The Powerhouse Ingredients That Give Vegan Gravy Punchy Flavor

Gravy might be a condiment that you associate with meat-heavy dishes — like the Thanksgiving turkey or meatloaf. However, gravy can indeed be made entirely plant-based — you just need to find opportunities to build flavor, savoriness, and that all-important umami: The flavor profile that makes any gravy taste absolutely divine.

The two ingredients that you need to try in your homemade gravy, if you're looking to build on this profile, are nutritional yeast and miso. Nutritional yeast is an ingredient that you should always have in your pantry (vegan or not); it has a very salty, almost Parmesan-like flavor and can be added in small doses to your recipe to increase its savoriness. And, while miso might seem like an ingredient relegated to Asian cuisine, it's actually more useful than you'd think. Miso comes in three different varieties, all with varying funkiness and strength, so you'll need to choose carefully and mix a small amount into your recipe, as too much can make it overly salty or savory. White miso is a good place to start, and you only need a few tablespoons of it to get all the savory flavor you're looking for from your gravy. When used in tandem, nutritional yeast and miso will add to the "meatiness" of your recipe, and turn it into the perfect topping for dairy-free mashed potatoes or a lentil-based meatloaf.

The good news is that miso and nutritional yeast are not the only umami additions you can use to enhance the flavor of your gravy. One of our favorite ways to make vegan gravy is to use an umami base, like mushrooms. Mushrooms are earthy and very, very flavorful, and when used in tandem with soy sauce, miso, or tamari, they can — believe it or not — mimic the same meatiness as a meat-based gravy. If you're making a sweeter gravy, like for mashed potatoes or perhaps to pair with vegan meatballs, we recommend trying coconut (or liquid) aminos. They're gluten-free and dairy-free and make an excellent stand-in for soy sauce. 

Depending on what you're serving the gravy with, you could also use tomato paste to build the base of your pan sauce. The paste has both a concentrated sweetness and umami flavor; a tomato paste-based vegan gravy would work particularly well smothered on dairy-free biscuits. Try adding a pinch of MSG to your homemade gravy to round out its flavor, too.