the recipe home!”
What you’ll need to make Turkey Gravy
You’ll notice that the recipe calls for defatted turkey drippings mixed with chicken broth, totaling 2½ cups. This blend forms the base of your gravy, imbuing it with a rich, deep flavor and color that’s quintessentially Thanksgiving. To gather the turkey drippings, collect the juices from the roasting pan while your turkey rests, and pour them into a separator, a handy tool that separates the fat. Since the drippings alone typically don’t yield 2½ cups, simply top them off with store-bought chicken broth.
The other ingredients—a stick of unsalted butter, 1½ cups finely chopped yellow onions, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, a tablespoon each of Cognac and heavy cream, and chopped fresh herbs—come together to create a gravy that’s not just rich but layered with flavors.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by melting the butter in a medium saucepan.
Add the onions.
Cook until very soft, about 15 minutes.
Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.
Then whisk in your turkey drippings/chicken broth and Cognac.
Cook for about 5 minutes until thickened, then stir in the cream and fresh herbs.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remember, the gravy should be generously seasoned because turkey is bland. And always taste the gravy with a piece of meat to be sure the seasoning is right.
How To Make Turkey Gravy Ahead of Time
The gravy can be made, without the turkey drippings, up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerated. Simple use 2 cups of chicken broth and then add about 1/2 cup defatted turkey drippings after cooking the turkey when you reheat the gravy. Note that the gravy will thicken up in the fridge; thin it to the desired consistency with water or chicken broth upon reheating.
“This was amazing. My family raved and said it was the best gravy they ever had. It was so helpful to make ahead and just reheat. The only problem was that I should have doubled the recipe for the leftover turkey!!”
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Turkey Gravy
Take your holiday turkey up a notch with this rich turkey gravy, made from flavorful turkey drippings. It not only enhances every dish on your table but can also be prepared in advance, saving you time and stress on the big day!
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1½ cups finely chopped yellow onions
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- Defatted turkey drippings plus chicken broth to make 2½ cups
- 1 tablespoon Cognac or Brandy
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme, sage, rosemary or parsley)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook until very soft and translucent, about 15 minutes.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the turkey drippings/chicken broth and Cognac and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and fresh herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Gravy should be generously seasoned because turkey is pretty bland; I usually add at least ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, but it depends on how salty your broth and drippings are.) Transfer the gravy to a gravy boat and serve.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The gravy can be made, without the turkey drippings, up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerated. Use 2 cups of chicken broth and add about ½ cup defatted turkey drippings after cooking the turkey when you reheat the gravy. Note that the gravy will thicken up in the fridge; thin it to the desired consistency with water or chicken broth upon reheating.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1/3 cup
- Calories: 143
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Sugar: 2 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 357 g
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made this gravy the day before Thanksgiving, and it was the best gravy I have ever made! It was so easy and took the stress out of making gravy after the bird comes out of the oven and you’re trying to get all of the side dishes ready. So easy to reheat. My daughter-in-law, who NEVER eats gravy, asked for the recipe. It was delicious! I will always make this for future holidays. Thank you for sharing!
This is sooo delicious! A friend served this with the Thanksgiving turkey and we all said we would have been happy eating a plate full of mashed potatoes smothered with this gravy.
Best gravy I ever made! Will never revert to my gravy that I thought was fab!
I tried to post this earlier. I don’t see it so posting again. I made your dry brine turkey and this gravy for Thanksgiving yesterday. The turkey was delicious, one of the best I have made. While the gravy had good flavor, I found it to be greasy. There was a pool of butter around the perimeter of the gravy and also in the middle. Did you mean 1stick of butter that is 8 TBSP? Did I do something wrong?
Hi Carol, One stick is correct. Did you add the flour?
Delicious. I’ve been searching for an amazing gravy recipe for years. I used shallots instead of onions and after I added the herbs, I blended with a hand blender for a smoother consistency. I was so worried when I tasted it because it was so salty. I didn’t add any salt at all. We brined our turkey and we thought the turkey was going to be too salty too! It wasn’t and the gravy turned out great and went really well with all the other sides. I love this so much I’m making it again and trying just chicken broth.
I made your dry brine turkey and this gravy for Thanksgiving yesterday. The turkey was outstanding, one of the best I have made. While the gravy tasted very good, it seemed greasy. I noticed a pool of butter around the edge of the pan and some in the middle. Did you mean a stick of butter as in 8 TBSP?
8 tablespoons is correct — I’m sorry that it came out greasy for you!
I made this gravy for Thanksgiving & it was a big hit. I substituted bourbon for the cognac 😉
This was a sure proof recipe and oh so easy but aside from that it was WONDERFUL. The entire crowd loved it but the only problem was I didn’t make enough. This will be my go-to gravy from here on out. Thank you.
Excellent–sooooo good! Thank you. I did puree in a blender for a smooth gravy. I will make this every Thanksgiving 🦃 .
Simple, quick, and so delicious! This one’s a keeper for sure.
Only one word …. YES!
Will never wait until Thanksgiving day to make gravy again! My mom considers making gravy anywhere but in the roasting pan after the bird comes out of the oven sacrilege but there’s no way she’ll taste the difference this year. I had to make this dairy free to accommodate a family member’s allergy and it still came out delicious. Just replaced the butter with a stick of avocado oil butter (and used a little more flour since it was oilier than butter) and used dairy free cream. Thanks for the recipe!
I was hesitant to try this recipe but I knew I would have very little drippings for flavor from my turkey roulade and I needed a substitute. I made it the day before (just in case) and am so glad I did. It was wonderful even without the drippings!! This will be my ‘go to’ gravy base and into my ‘favorite recipes’ file.
Hi Jen,
What quantity of the dried herbs should I use in place of the fresh? Should I use all 4 herbs mentioned in the recipe to equal the amount you suggest for dried or just 1 or 2?
Thanks,
Diane
Hi Diane, you’ll need 1 teaspoon and you can just use a half teaspoon of two of the herbs. 🙂
Can you use rice flour or another substitute to make this gluten free?
Yep!
Would it be possible to double this gravy recipe for a crowd?
Thanks for all the great recipes!
Yep!
Hello Jen!🍁
Thank you for all your amazing expert advice….you are a treasure!
For the gravy, can I substitute corn starch for the flour. I have a few GF family members that will be at our dinner.
Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Stacey, thank you for your kind words! I’ve never made this with cornstarch but I think it can work. You’ll need significantly less than the flour and I’d make a cornstarch/water slurry and add it at the end. Hope that helps and that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hey Jenn!
This is a silly question, but my store was all out of dried rosemary, but they had crushed dried rosemary. When I made this last year (which it was amazing!) I used the dried version of all four herbs that you recommended and included all four. Will it be fine to use the dried crushed rosemary the same way I did last year with the regular dried Rosemary or is it more potent, should I cut it back? Please let me know when you can! Thank you!
Hi Jess, It will be fine but I would cut it back a bit. 🙂
Hi, I would like to make this recipe, but I have a pre-cooked smoked turkey this year so I won’t have any turkey drippings. Anything I can substitute the drippings with? Thanks so much!
Sure, you can just use more broth in place of the drippings. Hope you enjoy!
My family will be serving roast chicken instead of turkey for Thanksgiving. I would like to make this gravy to serve with the chicken. Should I use chicken drippings instead? And if so, does that change anything for the rest of the recipe? Thanks for your help.
Chicken drippings would be fine with no other modifications. Enjoy!
Jen, what brand of chicken broth do you think is best. Wish I had the time, but I’m not making homemade
I like Swanson’s.
Does this gravy freeze well. I’d like to make it one week before Thanksgiving if possible.
Hi Sona, I’ve never frozen it, but I think you could.
I have made this gravy several times and have frozen it with great results!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe Jenn. It’s my new go to recipe for Thanksgiving gravy and the make ahead version worked brilliantly. I made a small gluten free portion using all purpose gf flour as well as as the regular recipe. I made and froze the gravy bases several days in advance and then added the pan juices to the thawed and heated bases once the capon was done. I loved not having the last minute fuss of gravy making . A really rich chicken or turkey stock makes all the difference as well.
I made this gravy yesterday to have with our Thanksgiving roast turkey dinner here in Canada and it is delicious! My daughter said it had such depth of flavour and everyone at the table wants me to make it again!
Delicious! I don’t usually bother to make turkey gravy because I’ve never liked it but it was the best option for thanksgiving dinner. I’m so glad I gave it a shot because it was absolutely wonderful!