This vegan turkey gravy is rich, flavorful and perfect for any holiday meal when you want to impress! It pairs perfectly with a vegan chicken or turkey roast, is fantastic on mashed potatoes and essential for your next Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
There’s no way anyone will know this gravy is vegan; it’s truly a crowd-pleaser and the best gravy I’ve ever had.
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Ingredients for Vegan Turkey Gravy
To make a super flavorful gravy that tastes rich and delicious, there’s quite a few simple ingredients that you won’t want to miss out on. They include:
- Olive oil: The first step to building flavor in this gravy is sautéing onion and garlic in olive oil. Any type of oil, vegan butter or vegan margarine can work, but I like the taste olive oil adds to this recipe.
- Onion and garlic: These two vegetables build a base layer of flavor. Mince them very finely for a mostly smooth final gravy.
- All-purpose flour: To thicken your gravy, this recipe uses all-purpose flour which makes for a rich and creamy sauce.
- Water and vegan chicken bouillon: To get the best flavor I highly recommend using vegan chicken bouillon. Vegetable broth/ bouillon just doesn’t have the same savory, umami flavor as a vegan chicken bouillon does. I buy vegetable-based chicken bouillon online as it isn’t sold in grocery stores where I live.
- Nutritional yeast: To build more flavor in this gravy, nutritional yeast is a great addition. Nutritional yeast is a yellow flaky seasoning that’s unique in flavor (cheesy and nutty). It is completely different from other types of yeast which cannot be used in place of nutritional yeast.
- Soy sauce and miso paste: These two salty, umami-loaded ingredients are key to making an irresistible vegan gravy. They add such a rich depth of flavor and ensure a winning recipe.
- Red wine vinegar: Vinegar enhances pretty much any recipe, and gravy is no exception since its acidity balances other heavy flavors. I’ve chosen red wine vinegar for this recipe but really any vinegar can work (white wine or apple cider would be my next choices).
- Dry thyme: Thyme is a classic flavor in roast turkey/chicken recipes and adds a great taste to this gravy. You could also use rosemary, just make sure to chop it before adding.
- Poultry seasoning: This blend of herbs is common in poultry recipes and adds an essential flavor to the gravy. Poultry seasoning should be vegan but always check to make sure.
- Black pepper: Add black pepper to your taste preferences. Many recipes also call for adding salt to taste, but I’ve never needed to add extra salt to this recipe as there’s plenty of salt from the bouillon, soy sauce and miso paste.
- Vegan cream: Finish off this mouth-watering gravy with some vegan cream for the ultimate sauce. Any type of vegan cream should work, and you could use canned coconut milk as well. This really takes your gravy to the next level as the cream enhances all other flavors and makes the gravy rich and irresistible.
How to Make Turkey Gravy Vegan
This recipe is easy to make, just get your arm ready for some whisking!
Step 1: Cook Onion and Garlic
Start by chopping onion and garlic very finely. I like to mince them as small as possible so that the final gravy has a mostly smooth texture.
Then warm some olive oil in a small sauce pot (or pan) over medium heat. Add your onion and garlic and cook on medium or medium-low for 10 minutes.
Stir the onions and garlic regularly while they cook. If they start to brown, lower the heat. Ten minutes may feel like a long time, but you want the onion nicely cooked and not crunchy.
Step 2: Make Roux and Sauce Base
Next, add flour to the onion and garlic and stir until the flour is evenly mixed into the oil. Make sure there are no dry bits of flour or clumps visible.
Cook in the flour for about 1 minute, stirring regularly and making sure the heat is back up to medium if it was lowered while cooking your onions.
Switch to using a whisk and carefully whisk in about ½ cup of lukewarm or hot water (do not use cold water). Whisk continuously and vigorously as you add the water and keep whisking until the mixture is thick.
Then, add a second ½ cup of water and whisk continuously until this second half cup of water has thickened into a smooth sauce.
At this point, add the remaining water and whisk until your gravy is smooth and there are no clumps of anything (other than the onion and garlic pieces).
Step 3: Flavor and Serve
While continuing to whisk regularly, add the gravy flavorings. This includes a bouillon cube, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, miso paste, red wine vinegar, dry thyme, poultry seasoning and black pepper.
Continue whisking this mixture until the bouillon cube and miso paste are dissolved. Then, turn the heat up to medium-high and, whisking regularly, cook the gravy until thickened. This takes about 8 minutes.
Once thick (it’ll be thicker than cream but still easy to pour) remove your gravy from heat. It thickens further as it cools.
Pour some vegan cream into the gravy and whisk to combine.
Taste and adjust any seasoning to your liking. I’ve never needed to add salt to this recipe but feel free if you like.
You’re now ready to serve the gravy (it’s best served hot).
How to Serve this Gravy Recipe
Gravy is a rich and delicious sauce that’s often made for special occasions where you’ll serve a full roast-style dinner.
Use this gravy in the same ways you’d use non-vegan gravy! If you’re looking for ideas to create a full vegan roast dinner, here are some of my favorite go-to recipes:
- Vegan turkey
- Vegan ham
- Lentil loaf
- Seitan roast
- Mashed potatoes
- Garlic lemon green beans
- Roasted maple balsamic Brussels sprouts
How to Store and Reheat Leftover Gravy
Refrigerate leftover gravy in an airtight container or jar for up to 5 days. Gravy thickens as it cools and can seem “gloopy” when chilled in the fridge. It will return to it’s smooth and creamy consistency once warmed again.
You can reheat gravy in a microwave or on the stove, over medium heat, stirring regularly until warmed through.
I haven’t tested freezing this recipe because it’s too delicious to last! However, I assume it freezes fine in any freezer safe container for up to a few months.
If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!
Vegan Turkey Gravy
Equipment
- Small sauce pot
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil *
- ½ cup onion , finely chopped (70 grams)
- 2 cloves garlic , pressed or very finely minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (30 grams)
- 2 cups water , lukewarm or hot
- 1 cube vegan chicken bouillon **
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (10 grams)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dry thyme
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- black pepper (to taste)
- ¼ cup vegan cream ***
Instructions
Step 1: Cook Onion and Garlic
- Mince onion and finely mince or press some garlic.½ cup onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Warm olive oil over medium heat in a small sauce pot or pan. Add your onion and garlic. Cook on medium or medium-low for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. If the garlic or onion starts to brown, lower the heat.2 tablespoons olive oil
Step 2: Make Roux and Sauce Base
- Once you’ve cooked the onions and garlic, add all-purpose flour to the sauce pot.3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Stir until you’ve evenly mixed-in the flour and a paste (roux) forms. Cook this roux for about 1 minute (increase heat back to medium if it was lowered).
- Next, whisk in about ½ cup of the lukewarm water (should be warm to the touch). Whisk vigorously and continuously until thickened. Next, add another ½ cup of water. Whisk continuously until this second ½ cup of water thickens. Then pour in the remaining water. Whisk vigorously to make sure no clumps of roux remain.2 cups water
Step 3: Flavor and Serve
- Add the remaining ingredients except for vegan cream. Whisk until the bouillon and miso paste are fully incorporated.1 cube vegan chicken bouillon, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon white miso paste, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon dry thyme, ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning, black pepper
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook the gravy, whisking regularly, until thick (about 8 minutes).
- Remove from heat and stir in vegan cream.¼ cup vegan cream
- Taste and adjust salt or other seasonings if needed.
- Serve hot.
Video
Notes
**Alternatively, can use 2 cups of prepared vegan chicken broth (instead of water and a bouillon cube).
***Can use any store-bought vegan cream or canned coconut milk. Accuracy of nutrition information cannot be guaranteed (certain ingredients may not have all nutrients listed in the database); amounts may vary (and will vary depending on brands of ingredients used); all nutrition fact values rounded to the nearest whole number.
Nutrition
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About Nicole Stevens
Nicole is a vegan Registered Dietitian (RD) and founder of Lettuce Veg Out.
She helps people thrive on a vegan diet with balanced recipes and easy-to-understand nutrition science.
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