The Savoriest Vegan Mushroom Gravy

I developed this incredible mushroom gravy a LONG time ago and I’ve been making it at every family holiday since then… It only recently dawned on me that I had never fully shared the recipe with you guys! Other than a quick mention in a biscuit recipe, I had been inadvertently keeping it a secret all this time.

That’s a shame because, I’m telling you, it’s the best vegan gravy I’ve ever made. It starts with mushrooms, soy sauce, and tahini, which is one of my favorite flavor combos. That gives it the salt and fat to be really tasty, but then the richness of the tahini with the umami from the mushrooms is just incredible. Let it simmer for a while with some herbaceous notes from the rosemary and it’s the perfect gravy. I can (and do) eat this stuff by the spoonful.

All the people at your Zoom Thanksgiving will love it! (what a time to be alive…)

Makes: about 2 cups

Step One

In a saucepan, warm a splash of water over medium-high heat and toss in the roughly-chopped mushrooms (any common varieties work fine like crimini or button, but extra credit if you add a shiitake or oyster as well) and a minced shallot (yellow onion works in a pinch). Cook these in the water for 5 minutes until the mushrooms reduce considerably.

Step Two

Drain the brownish cooking water from the mushrooms and add in all the tasty stuff right on the mushrooms – 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, a tablespoon of soy sauce (save more for later), and a generous grind of black pepper. Let these cook for 2-3 minutes until the soy sauce is basically seared onto these umami-bomb mushrooms.

Step Three

Add about 12 oz of veg broth into the pan and bring it up to temperature, then whisk in 3 tablespoons of tahini, a tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and a teaspoon or so of finely-chopped rosemary. Keep stirring / whisking until it becomes a smooth mixture.

Step Four

At this point, the gravy will probably be quite thin. In the past, I’ve thickened it with either cornstarch or whole wheat flour and both work. Here, I suggest adding about 2 teaspoons of cornstarch to a small dish, pouring in some of the broth, and stirring until smooth, THEN stirring that back into the gravy mixture to prevent clumping.

After 5 minutes of thickening, remove from the heat and taste. If it’s still too thin, add a teaspoon more cornstarch. If you’d like to boost the flavors even further, add a drizzle more tahini, soy sauce, and/or garlic powder.

This can be served immediately, but it also keeps extremely well for 3+ days sealed in the fridge.