Vegan and Gluten-Free Gravy Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

What is the best thickener for gluten-free gravy? ›

Cornstarch is probably the most readily available ingredient to sub in for flour in your gluten-free gravy—and you probably already have it in your pantry. The only catch is you'll skip the roux-making process. Once you've deglazed your roasting pan and added stock, transfer about 1 cup stock mixture to a medium bowl.

It is possible to thicken gravy without flour or cornstarch, and it's as simple as keeping it on the heat. When gravy is left to simmer or reduce, it naturally thickens, so be patient with your gravy. One downside to reducing gravy, though, is that it can become too salty.

You may have already discovered your favourite one - mine is the knorr classic gluten free gravy (I picked it up at Tesco Extra). I like the neutral flavour and texture of this one, and when added to meat stock and vegetable water it makes a very tasty gravy.

Cornstarch and potato starch are the best options for gravy. Avoid arrowroot and tapioca starches because they can get "stringy" and look artificial in gravy. Cornstarch gravy is more translucent than flour based sauces. Potato starch gravy is more opaque than cornstarch, but less opaque than flour.

Tapioca flour: ideal as thickener or for healthy baking

It also thickens very quickly without changing the flavour of the dish. When baking with tapioca flour, you can substitute it at a 2:1 ratio for corn starch or combine it with other gluten free flours to make your own all-purpose blend.

What's the difference between using cornstarch or flour to make your gravy? Cornstarch does have more thickening power than wheat flour (because it's pure starch, while flour has some protein in it). So usually you need a little less cornstarch than flour for the equivalent thickening power.

The Best Starch for a Gluten-Free Roux

Sweet rice flour is my go-to flour for making gluten-free gravy. It contains a slightly higher starch content than other gluten-free flours, making it silky and smooth. Even more, because this flour is gluten-free, it doesn't clump as easily as wheat flour.

Cornstarch is a fine, white powder processed from the endosperm of corn. The endosperm is the nutrient-rich tissue inside the grain. Corn is a gluten-free grain, and no other ingredients are typically required to make cornstarch. As a result, pure cornstarch — which contains 100% cornstarch — is naturally gluten-free.

Cornstarch or arrowroot

Arrowroot and cornstarch are gluten-free alternatives to thickening with flour. They'll also keep your sauce clear and cloud-free. You'll need about 1 tablespoon for every cup of liquid in the recipe. Mix the cornstarch with equal parts water to create a slurry and pour it into the pot.

Both Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1, (the blue bag) and Cup4Cup make a great gluten-free gravy. I have tried this recipe with a few other flours and haven't been impressed. So if you can't find either of these 2 brands, I do recommend using sweet white rice flour which comes from short-grain white rice.

Which gravy mix is gluten-free? ›

MAGGI Gluten Free Instant RICH Gravy Mix takes only moments to prepare, is gluten free, pours perfectly over any meal and adds an additional flavour dimension to roast dinners, steak, lamb and chicken dishes.

Sweet rice flour, ground from glutinous rice, makes a velvety gluten-free roux and nicely replaces wheat flour measure for measure. Classically roux uses clarified butter as its fat.

Gravy and Stews: While pancake mix can be used as a substitute for flour in gravies and stews, it is generally recommended to use flour without added ingredients for better results.

Gravy. Use a little Bisquick mix wherever you'd use flour to make a roux and thicken a pan sauce to make gravy. The extra oomph in the baking mix makes the gravy rich and silky.

Thicken Gravy with a Roux

To make your roux, use an equal amount of flour and fat, like butter or oil, and follow these steps: Melt the butter or heat the oil in a skillet or saucepan on medium heat. Add the flour and whisk into the fat until all lumps are gone.

Onion paste, cashew paste, cream, butter, melon seed paste, cornflour slurry and roux (equal parts of cooked flour and butter) are some of the commercially used thickening agents.

If your gravy is looking watery, you can add a slurry (a mixture of cornstarch/flour and water) or a roux (a mixture of flour and butter) to thicken it up. Other pantry ingredients like Wondra (an instant flour), arrowroot, tapioca, and potato starch can also be used to thicken gravy to a deliciously silky consistency.

Yep! GF flours like Bob's Red Mill and other rice based flours do well as a roux.