Make-ahead vegetarian gravy

Vegetarian gravy

By Good Food
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(20 ratings)
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Prep: 10 mins Cook: 35 mins

Easy

Serves 6 - 8

Make this vegetarian gravy ahead of time and keep in the freezer to pair with veggie sausages, or meat. Great for a tasty, fuss-free supper

Nutrition and extra info

  • Freezable
  • Vegetarian

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal84
  • fat4g
  • saturates2g
  • carbs11g
  • sugars8g
  • fibre2g
  • protein2g
  • salt0.66g
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Ingredients

  • 1 onion, chopped
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • 2 carrots, finely diced
    Carrot

    Carrot

    ka-rot

    The carrot, with its distinctive bright orange colour, is one of the most versatile root…

  • 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
    Celery

    Celery

    sell-er-ee

    A collection of long, thick, juicy stalks around a central, tender heart, celery ranges in…

  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 large thyme sprig

    Thyme

    This popular herb grows in Europe, especially the Mediterranean, and is a member of the mint…

  • large knob of butter
    Butter

    Butter

    butt-err

    Butter is made when lactic-acid producing bacteria are added to cream and churned to make an…

  • 1 tbsp sugar
    Sugar

    Sugar

    shuh-ga

    Honey and syrups made from concentrated fruit juice were the earliest known sweeteners. Today,…

  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tsp Marmite (optional, but it does add colour and depth)
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1l vegetable stock (or chicken or beef stock, if you prefer)
  • soy sauce, to taste
    Soy sauce

    Soy sauce

    soy sor-s

    An Asian condiment and ingredient that comes in a variety of of varieties ranging from light to…

Method

  1. Fry the veg and herbs in the butter for 10-12 mins until the vegetables start to brown. Scatter over the sugar and continue to cook until sticky and caramelised.

  2. Stir in the flour until sandy, then add the Marmite, if using, tomato purée and vinegar. Pour over the stock, then simmer everything together until you have a thickened sauce. 

  3. Sieve, then add soy sauce to season and colour. Use straightaway or cool and freeze.

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Comments, questions and tips

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flauffy
25th Jun, 2018
4.05
Great gravy recipe - now have some on standby in the freezer. Didn't use Marmite but the flavour was lovely and went well with my veggie pie and green beans for a quick Monday night tea.
Twinklebum99
20th Nov, 2016
Made this as my first time making gravy and I really enjoyed making it. Really easy and tasty. Will definitely make again
belashah
19th Nov, 2016
4.05
I have never made gravy before and this is great. Slight sweet and sticky. I agree with the comments below re: sugar, tomato and soya sauce. I did add another roux to get the thickness I wanted.
brightonbatfink
18th Oct, 2015
5.05
Everyone really enjoyed this and perfect for vegetarians. I recommend!
pieshop
26th Dec, 2014
4.05
Absolutely delicious. Made this for the first time for Christmas dinner yesterday. Be cautious on the amount of tom puree. I only added about 1 tsp and I felt that was enough and only about 1 tsp of sugar. I didn't add the soy at the end either. With the tom puree I think there is a danger of it being too acidic and didn't want the overriding flavour to be that of tomato. I kept tasting and at the end added a touch more sugar to counter the acidity from tomato puree and it was the best gravy I've made.
emmapr's picture
emmapr
22nd Dec, 2014
4.05
Have just made this ahead of time for Christmas lunch and it's absolutely cracking. I used beef stock, as it's to go with beef Wellington. I didn't use the sugar, but added some redcurrant jelly, did use marmite and half the tom purée stated. I missed out the soy sauce as just didn't think it sounded right in the recipe. Also, to save any waste, have whizzed up the strained veggies for my 9 month old's tea.
Cdub
7th Dec, 2014
Not a fan. But may have ruined it by using mild onion which is sweeter. It tasted too sweet, but I don't know if that's also the nature of the veg stock I used (and I'm not opening another litre to find out). But at least the vegetarians will be happy at XMAS, and us 'meat-itarians' will be adding meat juices anyway.
lysepirot
4th Oct, 2014
5.05
We love this recipe. I halve or omit the tomato purée, & add a glass of Marsala and we use it for everything. I usually make double the amount for the same amount of stock and I freeze half for another time.
spot-the-dog
16th Jan, 2014
I agree with some of the comments that it is strong on the tomato. I made it as a get-ahead for friends coming to roast pork Sunday lunch, but no way would I serve it. Instead I put it all in the slow-cooker with skirt beef and it was absolutely delicious.
katrinaridout's picture
katrinaridout
30th Dec, 2013
Superb recipe that worked very well with turkey juices. I've never been great at making good gravy but for me this was simple, saved time and has now been saved to my xmas collection!

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JCap
18th Jan, 2018
Can I make it two days before and put in fridge?
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
22nd Jan, 2018
Thanks for your question. Yes you can, cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate. Remove and reheat in a saucepan.
Jrw808
12th Dec, 2017
I made this at the weekend (using veg stock as needed to be vegetarian) and it's really sweet despite following recipie to the letter. What can I do to balance it out a bit and reduce the sweetness to make it more gravy flavoured?
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
15th Dec, 2017
Thanks for your question. We'd recommend adding an extra splash of soy sauce or an additional teaspoon of Marmite. Both are quite salty so either/or will be best.
maryalicemcc
5th Dec, 2017
Hi. Can I check how you would best recommend defrosting this gravy? Thank you!
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
10th Dec, 2017
Thanks for your question. You can defrost it overnight in the fridge or in the microwave.
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