This make ahead white wine gravy is my secret to a stress free and delicious Thanksgiving meal. Rich, smooth, and so incredibly easy, this gravy can’t be beat. Made with a base of butter, shallots, fresh sage, and broth, and finished with the drippings form your Thanksgiving turkey.

overhead photo of Make Ahead White Wine Gravy

Did I ever tell you about that time that I throughly failed at make the gravy for the Thanksgiving meal? It was just last year, and I was serving not just my immediate family, but my grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. So over thirty people.

I was cooking out of my grandma’s kitchen, which in my defense was not anywhere near set up to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for thirty plus people. Somehow, someway, we did, but the gravy? I messed that up, and bad. It was greasy and lumpy and I still cringe thinking about it.

This year, my gravy is going to be perfect. No lumpy, greasy gravy. I’m serving the same amount of people, but cooking in my kitchen at the new studio barn. It’s going to be great, I’m so excited. I perfected the best make-ahead gravy, that’s truly so delicious. It’s true, my family has already approved…because we’ve now had Thanksgiving dinner three times this past week…

Here are the details.

Start by making the gravy base. This is really just a simple mix of butter, shallots (the secret), sage, flour, and high quality broth (I use low-sodium chicken broth). It’s your basic roux, but it makes for the perfect gravy “base”. You can keep the base stored in the fridge for a few days, so it’s perfect to make-ahead.

When it’s ready to serve, and you’ve roasted up your holiday turkey, take the roasting pan and place it on the stove. Add a splash of white wine and scrape up all those delicious browned bits from the roasting pan. Let the wine simmer and reduce slightly, then add the gravy base, whisking until smooth. Adding the base right to the roasting pan with all the turkey drippings gives you the rich flavors that your gravy needs. But without any of the stress of making the gravy from scratch. Trust me, making this gravy ahead will relieve so much stress on Thanksgiving Day. It’s a game changer.

Check out our full 2018 Thanksgiving menu here.

close up photo of Make Ahead White Wine Gravy

If you make this gravy please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Make Ahead White Wine Gravy | halfbakedharvest.com #gravy #thanksgiving #easyrecipes
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4.04 from 392 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

Make Ahead White Wine Gravy

Rich, smooth, and so incredibly easy, this gravy can't be beat. Made with a base of butter, shallots, fresh sage, and broth, and finished with the drippings form your Thanksgiving turkey.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 3 makes about cups
Calories 92 kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and fragrant. Add the sage and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil, boil 5 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Strain, if desired. 

    2. Allow the gravy to cool, then store the gravy base in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

    3. To finish the gravy. Once your turkey has finished roasting, remove the turkey from the roasting pan and strain the liquid into a glass measuring cup. 

    4. Place the roasting pan over two burners. Add the wine and bring to a boil,  scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the wine has reduced slightly. Reduce the heat to low and slowly whisk in the gravy base. Simmer until the gravy is smooth and thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. If needed, thin the gravy with the reserve broth from the roasting pan. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour. 

Make Ahead White Wine Gravy | halfbakedharvest.com #gravy #thanksgiving #easyrecipes