You won’t believe how easy it is to make this Gluten-Free Turkey Gravy recipe! This is the best turkey gravy and it takes just minutes to whip up. Perfect for Christmas or Thanksgiving Day, or year-round at Sunday Lunch, it’s also perfect for a low-carb, paleo, whole30, or AIP diet.
This post was originally published on December 18th, 2020.
🥇 Best Gravy Recipe
Turkey is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I had a great time making a whole turkey this year. My Roasted Citrus Turkey was perfectly cooked and there was plenty of extra juice at the bottom of the roasting tray, so this Gluten-Free Turkey Gravy was made on the fly (wait…turkeys don’t fly, do they?!)!
Gluten-free, dairy-free turkey gravy takes just minutes to throw together, right before you serve dinner. I mixed the turkey drippings with some tapioca flour and coconut cream, and just stirred it all together until it thickened up. It was SO surprisingly rich and packed full of flavor thanks to the fresh herbs, seasoning, and citrus from the turkey itself.
We use tapioca flour at home all the time to thicken up sauces, so I always have it on hand, but cornstarch would work as well, and the roasted turkey gravy would still be gluten-free, just not paleo.
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- Easy: All you have to do is remove the juices, add some coconut cream (or heavy cream), and thicken it up with starch!
- Quick: The best part, this easy gravy recipe is ready in just 5 minutes!
- Simple ingredients: All I used is turkey drippings, a little coconut cream (although heavy cream would work), and tapioca starch to thicken it up.
- Uses up the juices: Waste not want not, I love that this uses up the extra juice left over from roasting the turkey.
- Make-ahead: You can double up this recipe with extra turkey or chicken stock, and freeze half for another time. It’s a great way to make gravy for both Thanksgiving and Christmas at once!
- Allergy-friendly: Forget about the average wheat-based gravy, this turkey gravy has no wheat, dairy, or soy. It is perfect for paleo, whole30, low carb, and AIP diets.
🗝️ Key Gluten-Free Gravy Ingredients & Substitutions
- Turkey drippings: As much of the extra pan drippings gathered under the cooked turkey as you can get! If you need more drippings, you can always add some chicken or turkey stock. Homemade is best, but in a pinch, low sodium chicken broth would work too.
- Tapioca flour: Tapioca starch will thicken the gravy perfectly. Cornstarch or arrowroot powder can also be used.
- Coconut milk: Just the creamy, solid part of the coconut milk, provides a delicious richness and surprisingly doesn’t taste coconutty (thankfully!). You may need to chill the canned coconut in the refrigerator for it to separate. You can substitute the coconut cream for heavy cream for a more traditional gravy.
- Seasoning: Season this gluten-free gravy recipe with salt and black pepper to taste.
🥣 How do you make gluten free turkey gravy from scratch?
You won’t believe how easy this is!
- Drain the drippings. Firstly, carefully drain the pan juices from the bottom of the roasting pan you cooked the turkey in into a small or medium saucepan. It’s best to move the turkey off of the pan and onto its serving plate, but if you don’t have one, get a friend to help hold the roast turkey on the tray while you tip it carefully, to remove the drippings (this is actually what we did – fewer dishes to clean). If you need more drippings, this is a great time to add extra chicken or turkey broth.
2. Mix the tapioca. Add the tapioca flour to a small bowl and mix it with some of the reserved drippings from the pan. It should form a white-ish sauce and should also be able to stir easily. Add more drippings to thin it out if needed. When it’s mixed up, add it back into the saucepan and stir immediately over medium heat, until the homemade turkey gravy thickens up.
3. Add the coconut milk. Finally, add the solid, creamy part of the canned coconut milk to the saucepan, and mix it all together until it is well incorporated. It should be lovely and smooth! Taste a little and add extra seasoning if you need to.
🫙 Storage & Freezing
- Fridge: Store any leftover gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat it on the stove or in the microwave until it is piping hot.
- Freezer: You can also freeze this delicious gravy recipe in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating it on the stove.
🪄 Recipe Notes & Tips
- Extra broth: The type of broth you use if you’re adding extra must be poultry broth like turkey or chicken stock. Beef or vegetable broth won’t quite taste the same, and don’t really go well with roasted turkey.
- Smooth gravy: If your meat drippings have some extra bits and pieces in them that you don’t want in the gravy, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve set to make it smoother.
- Fresh herbs: You can add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme to the broth to give it a herby flavor.
- Batch and freeze: Double or triple this recipe and freeze half for later. It’s perfect for making fresh for Thanksgiving dinner, and then freezing half for Christmas dinner a few weeks later.
🍽️ What to serve this rich gravy recipe with
Smother this brown gravy all over your favorite holiday meats and side dishes:
- Roasted Turkey
- Mashed potatoes
- Mashed rutabaga
- Parsnip Puree
- Air Fryer Carrots
- Gluten-Free Stuffing
- Cranberry Sauce
- Green Bean Casserole
- Dinner rolls
- American biscuits
❓ Is this paleo gravy low carb as well?
Yes! It comes in at 4.8g net carbs per serving. Possibly a little high if you’re on the keto diet, but you may find that you can fit it into your macros!
🦃 What gluten free flour is best for thickening turkey gravy?
I’ve found that tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, and cornstarch work perfectly for thickening homemade gravy. Their properties are very similar, and they yield similar results, so feel free to use what you have on hand! If using cornstarch, add 1 tsp at a time and see how it thickens. Let me know how it goes in the comments!
😋 More holiday recipes you will love
- Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Bites
- Vegan Double Chocolate Cookies
- Whole Roast BBQ Chicken
- The BEST Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Crockpot Mulled Wine
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📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Turkey Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Drippings from a roasted turkey or turkey/chicken stock, see note 1
- 2 tbsp Tapioca flour or cornstarch/arrowroot powder
- 110 g 1/2 cup coconut cream (or heavy cream)
- Salt and black pepper to taste, see note 2
Instructions
- Firstly, carefully drain the pan juices from the bottom of the roasting pan you cooked the turkey in into a small or medium saucepan on the stove. If you don't have enough drippings, top it up with turkey stock or chicken stock.
- In a separate bowl, add the tapioca flour and 2-4 tbsp of the drippings from the pan.
- Mix together until it forms a smooth, pourable, whiteish liquid. Add extra drippings if needed.
- Add the tapioca mixture to the pan, turn it on medium heat and mix well.
- Add the coconut milk (or heavy cream) and mix well.
- Continue heating until the turkey gravy has thickened.
- Taste and season with salt and ground black pepper if desired. (see note 2)
Notes
- Drippings: I used about 2 cups of turkey drippings which served about 5-6 people. Use more if your turkey gives more drippings, and feel free to double or triple the recipe with turkey or chicken stock if needed.
- Salt: I found that no additional salt was needed, but this depends on how well the turkey was seasoned before cooking.
- Extra broth: The type of broth you use if you're adding extra must be poultry broth like turkey or chicken stock. Beef or vegetable broth won't quite taste the same, and don't really go well with roasted turkey.
- Smooth gravy: If your meat drippings have some extra bits and pieces in them that you don't want in the gravy, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve set to make it smoother.
- Fresh herbs: You can add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme to the broth to give it a herby flavor.
- Batch and freeze: Double or triple this recipe and freeze half for later. It's perfect for making fresh for Thanksgiving dinner and then freezing half for Christmas dinner a few weeks later.
- Fridge: Store any leftover gravy in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat it on the stove or in the microwave until it is piping hot.
- Freezer: You can also freeze this delicious gravy recipe in an airtight container or Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating.