How to Make Beef Gravy

5 from 84 votes
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Your favorite meat and potatoes dinner isn’t complete without this easy and delicious beef gravy recipe. Make it with or without beef drippings! The deep color and rich flavor makes this gravy the perfect topping to so many meals!

Ladle of Beef Gravy pouring into saucepan.

Growing up, the star of every Sunday dinner was our mom’s creamy, rich beef gravy. She is famous for her warm, comforting Sunday meals, especially mashed potatoes and gravy. Even extended family members were always clamoring to get an invite to her table. One of our uncles (who will remain anonymous) came over for dinner once, filled his whole plate with potatoes, made a well in the middle, and then filled the entire thing with Mom’s gravy. It looked like a potatoes and gravy Crater Lake and then ate it with a spoon like soup. Hey, no judgement on our uncle. We’re just jealous we didn’t think of doing it first! This Beef Gravy recipe is super easy to make and is perfect for Christmas, Thanksgiving, or just a nice weekend meal.

Ingredients to make Beef Gravy including beef stock, corn starch, beef bouillon, seasonings and water.


Ingredients in this Beef Gravy Recipe

Homemade gravy is super easy to make! And it comes together in just a few minutes. Here’s what you need:

  • Butter – about three tablespoons or so, depending on how thick you’d like your roux. See below for more about making the perfect roux.
  • Beef broth – four cups of your favorite canned broth. You can use pan drippings from your roast, or a combination of both.
  • Onion powder – three teaspoons
  • Garlic powder – one teaspoon or more for extra flavor.
  • Cornstarch – four tablespoons for a creamy roux.
  • Water
  • Beef bouillon – to taste. You can use a bouillon cube, the granules, or Better than Bouillon, which you can find at most grocery stores.
  • Ground black pepper – to taste
Beef Gravy poured from a ladle into glass jar. Mashed potatoes and beef roast in the background.

Gravy with Juices from a Beef Roast 

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.

Homemade Beef Gravy with Beef Broth

Drippings from your main course meat is ideal for the best gravy, but sometimes there’s not enough juices left in the pan to make enough gravy to feed the family. If this is the case (which it is the case MOST of the time for our gravy-loving family) here’s a simple trick: add beef broth and a little butter. Gravy needs a bit of that good, delicious fat for a better consistency. If you don’t have any drippings at all, no worries, just follow the recipe below for an easy beef broth gravy!

Large bowl of Mashed Potatoes with beef gravy on top.

Can I Use Beef Stock Instead of Beef Broth?

Yes! Stock that has been simmered down from bones, seasonings, and veggies (usually the trifecta of carrots, celery and onions) adds a much deeper flavor to gravy. But if making all that at home sounds daunting, there are several can or carton options at your regular grocery store.

Brown 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.

The 4 types of roux including white, blond, brown, and dark in white bowls

Frequently Asked Questions about Beef Gravy

What’s the secret to good gravy?

Make sure to remove excess fat, thicken with the perfect roux (see above notes about roux) and strain any lumps. Also make sure the gravy is hot but not boiling.

Is beef gravy gluten free?

Most beef gravies are NOT gluten free. Beef broth or bouillon generally contain a fair amount of gluten. But, if you use a gluten free broth (check the labels!) and prepare this recipe with corn starch, you will have a delicious gluten free gravy.

READ MORE: 35+ Quick and Easy to Follow Dinner Ideas

Pouring cornstarch mixture into saucepan of beef broth. Whisk resting in saucepan.

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! From slow cooker roast beef (aka Crock Pot pot roast), to our popular Instant Pot pot roast, to a Sunday oven pot roast made in a roasting pan, we’ve you you covered. All of these methods will give you a good amount of liquid for a delicious roast beef 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 – Any mushroom lovers out there? Slice up some mushrooms and sauté in butter over medium heat before adding to the gravy.

More Delicious Gravy Recipes

Once you have the method down, the possibilities of delicious gravies are endless. Give some of these a try:

Ladle of Beef Gravy pouring into saucepan.

Beef Gravy

5 from 84 votes
Your favorite meat and potatoes dinner isn’t complete without this easy and delicious Beef Gravy recipe. The deep color and rich flavor makes this gravy the perfect topping to so many meals!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course, Sauce
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Video

Ingredients

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.
    Pan of Beef drippings and seasoning for Beef Gravy. Whisk on the side.
  • In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine cornstarch and water, stirring until well combined.
    Bowl of corn starch mixed with water for a slurry to thicken Beef Gravy.
  • 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.
    Adding corn starch slurry to the pan of Beef Gravy with a whisk.
  • 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.
    Whisking a pan of Beef Gravy.
  • Allow to simmer 2-3 minutes. Serve over potatoes, rice, poutine, or your favorite beef dishes.
    Ladle of thickened Beef Gravy.

Notes

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 – Any mushroom lovers out there? Slice up some mushrooms and sauté in butter over medium heat before adding to the gravy.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 65kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 486mgPotassium: 77mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 131IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg

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About the author

Echo Blickenstaff

Echo lives in Spanish Fork, Utah with her husband, Todd, who works in advertising. She has four kids: two girls and two boys. She deploys her accounting degree as the blog’s resident problem solver. In her time outside the kitchen, Echo loves to get away from the phones and busy schedules and spend quality time with the family. Anywhere’s great – but getting out into nature in the mountains or on the beach – is the best kind of getaway.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    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.

    1. 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!

  2. 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 ❣️

  3. 5 stars
    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!

  4. 5 stars
    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!

  5. 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!

  6. 5 stars
    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

  7. 5 stars
    I have made this recipe 3 or 4 times now without drippings and it comes out great every time. Quick, easy and delicious!

  8. 5 stars
    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!

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