Basic Vegan Gravy

Looking for a simple vegan gravy that’s full of umami but not mushrooms? Check out this post to learn how to make this 5 minute gravy!

What’s a Thanksgiving dinner without gravy to drown your stuffing and mashed potatoes? If you don’t like mushrooms, I don’t understand you, but I respect you. So, I’ve got a super easy vegan gravy recipe for you that’s full of umami without mushrooms.

Umami

Umami or savoriness is one of the basic tastes, and if you’ve been around you know it’s the secret weapon to get vegetarian and vegan food to replicate meatiness. That’s because meat is full of amino acids (from protein) like glutamate which provides umami flavors. If you want to read more about umami, check out this post where I discuss in in more detail.

All you need to know is that we’re going to be using 2 fermented soy products that are full of umami and saltiness to give this vegan gravy flavor. First up is tamari or soy sauce. Make sure you use gluten free tamari if you want the gravy to be gluten free. You could also substitute in liquid aminos which are the amino acids I mentioned above. The second ingredient it miso. Miso is a fermented soy paste that has umami flavor, but also a sweetness that will balance out the gravy. I love adding miso to sauces that need a little more depth.

Thickening Vegan Gravy

The key to thickening sauces like gravy is to let them boil. Whether you use flour or cornstarch, the sauce won’t thicken if it doesn’t come to rolling boil. While you whisk in the flour to avoid clumps, the sauce will still seem thin. Let the sauce continue to boil until it begins to thicken. Then after you remove it from the heat, it will continue to thicken more. And, if you refrigerate the gravy, it may become more gelatinous. If you’re making this vegan gravy ahead of time, you can either decrease the amount of flour slightly, or you can thin out the gravy with more broth when you reheat it if it gets too thick.

Need some tasty gluten free and vegan biscuits to drizzle this gravy on, then check out this recipe here. Check out this green bean casserole recipe if you need more Thanksgiving ideas!

Basic Vegan Gravy

Looking for a simple vegan gravy that's full of umami but not mushrooms? Check out this post to learn how to make this 5 minute gravy!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Course Sauce

Servings 1 cup

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp miso
• 3 tsp flour
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions

 

• In a saucepan over medium heat, add the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and miso. Whisk until the miso has dissolved.
• Add the flour and whisk vigorously to remove clumps.
• Bring to boil and then remove from heat when sauce begins to thicken.

Notes

For the vegetable broth, you may want to avoid a strong carrot-based broth as the flavor isn’t as good. I recommend trying the Better than Bouillon Vegetable base to really increase the umami flavor.  

If you do like mushrooms, you can sauté about 8 oz. of sliced mushrooms until they have released their liquid, and add the mushrooms and the extra liquid in the pan into the gravy. Stir to combine and enjoy! If you want to add some spices like thyme or sage for a more herby flavor, you could do that as well.