Pureed caramelized onions are the key to this rich golden-brown gravy that everyone - meat-eaters and vegetarians alike - will be sure to gobble up.
Photos by Rikki Snyder
I might be a vegetarian, but I refuse to miss out on gravy come Thanksgiving. Even if that means showing up at the door cradling my very own gravy boat full of Caramelized Onion Gravy.
The fact is, it’s easy to make a vegetarian gravy that everyone loves—and I do always make enough to share. In this version, caramelized onions lend more flavor than traditional drippings could dream to add. I truly believe it so.
I have a favorite, very simple onion gravy recipe that’s been my go-to for a while now. But this year, I decided it was time to up the ante. I wanted bigger, bolder flavor in a smooth, darker brown and traditional-looking gravy.
So I tried something crazy. I sliced up a big yellow onion and cooked it on the stove top, low and slow, until rich, sweet and golden. And then I threw it in the blender with a little broth, and I pureed it until silky smooth.
When added back into a bubbling batch of veggie gravy, the pureed caramelized onions add body, color and flavor. Yep, it totally worked! So, so good.
With fresh thyme, a bay leaf and a little Tamari for a bit of umami oomph, the flavor is slightly reminiscent of French onion soup - and it's insanely good over mashed potatoes.
Make Ahead Tips
If you want to save time on Thanksgiving, you can caramelize and puree your onions a day or two in advance. Just store them in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to add them to your gravy. The rest of the gravy comes together in a snap.
Or if you really want to do something crazy, you can freeze this gravy. Yep! Make it weeks ahead of time, even, then just thaw and warm it up in a saucepan on the big day.
More Vegetarian Thanksgiving Ideas
If you're here planning your meatless Thanksgiving feast, be sure to check out my complete Vegan Thanksgiving eCookbook!
And don't miss these other popular Thanksgiving recipes:
- More Vegetarian Gravy Recipes!
- 45+ Vegetarian Main Dishes for Thanksgiving
- 25 Vegan Holiday Cookies, Candy, and Treats
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion halved and sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon white sugar (organic for vegan-friendly)
- 4 cups vegetable broth divided
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan over medium-low heat. When hot, add the onion and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are extremely soft, golden brown and caramelized, about 40 minutes. If the onions start to burn when cooking, lower the heat. Once cooked, stir in 2 cups of the vegetable broth, scraping up any flavorful bits that are stuck to the pan. Set the onion and broth mixture aside and allow to cool to room temperature. When cool, pour the onion mixture into the pitcher of a blender or a food processor fitted with the s-blade, or use an immersion blender. Puree until smooth. Set aside.
- Set the same saucepan back on the burner, this time over medium heat. Add the butter and heat until melted. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes. Stir in the thyme. Slowly drizzle in the remaining 2 cups vegetable broth, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in the Tamari, bay leaf and the pureed onion mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture comes to a boil. Let boil, stirring constantly, until it has thickened slightly, about 3-4 more minutes.
- Remove from heat and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the balsamic vinegar. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired before serving.
Ciara (My Fussy Eater) says
This looks so delicious! Will definitely be trying this for Christmas!
Jessica @ Jessica in the Kitchen says
SO in love with this idea for gravy! I'm putting caramelised onions in my mashed potatoes, but a double dosage is no complaint of mine!
Kare Raye says
Caramelized onions in mashed potatoes?! Brilliant! Can I come over for Thanksgiving? 🙂
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Oh my, this is brilliant!
Kare Raye says
Thank you, Abby!
Taylor @ What Vegetarians Eat says
This is wonderful I'm going to be the only vegan at Thanksgiving this year and I'm making a bunch of vegan dishes. This will for sure be on the menu
Kare Raye says
I promise the meat-eaters won't care! Though it does have butter - I just find I like the flavor better. You could try with olive oil, I think it will still be good.
Gwen @SimplyHealthyFamily says
Oh how I adore caramelized onions!! This is a most perfect gravy..... for anything!
Joanne says
I haven't had gravy in YEARS. So excited about this!!
Kare Raye says
Veggie gravy is a total revelation! 🙂
Ashley says
Kare I made this yesterday to freeze for thanksgiving - hands down my favorite gravy that I've tried. The caramelized onions in there just make it so so good! I'm kinda bummed I have to wait till next week to eat it! haha Even the husband agreed and he is most definitely not a vegetarian 🙂
Laura says
I made this yesterday for Thanksgiving this week, and the spoonful I tasted was delicious! I did prefer it before adding the balsamic, though. The vinegar was a little strong, and I think I'll leave it out next year--because this is definitely my go-to gravy recipe from now on!
Sue says
I made this to go over vegan nut roast for Christmas Day and it was delicious, my husband loved it. We kept the leftover gravy in a Tupperware container in the fridge and had it over the leftover side veggies made into a flan with puff pastry on Boxing Day. I will probably make ahead and freeze next year though. Great recipe!
Amber says
Holy crap this is amazing! I made it for Thanksgiving and I just made another batch for Christmas dinner prep. I keep going back to the cooling gravy to eat more of it. I could eat it as a soup!
I followed your directions exactly and used veggie broth that I make from saving and freezing veggie scraps (so I had to add a lot more salt). Perfect! I'll be making this every year. Thanks!
Emily says
I've made this gravy multiple times in the last year and don't think I'll ever use another recipe! Definitely recommend!
A couple tips/notes:
--I'm not vegetarian, so to give it a boost of meaty taste, I use beef broth instead of vegetarian.
-- One change of directions I've found useful is to first add the caramelized onions to the blender, and then pour in the broth, as it's less messy/splashy and the butter will later scrap up any good stuck onion pieces.
-- I usually double this recipe and have no problem.
--Also don't skip on the balsamic vinegar - such a good finisher!
Stacy says
I made this ahead today for Turkey Day and it is amazing! Great recipe 🙂
Maura Glynn says
Oh. My. Goodness. I have made carmelized onion gravy before basically just off the cuff but this is by far the most delicious recipe I have ever made. It is seriously delicious.
Theresa says
I'm just wondering about a gluten free option, just substituting the flour for an alternate type. I tried this for Christmas with arrowroot flour, and ended up having to sift out the lumps. But it was amazing, everyone loved it!
Kris says
Um ... this recipe was linked in a "T-Day Make-Aheads" article for Gourmandize. I'd love to try it, but when I went to the "PRINT" function, all I get is a page with the recipe name on it.
Katie Trant says
Hey Kris, we're in the process of updating our recipe cards, so there are a few technical glitches at the moment. We're looking into it! In the meantime you could try copying and pasting the recipe into a word doc and printing that out.
Ger (BK) says
5 stars all day. I can't believe that I forgot to review and take a picture of your lovely gravy. It was so good. We really enjoyed the deep onion flavor. I really enjoyed the addition of the Tamari Sauce. Thanks for sharing. Made for What's on the Menu tag game.
Martha says
I make this recipe every year on Thanksgiving. It’s excellent! Even the meat eaters in my family don’t miss the usual turkey gravy.
Orval says
Great gravy recipe for my vegetarian GF family. I skipped the soy sauce and used a brown rice flour. I patiently cooked the onions on low for the prescribed 40 minutes. Carmelized onions add a nice flavor that makes up for no meat base. Also family doesn’t like mushrooms, which are the other way to Flavor Town.
Tara says
This was phenomenal! I could drink it! I did make several changes to make this more nutritarian. 1. I sautéed the onion and about a cup of mushrooms very slowly for several hours so that I could really bring out the natural sweetness. 2. I did not add the sugar (why would you need it if you low/slow onions?) 3. I used vegan butter. 4. I used only a scant amount of oil. 5. I added about 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic about 30 before I was done with the caramelization. I did use flower but next time I’ll use chickpea flower. I’m sure it will be delicious.
Gina O. says
This is the best gravy we've ever had. I served it this Thanksgiving as a vegetarian option, and EVERYONE preferred it to the traditional gravy. Made a second batch on Friday to have with the leftovers!