How to Make the Best Turkey Gravy
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This turkey gravy is simply the best! Perfect for your Thanksgiving turkey using up all the pan drippings. Rich, velvety smooth, and so easy!
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Why you’ll love this Thanksgiving turkey gravy
- Easy, fool-proof recipe. This is the world’s easiest, quickest, 20-minute fool-proof Thanksgiving turkey gravy (using pan drippings)! All you have to do is strain your drippings and combine it with some butter, flour, and fresh herbs.
- So much better than store-bought. Say goodbye to powdered mixes and jarred gravy! The pan drippings from the turkey add intense, maximum, rich flavors to your homemade gravy that store-bought gravy simply cannot match.
- Fully customizable. The beauty of making gravy at home is how flexible and giving it is! You can adjust the consistency, salt levels, and seasonings to suit what you have on hand, as well as any dietary restrictions.
- This gravy freezes like a dream. Cream-based gravy will not freeze well as it will separate when frozen and thawed. But this flour-based gravy can keep in the freezer for at least 3 months, saving up any leftover gravy or preparing for big, stressful holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.
Key Ingredients
Pan drippings
Using pan drippings from your bird is key here! It will add all the deep rich flavors to your gravy.
Chicken or turkey stock
Good quality chicken or turkey stock is highly recommended (homemade is even better) if you do not have or have enough pan drippings.
Unsalted butter
This will help create the roux – the combination of flour and fat (butter) – which is the foundation of an excellent gravy.
Flour
All-purpose is best but gluten-free flour can also be substituted in a 1:1 ratio.
Thyme
Herbs – dried or fresh – are great to add flavor, adding as much or as little as desired. Rosemary, sage, and oregano can also be added here.
Salt and pepper
Season to taste as your pan drippings will already be seasoned quite a bit.
How to make turkey gravy from pan drippings
- Deglaze the pan (optional). Remove the turkey from the roasting pan and place the pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Use a wooden spoon or whisk to gently scrape up the caramelized, crusty brown bits stuck to the bottom.
- Strain the drippings. Pour the turkey pan drippings through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids and reserving 2 1/2 cups. Pro tip: add chicken or turkey stock, as needed, if you do not have enough pan drippings.
- Make the roux. Melt the unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour and thyme (and any additional herbs) until lightly golden-brown.
- Add the pan drippings. Gradually whisk in the reserved turkey pan drippings, whisking continuously to prevent any lumps.
- Simmer and thicken. Lower the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently, until the gravy is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 5-10 minutes.
- Season and finish. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pro tip: you may not need additional salt as the pan drippings are already salted.
Tools For This Recipe
How to Make the Best Turkey Gravy: Frequently Asked Questions
You can use all of the pan drippings from the easiest Thanksgiving turkey recipe.
Unsalted butter allows you to add as much salt (or as little) salt in your dish, allowing for more control and consistency. But you can replace the unsalted butter with salted butter in a pinch, reducing the amount of salt indicated in the recipe and adding to taste.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh parsley = 1 teaspoon dried parsley.
Yes! You can follow the recipe below, substituting chicken or turkey stock for the pan drippings, and adding in minced garlic, diced shallots and additional seasonings (ex. sage, rosemary and poultry seasoning), to taste.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, gently reheating on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of water or broth, stirring constantly, until smooth and warmed through.
This flour-based gravy freezes very well! Once cooled completely, you can freeze the leftover gravy in individual freezer bags (or ice cube trays), thawing overnight and gently reheating on the stovetop.
How to Make the Best Turkey Gravy
Video
Ingredients
- Pan drippings from Easy Thanksgiving Turkey
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Strain pan drippings through a fine-mesh sieve; discard solids and reserve 2 1/2 cups pan drippings; set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and thyme until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in reserved pan drippings. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve warm.
Equipment
Notes
- Pan drippings is key. Gravy can be made with or without pan drippings, but pan drippings will add maximum flavor to your turkey gravy.
- Separate the fat. Strain the turkey pan drippings through a strainer or fat separator to prevent a greasy, separated gravy.
- Deglaze the pan (optional). If the roasting pan from the turkey has a lot of browned bits stuck to the bottom, set the pan over medium heat and add a splash of water, stock, or white wine. Then use a wooden spoon to lift up all the caramelized bits (fond) before adding to the reserved pan drippings.
- Use good quality stock. If you do not have enough pan drippings from your turkey, you can add chicken or turkey stock to make up for the difference. But your gravy is as good as your stock! Use good-quality or homemade stock for the best results.
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh herbs are ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor. This is also a great time to use up all the leftover herbs from your holiday turkey.
- Cook the roux. Whisk in the flour until it turns light golden-brown to eliminate the raw flour taste.
- Whisk constantly. Whisking constantly is key here for a lump-free gravy.
- Freeze as needed. Let the gravy cool completely before transferring to individual freezer bags (or ice cube trays). Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge and gently reheat on the stovetop until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
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Made my first gravy with your easy recipe & it was delicious!
Wow – I am so glad I came across this recipe! I had never made turkey gravy before, so I started googling. I’m so glad I found you because it was the best turkey gravy I’ve ever had! My kids and everyone else were raving about it, saying it was the best gravy they had ever had! Thank you so much!
Lifesaver! So easy and delicious. Thrilled to have this recipe in my life, I will use it all the time.
A few notes: depending on your drippings, should not need much (if any) salt. Thyme was a touch strong, I liked it but on anything else cooked with thyme it was very noticeable so you can get away with less. 2c drippings was all I had, it was enough. Total yield about 2-3c gravy, this served our party of 4 people just fine but nothing left over.
Thank you!!
This recipe is simple AND tastes terrific. As a prep ahead I took the neck, wing tips and gizzard and boiled in 2 cups of water with onions, celery and a little salt (less fatty drippings than what is in the pan) Made the recipe just as the turkey rested, carved and served everything hot. Will repeat this recipe when its turkey time again.
Simple to make and turned out delicious! Would definitely recommend to everyone!
Best gravy ever and so easy to make! I love the thyme in it.
Absolutely delicious and simple!
Thank you!!
The best gravy I’ve ever tasted! I love how you don’t have to separate the fat from the drippings. So easy.
I have never made gravy before today. Followed this recipe exactly – took the gravy to a large dinner with lots of family – everyone raved about the gravy. I am hard on myself in general but especially my cooking – because I LOVE food. This gravy was delicious. No lumps – no drama – just perfect. Wow. I can make gravy – tasty gravy 🙂 thank you for the recipe
This is really the best turkey gravy I’ve ever made, and it was easy. Great hit this Thanksgiving.
So yummy and easy to make!
Yep, this is simple. And delicious! Took me a half hour to find a gravy recipe that made sense, I mean logically made sense. This was the first one, and it came though for us! Happy Thanksgiving!
Best and easiest gravy for Thanksgiving!! Just got done making it, only thing is I used Wonder flour and put in a little Kitchen Bouquet for color. I also added some cooking water from the turnips. OMG it is delicious! Thank you!
Awsome just made it perrrrrfect
Perfect and easy! Made the gravy this morning for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow and was so happy it came out perfect since I used all my drippings! Love your recipes-thanks for sharing!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I tried making this recipe a few weeks ago because in the past I’ve never been very good at making gravy. And surprisingly it worked out great. I just wanted to say thanks for such an easy-to-follow recipe. My kids also loved the gravy and ate their food amazingly quickly, for them! I used fresh thyme and parsley out of my garden and I used more than the recipe said but it made it even tastier. Your recipe was such a success that I’m going to use it again this week for a bigger turkey. Thanks for a recipe that I’ll keep using for a long time.
How many cups of pan drippings do you wind up with? I wound up having very little as I didn’t pour chicken stock as your turkey recipe suggested. I was worried it would steam the turkey too much as some other reviews say that it does. So I added chicken stock after and it was SO salty (I dry brined the turkey). I had to add quite a bit of water and it was finally edible. Just curious how much you usually have .
Awesome!
Used gluten free flour combined with vegan butter (Son has a bunch of allergies), and BAM!
Best turkey gravy ever!
Thanks much!
B
Does the fat separate from the rest of the pan drippings? I tried something like this and the fat separated out.
Im sure every item you cook is great. Who keeps garden when you not in Ok ? Do the kids try your vegs. Hope so.. Glad your life is happy. I’m wondering if the children, Love the Ranch as much as my kids love hunting & fishing. Now our grandkids do also.
I have not had the pleasure of trying any of your recipes at yet, the one complaint that I have is I don’t ever see how many people your recipes feed
Thanks
Biz, all of my recipes state a yield (aka number of servings) located in the recipe box. In this case, the yield is 8 servings.
Sounds like a simple and tasty recipe. I’m trying to figure out how much it makes, total. Do you define a “serving” as 1 cup, 1/2 cup, or another amount? I have a pretty big crowd and we are gravy lovers so I’m trying to provide about 1 cup per person. Is 8 servings here = 8 cups? Thanks!
The recipe yields ~2 cups of gravy (1/4 cup servings). The recipe contains 2 1/2 cups of liquid drippings. These drippings will thicken up when combined with the butter/flour mixture and heated. For a gravy loving family, you may want to use all the drippings and adjust the other ingredients accordingly.
My mom taught me years ago – equal parts of butter and flour and each Tbsp needs a cup of liquid. Hence 2Tbsp butter and 2Tbsp flour needs 2 cups broth. She always had the neck, heart gizzard on a slow simmer in water on back of stove; adding the liver near the end. That was the backup “broth” for the turkey drippings. I do the same but also have some turkey stock on hand which I use in the stuffing and in the gravy. This is a simple and wonderful recipe.
I have not used this recipe yet, but plan on it this weekend. Do you need to remove the fat from the drippings first?
Amazingly explained. Will definitely give a try to make turkey gravy.
Please do!