The Best Turkey Gravy | amazing flavor, low in calories
a tried-and-true family favorite for 35+ years
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This tasty gravy made from pan drippings has
only 41 calories and 1 Weight Watchers Smart Point per serving.
I think a lot of people would agree with me that gravy is the most important part of a big turkey holiday meal. If other dishes don't turn out quite right, a generous drizzle of gravy can rescue the meal. Dry turkey? Dry dressing? Flavorless potatoes? Good gravy on top will fix all of that.
That means that getting the gravy right is essential to a good holiday meal. I've been making this recipe many years and it's a winner. The bonus is that it also happens to be low in calories and fat. Yay! I'll share my tips on making it lump-free, too.
Fat and butter not required. Allow me to bust a myth about making good turkey gravy. Contrary to the advice of most gravy recipes, you can make amazing tasting gravy with a silky, smooth texture without adding butter or using the turkey grease left in the roasting pan. My gravy gets it's flavor from the browned turkey drippings left in the roasting pan, but I remove virtually all of the fat. It's not necessary to make a roux base (cooking flour with fat and butter) as most gravy recipes recommend. You can see for yourself in my photos that my gravy has a beautiful brown color and smooth texture; and it tastes as good as it looks!
Deceptively light. In this post, I'll explain how I've been making low calorie turkey gravy for 35+ years. Even when I prepare my Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy, as explained in a previous post, I use the same method for removing fat and thickening the gravy. No need to tell guests at your holiday table that the gravy is lightened up; it has such full flavor that they'll never know. Or, tell them at the end of the meal so they can feel less guilty about the calories in the pumpkin or pecan pies they're about to eat for dessert!
Complete nutritional information is provided at the end of this post, just below the printable recipe.
You can't have too much gravy! I never want anyone at my table to have to skimp on gravy and I want to have plenty to eat with leftovers. This recipe makes a generous 7 cups. I've kept track of how much gravy gets eaten through the years, and the average is 1/3 cup per person at a Thanksgiving meal. That means this recipe makes 21 servings of gravy. In the unlikely event that you still have some left after eating leftovers, adding any remaining gravy to turkey soup provides a great flavor boost!
Step-by-step photos for making
Turkey Gravy
Step 1. Assemble the ingredients.
- drippings from a roasted turkey
- broth (homemade preferred, but good quality purchased broth works, too)
- all purpose, unbleached white flour (that's what I use); or Wondra quick-mixing flour
- salt and pepper--I don't recommend adding the seasonings until the gravy is finished, because the roasted turkey drippings vary greatly in saltiness. Turkeys that are brined or injected with flavors may yield salty drippings. Taste the gravy before adding more salt.
view on Amazon: organic chicken broth, Wondra flour, organic all-purpose flour
Step 2. Of course, you need to roast a turkey; the gravy's flavor comes from the drippings. For a fool-proof roasted turkey, check out my popular Step-by-Step Guide to The Best Roast Turkey.
While the turkey roasts, you can make some quick broth on the stovetop using the giblets and neck. I explain how here. This broth can then be used in the gravy, although you will need to supplement it with additional broth. (This is optional--you may choose to use all purchased broth instead.)
Here are the drippings left in the bottom of the pan after the roasted turkey is removed. The actual amount of drippings can vary a lot from one turkey to the next--one of the things that can cause anxiety for the novice gravy maker. I'll tell you how to easily adjust for that.
Step 3. Pour the drippings through a fine mesh strainer placed over a large bowl. Press with a rubber spatula to extract as much liquid and flavor as possible.
view on Amazon: mix-and-measure Pyrex bowl, wire mesh strainer
Step 4. Remove all or part of the fat from the drippings. I personally prefer to remove all of it, but you can leave behind up to 2 tablespoons if you like. There are 3 easy ways to remove the fat:
- Use a grease separator like the one pictured below. This is the method I use; this handy gadget makes it so easy to remove all of the fat. Simply pour the drippings into the the grease separator, let it stand a few minutes so the grease can rise to the top, pull the trigger in the handle, and the broth releases from the bottom. Release the trigger when the grease gets near the bottom of the grease separator. You are left with dark, flavorful, fat-free turkey drippings.
- Another option is simply to spoon as much of the fat off of the top of the drippings as possible--you can't get it all this way, but it will work well enough if you don't mind having some fat in your gravy.
- If you're making the turkey and gravy ahead to serve later, (check out my post How to Make Ahead and Reheat Turkey) chill the drippings in the fridge. As it cools, the turkey fat will harden and you can easily scrape it off of the top.
view on Amazon: grease separator
Step 5. After the fat has been removed, measure the drippings and add enough chicken or turkey broth (store bought or homemade) to have a total of 6 cups of liquid. Pour the stock into a sauce pan on the stovetop.
view on Amazon: mix-and-measure Pyrex bowl
Step 6. Make a slurry that will be used to thicken the gravy.
Formula for making a gravy slurry: 2 tablespoons of flour for each cup of liquid in the gravy
6 cups of broth X 2 tablespoons of flour = 12 tablespoons of flour (3/4 cup)
Pour 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of additional broth into a mason jar. Then add the flour to the jar. Put the lid on the jar, screw it on tightly, and shake, shake shake until the slurry is evenly mixed and lump free. You can also throw the flour and broth in a blender and mix it until it's smooth, or use a hand-held immersion blender.
Step 7. Heat the drippings/broth in a large sauce pan until it starts steaming. Use a whisk and start rapidly whirling that liquid around. VERY slowly, while you're whisking, pour the slurry into the hot stock. Don't stop whisking. Add the slurry a little at a time until you get the consistency you want. If it's not thick enough, you can make up another batch of slurry--that probably won't be necessary if you follow the slurry formula. If it's too thick, add a more broth a little at a time.Turn the heat down and let it cook for 10 minutes or so to cook the flour (so it doesn't taste raw) and blend the flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- view on Amazon: wire whisk
GOT LUMPS? Fear of lumps keeps a lot of people from even attempting gravy making. Here's a well-kept secret. There isn't a cook out there who hasn't made lumpy gravy at least once. Me? I've made lumpy gravy numerous times. It most likely happens when you add the slurry to the liquid too quickly, without stirring enough. LUMPS HAPPEN. When they do, there is a super simple solution. Pour your gravy through a fine wire mesh strainer into whatever container you're using for storing or serving your gravy. Lumps are gone. No worries. You can also use an immersion hand blender to blast those lumps apart.
- view on Amazon: fine wire mesh strainer, immersion blender (top rated by Cooks Illustrated)
Leftover gravy will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat your gravy on the stove top or in a microwave. Once heated, whisk until it's restored to a smooth consistency. If it's too thick, whisk in some water or chicken broth.
Serve gravy in:
- regular gravy boat
- insulated pitcher -- This is my favorite way to serve gravy. It keeps the gravy hot, is easy to pour, and looks nice on the table. I have two!
- gravy boat with candle warmer--I have one that works great for keeping gravy and syrup warm
- tea pot, tea pot warmer-- If you use a teapot, remove the tea infusior (if it has one) and fill the teapot with piping hot water for a few minutes to heat up the pot. Then pour out the water and fill it with hot gravy. The teapot will keep the gravy much warmer than an open gravy boat or bowl, and it's really easy to pour gravy from the teapot. To keep it warm longer, use a tea pot warmer.
Make it a Yummy day!
Monica
Remove grease from strained drippings by using a grease separator or spooning it off the top. (If making turkey and gravy ahead, refrigerate drippings until the grease solidfies--once cold it can easily be scraped off the top.)
Add enough chicken broth to drippings to measure 6 cups total. Pour into 3-quart (or larger) pan and heat on stove-top over medium-high heat until steaming.
Make a slurry* by adding flour with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons additional broth to a jar and shaking until smooth. (Slurry may also be whisked in a bowl or mixed in a blender or with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth.)
Whisk steaming drippings/broth mixture constantly while gradually adding slurry. Cook on low for 10 min. If too thick, whisk in additional broth. If too thin, whisk in additional slurry mixture. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
*SLURRY FORMULA: To thicken gravy for different amount of liquid, for each one cup of turkey drippings/broth make a slurry of 2 tablespoons of flour to 3 addiitonal tablespoons of broth to shake together in the jar.
Makes approx. 7 cups or 21 servings. Serving size estimated at 1/3 cup per person.
STORE LEFTOVER GRAVY in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Move frozen gravy to the fridge the day before so it can thaw before reheating it.
REHEAT GRAVY on the stove top or in a microwave. Once heated through, whisk until it's restored to a smooth consistency. If it's too thick, whisk in some additional water or chicken broth.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION per 1/3 cup serving: 41 calories, .9g fat, .2g sat. fat, 2.1mg cholesterol, 98.2mg sodium, 5.8g carbs, .1g fiber, 1.1g sugars, 2.2g protein.
1 Weight Watchers SmartPoint per 1/3 cup serving.
1 Weight Watchers SmartPoint per 1/3 cup serving.
Serve this awesome gravy with these other yummy, holiday recipes:
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