Mushroom Gravy

This is my favorite gravy recipe for meatless meatloaf, mashed potato or anything that calls for gravy! It is thicken by roux, a French sauce thickening technique where you fry flour with lard or oil to create a thickening base. Some people are afraid to make roux sauces but trust me, it is easy. Two tips to remember: Always keep the flame low so you don't burn the flour and stir constantly. If you remember to do both then you will have no problem making roux sauces. Here's my recipe for Mushroom Gravy. To make this a vegan recipe, simply omit milk and use 3 cups of water instead of 2 cups.

1 box baby Bella mushrooms (10 oz.), sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoon chopped garlic
5 tablespoon olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon paprika
1 can (14 oz.) vegetable broth or chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a saucepan. Sauté onion and garlic until onion is translucent. Add bay leaves. Cook until onion starts to brown in the edges. Add in flour. Lower the heat. Stir constantly until it turns into a paste consistency.


Keep stirring constantly and fry the flour paste until it turns brown and smells nutty (it should have the same color as a pie crust and smell like one). Set the roux aside.


Using the same saucepan, add in sliced mushrooms. Sweat mushrooms until they are soft. Moisture from the mushroom will deglaze the saucepan, so don't worry about bits of roux stuck in the saucepan. Add broth and let it boil. Return the roux into the saucepan. Stir and combine the roux with the broth. Add water and milk. Keep stirring so the sauce doesn't burn. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with Meatless meatloaf or mashed potato.