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This make ahead white wine gravy is my secret to a stress free and delicious Thanksgiving meal. Rich, smooth, and so incredibly easy, this gravy recipe can’t be beat. Made with a base of butter, shallots, fresh sage, and turkey stock, and finished with the drippings form your Thanksgiving turkey.
Did I ever tell you about that time that I throughly failed at making the gravy for the Thanksgiving meal? It was just last year, and I was serving not just my immediate family, but my grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. So over thirty people.
I was cooking out of my grandma’s kitchen, which in my defense was not anywhere near set up to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for thirty plus people. Somehow, someway, we did, but the gravy? I messed that up, and bad. It was greasy and lumpy and I still cringe thinking about it.
This year, my gravy is going to be perfect. No lumpy, greasy gravy. I’m serving the same amount of people, but cooking in my kitchen at the new studio barn. It’s going to be great, I’m so excited. I perfected the best make-ahead turkey gravy, that’s truly so delicious. It’s true, my family has already approved…because we’ve now had Thanksgiving dinner three times this past week…
Here are the details.
Start by making the gravy base. This is really just a simple mix of butter, shallots (the secret), sage, flour, and high quality broth (I use low-sodium chicken broth or turkey stock). It’s your basic roux, but it makes for the perfect gravy “base”. You can keep the base stored in the fridge for a few days, so it’s perfect to make-ahead.
When it’s ready to serve, and you’ve roasted up your holiday turkey, take the roasting pan or medium saucepan and place it on the stove. Add a splash of white wine and scrape up all those delicious browned bits from the roasting pan. Let the wine simmer and reduce slightly, then add the gravy base, whisking until smooth. Adding the base right to the roasting pan with all the turkey drippings gives you the rich flavors that your gravy needs. But without any of the stress of making the gravy from scratch. Trust me, making this gravy ahead will relieve so much stress on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a game changer. It is perfect over potatoes and stuffing.
Check out our full 2018 Thanksgiving menu here.
If you make this gravy please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Make Ahead White Wine Gravy
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 281 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
- kosher salt and black pepper
- pan drippings from herb roasted turkey (optional)
- 1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio
Instructions
- 1. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant. Add the sage and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil, boil 5 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Strain, if desired. 2. Allow the gravy to cool, then store the gravy base in the fridge for up to 3 days. 3. To finish the gravy. Option 1: warm on the stove adding additional broth to think and a 1 tablespoon worcheshire or soy sauce. Optional 2: Once your turkey has finished roasting, remove the turkey from the roasting pan and strain the liquid into a glass measuring cup. Place the roasting pan over two burners. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the wine has reduced slightly. Reduce the heat to low and slowly whisk in the gravy base. Simmer until the gravy is smooth and thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. If needed, thin the gravy with the reserve broth from the roasting pan. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.
Notes
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
This post was originally published on November 4, 2018
Definitely adding this to the recipe list for Thanksgiving! Do you have a recommendation for what type of white wine is best to use?
HI! I like using Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Would you triple the make ahead gravy for 20 people? It’s hard to gauge how many this will serve.
Thanks,
Kelly
Hey Kelly, If you want to be safe I would triple it, but I think doubling it should be fine. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
If I don’t have easy access to fresh sage, would dried work – or should I wait until I can track some down?
Hey Alexa! You can use 2 teaspoons of dried sage. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
If I’m vegetarian could I use vegetable broth for this or would that be bland?
HI! I am sure veggie broth will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
What kind of oven dish do you cook your Turkey in? I don’t have an oven pan that’s safe to put on my coil stove burners. but can buy one. Thank you.
Hey Amber! I love the roasting pan linked below. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
https://rstyle.me/n/dbaaszb9wzf
I miss trying tonight with pan fried pork chops and smashed potatoes. Will let you know if it turns out. I plan on using pan drippings of course. I am SO thankful for a make ahead gravy!!
I hope you absolutely love this recipe, Liz! Please let me know how it turns out for you! Thank you!
Gravy is one of my favourite foods. Does it count as a food? On mash, on Yorkshire puddings (please do a recipe for Yorkshire puddings or toad in holes!!!), on pizza crust (yeah…)…on anything. GRavy.
It totally does in my book! I hope you love this gravy recipe, Rae! Thank you!
This recipe looks amazing and I wanted to ask you opinion on using it as a spicy gravy. Every Thanksgiving we make a spicy turkey (injected with butter, pepper and Tabasco), and deep fry it. The resulting drippings are really spicy, and we like to incorporate it into a spicy gravy. Do you think this base would lend itself well to spices? I’m looking for a good, flavorful base that we can add those spicy drippings to.
HI! I think the spicy based sounds so delicious. It will work great with this gravy! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
We smoke our Turkey so no drippings. Any suggestions?
Hey Jessi, that’s ok! Just make the gravy minus the drippings. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
How much of the liquid from the turkey drippings do you use? Is it used only for thinning the gravy? Thanks
Hi Teresa! The broth from the roasting pan is only used for thinning out the gravy, you should use around 1/2-1 cup of the broth from the roasting pan. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
This looks amazing! I am having a party this week and want to make this gravy, but will not be roasting a turkey. Can I substitute something else for the turkey drippings?
HI! You can just omit the drippings. It will not be quite as flavorful, but still delicious. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Bit off topic – but that ladle is soooo pretty!!
Rebecca | http://www.peppermintdolly.com
Thank you!
This looks wonderful and I plan to try this recipe, You may be aware of a TOP quality product in the broth/bouillon catergory called Better than Bouillon. It is the GO TO for all major chefs ( Ellen’s, Oprah’s etc). It is not just sodium which is basically what all box or cube are. If it is chicken bouillon, CHICKEN is the first listed ingredient. Same with the beef, lobster, vegetable bouillon. Another major difference ( as if that is not enough)is the way this product is used. It is a paste that you reconstitute with water. The remainder of the jar can be stored in the refrigerator for 6 months( YES) to be used in all your cooking. The box must be discarded ( even with refrigeration) within 7 days of opening as bacteria will begin to grow. So while it may initially costs more, in the end it does not and it is a FAR superior product. It comes in many flavors and also lower sodium for the chicken . I hope that you try it and let me know what you think. LOVE your posts and that you are young and taking food prep and cooking to the next level for home cooks. Thanks!
Hi Emily! Thank you so much for this and I hope I get a chance to try this!
This new Make ahead Gravy seems soooo much easier, than the original White Wine Gravy! I had difficulty with the original recipe, as you can see below from 2 years ago! I’m hoping this year the gravy won’t be sooo dark!!. Do you still recommend after you strain the liquid from the roasting pan & letting it settle, to place in the freezer for 10 min., like the original recipe states?
Leslie Carpenter
December 28, 2016 at 2:54 AM
I am glad to hear that your gravy was dark brown too, not like the photo! I did have a lot of brown bits on the bottom of the pan, so hence, maybe that is why the gravy was so dark. Any tips to have the gravy color like the photo? The gravy is very good, so I can now rest easy!!! Thank you again for a fabulous recipe!!
Reply >
halfbakedharvest
December 28, 2016 at 9:24 PM
Hey Leslie! Just use less of the brown bits. Thanks!
Hey Leslie! You can strain the the liquid, but you don’t have to as you will not be using all of it from the pan. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
it looks so rich and creamy!!
Thank you!