Use beef broth as a base for homemade brown gravy when you don’t have drippings. Ready in 15 minutes, you can quickly enhance any meal with creamy gravy.
Jump to RecipeBrown gravy always makes me think of holiday cooking. I love mashed potatoes and having a delicious brown gravy over them is heavenly for me. The first time I made homemade brown gravy was to top my Pan-Fried Pork recipe.
Yes, it’s completely made from scratch. As in no pouch of gravy mix. This means I also know exactly what ingredients are in the recipe, which is very important for me.
And luckily, it doesn’t take a long time or a lot of ingredients. The recipe also uses only one pot, so it’s easy to clean up, too. The gravy uses beef broth as the base, then is mixed with a few seasonings and corn starch to thicken.
Many gravy recipes will call for using the drippings from cooking beef. Well, I don’t always cook beef when I want some brown gravy. So I set out to figure out a way to make it without beef drippings. Hence the beef broth.
This version of brown gravy comes out thick and creamy. It has that darker beef flavor, but it isn’t too powerful.

Homemade Brown Gravy Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Preparation
In a large saucepan, bring the beef broth to a boil over medium-high heat.

Once the beef broth is boiling, whisk in the garlic powder, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the cornstarch and water together, then pour that into the gravy and stir until it’s dissolved.

Lower the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally. Cook until it’s thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Serve the gravy warm.


Recipe
Originally Published On: October 24, 2019

Brown Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/8 cup water
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring the beef broth to a boil over medium-high heat
- Once the beef broth is boiling, whisk in the garlic powder, onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the cornstarch and water together, then pour that into the gravy and stir until it’s dissolved
- Lower the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally
- Cook until it's thickened, about 3-5 minutes
- Serve the gravy warm
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
I also like brown gravy on mashed potatoes and roast beef. It is a great dinner on cold fall or winter evenings.
Mashed potatoes are totally comfort food to me. And I agree, great when it’s cool outside!
I have never tried this dish but it looks so perfect for this season! I must give this recipe a try😍 I will let you know how it turns out!😉
I’m glad I could introduce you to something new, then! I hope you like it 🙂
This gravy looks so rich and savory! Now I’m craving mashed potatoes and gravy.
You’re right, it’s definitely both rich and savory. I couldn’t have described it better myself!
This looks like a perfect gravy dish for Thanksgiving. I would like to try it out. Thank you for the recipe.
That’s partly what I was testing it out for! It’s so good and much better when it’s made from scratch.
I’m such a fan of anything that can be made in one pot. My husband is such a meat and potatoes guy, a good brown gravy recipe is a necessity!
Me too, especially since I am usually the one doing the cleaning. Mashed potatoes are one of my favorites, so I always want a good gravy with it.
I’m not a huge Gravy person but when I am this is the kind I love. Sounds so good!
I usually prefer brown gravy as well. Every now and then I like a light gravy, but this is the best!
Made this last night…. DELICIOUS! However next time I will double recipe as it didnt make quite enough.
Thanks, Kathy! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. It’s so hard sometimes to judge how much to make with these types of dishes. I tend to double things, too, as I like a lot of gravy/sauce 🙂
Sometimes I dont have any drippings to use. This surely is a gravy I will make for my mashed potatoes!
I love that you added the Worcestershire sauce for enhancing the flavor of this gravy!
What a great recipe for gravy; definitely adding this to my Thanksgiving menu! Looks too good to pass up, indeed!
I loved my mom’s homemade gravy, but she never shared the recipe for it. I’ve got to try this one because it is so much better homemade! Thanks so much for the recipe 😉
Gimme all the gravy to dip my turkey in and soak my mashed potatoes in!
For some reason I never think to make gravy if I don’t have drippings but like this idea using beef broth.