This homemade turkey gravy recipe makes incredibly flavorful gravy from the turkey drippings and just a few pantry staples. It’s the best I have ever tried (no exaggeration), and it’s also incredibly easy to make.
Whether you’re making a traditional Roast Turkey or a Spatchcock Turkey, you’ll be left with drippings that encompass all of the wonderful flavors and seasonings you’ve added to your bird. Then, just whisk in flour and milk, and there you have homemade gravy to round out your Thanksgiving menu.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Homemade Turkey Gravy
There’s a funny thing about homemade gravy, the folks at your holiday table will remember it because the store-bought packet mixes and canned gravy can’t compete. I must have refilled my plate with Mashed Potatoes three times just to have more of the gravy.
After seasoning a turkey and cooking for hours, you’ll only need 5 more minutes to whip up this gravy recipe. Once you try this, you’ll never toss those turkey drippings again; liquid gold, my friends. Liquid gold.
Turkey Gravy Video
Watch how easy it is to whisk together this gravy using turkey drippings. Natasha’s fool-proof recipe comes together in just minutes.
Ingredients
Save those precious turkey drippings and add only a few pantry staples for this easy homemade gravy recipe.
- Flour – all-purpose works best, but you can substitute gluten-free 1:1 flour
- Drippings from turkey – separate the fat from the drippings using a fat separator, or by skimming the fat off the top with a spoon. If you don’t have enough from the bird, add butter to the fat and/or chicken stock or turkey stock to the drippings until you have enough for the recipe
- Milk – gives it a creamier texture, but you can leave it out or substitute water or chicken broth if desired
- Salt and pepper – taste before seasoning, since the drippings have already been seasoned
Substitutions
Try these substitutions to make the gravy recipe fit your tastes:
- Gluten-Free – Replace the flour with gluten-free 1:1 flour
- Instead of drippings – Use butter and stock if you don’t have turkey drippings. Add sautéed garlic and shallot before making the roux to compensate for the missing flavor
- Add seasonings – Try thyme, parsley, poultry seasoning, sage, or rosemary.
- How to make giblet gravy – Boil giblets in water for an hour then strain and add the resulting broth to the drippings. Then mince the giblets (except the liver) and stir into the finished gravy if desired.
Pro Tip:
To make more gravy, simply increase the flour and grease drippings proportionately, because the roux is made with equal parts fat and flour. Add more stock or water to reach the desired consistency.
How to Make Turkey Gravy from Scratch
After cooking your turkey, use flour and the turkey drippings to create a roux, then thin it with milk and enjoy! Here are the easy-to-follow directions:
Prepare the Drippings
- Strain drippings from the turkey roasting pan through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup, then discard anything you catch in the sieve. Let drippings in the measuring cup rest for a minute, so the fat will float to the top and the broth will sink to the bottom.
- Skim off 3 Tbsp of fat (or more if doubling the recipe) and transfer into a medium saucepan. If you don’t have enough, use butter until you get 3 Tbsp., then skim off and discard the excess fat left in the measuring cup. Measure out 2 cups of the remaining broth drippings. Add more chicken broth or water to equal 2 cups.
Make the Gravy with Pan Drippings
- Heat the saucepan with fat drippings over medium heat. Once fat starts to sizzle, whisk in 3 Tbsp flour and stir until well combined. Continue whisking until the mixture is starting to turn a light golden brown and begins to smell nutty or like cereal.
- Gradually pour the 2 cups of broth drippings into your saucepan, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Bring to a light boil while whisking.
- Add more milk, broth, or water to taste (this helps if your gravy seems too salty or too thick), and continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve, then transfer to a gravy boat or serving dish.
How to Thin Gravy
To thin the gravy, add more liquid, but be aware that it’s easy to thin, but more difficult to thicken the gravy without getting a floury taste, so add liquid slowly.
How to Thicken Gravy
To thicken the gravy, stir in a cornstarch slurry (mix 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 2 Tbsp cold water to make the slurry). The gravy will thicken as it cools, so consider that when serving the gravy.
Common Questions
This turkey gravy is thickened with a roux, a mixture of fat and flour in equal proportions that is used to thicken many sauces. Using flour to thicken the gravy is better than cornstarch because it reheats better and doesn’t leave an aftertaste.
Sure, use butter in place of fat, and chicken broth or turkey broth in place of the drippings. Be sure to add seasoning if you go this route, because you won’t have the drippings to flavor the gravy—try sautéing shallots and garlic in the pan before making the roux. To add more flavor, try making our easy mushroom gravy.
Be sure to use a whisk rather than a wooden spoon to constantly stir the flour. The secret to smooth gravy is to add the pan drippings slowly while whisking to help incorporate the flour without causing it to clump. You can also try sifting the flour.
To fix lumpy gravy, simply pour the gravy through a fine mesh sieve before serving and discard the lumps.
Absolutely! It’s simple to double this turkey gravy recipe by increasing the flour and grease drippings proportionally. Add more turkey stock or chicken stock to reach your desired consistency.
To Serve Turkey Gravy
Gravy is a staple on most Thanksgiving menus, and this homemade turkey gravy will be the star! We serve it warm in a gravy boat for easy pouring.
Of course, we use gravy to dress our turkey and mashed potatoes, but if a few drips (or more) end up on our Stuffing, Dinner Rolls, and Brussels sprouts, we won’t be at all upset. If you have any leftovers after Thanksgiving, try the gravy with these delicious recipes:
- Leftover Turkey in Gravy
- Dressing for Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches
- Poured over our Homemade Biscuits
- A sauce for our Oven Baked Chicken Breast
- As a dip for our Savory Turkey Crepes or Potato Latkes
Make-Ahead
To make the gravy ahead, you’ll need to substitute the turkey drippings. See our tips for making gravy without drippings above.
- To Refrigerate: Store cooled gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Freezing: freeze for up to 4 months
- To Reheat: thaw the gravy in the refrigerator overnight, then heat in a saucepan on the stove over low heat so it won’t curdle, or microwave in 15-second intervals until warm. Add chicken stock or water to thin, if necessary.
Our easy turkey gravy recipe uses pan drippings to create a savory rich sauce to compliment all your Thanksgiving dishes. You’ll never go back to store-bought mixes or cans when you see how easy and tasty it is to make yours at home!
More Thanksgiving Recipes
This gravy is always on our Thanksgiving menu. Here are a few of our other favorite classic Thanksgiving dishes:
- Cranberry Sauce
- Pumpkin Pie
- Green Bean Casserole
- Apple Cider
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Casserole
Turkey Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, or use Gluten-Free 1:1 flour
- 3 Tbsp fat drippings from roasted turkey
- 2 cups turkey drippings, skimmed of fat (add water or broth if needed to make 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup milk, stock, or water, or added to desired consistency
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Once your Thanksgiving turkey has been transferred from the roasting pan and is resting, make your turkey gravy. Strain all drippings from the turkey pan through a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring cup. Discard anything you catch in the sieve. Let drippings in the measuring cup rest for a minute, the fat will float to the top and the broth will sink to the bottom.
- Skim off 3 Tbsp of fat and transfer into a medium saucepan (add butter if you don't have 3 Tbsp). Skim off and discard excess fat left in the measuring cup. You should have about 2 cups of drippings left in the measuring cup after the fat is removed. Add more water or broth if needed to make 2 cups.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is starting to sizzle, whisk in 3 Tbsp flour and stir until well combined. Continue whisking until the mixture is starting to turn a light golden brown, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually pour the remaining broth from drippings into your saucepan, whisking constantly. Bring to a light boil while continuing to whisk.
- Add 1/4 cup milk, stock, or water to your desired consistency and taste, and simmer for 5 min. Season with salt and pepper to taste if needed. Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and keep warm until ready to serve, then transfer gravy to a gravy boat to serve. It will thicken slightly as it cools.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Thanks again Natasha! My gravy came out perfectly and it was delicious! I didn’t have quite enough fat so I added butter like you said. Don’t know why making gravy seems so intimidating; it was very easy and fast. I didn’t have to use the packet gravy I bought as a backup lol hope your Thanksgiving was great! Looking forward to seeing what Christmas recipes you have in store!
I have always been intimidated by making gravy. No idea why? But maybe because my mom and grandma made the best gravy ever. I’m more a fan of smooth, no meat gravy so when I found this recipe that took milk like my moms did, I jumped on it. My mom just made her gravy from her mind and not a recipe so I was never able to replicate it, until now. This gravy is scrumptious! And so easy to make. I was so proud of myself after I made it lol. Everyone raved about it. Definitely a keeper recipe that I will use over and over. Thank you!
Hi Shawn, I’m so glad to hear that you were able to replicate a yummy food memory with my turkey gravy recipe. That is wonderful!
WOWZERS! Perfect gravy Natasha! I’ve probably looked at 2 dozen different turkey gravy recipes in the past week and decided to go with yours. I had made turkey stock last week and put it in the freezer and saved the fat drippings for the roux. I multiplied your recipe times 4, as we have a large family. The ONLY tweak I did was adding one tsp of Worcestershire at the end. The difference was subtle and it was very good without it. But it added just a little something. I now have half a gallon of gravy for tomorrow and won’t need to stress about making it last minute. First time I’ve made gravy in advance. So delighted to have gone with your recipe. It’s really great. I’m a trained chef but still get a bit nervous cooking at holidays for a family with high expectations. Lol. Your technique and recipe are spot on!
Wishing you and your family and staff a very Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m so very happy to hear how much you loved the turkey gravy. Happy Thanksgiving!
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and it turned out really salty. I brined the turkey and roasted it using your recipes. Any thoughts on what I did wrong?
Hi Sara, you must have ended up with very concentrated pan drippings (this can vary depending on how much you salt the outside of the bird. If it is too salty, you can add a little milk or chicken stock to mellow it out, or even a bit of water.
You can also toss a whole peeled potato in the gravy, it will sop up the salt.
Hi there, the gravy pictures look like there is an herb included but I don’t see any on the recipe list, would you mind sharing the herb used?
Hi Khara! I often use parsley to garnish my food for presentation.
I made this last year for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a hit. I see you cooked with carrots, onion, celery and garlic then strained it for the juice only. Did you also add some chicken broth to the bottom of the turkey pan so the veggies don’t burn?
Hi Chris! I did not, but you can add some broth/stock if you don’t have enough drippings.
I just finished making this gravy recipe and it turned out great! I had managed to get in on a 2 day sale of whole frozen turkey at the grocery store for just $.35 a pound!! A 12 lb turkey cost me about $4.90!!! I figured I’d roast it to have for lunch meat freezing some. But after roasting decided to serve it for dinner first. Seemed funny to have a roasted turkey dinner on a Monday night, just 2 weeks before thanksgiving. But I couldn’t pass it up for less than $5!!! I needed a quick turkey gravy and went straight to your website. Only thing I added or changed was to whisk in about 1 Tbs butter to the finished gravy. Just for smoothness and richness. Great recipe! Thank you Natasha!!
😲 Talk about a cheap turkey!😂 Good job on finding a great deal!❤
What can I do if I’m only making turkey thighs for two and I won’t have 2 cups of drippings. Any ideas? Thank you, and happy holidays!
Hi Maggie! You could use stock for additional liquid.
Delicious. Best ever!
We roast our turkey in our roaster so it frees up my oven for other dishes.
My issue is cooking the turkey that way does not produce the drippings like when you roast in the oven. What can I use instead?
Hi Sally. If you do not have enough drippings from your turkey, you can use more broth. You will need to season it to your preference since it will be lacking some flavor.
Natasha thank you for sharing your turkey gravy. I can’t wait to try it on Thanksgiving day.
Thank you for sharing. I love your recipes. You are so honest in your recipes. Love then!
Thank you so much, Rosemine.
I have a desperate question. The hardest part of making a Thanksgiving dinner is the timing of everything and the most difficult part of all is making sure the turkey stays juicy and not dried out. What is your trick?
Hi David! You’re not alone. That’s a common concern. I have a Thanksgiving menu and checklist that provides not only the menu but some helpful tips for you. Click the link above and enter your email to receive it.
Hi there I love your videos I was going to try to cook my turkey this way but I see you have carrots and stuff and the roasting pan to make the Gravy but I don’t see how much or what you are using ..
Hi kitty, I added what I had on the side, you can also if you would like, its optional. There would be enough flavor from the drippings even without this addition.
This is the second year I make this turkey and it’s chef’s kiss! I followed the recipe exactly and it’s so juicy and tender and I’m not even a great cook! The recipe seems like it’s missing seasonings or more complicated things but trust the recipe! It’s so perfect and tasty! Full of flavour! Thank you! Made it with the gravy recipe you have and it was Christmas dinner perfection!