Vegan Mushroom Gravy

This delicious vegan mushroom gravy rich, hearty, and packed with umami. It’s the best vegetarian/vegan gravy for Thanksgiving. 

Growing up I remember Thanksgiving dinners with a huge turkey as the centerpiece, and my grandma and dad mixing up a gravy made with the drippings. Nowadays, I don’t even make turkey, and skip right to the sides. Mashed potatoes are always on our holiday menus, and this year we’re going with a beautiful savory wild mushroom gravy alongside. Whether you’re serving it with turkey, or a vegetarian main dish like our Mushroom Wellington or Lentil Loaf, this mushroom gravy is the most delicious accompaniment. 

Let’s look at how to make the best vegetarian & vegan brown mushroom gravy. Wild mushroom gravy is perfect for Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Mashed Cauliflower, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! 

Mushroom Gravy Ingredients

Many of the mushroom gravy recipes I’ve come across use a can of cream of mushroom soup. Let me tell you right now, vegetarian mushroom gravy is so easy to make from scratch. We start with shallots and garlic. To get that thick and creamy consistency, you’ll need a roux (fat and flour). It’s thinned with vegetable stock, which I find has more flavor than broth.

For rich savory umami we’ll use the best mushrooms we can find/afford. A mix of dried and fresh wild mushrooms creates the best flavor, but even sliced baby Bella’s will do. This is quite like our Mushroom Farro Risotto. In the image above, we have oyster mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, and dried porcini mushrooms.

If you’re not familiar with using dried mushrooms, now’s a great time to learn. You’ll often find dried shiitake mushrooms in grocery stores, and they are perfect for Asian dishes like our homemade ramen bowls. Here you’ll want either a dried wild mushroom blend or dried porcini mushrooms. I usually get these at Whole Foods or World Market. 

To rehydrate dried mushrooms, pour boiling water over them and let sit for 10-15 minutes while you prep the rest of the recipe. If you can’t find dried mushrooms, you can skip this step. 

How to Make Vegan Brown Mushroom Gravy

Once those dried mushrooms are soaking, start by sauteeing shallots, garlic, and sliced or torn fresh mushrooms in olive oil and butter. Once the mushrooms are tender, remove from the heat and move on to the roux. 

To make the roux, flour is whisked into the butter/olive oil until toasty. Mine looks darker brown here as I’ve used whole wheat flour, though this is about the color you should aim for. The roux will slightly puff up. Here’s a good step-by-step on making roux. If you’re gluten-free, this should work just as well using a 1:1 gluten free flour. 

Once the flour has cooked for a minute or two to eliminate that raw flour flavor, the broth and mushrooms can slowly be whisked in. The mixture will thicken into a nice thick gravy in about 10 minutes. Add more broth to thin as needed. 

If you’re making your mushroom gravy ahead of time, let cool, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, heat in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring and adding vegetable stock to thin if needed. 

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Yield: about 2 cups

Mushroom Gravy

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

How to make the best vegetarian & vegan brown mushroom gravy. Wild mushroom gravy is perfect for mashed potatoes, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Try this mushroom gravy recipe with our Truffle Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes or Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower.

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Ingredients

• ¼ cup dried wild or porcini mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons vegan butter, divided
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. crimini, oyster, or chanterelle mushrooms, or a combination of wild mushrooms, cut into 1/2" thick slices
• ¼ cup flour
• 3-4 cups vegetable stock
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, pour about 1 cup of boiling water over the dried mushrooms. Set aside to soak until softened, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms.
3. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the mushrooms are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Drain and stir in the rehydrated mushrooms.
4. In a large saucepan, heat the remaining butter and oil. Whisk in the flour and cook over medium-low heat until light brown, 5 minutes. Add a little more butter or oil if needed to make the roux.
5. Add the mushrooms to the roux. Slowly whisk in the stock and simmer over low heat, about 10 minutes. The gravy will thicken as it cooks and even more as it cools. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more stock to thin to desired consistency.
6. Serve warm with mashed potatoes or Portobello Wellington.

Notes

1. Dried mushrooms add a lot of flavor. I buy them at Whole Foods, World Market, or online. If you can't find them, you can omit them and this mushroom gravy will still be delicious.
2. To make ahead, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat, adding more broth if stock to thin.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 201Total Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 13g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your favorite calculator.