This gravy is delicious over Mashed Potatoes and Lentil & Rice Loaf. It’s rich and flavorful even without the overly processed ingredients found in many plant-based gravies, mainly salt, soy sauce, nondairy butter, and cornstarch.
Creamy Mushroom Gravy
- Total Time: 21 mins
- Yield: about 4 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 ounce raw, unsalted cashews (about ¼ cup)
- 6 medium white or cremini mushrooms, chopped (about 2 ½ cups)
- ½ large yellow or white onion, chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
- 1 small carrot, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
- 1 large rib celery, sliced (about ½ cup)
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic (2 to 3 medium cloves)
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- Ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the water and cashews into a blender, and set aside for at least 15 minutes (so the cashews can soften).
- Place 1 tablespoon of water into a medium saucepan on medium-high heat. When the water starts to sputter, add the mushrooms, onions, carrots, and celery, and cook while stirring for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and poultry seasoning to the pan, and continue stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened, adding water as needed.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to the blender containing the water and cashews, and blend until very smooth, adding water as needed.
- Pour the blended gravy back into the same saucepan (or a clean one) on medium-low heat, and simmer briefly just to heat through. Season to taste with black pepper.
Notes
Cashews: If you do not have cashews on hand, you can try a little tahini (sesame seed paste) or walnuts; but cashews are my favorite choice because they are soft and yield a smooth final gravy. If you don't eat nuts or seeds, try some white beans in place of the cashews; the gravy won't be as rich, but it will provide a smooth gravy look and texture. If you want to use flour, use rice flour (I would whisk it in after blending and returning to the saucepan), as it doesn't clump like wheat flour.
Poultry seasoning: I have a fondness for poultry seasoning, especially around the holidays; but if you don't have any, you can use a combination of dried onion, sage, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, and/or thyme.
Mushrooms: Any edible mushrooms may be used in this recipe, or a mix.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 6 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ recipe, ½ cup
- Calories: 57
- Sugar: 3.1g
- Sodium: 21mg
- Fat: 2.3g
- Saturated Fat: 0.4g
- Carbohydrates: 7.9g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Protein: 2.5g
- Cholesterol: 0
This looks awesome. I love the trend to using more cashews for fat content and thickening.
It is awesome! Hubby loved it and so did I.
This looks phenomenal. Thank you for the timely recipe.
Cathy,
I made this today and it was delicious.....Creamy, earthy, and the poultry seasoning was perfect!!! I can not believe how yummy this was
My toughest critic in the kitchen (my husband) LOVED IT!!!
Planning to make your lentil loaf for Christmas!!!!
Keep those delicious recipes coming 🙂
By the way....Have a Merry Christmas!!!!
Hi Margarita, I'm so glad to hear that, thank you for the feedback! 🙂 And glad your husband liked it too, woo hoo! Merry Christmas to you as well!
I'll be making the lentil loaf AND mushroom gravy (and mashed potatoes) for Christmas dinner too! Thank you SO MUCH for your blog and these great recipes!
Let me know how it goes! Happy ho-ho! 🙂
This gravy is AWESOME. I made this it for the second time this week tonight for Christmas Eve dinner. It was a hit! I also made the Chunky Cranberry Sauce for a cooking demo last month and the audience LOVED it. Straightupfood.com is the number one site I recommend my clients visit for tasty recipes. Thank you Cathy, you and your recipes are awesome.
Hi Trisha, Thank you for your comments and for getting the word out! Great website, you're helping others, way to go! 😉
Cathy, I wish (upon a star) that you will publish a cookbook with all of these wonderful recipes before I get too old (I'm almost 82 now) to even cook.
Ha! Ok, will do, Lilly! Working on it diligently. 🙂
I second that! ...and will be in line to buy! Thanks for delicious HEALTHY recipes!
This lentil-rice loaf is delicious. One of the best meatless loafs I have tried, and I have tried many, having been plant-based, oil and diary free since March 18, 2001 after hearing Dr. Esselstyn give a talk "Heart Attack-proof Yourself at an exercise conference!! I love your site and your recipes. If you are looking for a great no-chicken, chicken salad, try the one on Susan Voisin's website blog.fatfreevegan.com. It is the best one I have found! Keep up the good work!
Judi
How long will this last in the refrigerator? Can this gravy be frozen and eaten later?
Thanks!
I don't keep anything in the fridge longer than 5-7 days. Not sure about freezing the gravy; seems like it would work, just reblend it after thawing.
What if you don't have carrots or celery on hand? Are these ingredients important to the overall flavor of the gravy? Sounds really good!
It would probably be fine without them. 🙂
I have been making my gravy using onion, carrot and celery,and chickpea flour, but I was stumped on getting by without the nondairy butter. Looking forward to trying this
If I freeze a loaf, should I cook it first, or just combine the ingredients and do the complete cooking after thawing?
Thank you! This recipe looks delicious!
I think either way would work. If you cook it first, just reheat it covered so it doesn't get too dried out in the oven. 🙂
If I can't eat cashews, could I use something else here?
Any other kind of nut or seed would work, maybe macadamia nuts.
Is it possible to make without the celery?
I just made this recipe and it's fantastic! I used almonds instead of cashews and they flavored the gravy very nicely. My family can now expect to see this at our table next Thanksgiving!
Mine came out more soupy than creamy so I added a couple of Tbs of corn starch to thicken since I had no rice flour, I might have blended it too long originally. Not sure why it looks more green than brown? The risotto is next!
This is as good as any gravy I ever made from meat products. I will make this often.
I’ve made this a few times and have some in the freezer as I write. It’s my gravy of choice now and I love it!
Just tried this last night and my husband and I both really loved it! Thank you for such a simple, tasty recipe!
Yay! Thanks so much! 😉
Looked at this recipe for a long time but finally made it last night and it's excellent, and exactly what I wanted. Thank you. Will batch prepare the ingredients for the freezer for quickness. Thank you.
Thanks Jay! 😉
I used a cooked potato instead of cashews and came out to a great consistency!
Yummmmmn! Thickened a bit more with about 1 tsp arrowroot to give it that meaty density I remember from past holidays.
Cathy your website has quickly become my plant-based favorite for three reasons. Your recipes are straightforward and delicious, your notes are concise and helpful, and you cook without oils and the other highly processed products. I am new to the “WFPB” world yet I’ve learned enough to know that your style is exactly my style. It’s time for me to subscribe and learn more from you.
Thanks Frank! 🙂