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
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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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Can you substitute the all purpose flour for the King Arthur gluten free flour?
Sure – that should be fine. Enjoy!
when you say 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs then you list 4 herbs does that mean you do about 1/4 tsp of each type of fresh herb mixed together to get 1 full tablespoon? I have never used fresh herbs…how to do I figure out how much I need?
Hi Terri, you can use all 4 of the herbs I list in the recipe, or only 1 or 2. If you use more than one type of herb, you can break it up any way you want as long as it totals 1 Tbsp (which is the equivalent of 3 tsp.). Hope that helps!
This gravy is amazing!!! I went a little crazy this year and decided to practice my turkey a week in advance, mainly to try a new gravy recipe (last year was a gravy fail.) This is IT, the perfect gravy. The only change made was to strain out the onions after simmering the broth and instead add some meat from the neck. I checked out both this recipe and the original recipe from Ina Garten, and I definitely think this is a step above. Thanks Jen!
I’m hoping to make the gravy but don’t have alcohol on-hand. Would omitting it significantly affect the finished product? If so, do you have any recommendations for a good substitute? Thank you!
Hi Adam, you can just omit the alcohol – it won’t have a big impact on the taste.
We always cook a large turkey breast on the grill for Thanksgiving, so there really aren’t any usable drippings for gravy. In the past, I have either roasted turkey neck/legs/veggies a few days ahead and used the drippings from that for gravy (too much effort for the end result!) or purchased “good” pre-made gravy from our local deli or grocery. Do you have any suggestions about how to make your gravy without having any drippings? Or am I just chasing rainbows!
Hi Jane, You’re not chasing rainbows – It’s fine to replace the drippings with more chicken broth. 🙂
This looks like a great recipe! Could you use dried onion flakes instead of fresh onions or would it change the flavour too much?
I’d stick with the fresh onion here. Hope you enjoy!
Holy smokes! I switched this around a bit to make it with roast beef and put beef broth instead of chicken and omitted the liquor. It was AMAZING! My whole family, including teens loved it. Easy and full of flavor!
I used the drippings from a turkey I cooked on the “Big Easy”.
I’ve never been able to make a gravy until I tried your recipe! This was the best gravy I’ve ever tasted, thank you. I used fresh thyme and white wine because they were available. I’m going to use this for chicken also.
Your recipes are delicious!
Does anyone have a rough idea of how much salt might need to be added? “Add salt to taste” gives me so much anxiety 😁😁😁
Hi M, I usually add at least 1/2 teaspoon salt. I’d taste it, see what you think and if it needs more, continue to add a few pinches until you get to the “sweet spot.” Hope that helps!
I made this gravy (minus the drippings) the day before Thanksgiving and then added the drippings on Thanksgiving while the turkey was resting. Several people commented on how delicious it was.
It certainly made Thanksgiving easier to get a lot of the work done the day before, as I also made the potatoes and stuffing ahead of time using your recipes. So thank you yet again for some great recipes.
Loved it. Never put onions in my turkey gravy before, but it was a smash hit!!! Thank you as always.