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Who says you can’t have a classic holiday dinner when you’re paleo or on a Whole30-round? This easy paleo gravy tastes just like the traditional Thanksgiving gravy you love, but it’s completely grain free, gluten free, and dairy free! You only need 5 ingredients and a few minutes to make the perfect paleo gravy, meaning holiday dinners just got a whole lot better!
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
What I Love About This Paleo Gravy Recipe
- It has the flavor and consistency you love and expect in a classic, traditional gravy, but it’s completely free from gluten, grains, and dairy. Tapioca starch (or arrowroot powder if you prefer) makes a fabulous flour-stand-in, making the gravy nice and thick with zero aftertaste or chalky mouthfeel.
- It’s not just for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. You can pair this gravy with any meat, whether it’s roast chicken or turkey or a simple beef pot roast. It’s also delicious over mashed potatoes!
- Paleo gravy doesn’t require any drippings from prepared meat, so if you don’t have enough or you just need something to go with your mashed potatoes, you’re in luck. Of course, you absolutely can use drippings! Ghee, refined coconut oil, and lard are options, too, though. Coconut aminos and a little poultry seasoning will take care of the richness and umami.
What I Learned Testing This Recipe
- When you’re making the (sort of) roux from the drippings and fat and adding the tabioca starch or arrowroot powder, make sure you whisk it really well before adding any liquid. If you don’t break up any powdery clumps at that stage, they’ll stay in the gravy later and they’ll be almost impossible to whisk out at that point.
- Tapioca starch and arrowroot powder can become gummy when they’re heated. If you have trouble incorporating them into your fat of choice, I’ve found an immersion blender also works instead of a whisk.
- Don’t worry if the mixture starts to get a little grainy or lumpy as you add the stock. Just keep whisking and it will come smooth again before you simmer it to thicken it up.
- During most tests of this gravy, I did not need to add any extra salt so I recommend using low-sodium stock and then adding your own salt at the end if you need find you need it. If you use a full-sodium stock and the gravy tastes too salty, there’s not really an easy way to fix it.
Ingredients
Fat of choice – Ghee, refined coconut oil, or the drippings from the cooked turkey will all make a great base for the gravy in place of butter. Drippings will obviously provide the best flavor, but if you don’t have enough of them just make up the amount with one of the other options.
Tabioca starch – Or arrowroot powder, in place of the usual flour or cornstarch.
Low-sodium chicken stock – Or turkey stock! I prefer to use low-sodium stock making gravy and sauces so I can make sure they don’t accidentally become too salty. You can also boost the nutrients in the gravy by swapping out the chicken stock for a rich, nutrient-dense bone broth. It has a deeper flavor than chicken broth, plus it’s loaded with collagen, nutrients, and extra protein.
Poultry seasoning – To boost the gravy. I’ve also had good results substituting a homemade blend of ground marjoram, sage, rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, and pepper.
Coconut aminos – Optional, but I find they add a lovely flavor boost if the gravy is feeling a bit flat. It also makes the color of the gravy closer to what you’d expect.
Make-ahead & Storage Suggestions
To get ahead, make the gravy and let it cool completely, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat it on stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until gravy is heated-through.
Leftover gravy will keep for up to 3 days from fresh, so keep this in mind when you’re reheating gravy you have already made a few days before the big meal. I’d not recommend freezing leftovers made with arrowroot as they can turn slimy and loose their thickened quality when frozen and thawed, but the tapioca version will last for up to 2-3 months in a sealed container.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, and choose refined coconut oil instead of ghee or drippings. It’s also worth mentioning that no chickens are harmed in the making of poultry seasoning. Despite the name, it’s really just a blend of herbs and spices, making it vegan and gluten-free.
Yes, but if you’re making less than the full amount I’d use a smaller saucepan as it will make whisking the ‘roux’ a lot easier.
It’s lower in carbs than traditional flour-based gravy, but tapioca is still a starch. This recipe works out roughly 4g carbs per serving, which may fit some low-carb plans but isn’t strictly keto.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Easy Paleo Gravy (Whole30, Gluten Free)
Equipment
- medium saucepan
- stovetop
- whisk
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons fat of choice ghee, refined coconut oil, or drippings from cooked meat
- 4 tablespoons tapioca starch or arrowroot powder
- 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken stock hot, but not boiling; or vegetable stock
- ¼-½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ½-1 tablespoon coconut aminos optional
- salt optional, to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper optional, to taste
Instructions
- Place medium saucepan on stovetop over medium-low heat. When pan is warm, add 3 tablespoons fat of choice. If solid, let fat melt completely.
- When fat is heated through, sprinkle 4 tablespoons tapioca starch into saucepan. Vigorously whisk starch into fat until ingredients are fully combined and mixture is smooth.
- Simmer mixture over medium-low heat 1 minute, whisking constantly, until mixture is golden and bubbling.
- Once bubbling, gradually pour in 2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken stock (hot, but not boiling) in small increments, whisking constantly. Mixture will become slightly grainy and may begin to clump. Continue whisking until all chicken stock has been added and mixture is very smooth.
- Simmer gravy, whisking regularly, 2 to 4 minutes or until gravy has thickened. Add ¼-½ teaspoon poultry seasoning and ½-1 tablespoon coconut aminos (optional). Whisk until incorporated.
- Taste gravy and, if necessary, add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
- When satisfied with flavor of gravy, transfer gravy to serving container. Serve warm.
Video
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Gummy mess. Why do you not address this? Ruined dinner.
I’m so sorry that was your experience, Charlotte! This recipe was recently retested and we didn’t have any issues with gumminess. As we mention in the recipe notes, if you run into that, you may have luck using an immersion blender instead of a whisk.
Mine turned into a gelatin…? I followed recipe to a tee
I’m so sorry you had that result, Marina! We didn’t have that happen when we developed the recipe, but we’ll definitely take a look at it again ASAP!
This was soooo delicious, a big hit! I made one change and swapped out chicken stock for beef stock. Over mashed potatoes, this was a meal in and of itself. Thank you for sharing this, it’s a keeper!
I’m so glad, Mary! Thanks for the review!
It was good for a gravy fix while doing Whole30. HOWEVER 5 minutes is not accurate for prep time. It should also “start vigorous whisking and do not stop for one moment, even to wipe the sweat from your brow, from the time the tapioca starch is added.” The end result was not smooth and had a lot of smaller globs. But edible.
So sorry you had that experience, Julie! We appreciate the feedback.
Just made this tonight and wow! So easy to make, and absolutely delicious.
We’re thrilled you enjoyed it!
I tried this recipe twice and both times it ended up in a hot gluggy mess. The second I started slowly pouring (or rather dribbling) the stock in, the ghee-tapioca flour mixture started going far more gluggy and coagulated than simply “grainy and clumpy”. Both times before I had poured more than 10-20ml of the stock in, the entire mixture was a clumpy, gluggy mess stuck to the end of my whisk. I have no idea how this recipe worked for other people.
Tapioca starch does tend to be more gelatinous. Maybe cassava flour would work better? You could also try lowering the heat a smidge. Regardless, we’re sorry you had this experience back to back. Hope the third time’s the charm or you find a recipe that works well for you.
Have you tried to freeze this gravy? Looking for a gravy to use with leftovers and make a potpie with gravy for the freezer.
I personally haven’t tried it, but think it could work!
I made this using cassava flour and it’s delicious. There’s no way to tell this apart from using a wheat flour roux.
That’s great to hear!
I really enjoyed this recipe and it was great in order to make my part of our Thanksgiving dinner more enjoyable. I had a question about the gumminess that happens with the tapioca flour and I wondered if it was because I was using too much or if there is something that can be done about it because after the 1st cooking it seems like the gravy turns until like a blob of gelatin.
Frankly, that’s a characteristic of tapioca starch! If you want to reheat, you could place the gravy over the stovetop and whisk as it heats, potentially adding in a little more stock to help reduce that gelatinous texture.
This tastes like typical turkey or chicken brown gravy! I was impressed. I would make this again in a second.
Glad you liked it, Kara!