We may earn a commission when you click on the affiliate links in this post.
Learn how to make the best Beef Gravy from scratch, with or without drippings. This easy recipe is perfect for mashed potatoes, roast beef, and Sunday dinners!
Mom’s Famous Beef Gravy
Growing up, Sunday dinners were our favorite meal of the week by far. Each week, our mom rotated between just two meals: Oven Roast Beef with Mashed Potatoes and Beef Gravy and Roast Turkey with Potatoes and Turkey Gravy. Her mashed potatoes and gravy (both the beef and the turkey versions) are legendary. Even extended family members knew about these famous Sunday dinners and would purposely drop by on Sunday nights to get a taste. I’ll never forget the time one of our uncles filled his entire plate with mashed potatoes, carved out a massive well in the center, and poured in so much gravy it looked like Crater Lake. Then he just grabbed a spoon and ate it like soup. And honestly? No one blamed him. It really is that good.
🩷 Echo
Table of Contents
- Mom’s Famous Beef Gravy
- Key Ingredients for Beef Gravy
- How to Make Beef Gravy From Scratch (without Drippings)
- How to Make Beef Gravy Using Drippings
- Beef Gravy from a Roux
- Tips for the Best Gravy Every Time
- Kick It Up a Notch
- Frequently Asked Questions about Beef Gravy
- The Best Roast Beef Recipes
- More Delicious Gravy Recipes
- Beef Gravy from Scratch Recipe
Key Ingredients for Beef Gravy
- Butter – A good beef gravy needs a good amount of fat. You can either get this from the pan drippings or if you are working from scratch you can use butter.
- Beef broth -You can use pan drippings from your roast, store-bought beef broth, or a combination of both. We usually didn’t get enough drippings from the roast because we always loaded on the gravy, so she almost always had to supplement with more broth.
- Seasonings – We usually just use beef bouillon granules, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little salt and pepper.
- Cornstarch – This is my mom’s thickener of choice. It makes the gravy nice and smooth, plus it is gluten free so even our family members with gluten allergies can enjoy it!
How to Make Beef Gravy From Scratch (without Drippings)
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, beef broth, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer and keep the mixture warm.
- In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch and cold water until smooth.
- Slowly whisk the mixture into the simmering broth a little at a time, just until the gravy reaches your desired thickness (you may not need it all).
- Stir in beef bouillon or kosher salt and season with pepper to taste. Let it simmer for 2–3 minutes, then serve!
How to Make Beef Gravy Using Drippings
Drippings from your roast meat is ideal for the best gravy. Use that glorious broth left over from cooking your meat for your gravy. Use as much as you can and try to scrape up those little beef bits from the bottom of your roasting pan, slow cooker, or Instant Pot before turning it into gravy. Add butter as a supplement if needed if you feel like you aren’t getting enough fat from the drippings and continue with the recipe as directed below.
Beef Gravy from a Roux
Gravy made from a roux sounds fancy, but it’s actually really easy once you understand how it works. What I like about roux gravy is that it can vary in flavor and color depending on how long you cook the flour. If you like a deep, dark brown gravy, similar to gravies in Europe, you cook the flour for much longer than you would a light brown, country-style beef gravy (see image below). There is so much to know about roux, we actually dedicated an entire post to it. Read all about making the perfect roux right here.
Tips for the Best Gravy Every Time
Add some beef bouillon. I have found that using straight up beef broth sometimes doesn’t have quite enough flavor. I always have some bouillon on hand when I am making gravy so I can add adjust the flavor more to my liking. Add a little at a time and taste as you go.
Add a little cornstarch at a time and whisk constantly. This will help you avoid lumpy gravy. Trust me. No one likes lumpy gravy.
Kick It Up a Notch
Want to add some more flavor dimensions to your easy homemade brown gravy? Try adding some of these easy ingredients:
- Worcestershire sauce – adds a deep, tangy flavor to the gravy.
- Thyme or Rosemary – Bring a fresh, earthy flavor to your gravy with a teaspoon of thyme or rosemary. Let it simmer until all those fresh flavors are released. Add other fresh herbs too!
- Chopped onion – sauté some finely chopped onion in a little butter before adding any other ingredients for a brighter flavor.
- Mushrooms – Slice up some mushrooms and sauté in butter over medium heat before adding to the gravy.
Frequently Asked Questions about Beef Gravy
Most traditional beef gravies are not gluten-free, since they’re often thickened with a flour-based roux and made with broths that may contain hidden gluten. However, our recipe uses cornstarch as the thickener, making it naturally gluten-free—as long as you use a gluten-free broth or bouillon. Be sure to double-check the labels on any broth or seasoning you use to ensure it’s certified gluten-free.
Absolutely, you can make beef gravy with a roux using butter and flour or you can thicken the gravy by mixing flour and water together until it forms a paste, then whisk it into the gravy until thickened.
Beef gravy (or brown gravy) is beef broth based while country gravy (also known as white gravy) has a cream or milk base.
READ MORE: 35+ Quick and Easy to Follow Dinner Ideas
The Best Roast Beef Recipes
When making the best brown gravy recipe, it helps to start with a good recipe for roast beef. Lucky for you, we have lots of great roast beef recipes! All of these methods will give you a good amount of liquid to make a delicious roast beef gravy.
More Delicious Gravy Recipes
Once you have the method down, the possibilities of delicious gravies are endless. Give some of these a try:
- Mom’s Famous Turkey Gravy (a MUST for Thanksgiving!)
- Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
- Homemade Country Gravy
Have you tried this savory, homemade Beef Gravy? I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment below and let me know how you liked them. And don’t forget to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @favoritefamilyrecipes! 📸
Beef Gravy from Scratch
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter (if using beef drippings you can leave the butter out, see notes below)
- 4 cups beef broth (or beef drippings, or combination of both)
- 3 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
- beef bouillon to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized sauce pan, combine butter, beef broth, onion powder, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine cornstarch and water, stirring until well combined.
- While whisking the broth CONSTANTLY, slowly add cornstarch mixture to the saucepan. I like to pour in about a tablespoon at a time to gauge consistency. You may not need all of the cornstarch mixture, add only until desired consistency is reached.
- Add beef bouillon (or Kosher salt– I just like the depth of flavor the beef bouillon adds as compared to straight up salt) and pepper to taste.
- Allow to simmer 2-3 minutes. Serve over potatoes, rice, poutine, or your favorite beef dishes.
Good kitchen must!
Agreed! It’s a recipe everyone should learn!
My first review ever! Excellent recipe and I did add worcestershire sauce and fresh time – a bit too much salt maybe from the beef broth I used so I added a wee bit of honey and it came out awesome! Thank you
Thank you so much for your review of our beef gravy! I’m glad you liked it – and I feel so honored we got your first review! 😉
Tasted like flour though I made a dark roux. Was embarrassed by its taste actually.
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. It sounds like you may have gone a little too dark with the roux. I am guessing it probably didn’t thicken that great either? Next time if you want a nice creamy gravy, try going for a white or blond roux and season from there. The flour should thicken better and have more of a creamy texture and more subtle flavor. I hope this helps!
Septuagenarian rookie had to take over the kitchen about twelve years ago. Not a cook but great at following instructions. Give me ingredients, instructions and an idea of what the results are supposed to be, and I can do anything.
Except make gravy out of nothing.
No longer true. No drippings and this worked great.
All I can say is “THANK YOU!” One more notch in my belt.
Wow, thank you so much for this nice review! Now that you can make gravy, the sky is the limit. Now you can truly make everything 😀 So glad you liked it!
Wonderful to put a company assist to a bag of Walmart Homestyle Meatballs….serve with a pot of mixed white rice and wild rice..Makes a very memorable dish at the family reunion ❣️
Great ideas
This is very close to the recipe I learned from my mama. I now often use beef bone broth with my drippings. Thanks for all your recipes!
Great recipe. I love being able to create gravy without drippings. I often use a recipe, like this one, as a guide and then tweak it. I used chicken stock and chicken bouillon as I was reheating turkey meatloaf. I tossed in a sprig of rosemary from my garden. Great flavoring!
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
Sure!
Off the hook awesome!! Just made it with drippings from a round roast in a cast iron skillet!
Love this gravy
Simple, quick & delicious!
Thank you!
I’ve been making roasts in various ways for over 45 years. They have mostly all come out very tasty. But never have I made a roast that was as tender as the one I made tonight using your low and slow method. It was wonderful!
Easy recipe to follow and very tasty will be making this again for sure !
Hi Echo,
Thanks for sharing this. I made it as-is using bouillon (but reduced quantity) to put into the Pillsbury Beef Pot Pie recipe as a substitute for icky jarred beef gravy. It was great in the pot pie recipe!
Blessings,
Giselle
So glad you liked the gravy– we agree it’s way better than the jarred!
I have made this recipe 3 or 4 times now without drippings and it comes out great every time. Quick, easy and delicious!
Just ok. That’s like beef broth and not gravy.
This is so good!! I love how easy it is! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Just delicious! I made this with mashed potatoes and it was a huge hit. Thank you!