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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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!