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 (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 after roasting. 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 is an easy turkey gravy recipe that 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
- Unsalted Butter: Forms the base of the roux and adds richness to the gravy.
- Yellow Onions: Provide a savory depth of flavor and a natural sweetness as they cook down.
- All-Purpose Flour: Thickens the gravy to the perfect silky consistency.
- Defatted Turkey Drippings and Chicken Broth (to make 2½ cups): The liquid base of the gravy, providing a rich, deep flavor and beautiful color. To prepare, collect the juices from the roasting pan into a fat separator while the turkey rests, and pour off the drippings, leaving the fat behind. Since the drippings alone rarely make 2½ cups, top them off with store-bought chicken broth.
- Cognac or Brandy: Adds a subtle depth and complexity.
- Heavy Cream: Makes the gravy smooth, velvety, and just a bit richer.
- Fresh Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, or Parsley): These herbs and that quintessential Thanksgiving flavor and a bit of color.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Essential for balancing the flavors; season the sauce generously to complement the turkey.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
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.
Whisk in the pan 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.
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.
Make-Ahead Instructions
The gravy can be made, without the turkey drippings, up to 2 days ahead of time and refrigerated in an airtight container. Simply use 2 cups of chicken broth and then add about 1/2 cup defatted turkey drippings after roasting 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 (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.