Serve turkey gravy made with drippings alongside your Thanksgiving or holiday turkey. With only three main ingredients, you'll make the most flavorful drippings gravy completely from scratch.
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After you've roasted your holiday turkey, save the drippings to make a delicious homemade gravy.
This turkey dripping gravy is perfect to serve alongside turkey, mashed potatoes, or stuffing. The best part? You only need 10 minutes in the kitchen and three main ingredients!
Don't forget to try my herb gravy (without drippings) if you enjoyed this recipe.
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- How to make a roux from turkey drippings and flour. This is the base of a great gravy.
- Tips to make the gravy ahead of time - perfect for Thanksgiving prep.
- My favorite way to amp up the flavor of this gravy with homemade turkey stock.
Don't forget to grab a copy of my Thanksgiving timeline to help you stay organized and stress-free.
Ingredients You Need
There are just three main ingredients you'll need for turkey gravy.
- Turkey drippings: Be sure to use all of the delicious drippings from the roasted turkey including brown bites scraped off the bottom of the roasting pan.
- All purpose flour: This is used as a thickening agent for the gravy.
- Turkey stock: I love using homemade turkey stock to enhance the flavor of the gravy. You can also use chicken stock.
- Morton kosher salt/black pepper: Be sure to taste the turkey gravy and then add salt and pepper to taste. If you brined your turkey, you'll likely need less salt.
How To Make This Recipe
Here's a step-by-step guide for making this gravy from scratch.
Before you begin, allow the turkey drippings to rest until the fat floats to the top. Then, spoon the fat off the drippings and discard.
1. First, we'll start by making a roux. Add ½ cup (130 grams) of turkey drippings to a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in the flour and cook while stirring for an additional 1 minute.
2. Whisk in the turkey stock. Turn the heat to high to bring the liquid to a boil.
3. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, stirring occasionally, until the gravy has thickened, about 5 minutes. You can check that the gravy is ready if it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Expert Tips
- Leftovers: Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze gravy for up to 2 months. To reheat the gravy, thaw in the refrigerator then reheat over medium heat on the stove.
- If you brine your turkey, remember to remove the excess brine in the bottom of the pan so you can still make gravy. If you leave a bunch of excess salt in the bottom of your pan then roast the turkey, the drippings will become too salty.
- Don't worry if you notice small lumps of flour in your gravy. You can strain the flour out with a fine mesh strainer.
- To keep the gravy warm, pour hot water into the gravy boat until the gravy is ready to serve. Then, pour out the water, dry the gravy boat, and transfer the gravy inside.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, simply use a 1:1 gluten free flour instead of all purpose flour.
If you don't have turkey stock, opt for another type of poultry stock like chicken stock.
Pour the turkey drippings into a measuring cup. Allow it to rest until the fat floats to the top. Then, you can spoon off the fat and discard it. Measure the remaining drippings to use for the recipe.
Yes, the gravy can be made 3 days ahead of time. You can reheat it over medium heat on the stove.
More Turkey Recipes
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Homemade Gravy With Turkey Drippings
Equipment
- saucepan
- gravy boat
Ingredients
- ½ cup turkey drippings including brown bites scraped off the bottom of the roasting pan
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups turkey stock (or chicken stock)
- Morton kosher salt to taste
- finely ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Allow the turkey drippings to rest until the fat floats to the top. Spoon the fat off the drippings and discard.
- Add ½ cup (130 grams) turkey drippings to a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in flour and cook while stirring for an additional 1 minute.
- Whisk in turkey stock. Turn the heat to high to bring the liquid to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium, stirring occasionally, until the gravy has thickened, about 5 minutes. You can check that the gravy is ready if it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- To serve, pour into a gravy boat. Serve alongside turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and your other favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.
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