Homemade Turkey Gravy

published November 5, 2021 — last updated October 25, 2022

This homemade turkey gravy is the perfect complement to your Thanksgiving dinner, turkey breast, or to turn an ordinary sandwich into something extraordinary. As simple as it is tasty, you will never need to buy it again.

Turkey Gravy poured on sliced turkey breast

Homemade turkey gravy is one of those simple recipes that feels really tricky if you’ve never done it before.

But, take a deep breath, it’s actually super easy to make your own and is so much more delicious than any you could buy.

It really elevates your Thanksgiving dinner (or any dinner for that matter). You’ll love drenching your slow cooker turkey breast, or Instant Pot turkey breast, mashed potatoes (or our Instant Pot mashed potatoes), and cornbread dressing or stuffing in this delicious sauce.

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Ingredients You’ll Need

For this gravy, you’ll only need three ingredients.

Broth + drippings if you have them – You can use turkey, chicken, or a combination of the two. Though you can use a store bought broth, you can also follow the steps below to make your own homemade turkey broth (see below). For extra flavor we make our turkey gravy from drippings. Drippings are the juices that come from a turkey as it cooks. We use a combination of 1 cup of drippings from our cooked turkey and 1 cup of chicken broth.
Flour – We use regular all purpose flour, but a whole wheat or even a gluten free flour could work.
Water – You’ll need cool water to make a slurry, which you use to thicken the gravy.

Hosting a small gathering for the holidays this year? Check out our post on The Best Way to Cook Turkey Breast for Thanksgiving Dinner for 3 ways to make a juicy turkey!

Instructions

Here’s what you need to do to make the gravy.

Step 1 – Bring the broth to a boil.

In a large skillet, bring the broth or mix of broth and drippings to a boil over medium-high heat.

Step 2 – Make the slurry.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour and water together until smooth with no lumps. This is what’s called a “slurry” and it’s used to thicken sauces.

Step 3 – Whisk in the slurry.

Once the broth comes to a boil, pour in the slurry, whisking the whole time. You’ll need to let it cook for about 5 to 7 minutes.

When the gravy has thickened, take it off the heat and pour into a serving bowl or dish. Serve immediately.

Turkey Gravy in a gravy boat with black spoon on top

Getting a Smooth Gravy

If you get a few lumps in your gravy don’t worry! It happens to the best of us.

Lumps are caused by the flour cooking when it hits the hot liquid. You can often avoid this by whisking briskly as you pour the slurry (flour + water mixture) into the hot broth. Unfortunately, sometimes the flour gets by the whisk and a few lumps form.

To get rid of lumps, pour the finished gravy through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. The lumps stay behind, and you end up with perfectly smooth gravy.

Making Your Own Turkey Broth

As any mother or grandmother will tell you, using a good turkey broth makes all the difference in a good homemade turkey gravy. You could buy some at the store, but it can be hard to find. And let’s face it: making it from scratch always tastes best!

If you’re making our easy slow cooker turkey, you’ll get about 1 cup of flavorful turkey gravy made from the drippings. That combined with 1 cup of chicken broth makes about one and half cups of gravy.

If you need more than that, it’s simple to make your own turkey broth ahead of time so you’ll have it ready and waiting when you need it.

Ingredients you’ll need to make your own broth:

Approximately 4 lbs of turkey parts. We suggest wings and thighs with bone-in and skin on because they will give you the richest flavor.
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon Black pepper
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 tablespoon Olive oil
3 stalks of Celery, chopped into medium sized pieces
2 Carrots, chopped into medium sized pieces
1 Onion, cut into 6 wedges
2 cloves Garlic, smashed
Water

Instructions for making your own turkey broth:

Heat a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.
In a small bowl combine the salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning.Rub the seasoning over the turkey parts.
Pour the olive oil into the heated pot and then drop the turkey pieces into the pot, browning them for 5 to 7 minutes, turning as they cook.
Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic to the pot.
Fill with water until it covers the turkey pieces
Cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 90 minutes.
Once the time is up, remove the turkey (you can shred the meat and save for another dish) and vegetables and dispose of them.
Carefully pour the broth through a strainer into a large bowl to remove any pieces of food and then let cool in the refrigerator.
Once cooled, skim the fat off of the top of the broth. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Turkey Gravy on a spoon drizzled over turkey breast

How to Make it Ahead of Time

Make the gravy as instructed in the recipe below and allow it to cool completely.

Next, store the gravy in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

If you are freezing the gravy, make sure to let it thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you need to use it.

To reheat, place the gravy in a pot over medium high heat and cook until warmed through. If you need to thicken it a bit more, bring to a boil, stirring often so it doesn’t burn on the bottom and let it cook until the gravy thickens.

Turkey Gravy on turkey next to white gravy boat

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Servings: 6

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 20