My Best Vegetarian Gravy Recipe with Mushrooms

A big pot of mushroom gravy with a few mushrooms and a sprig of rosemary beside it.

My Best Vegetarian Gravy Recipe with Mushrooms

The deep umami flavors of this gravy come from both fresh and dried mushrooms, red miso, and sherry. Fresh rosemary and thyme are added for flavor accents and it's seriously the best gravy I've ever eaten. It's the perfect gravy for vegetarians and easily made vegan.

Course Sauce

Cuisine Any

Keyword vegetarian gravy recipe

Prep Time 36

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 26

Servings

Calories 68.1kcal

Author Susan Pridmore

Equipment

Chef's knife
Large Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot, or large pan
Wooden spoon
Whisk

Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted butter divided
2 cups fine diced yellow onion ~ 1 large yellow onion
1 pound baby bella (cremini) mushrooms (4 cups when fine diced)
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ ounce mixed dried mushrooms or dried shiitakes
enough red wine to cover the dried mushrooms or water
12 cups vegetable broth
4 teaspoons red miso paste or more, as desired
½ teaspoon kosher salt or more, as desired
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper or more, as desired
1 tablespoon sherry wine

Instructions

Finely dice the onion and set aside.
Thinly slice whole mushrooms. Stack a few slices at a time and slice them again lengthwise into narrow strips. Finally, slice them, still stacked, across their width to get finely diced mushrooms.
Melt half of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the diced onion and mushrooms. Sauté until the mushrooms are well browned.
Pro tip: Don't cut this step short. This is where a lot of flavor is developed.
Only once the mushrooms are well-browned, add the remaining butter, fresh rosemary and thyme. Sauté until the butter is melted.
Fluff the flour with a fork a few times, and spoon enough flour into a measuring cup to measure ¾ cup.
Sprinkle the flour over the onions and mushrooms and toss to coat the veggies, using a wooden spoon. Occasionally toss and stir until the flour is golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.
While the floured veggies sauté, put the dried mixed mushrooms in a bowl or cup and add enough red wine or water to cover them.
Slowly whisk in the vegetable stock, a half cup at a time, until a smooth sauce forms. Wait for the sauce to thicken before adding each half cup.
When all of the broth is added, simmer 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Stir in the red miso paste, salt, and pepper.
If the dried mushrooms are rehydrated, coarsely chop and stir into the gravy. Simmer for 10 minutes to meld the flavors, correct for seasoning, and stir in the sherry.

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