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 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.