This Umami Gravy is the ultimate gluten-free gravy—rich, savory, and so versatile! Whether you’re drizzling it over turkey, mashed potatoes, or roasted veggies, this recipe has you covered.
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What makes this the best gluten free gravy?
This isn’t just any gluten-free gravy—it’s the most flavor-packed, umami-loaded gravy you’ll ever taste! The secret? Umami synergy. We’re talking two kinds of mushrooms (fresh and dried), a splash of fish sauce, and a dollop of tomato paste—all working together to create a rich, savory punch that’ll make anything you drizzle it on taste amazing.
And here’s the best part: there’s no need for flour, starch, or any other thickeners to get that perfect gravy consistency. Instead, you simply blend the cooked mushrooms and onions into a silky, luscious sauce. It’s thick, velvety, and totally fuss-free! Trust me, this is the gluten-free gravy that’ll steal the show at your next meal.
Yep, this is a rich, thick gravy that you can pour on EVERYTHING.
Umami synergy in action!
Traditionalists might roll their eyes because this gravy doesn’t rely on turkey pan drippings, but hear me out: using bone broth or rich chicken stock instead makes your life so much easier. You can whip up this gravy a couple of days before Thanksgiving and just reheat it when you’re ready to go into Feast Mode. (Because let’s be real—who wants to be frantically cooking against the clock on the big day? Not this lady!)
What makes this gravy so incredible is its umami-packed flavor. Umami, also known as the “fifth taste,” is that savory, mouthwatering essence that makes food taste deeply satisfying. In this gravy, umami comes from a carefully curated combo of savory bone broth, tomato paste, dried and fresh mushrooms, and a splash of fish sauce. Once everything has simmered and melded together, just purée it into a thick, luscious gravy. No flour, no thickeners—just pure magic.
The best part? Umami Gravy keeps beautifully in the fridge for several days and freezes like a dream. Keep a stash on hand for everyday meals—just grab your favorite quick-cooking protein, simmer it in this gravy, and you’ve got an easy, flavor-packed dinner ready to go.
Ingredients
- Dried porcini mushrooms: These dried mushrooms add a super flavorful and earthy depth to the gravy.
- Cremini mushrooms: I normally use brown button mushrooms in this recipe, but white ones also work. If you wanna go fancy, feel free to substitute another fresh mushroom.
- Ghee or fat of choice
- Onion: You’ll need two onions because the onions and mushrooms contribute to the thickness of the gravy.
- Tomato paste
- Fish sauce
- Garlic
- Bone broth or organic chicken stock
- Fresh thyme sprigs
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
How to make gluten free Umami Gravy
Rinse the dried mushrooms with cool water and place them in a small bowl. Add enough water to cover the mushrooms and set aside for at least 30 minutes to soften.
In a medium saucepan, melt the ghee over medium heat. Add in the onions and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes or until translucent.
Then, drop in the tomato paste and fish sauce.
Don’t worry—the smidge of fish sauce doesn’t make your gravy fishy; it just amps up the umami.
Stir to evenly distribute the umami boosters…
…before dumping in the sliced cremini mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until the liquid is released and evaporated, about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, fish the reconstituted porcini mushrooms out of the bowl of water, and roughly chop them up.
Add the garlic to the saucepan, and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Then, mix in the reconstituted dried mushrooms, pour in the broth…
…and drop in the thyme sprigs.
Increase the heat to high and bring the gravy to a boil.
Decrease heat to medium-low to maintain a strong simmer/low boil, and cook until the gravy has reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Be patient—you want half of the liquid to evaporate in order to concentrate the flavors. Plus, you don’t want the gravy to be thin and watery once blended.
Remove from the heat. Take out the thyme twigs and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, purée the gravy until smooth.
Seriously good gravy. Ladle it on all the things.
How to store umami gravy
You can store umami gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to 4 months. If you’re gonna freeze it, I like to do it in an ice cube mold so you can pop out a cube whenever you want!
More Thanksgiving recipes
- Spatchcock Turkey
- Instant Pot Autumn Mash
- Paleo Cranberry Sauce with Cherries
- Easy Asian Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad with Citrus & Ginger Dressing
- Pumpkin Custard Cups
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Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Umami Gravy: The Best Gluten Free Gravy
Ingredients
- ½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons ghee or fat of choice
- 2 onions diced
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon fish sauce
- ½ pound cremini mushrooms sliced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 cups bone broth or organic chicken stock
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse the dried mushrooms with cool water and place them in a small bowl. Add enough water to cover the mushrooms and set aside for at least 30 minutes to soften.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the ghee over medium heat. Add in the onions and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes or until translucent.
- Then, drop in the tomato paste and fish sauce. Stir to evenly distribute the umami boosters, before dumping in the sliced cremini mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until the liquid is released and evaporated, about 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, fish the reconstituted porcini mushrooms out of the bowl of water, and roughly chop them up.
- Add the garlic to the saucepan, and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Then, mix in the reconstituted dried mushrooms, pour in the broth, and drop in the thyme sprigs. Increase the heat to high and bring the gravy to a boil.
- Decrease heat to medium-low to maintain a strong simmer/low boil, and cook until the gravy has reduced by half, about 30 minutes. Be patient—you want half of the liquid to evaporate in order to concentrate the flavors. Plus, you don’t want the gravy to be thin and watery once blended.
- Remove from the heat. Take out the thyme twigs and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, purée the gravy until smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ok I just came across this recipe and already finished my Thanksgiving shopping! I have a ton of baby bellas, do you think those would be ok instead of the cremini?! And also have no dried porcini….so more bellas?!! Or should I just suck it up and go to the store!!
I didn’t have porcini mushrooms, so I substituted powdered porcinis. This will be my go-to gravy from now on! It’s so delicious.
We used a variation of mushrooms and it was mouthtastic. The gravy is so so thick without any added gums. The recipe makes a lot, but you can easily get through it.
Any way to make this AIP friendly? Other than keeping the black pepper off, what could I sub for the tomato paste? Thanks!
You can leave it out! There should be tons of umami from the other ingredients already.
Any other mushrooms that would work instead of cremini? Having a hard time finding them. Also could dried Thyme work?
Cremini mushrooms are just brown button mushrooms. Most grocery stores carry them, it just doesn’t always say cremini on the package.
This was amazing. I made it to go with your Egg Foo Young and it was a huge hit!
Delicious gravy. Even my sons who don’t like mushrooms devoured it.
Would this work if I omitted the fish sauce and used vegetable stock? I’m going to a vegan Thanksgiving.
It’ll work, but it might not be as tasty!
This is delicious and easy to make, so thank you for the recipe. I have to say, though, that I was not able to get the smooth thick texture with the immersion blender alone. I tried, but the mushroom and veggie pieces were still somewhat chunky. So I threw it in the Vitamix and it turned into a beautiful creamy gravy.
Oh man, I forgot to buy fresh thyme. So would dried thyme work? How much would you add?