This UNFUSSY Vegan Gravy recipe comes together in only about 15 short minutes and with a handful of simple. whole-foods ingredients. This is dependable on top of mashed potatoes or used in any other way that you love enjoying from-scratch gravy such as poured over my vegan biscuits or as a topping for vegan meatloaf.

big bowl of mashed potatoes covered with a brown vegan gravy sauce and sprinkled with fresh herbs

The creamiest vegan gravy ever!

Last week I posted my Vegan Mashed Potatoes recipe on the blog so surely you knew that the Vegan Gravy was coming as well only in time for the holiday season:) It’s reliable with my Vegan Turkey recipe too!

I actually worked on this dish last year and made a version of it for a vegan thanksgiving dinner BUT simply never got around to posting it. With the start of fall, I’m already thinking about my holiday menus and 100% this Vegan Gravy will be on it. Truly simple and WORTH THE POT!

Why you’ll LOVE this simple vegan gravy:

It’s so unfussy—ready in simply 15 minutes!
No special ingredients or equipment required.
Rich, savory, and completely satisfying—no one will guess it’s vegan. There’s so much depth of flavor.
Reliable for Thanksgiving, mashed potatoes, veggie loafs, and busy-night dinners.
Freezes and reheats beautifully.

You can make this unfussy vegan brown gravy 2 different ways: especially creamy or a little chunky. I like to blend my gravy with a hand mixer to get it nice and smooth BUT, to keep things simpler, you can also skip the blending stage and simply leave in the small chunks of onion and garlic.

If you’re not going to blend it, I suggest making sure that you chop the onion and garlic particularly small.

Simple ingredients needed

The ingredients in this method are simple but let’s go over my (not so) secret ingredients to get the most savory savory flavor in this gravy.

Olive oil– I truly like the bit of flavor that the olive oil provides but you could use other, tasteless oils or vegan butter, as well.
Onion + garlic– I debated making this with only onion powder and garlic powder but I TRULY love the freshness that you get using the real stuff. White or sweet onion works well here but I would not use red onion.
Flour– I used all purpose flour but you could swap it for a gluten free 1-1 flour OR a slightly smaller amount of oat flour.
Nutritional yeast– I tested this without the nutritional yeast and it simply isn’t the same. So, don’t skip this ingredient! It adds a level of flavor that I truly love.
Soy sauce– this gives the gravy a truly nice saltiness that we all love from gravy. Coconut aminos are a good gluten-free option.
Broth– I used the Better Than Bouillon Vegetable broth base but truly any broth or vegetable stock that you have works well.
Spices– I add in sage and a bit of poultry seasoning. Some poultry seasonings are saltier than others so I suggest adding that first and tasting before adding in any additional salt. Some fresh herbs would also be flavor-packed in this method.

How for this flavor-packed gravy

The full written recipe is down in the recipe card but lets go over the basic steps for making the GO-TO vegan gravy recipe you’ll ever make!

step 1 in making vegan gravy - sauteeing onion and garlic in a pot of olive oil

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until softened.

making vegan gravy with onion and oil in a pan and flour being poured in

Next, whisk in flour, nutritional yeast, soy sauce, dried sage, salt, and pepper until a paste forms. It’ll be a little thick until you slowly whisk in the broth/ veggie stock.

Season to taste as desired and let simmer for 8 minutes until the gravy has thickened.

vegan gravy being poured on to mashed potatoes

Serve the vegan gravy as is OR blend it until it’s nice and creamy. I do this using an immersion blender but a regular blender or food processor will also work.

Expert Tips

Whisk constantly when adding broth to avoid lumps.
Taste and adjust: Depending on your broth, you might want a splash more soy sauce or a pinch of salt.
Make ahead: It thickens as it cools, so add a bit of broth or water when reheating.
Customize it: Add a splash of balsamic vinegar or a pinch of smoked paprika for a flavor twist.