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This Turkey Gravy without drippings is beyond easy and perfect as a make ahead dish for a stress free Thanksgiving meal. Perfectly flavorful and creamy, this gravy will be the highlight of the meal!
Looking for Thanksgiving recipes? Some of our most popular recipes include our Perfect Mashed Potatoes, Butternut Squash Pie, and our Autumn Apple Salad.
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Pin It NowEasy Gravy-No Drippings
This gravy is pure comfort and satisfaction. When it comes to Thanksgiving (or any holiday meal!) my family loves the gravy. I think it gets poured on just about everything on the plate. Which is why this easy to make version is my go-to ♡
Why You will Love This Recipe:
- Make Ahead: When it comes to the day of a big meal like Thanksgiving, there’s enough to do! Make-ahead dishes like this turkey gravy without drippings help reduce stress levels.
- Flavorful: Even without drippings, we can use shallots, garlic, herbs, and broth to make a luscious gravy!
- Practical: For those times when I’m making a Smoked Turkey Breast and don’t have drippings, this gravy recipe is the hero of the meal.
I make this every year and freeze it for Thanskgiving! Everyone loves it and it’s vegetarian friendly!
Ingredients:
Ingredient Highlights
- Shallots: Almost an onion, almost garlic. Shallots have a mild, sweet flavor perfect for our gravy. Can’t get your hands on some? You can substitute with a mild yellow onion or even some leeks.
- Broth: Turkey broth is hard to come by in the market, so I tend to use chicken broth in this recipe most often.
- Poultry Seasoning: I find this gives a nice bit of flavoring without having to grab too many seasonings from the pantry. It’s a blend of thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary, and black pepper.
- Fresh Herbs: Adds a nice freshness. But of course you can sub with dried if needed.
Tip
If you want you can sub out some of the broth for a white wine.
How to Make Turkey Gravy Without Drippings
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
- Add butter to a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until melted.
- Stir in the diced shallots and cook until soft, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for an additional 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir until it makes a smooth paste. Let this cook while slowly stirring until it’s a nice golden color, 5-8 minutes, adding a nice flavor to the gravy.
- Pour in the broth, starting with 2 cups, whisking while you pour it in. Continue to stir while it cooks and thickens. If the gravy gets too thick, pour more broth for the desired consistency.
- Once you have the consistency, then you can season the gravy by adding in the fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and poultry seasoning. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust as needed.
Make Ahead & Storage
- Leftovers: Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Make Ahead: Prepare the turkey gravy recipe as directed. Allow to cool, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium low heat, adding extra broth as needed to thin it back out to desired consistency.
- Freezer: Prepare the gravy as directed and allow to cool to room temperature. Store in a sealed freezer safe container. Save for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stove.
♡ Serve this gravy on top of your Smoked Garlic & Herb Turkey Breast, a Classic Smoked Turkey Breast, and of course on those Perfect Mashed Potatoes and some Cornbread Stuffing!
Watch How To Make
Turkey Gravy Without Drippings
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2-3 cups turkey broth or chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
- 1 tablespoon fresh herbs thyme, rosemary, parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon poultry seasoning
Instructions
- Add butter to a large saucepan and heat over medium heat until the butter has melted.
- Add in the minced shallots and let cook until they are softened, approximately 2-3 minutes. After shallots are cooked, add in the garlic and continue to cook an additional 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir until it makes a smooth paste. Let this cook while slowly stirring until it’s a nice golden color, 5-8 minutes. This will add a nice flavoring to the gravy.
- Pour in the broth, starting with 2 cups, whisking while you pour it in. Continue to stir while it cooks and thickens. If gravy is getting too thick, pour in more broth to get the desired consistency.
- Once you have the consistency, then you can season the gravy by adding in the fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and poultry seasoning. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust as needed.
Equipment
Notes
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
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- Leftovers: Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
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- Make Ahead: Prepare the turkey gravy recipe as directed. Allow to cool, cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium low heat, adding extra broth as needed to thin it back out to desired consistency.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Thanksgiving Classics
Photography by Modern Farmhouse Eats.
Can I freeze this?
Yes you can! Someone else shared a comment about freezing it to save for Thanksgiving. Freeze and store for up to 6 months in a freezer safe container. Then thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.
I make this every year and freeze it for Thanskgiving! Everyone loves it and it’s vegetarian friendly!
That’s fantastic to hear Kathie! And thank you for adding the information about how well it freezes 🙂
Delicious and full of flavor!
Fantastic! Thank you so much for the review.
This recipe was delicious, tasty, creamy.
I used shallots and chicken bone broth and the flavor was amazing!
I’m so glad it was what you were looking for!
I made this today for Thanksgiving tomorrow. It is just what I have been looking for! Delicious! Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving.
Wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Made this for a Friendsgiving and got so many compliments and requests for the recipe. It was so good and and easy to make. Definitely will be a Thanksgiving staple.
Sounds like a win!! Thank you for the review 🙂
This make-ahead gravy recipe is STELLAR! I’m so glad I found your website – each and every recipe I have tried have been so delicious. Thank you! We made this gravy on Thanksgiving morning, as the turkey was going into the oven. It smelled and tasted divine. One less stressor right before eating, to be able to just warm it back up and serve. It was so good I made another batch of it on Sunday, to make chicken pot pie. Best ever! Thank you so much for developing and perfecting the recipes on your site, so we can all bask in the compliments.