Name: Vegan Mushroom Gravy (Oil-Free!)
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 oz mushrooms, diced (white, crimini, Portobello, any will work); 8 oz mushrooms, sliced, optional; 1 medium onion, diced finely; 3 tbsp nutritional yeast; 3 tbsp reduced sodium tamari / soy sauce / No Soy; 1 tbsp Italian seasoning; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1/2 tsp smoked paprika; 2 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder; 2/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk; Up to 3/4 cup water to thin, as needed

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Smoky, rich, and packed with umami flavor, this Vegan Mushroom Gravy is easy to make and perfect for topping mashed potatoes, lentil loaf, and more.

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Hey Internet, this smoky and delicious mushroom gravy actually goes REALLY well with the easy vegan mashed potatoes I posted last year, but I realized that it’s good in other things so I wanted to make it its own recipe.

It’s easy to make and really mushroomy--if you’re not a big fan of mushrooms, check out my simple gravy!

But if you love mushrooms like I do, this recipe is totally for you.

This gravy is SO much better than the typical jarred gravy or mix packets you see around Thanksgiving time. Anything homemade is usually better, and this is no different.

Mushroom gravy is fantastic on all sorts of dishes, not just mashed potatoes. Try it on top of lentil loaf, with vegan chicken nuggets, with vegan brisket, or even just on top of some simple roasted or steamed veggies!

This healthy, low fat sauce is easy enough to make on a weeknight to make even the simplest dinners taste ultra delicious, and it makes enough to enjoy for several meals! You could even freeze it to use later.

Before we get into the ingredients, I want to mention that you can use any mushrooms you like with this recipe, so you can customize the flavors easily.

You will need a few other things though, but luckily they’re all pretty common.

What You’ll Need

Well, you’re gonna need mushrooms. Which kind is totally up to you.

For their flavor, I recommend crimini / baby Bella, white button, or portobello mushrooms. Those seem to be the most widely available, inexpensive, and still pretty dang flavorful.

Onions are also paramount to this gravy. You could use onion powder instead, though the sweetness of sauteed onions is so good in this.

To thicken everything, I use non-dairy milk and a little cornstarch, but arrowroot powder will also work.

Everything else is just flavor: dried Italian herbs, garlic powder (fresh minced garlic will work too), smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, and reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce (substitute No Soy if needed). You can customize this gravy to your preference!

Tips for Making Delicious Vegan Mushroom Gravy

This gravy features double the mushrooms: Some get chopped up and blended into the gravy and some are sauteed and added after for a rich, umami flavor and more mushroom goodness. If you don’t want to add one of them, then don’t. If you don’t add the ones blended into the sauce, then you’ll need to compensate for less liquid.
Saute your onions for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms.
You may need to add a little water or broth while cooking the onions to keep this oil-free, but you shouldn’t need to add any to the mushrooms as they release their own liquid.
Add your spices to the cooking vegetables--use my recommendations or any spices you like. When the mushrooms are soft and mushy, you can blend up the gravy. Either use an immersion blender or carefully pour the mixture into your countertop blender (you may need to add a little liquid to get it to blend). I like to use the immersion blender so I can leave some chunks.
After the mixture is blended, add the non-dairy milk and cornstarch / arrowroot mixture so it can thicken a bit, then add the tamari / soy sauce / No Soy and nutritional yeast. It will thicken after a few minutes of stirring on medium heat. If you need it thinner, add a bit more non-dairy milk or water.
While you are cooking your gravy, you can be sauteing the other mushrooms in a skillet. Just add little bits of tamari / soy sauce / No Soy and water to them (a tablespoon at a time) whenever the liquid evaporates. After about 10 minutes on medium heat they will shrink down and become very juicy and delicious. Cook them down as long as you’d like--when they look good, remove them from heat until you’re ready to serve.
I like to mix most of the whole mushrooms into the gravy and then spoon it onto my mashed potatoes or whatever I’m serving it with. Then I place a few of the cooked mushrooms on top for garnish.
Store the gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Either way, when you reheat, you may need to stir in a bit of water when it’s heating up to loosen it.

How to Customize This Gravy

There are many ways you could make this gravy your own:

Add other vegetables, like celery and carrots for classic flavor
Leave it chunky instead of blending
Blend it completely smooth in the countertop blender
Play with the herbs, use French thyme or tarragon--or use fresh herbs for a brighter flavor
Add lemon to brighten the flavors in a light citrusy way
Substitute the smoked paprika for a pinch of nutmeg for more of a warm, lightly sweet flavor
Nix the soy sauce / tamari and use some salt
Use a little liquid smoke like hickory or another flavor to turn up the smokiness
Like heat? Add a little cayenne / chili / hot sauce to the gravy
For more Asian flavorings, try a little sesame or fermented black bean paste for a whole lot of umami flavor! You could try adding miso near the end of the cooking process, too.
Miss gravy based on chicken broth? Use a vegan chicken broth or better yet, use a teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base in your gravy. You could even just add some poultry seasoning!

What to Serve with Mushroom Gravy

This gravy is honestly great on anything and everything. Of course I love it on mashed potatoes and baked potatoes--any kind of potatoes, really.

It goes really well with seitan chicken nuggets or seitan beef too.

It’s also really good on pasta (especially with some lentils or tofu), on top steamed or roasted vegetables, or even on toast!

Oh, and of course it’s amazing on Mushroom Lentil Loaf. ;)

This gravy would be especially good on some vegan steaks.

More Vegan Sauces

And if you're looking for holiday recipes, check out my vegan holiday recipes guide.

Anything Else?

As always, I hope you love this recipe--I know I do, and Mr. Zardyplants does too.

This vegan mushroom gravy is:

Smoky
Rich
Savory
Packed with umami flavor
And awesome on mashed potatoes, vegetables, meat alternatives and more!

Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)

Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!

<3 Liz

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