Turkey Gravy
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Take your holiday turkey up a notch with this rich, savory gravy made from the drippings. It ties the whole meal together and can be made ahead to keep the day stress-free.
This is my go-to turkey gravy recipe, and I make it every year for Thanksgiving. It’s what makes my Thanksgiving turkey so good—and it’s just as essential for the stuffing and mashed potatoes! The recipe is modestly adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook and is quick and easy enough to make while your turkey rests. If you’d rather get a head start, you can prepare most of it ahead of time and simply stir in the turkey drippings when reheating.
Some recipes call for using giblets or the turkey neck to enrich the gravy, but I skip them. The drippings already provide plenty of flavor, and leaving them out keeps things simple. This easy turkey gravy recipe delivers all the rich, classic Thanksgiving flavor without the fuss.
“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
- Butter & Onions: Cooked together to build a rich, flavorful base for the gravy.
- Flour: Thickens the gravy so it’s silky and smooth.
- Turkey Drippings & Chicken Broth: The liquid base of the gravy. To get the drippings, pour the pan juices into a fat separator while the turkey rests, then discard the fat. If you don’t have quite enough drippings (you’ll need about 2½ cups), just top it off with chicken broth.
- Cognac or Brandy: Adds incredible depth of flavor.
- Heavy Cream: Makes the gravy extra rich and velvety.
- Fresh Herbs: Add a pop of color and that classic Thanksgiving flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the onions. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and add the onions. Cook until very soft—it will take about 15 minutes.
Step 2: Add the flour. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.
Step 3: Whisk in the drippings and Cognac. Whisk in the pan drippings or 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.
Step 4: Finish the gravy. Stir in the cream and fresh herbs, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep in mind that gravy should be generously seasoned—turkey on its own is pretty mild. Always taste the gravy with a piece of meat to make sure the seasoning’s just right.
Make-Ahead Tip: The gravy can be made (without the drippings) up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. When reheating after roasting the turkey, use 2 cups of chicken broth and stir in about ½ cup of defatted turkey drippings for extra flavor.
Turkey Gravy Video Tutorial
More Holiday Recipes You’ll Love
Turkey Gravy
This easy turkey gravy made brings the whole meal together—and you can make it ahead for an easier holiday.
Ingredients
- 1 stick (½ cup) 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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Made this again this past weekend for Thanksgiving Dinner in Canada and it was delicious! Everyone’s fav so I won’t make any other gravy for our turkey dinners!
This gravy was wonderful! I reach for your recipes over and ver again and they have yet to disappoint. Thank you for sharing your gift.
Hi Jen! I was wondering, with heavy cream do you mean “whipping cream” or “table cream”…
Whipping cream 🙂
The turkey gravy was yummy and so smooth. Was a big hit at thanksgiving. Could I use the same recipe for beef or pork gravy
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why not. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Can the gravy be frozen (made a couple of weeks ahead of Thanksgiving) and then defrosted in fridge, add drippings day of as directed?
Hi Stephanie, I’ve never frozen it, but I think you could.
Hi Jen,
Can this be made with Wondra flour?
Sure, that should be fine.
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?
Per my comment about the gravy turning out greasy, yes I did add the flour. If my flour is old, could that affect it? I followed the directions. I am an old person, so not inexperienced. Maybe I will just scale back on butter next time. Thank you for responding to all these comments.
I haven’t really gotten feedback that the gravy has been greasy, but if you found it that way, yes, I’d reduce the butter a bit next time around and be sure the turkey drippings are skimmed of fat.
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.