Vegan Mushroom Make-Ahead Gravy

By Melissa Clark

Updated Dec. 16, 2024

Vegan Mushroom Make-Ahead Gravy
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(2,368)
Comments
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This excellent vegan gravy features caramelized mushrooms and a little soy sauce for depth of flavor, making it good enough to serve to your meat-eating guests, too. Just be sure to use a good-quality vegetable stock, preferably one you’ve made yourself. You can simmer the gravy up to five days ahead and store it in the fridge. Reheat just before serving.

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Ingredients

Yield:3½ cups
  • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½small onion, finely chopped (½ cup)
  • 4ounces baby portobello mushrooms, finely chopped (1 cup) 
  • ½cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 to 5cups vegetable stock, preferably homemade, as needed
  • 1teaspoon soy sauce, more to taste
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼teaspoon black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

204 calories; 18 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 1 gram protein; 234 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushrooms; cook, stirring, until well browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in vegetable stock, a little at a time, until a smooth sauce forms. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until thickened. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper. Serve as is, or pass it through a fine mesh strainer.

Ratings

5 out of 5
2,368 user ratings
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Comments

Mark

I just made this today for T'giving. Because most vegetable stocks ARE bland, I used 50% more fresh mushrooms and also threw in some (reconstituted) dried porcinis and a little fresh thyme and rosemary. This produced a nice mushroom-y flavor. I also didn't strain out the mushrooms, I used a stick blender so all the flavor stayed put.

Dani S.

Definitely add the tablespoon of miso if you have it. If you can't make your own veggie stock then a mushroom based broth from the store works great. This was such a hit at Thanksgiving that even the carnivores dug in. Really important to brown the mushrooms and then the flour too.

Al

It's all in the stock! I haven't made this version yet, but have made plenty of gravies. The whole concept of gravy is in the drippings of a meat source. To go vegan your stock has to be delicious enough to stand alone. I was thinking of roasting some veggies, onion, garlic, leeks, mushrooms, carots etc and building the stock from that.

David Shepherd

I'm not veggie/vegan, but I used this recipe as the basis, riffing on it as follows: 2 tbsp browned butter, then added crushed red pepper and garlic to the saute step (because, garlic); two extra ounces of bellas that I left sliced, not diced; 32 oz Kirkland organic chicken stock; Worcestershire sauce in place of soy; and another knob of butter at finish to silk it up a little. So, not vegan, but an omnivore version that was REALly good.

katymoo

I've made this a few times and love it - but tonight it occurred to me... how can you take oil and mushrooms and onion and 4 - 5 cups of stock and end up with only 3.5 cups of gravy?? My recipe always ends up at almost 5 cups...

Sass

I thought this was just ok. I think it’s very important to brown the flour deeply, although I followed the instructions and everything was sticking to the pan, once I added the stock, the color was too pale. Too late to go back at that stage, but I wish I’d gotten the flour browner. Also, the flavor was a bit insipid. I ended up adding extra soy sauce, a tsp miso, and subbing a cup of white wine, and about a 1/4 c ketchup.

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