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Make a batch of this delicious Vegetarian Gravy for your vegetarian family meals. It’s easy to make and cooking it ahead of time takes so much stress out of the kitchen when you’re cooking other things. Its depth of flavour is also quite special!
Making Vegetarian Gravy involves a little extra effort to get big results, but boy is it worth it!
For this recipe we’re cooking the veggies in the oven to begin with and simmering them for a while longer.
Without using meat, this helps us to get the best out of the vegetarian ingredients that together really add plenty of flavour.
Once you’ve made a pot, you can then either freeze it in portions or store it for your Christmas dinner or special meal – then you can thank yourself later!
Why you’ll love this Vegetarian Gravy recipe
⭐️ Packed with flavour and goodness
⭐️ Ideal for making ahead for convenience
⭐️ Great for vegetarian dishes
How we came up with this recipe
When I say this is a well tried-and-tested recipe, I am not kidding!
We tested this recipe SO many times to get it right to make sure it had all the flavour we need to really complement a vegetarian meal.
I wanted to come up with a veggie alternative to meat gravy for your Christmas dinners, or for any meat-free dish that really needs gravy.
In the end, we got there, and while it does include plenty of much-needed ingredients (even white wine and redcurrant jelly, I kid you not), it is really simple to make and it tastes special, so it’s definitely worth doing properly.
vegetarian Gravy Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Onions
- Leeks
- Garlic bulb
- Celery sticks
- Carrots
- Tomato puree
- Fresh thyme
- Bay leaves
- Vegetable stock cubes
- Water
- White wine
- Dark soy sauce
- Redcurrant jelly
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Vegetarian Gravy
1. Put all of your prepped vegetables onto a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, and a good seasoning of salt and pepper. Cook as per the recipe below. Add tomato puree and thyme and cook for another 10 minutes.
2. Put your cooked brown veggies into a large saucepan, squeeze the garlic out of its skin into the mix, and add bay leaves, stock cubes, water and white wine. Bring to the boil and simmer as per the recipe below.
3. Strain the mixture into a large bowl, discarding the vegetables. Pour the gravy back into the saucepan.
4. Put the cornflour into a small dish and add just enough of the gravy to make a smooth paste. Now pour the paste back into the saucepan of gravy and mix well. Add in soy sauce and redcurrant jelly. Cook over a low heat for as per the recipe below whisking often.
Storing and reheating
In the fridge You can keep the finished gravy in the fridge for 3 days.
In the freezer This recipe freezes well for up to 3 months.
To reheat, put the gravy in a saucepan and gently simmer until piping hot.
Top tip
Make ahead of time
If you’re making this ahead of time, just wait until it’s totally cold and then put it into a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Freeze in one batch or several.
Defrost thoroughly in the fridge overnight or in the slow cooker.
FAQs
How about Mushroom Wellington, Vegetarian Cottage Pie or your chosen meat-free roast?
When you’re making your cornflour paste, also known as a ‘slurry’, make sure you slowly stir the liquid into the cornflour (NOT cornflour into the liquid) to avoid lumps.
Add a little liquid at a time while constantly stirring thoroughly to get rid of any bits. If all else fails, you can blend the gravy instead or put it through a sieve.
If you use a gluten free alternative to soy sauce (like Tamari) then yes it can be gluten free. As always, check all ingredients.
Yes. You could either add chicken wings or other meat to the roasting pan with the vegetables and cook in the same way. OR prepare your gravy ahead as per the recipe, and just tip any meat juices from your roasting dish into the pan as the gravy heats through.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Vegetarian Gravy {Make Ahead Recipe}
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Onions
- 2 Leeks
- 4 Carrots
- 4 Celery sticks
- 1 bulb Garlic
- 2 tbsp Tomato puree
- 10 g Fresh thyme
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 Vegetable stock cubes
- 1500 ml Water
- 180 ml White wine
- 25 g Cornflour
- 2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Redcurrant jelly
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200c fan/220c conventional/Gas mark 6.
- Start by preparing the vegetables, cut the tops and bottom off each onion, remove the outmost later of skin, but leave on as much as you can, then cut in half, and each half into quarters. Cut the leeks, carrots and celery into 2cm chunks (you can leave the carrots unpeeled). Cut the top off of the garlic bulb.
- Put all of your vegetables on to a baking tray, drizzle with the olive oil, and a good seasoning of salt and pepper.
- Put into the oven and set a timer for 50 minutes.
- When the timer goes off remove the tray from the oven give everything a good shake and add in tomato puree and fresh thyme. Return to the oven for 10 minutes.
- When the vegetables have finished cooking and have turned very brown, put them into a large saucepan, carefully squeeze the garlic out of its skin in to the vegetables, add in the bay leaves, stock cubes, water and white wine. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 1 hour (it should be bubbling).
- Strain the mixture into a large bowl, discarding the vegetables. Pour the gravy back into the saucepan.
- Put the cornflour into a small dish and add just enough of the gravy to make a smooth paste. Now pour the paste back into the saucepan of gravy (we use this method to avoid flour lumps). Mix well. Add in soy sauce and redcurrant jelly.
- Cook over a low heat for a further 5-10 minutes until thickened, whisking often to avoid any lumps.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This went down really well with the family on Christmas day. Just wish I’d made more ! Very tasty and rich. We loved it.
I made a double batch of this in advance of our Christmas dinner – really easy to make and it tastes divine! Rather than throwing the vegetables away in step 7 I removed the bay leaves and thyme stalks then blitzed it up to make a delicious vegetable soup! So l even less waste! Thank you for the recipe 😀
I just made this – it’s phenomenal. It makes just over a pint at the end because the veggies absorb a lot of juice. I’d recommend making x2 the amount if you have lots of guests. Also add soy and jelly a little bit at a time then taste. The soy can easily overwhelm the flavor. But 12/10!!
This is amazing and like a delicious jus. Keep the faith with the straining of the veggies because it will be worth it. Super tasty and delicious and my friends loved it!
I just made this and plan to freeze it. If I don’t just eat it all as soup! It’s so delicious!! thank you