Instant Pot Gravy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken gravy in an Instant Pot? ›

Combine water and cornstarch in the pot and stir to create a slurry. Add pan juices, stirring constantly until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic salt and stir to incorporate.

Ingredients: Wheat Flour, Maltodextrin (From Corn), Modified Starch (1422), Iodised Salt, Sugar, Yeast Extract, Vegetable Fat, Flavour Enhancers (621, 635), Colour (150c), Onion Powder, Flavours, Food Acid (330), Spice. Contains Wheat and Gluten. May contain Fish, Milk, Soy, Celery, Mustard, Crustacea and Sulphites.

Soft, fragrant, sautéed vegetables lend a sweet, earthy, warm flavor to your store-bought gravy. Use any combination of onions, leeks, shallots, celery, carrots, and mushrooms cooked in butter, olive oil, or pan drippings. When the veggies are sufficiently sautéed, stir in your jarred gravy and simmer on low.

Cooking for too little time: As the gravy cooks, it slowly thickens, so if you don't allow it to cook long enough, it will be too thin. Set the stove on medium heat and bring your gravy to a boil before letting it simmer. Once the gravy has reached your desired consistency, turn off the stove and let the sauce cool.

Cook the Gravy Longer

Oftentimes, a thin gravy just needs more time on the stove. You can also use this method if you accidentally overdid it on adding stock to your gravy. Continue to simmer the gravy, uncovered, until enough liquid evaporates to thicken the gravy.

Don't add thickeners.

Pressure cookers work off the steam pulled from the liquid inside the pot, so it's important that you don't add thickeners like cornstarch or roux before the food starts cooking.

A traditional roux uses roughly an equal amount of flour and fat, but gravies often call for a bit more flour than that, to ensure the gravy is thick enough. (The classic ratio for gravy is three:two:one, so 3 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons fat, and 1 cup of hot stock.)

To prepare gravy: In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add 2 tablespoons gravy mix. Cook and stir until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in water until smooth.

Seasonings + Herbs: I use pantry staples like garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, kosher salt, and white pepper. If you don't happen to have white pepper on hand, you can replace it with black pepper. I find that white pepper not only adds a more delicious flavor but it also makes the gravy look better!

Browning adds more flavor to the gravy and gets rid of the raw flour taste. You're basically making a roux. We find that a flour-based gravy holds up better and reheats better later, which is why we tend to prefer using flour over cornstarch to make gravy unless we have a guest who is eating gluten-free.

What is the best thickener for gravy? ›

Similar to flour, cornstarch is another ingredient that can be used to make gravy thicker. With cornstarch, making a slurry is also an option, but with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked into cold water. Again, you'll want to add the slurry in increments so you don't over-thicken the gravy.

Instead, you need to make a paste of roughly equal parts flour and softened butter, mashing them together until completely smooth, then whisk this paste into the gravy a tablespoon or two at a time, until the gravy has thickened appropriately.

A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of a cold liquid with cornstarch. It is used as a thickening agent, and is particularly common in Asian sauces. As a rule of thumb, dissolve 2 parts cold water and 1 part cornstarch. Add the slurry to your sauce as it simmers in the slow cooker.

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency.