Vegan Onion Gravy

Name: Vegan Onion Gravy
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 cups vegetable broth; 1 Tablespoon tamari; 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (or arrowroot powder); 2 Tablespoons olive oil; 2 cups yellow onions (finely chopped); 1 teaspoon dried thyme; salt and pepper (to taste)

Vegan Onion Gravy is easy to make from scratch with only 6 ingredients in 30 minutes. Try it on mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and your favorite comfort foods. It's perfect for Thanksgiving, holiday dinners, and any night of the week!

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Special diet: gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, vegan

Serving bowl of gravy and dinner plate with mashed potatoes topped with gravy.

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For my family, it simply isn't Thanksgiving without dairy-free olive oil mashed potatoes and gravy. And if you're preparing a meatless holiday meal for the first time, great news! It doesn't get much easier than making Vegan Onion Gravy.

Inspired by my recipe for vegan mushroom gravy, this version is also loaded with savory flavor while requiring minimal time and ingredients. Plus you can make it in advance and reheat it so your holiday dinner preparation is less stressful.

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Why you'll love this recipe
Ingredients
Variations
Instructions
Amy's tip
Serving suggestions
Storing and freezing
Recipe FAQs
More vegan Thanksgiving recipes
📋 Recipe
💬 Comments

Why you'll love this recipe

It's full of flavor yet only requires 6 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).
You can make it in half an hour.
It's the perfect complement to comfort food favorites like mashed potatoes and vegan roast.

Ingredients

Box of vegetable broth, container of cornstarch, yellow onions, dried thyme, bottle of tamari, bottle of olive oil, and salt and pepper grinders.

Onions: While I typically use yellow, you can use also use white or red to make this vegan onion gravy.

Olive oil: Instead of vegan butter, this recipe is made Mediterranean-diet style with olive oil for cooking the onions.

Variations

Vegan onion gravy is easy to customize to suit your taste. Start with the basic recipe and go from there.

Combine the onions with garlic and shallots.
Add nutritional yeast or miso for additional umami flavor.
Include other herbs with the thyme like sage and rosemary.
Use fresh herbs in place of dried.
Stir in a splash of balsamic vinegar.
Prefer a smooth gravy? Use an immersion blender or carefully transfer it to a regular blender and blend it before serving.

For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

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Instructions

Recipe steps: 1, stirring together the broth, tamari, and cornstarch in a glass measuring cup, 2, sauteing diced onion in a skillet, 3, adding the thyme to the onions, and 4, stirring the simmering gravy.

Whisk together the vegetable broth, tamari and cornstarch. Set aside while the onions cook.
Saute the onions in olive oil over low heat until very tender.
Stir in the thyme.
Give the broth mixture a stir and slowly add it to the onions. Stir often until the gravy has thickened. Taste and add salt and pepper.

Amy's tip

Vegan Onion Gravy can be prepared a couple of days in advance and reheated on the stove. If the gravy is too thick, thin it out with a little water or vegetable broth, then add additional seasonings, if needed.

Serving suggestions

Pouring onion gravy over mashed potatoes on a dinner plate with roasted vegetables and tofu meatballs. — Vegan Onion Gravy served with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Tofu Meatballs, and Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprouts.

Enjoy your favorite holiday main dishes served with generous drizzles of this onion gravy. It goes well with lentil meatloaf, tofu meatballs, and store-bought vegan sausages and roasts.

And of course it's best friends with all sorts of potato dishes from mashed potatoes with olive oil to air fried home fries to air fryer potato wedges.

Storing and freezing

Store leftover gravy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Recipe FAQs

What can I use instead of cornstarch?

An equal amount of potato starch or arrowroot powder can be used in place of cornstarch. You can also use tapioca flour, but you will need to double the amount.

Is tamari the same as soy sauce?

Tamari is similar to soy sauce but is made with only soybeans and no wheat, making it gluten-free.

How do you make gravy smoother?

If you prefer a smoother gravy without chunks of onions, you can blend part or all of the gravy using an immersion blender. Or carefully transfer it to a regular blender and blend until smooth.