Homemade Turkey Gravy

Here’s how to make a rich and flavourful Homemade Turkey Gravy using roasted turkey drippings and butter cooked roux. This simple gravy recipe is easy to make and is the perfect compliment for your holiday roast turkey dinner.

Holiday dinner is not complete without a huge selection of side dishes. There are always mountains of mashed potatoes and stuffing, but I always try to sneak in a few veggies too. We love Maple Balsamic Roasted Carrots and sweet and spicy Maple Gochujang Brussels Sprouts for a little extra kick.

Homemade Turkey Gravy

I love everything about Thanksgiving dinner. Most people think the turkey is the main event, but my heart lies with buttery mashed potatoes covered in rich turkey gravy. Did you even have turkey dinner if there wasn’t any gravy?

Good gravy is all about the pan drippings. My momma taught me early on never to discard the pan drippings because that’s where all the flavour lies. You can throw in the roasted giblets too, if that is your thing.

In fact, she taught me never to waste anything… not even the water the potatoes and vegetables are cooked in. This water is full of flavour, vitamins, and starch to help bulk up the gravy in flavour and quantity. I use it in addition to chicken broth when I want to make extra gravy.

And who doesn’t want extra gravy?! This Homemade Turkey Gravy recipe will make enough for 6 servings, but I always make more because I like to use it for turkey dinner leftover meal plans. That’s where the real magic happens. How many different leftover turkey dinner recipes can you make?

Note: You can also use this turkey gravy recipe to make chicken gravy. If there’s at least 2 cups of chicken drippings (or enough to stretch into two cups) in the roasting pan, you can make gravy.

What is Gravy?

Gravy is a sauce made from the juices of meat and vegetables (drippings) that are released naturally during the cooking process. Flavour boosters (like bouillon) and thickening agents (flour or cornstarch) are sometimes added to give the sauce flavour, colour, and texture. The thick rich texture of gravy distinguishes it from au jus.

Besides turkey and chicken gravy (also called brown gravy), there’s red gravy (tomato sauce or curry depending on where you live), red eye gravy (made from ham drippings and coffee), onion gravy, mushroom gravy, egg gravy, and several styles of cream gravy including sausage gravy.

Brown gravy is as much a part of British Sunday Roast as it is a part of Southern Biscuits and Gravy, Indian Curry, Canadian Poutine. Gravy is universal.

Ingredients for Homemade Turkey Gravy

Unlike other Thanksgiving recipes, there are not a lot of ingredients in this gravy recipe. It’s as simple as it gets… all it takes is a bit of technique.

• Butter
• Flour
• Turkey Drippings
• Thyme
• Celery Salt
• Black Pepper

You can use regular all purpose-flour and salted or unsalted butter. If you use salted butter and brine the turkey, the drippings will be quite salty, and you will not need to add any additional salt. Flour cooked in fat such as butter is called a roux. It is used as a thickener for sauces, soups, and stews.

Speaking of salt, feel free to use sea salt, homemade herb salt, or celery salt, as needed. The same goes for dried thyme. Feel free to omit it or substitute with rosemary, or sage.

Freshly ground black pepper is a MUST HAVE ingredient in any gravy.

How to Make Homemade Turkey Gravy

To make turkey gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until the flour reaches a golden brown color, about 4-5 minutes. Slowly whisk the turkey drippings into the roux.

Add the seasonings and continue whisking until it comes to a simmer. Reduce heat and continue whisking until the gravy has thickened, about 4-6 more minutes.

Taste and season with more salt and pepper, as needed. Place in gravy boat or measuring cup and serve immediately.

NOTE: If you plan on making extra gravy using leftover vegetable cooking water, turkey stock, or bouillon you will need to start with extra roux. The easiest way to do that is double the butter, flour, and liquid portions.

How to Serve Turkey Gravy

The simplest way to serve turkey gravy is over mashed potatoes, turkey, and every other holiday side dish.

I use leftover turkey gravy to make Turkey Pot Pie, Turkey and Dumplings, Savoury Leftover Stuffing Waffles, Baked Turkey Dinner Sliders, and Turkey a la King.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• When using unsalted butter you may need to add a bit more salt to your gravy.
• If you don’t have 2 cups of drippings, you can use turkey or chicken broth to make up the difference.
• Taste and season the gravy as it cooks, especially if you double the recipe using vegetable water.
• Your gravy will taste different every time based on the seasonings you used to make your turkey. You can add more herbs into this gravy to match the turkey flavour, if desired. 

Storing the Leftovers

Store leftover gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Sadly, gravy does not freeze well so I do not recommend storing it this way.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill, the heart and soul behind Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

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