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
Sooooo good! Made it along with your turkey recipe and it was amazing. Very simple, I didn’t need to add any salt and it was perfect with the added milk. I did thicken mine a touch it cornstarch as you suggested if needed. Thank you!
I made this with pork drippings and chicken broth. Added mushrooms. Awesome gravy.
My Nana used to make homemade gravy with turkey at very holiday. She never really explained how to do it to the family. When asked, she said she did it by eye. After she passed away, I attempted to do it but failed. Mine came out horrible. This Thanksgiving I followed your recipe. When I tasted it, I couldn’t believe how good it was! I felt as though I was honoring her tradition as well. Now, someday, when my grandkids ask, I can just say to go to your website to find the recipe. Thank you. It really meant a lot to me. Food is more than food. It’s memory.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Moira! I’m so glad you found our recipe and it brought back these amazing memories! Happy Holidays!
Making gravy always scares me, but this was so easy and absolutely delicious! I pinned it for future reference
Hi Lauren! That’s great to hear.
THE best, easiest gravy I have ever made!!! 10 stars if I could!
Aw, thank you, Stacy!
Came out great Natasha
Happy thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family! Love your videos … I love it when you are a bit silly!
Thank you so much, Jeannie! Happy Thanksgiving!
For stock – is chicken broth an option instead or it needs to be stock?
Hi there! Yes, you can use broth too.
I love using your receipes. Love the cookbook you published. I’m always using your receipes. Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Thank you so much, Donald! Happy thanksgiving!
Hi Natasha, thanks for making your recipes so easy to follow! Question about the gravy, the drippings on the video look like they have carrots and celery. The recipe for the Turkey roast that you have here does not have these ingredients. Do you suggest adding these to the stuffing for the Turkey Roast recipe?
Hi Mextli! You sure can, but there would be enough flavor from the drippings even without this addition.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Is it possible to skip flour in the ingredients?
You can use a substitute ingredient like Cornstarch slurry, Arrowroot powder or pureed vegetables.
Hi Natasha, the gravy sounds delicious and I’m planning on making it for Thanksgiving. I’m so used to the darker color of beef gravy, I wonder if there is something you could add to make it a bit darker in color. Not necessarily as dark as beef gravy. Love all your recipes and the new book.
Hi Carlita! I am not sure how to make that happen without adding some sort of color to it- such as edible food dye or natural dyes.
“Kitchen Bouquet”adds richness and brown color.
Hi Carlita, I feel the same way. I like my turkey gravy darker than this but not as dark as beef gravy. I always add Gravy Master to my gravies. A little goes a long way so add slowly. Easily can find Gravy Master in the grocery store! Good luck!
We use a OXO gravy fat separator that has a mesh screen built in. Got it off of Amazon:)
Can I use chicken broth if don’t have turkey droppings? Love your recipes
Yes, that will work.
I’ll give you all a big hint on how to greatly improve the flavour of any gravy when roasting a bird. I always do this. Depending on the size of the pan cut up a bunch of chicken hearts/giblets/livers into smaller pieces and cover the bottom of the roast pan under the rack. They will get all brown and a bit crispy while the bird is roasting and if not much after removing the bird and rack put the pot across two burners or a long center burner and brown the rest of them in the pan. Then add your liquid and let it all cook for a bit while scraping all the fond from the pot with a wooden spoon. Then continue by separating the fat and making your gravy and thickening it. Your gravy will be nice and brown, never light coloured and full of flavour. I always have bags of hearts in the freezer ready to thaw and use.Trust me on this one, once you do it once you’ll never go back. Cheers
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Smitty.
Excellent recipe! I struggle making gravy but this recipe was easy and worked great. The taste and consistency were perfect! Best gravy at my house in years. Am printing this to keep for next year!
I’m so glad to hear that, Margie!
Thank you Natasha. I love your recipes and how simple you make them. Thank you. I’m a big fan.
You’re welcome, Steve. Enjoy the recipes!
Made turkey a day ahead, saved dripping w fat, next day skimmed off all reserving 3 T for gravy. Easy and delicious!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Charlotte!
I make gravy every year but I’ve never thought to use milk I’ll have to try it this year and also I don’t strain the drippings because I kind of like little chunky stuff in there
I hope you love this recipe, Barry!
This really is the best turkey gravy I have ever made! My family and I couldn’t get over how delicious it was, thank you so much for the recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that, Olivia! Thank you for the feedback.