My mom’s special gravy is the most delicious sauce for the holiday season. It is simple, full of healthy ingredients, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, Paleo, and AIP. You can find many variations of this recipe in my holiday cookbook “ENJOY – healthy festive meals for you and your loved ones”.

Page Content

• Ingredients
• Why this Gravy is a Healthier Option
• How to Make this Gravy
• How to Adjust My Mom’s Special Gravy to your Taste
• How to Make this Gravy with Different Types of Roasts
• FAQs
• More Holiday Recipes

Mom’s Special Gravy

This gravy is probably one of the most delicious sauces I have ever tried. I asked my mom for help because I had no idea how to make one. Luckily she is sharing her wisdom with all of us. My mom’s gravy recipe came out so delicious right on my first try. Thanks, mom!!! I am so excited for you guys to try it. And the good news is, there is no flour required for this recipe! It doesn’t just taste divine it is actually very healthy. Just like all my recipes this sauce is gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, Paleo, and AIP. You will be surprised how few ingredients this sauce is made of and how simple it is to make.

The secret behind my mom’s special gravy is letting vegetables roast in the juices of the meat that you are cooking. This recipe is a template you can use with your roast of choice. In my holiday cookbook, you can find examples of making this sauce or a variation of it with chicken, duck, and pork.

This sauce is so delicious and if you are making a roast, it is really just a super delicious bi-product of what you are already making. That way it is also simple and fast to make.

Wanna get more holiday and special occasion recipes? Get my AIP/Paleo holiday cookbook, including a full Thanksgiving spread.

Ingredients

• leek
• celery
• carrots
• apple
• onion
• garlic
• rosemary
• sage
• thyme
• bone broth
• red wine
• sea salt
• pepper 

Why this Gravy is a Healthier Option

Many gravies use the juices of the roast but then simply use corn starch or flour to thicken it. You can do this with arrowroot flour as well if you are eating grain-free. This gravy however uses pureed roasted vegetables to thicken the sauce, so instead of using a starch that has no nutritional value, you are getting tons of vitamins, minerals, and fiber with your gravy. I would also argue that it gives a lot more flavor to the sauce. This gravy also uses bone broth for the base, which is known for its gut-healing properties.

SUMMARY: This gravy is vegetable and bone broth-based and therefore provides you with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and gut-healing, anti-inflammatory amino acids.

How to Make this Gravy

• Simply add chopped carrots, leeks, celery, onion, garlic, and apple and fresh herbs like thyme, sage, and rosemary to the casserole (see picture above) and let them roast with for example chicken or turkey for about 1 hour total. You want the vegetables and the apple to be very soft.
• To make the gravy, skim off excess fat and take out thyme and rosemary sprigs.  Pour the juice and veggies through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan to use as a base for the gravy. Purée veggies in a blender until very smooth and add approximately half to the base.
• Add 1 cup of broth and 2 Tbsp of wine. Taste to check if you want to add the rest of the wine. Adjust the taste by adding more broth, wine, salt, and pepper to your liking. For a thicker gravy add more of the veggie puree. You can also make more gravy by using all of the vegetables and adding extra broth and or wine. If you are not using all of the veggie puré, freeze it to easily whip up a sauce another time.
• This recipe is very simple to make and the outcome will be a gourmet chef style super delicious wine gravy. Since everything is made from scratch the amounts of the wine, extra stock, water, etc will vary. But the good news is you will get to taste the delicious sauce a couple of times during the cooking process to make it exactly the way you like it the most.

HOT TIP: Save the rest of the vegetable puree and freeze it in a glass jar. Next time you need a quick gravy simply dilute it with some bone broth and a bit of wine and you got yourself a delicious gravy within minutes.

How to Adjust My Mom’s Special Gravy to your Taste

• For a thinner sauce, add water or more broth.
• Homemade bone broth is often more flavorful than store-bought.
• Start slowly with the wine and add as much as you like. Make sure you bring it to a boil to cook down the alcohol.
• If your sauce turns out too thin, add more of the veggie puree.

How to Make the Gravy with Different Types of Roasts

You can use this template pretty much for any type of roast. Some adjustments need to be made if the temperature and cooking time of the roast is different.

For example, if your roast takes about 1 hour – 1.5 hours to cook you can add the vegetables right in the beginning. If you are slow roasting something for many hours on for example 250 degrees, add the vegetables during the last 3 hours of cooking. The lower the cooking temperature the longer it takes for the vegetables to be cooked through.

Depending on the type of roast you can change some of the ingredients, herbs, and spices to match nicely to the type of meat.

HOT TIP: In my holiday cookbook, you can find examples of making variations of this gravy with chicken, duck, and pork.

FAQs

How do I store the Gravy? You can store it for a few days in a glass or stainless steel container or mason jar in the fridge. You can also freeze the gravy or the leftover vegetable puree in a mason jar. Make sure you leave some space on the top so the glass does not crack when you defrost it.

I am on the AIP, can I use the wine? This is a very individual decision. You may or may not tolerate a bit of wine for cooking on the AIP. Not all alcohol cooks down, so use your judgment. Many people are fine with the small amounts, especially because the alcohol does cook down a little bit. If you are very reactive and currently in the elimination phase I recommend leaving the wine out.

What kind of wine should I use? I used a dry red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon.

More Holiday Recipes

• Rosemary Crusted Lamb Chop Holiday Meal (AIP)
• Grain-Free Stuffing (Paleo)
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts (AIP)
• Cranberry Sauce (AIP)
• Herb Roasted Chicken (AIP)

Try my herb-roasted chicken and simply add the vegetables, apple, and herbs into the casserole. This will be the perfect sauce for the holiday season. For even more holiday recipes, make sure you check out my holiday cookbook. Featuring a full Thanksgiving menu with a pumpkin pie and more.

Now I would love to hear from you. Try the recipe and let me know what you think in the comment section below. And as always don’t forget to tag me in your food pictures on Instagram.

Happy cooking

~ Annika

Mom’s Special Gravy

My mom’s special gravy is the most delicious sauce for the holiday season. It is simple, full of healthy ingredients, grain free, dairy free, Paleo, and AIP.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine French, American

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 leek
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 carrots
• 1 apple
• 3/4 medium onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 5 leaves sage
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 2 cups bone broth/stock (or more)
• 1/4 cup dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon) (omit on AIP, see notes)
• sea salt and pepper (omit pepper on AIP)

Instructions

 

• Wash and cut the leek, celery, carrots, and apple into small pieces. The carrots will take the longest to cook, so make sure the slices are not too thick. Peel and cut the onion and peel the garlic.
• The roasting temperature depends on the meat and cooking methods you are using. If your roast takes about 1 hour – 1.5 hours to cook you can add the vegetables right in the beginning. If you are slow roasting something for many hours on for example 250 degrees, add the vegetables during the last 3 hours of cooking. The lower the cooking temperature the longer it takes for the vegetables to be cooked through.
• Place the meat you are roasting in the middle of a casserole and add the vegetables, the apple, and the herbs all around.
• Roast for 30 minutes in the middle of the oven.
• Add 1 cup of bone broth to the vegetables and toss.
• Roast for another 30 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
• Skim off excess fat and take out thyme and rosemary sprigs. Pour the juice and veggies through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan to use as a base for the gravy.
• Purée veggies in a blender until very smooth and add approximately half to the base.
• Add 1 cup of broth and 2 Tbsp of wine. Taste to check if you want to add the rest of the wine. Adjust the taste by adding more broth, wine, salt, and pepper to your liking. For a thicker gravy add more of the veggie puree. You can also make more gravy by using all of the vegetables and adding extra broth and or wine. If you are not using all of the veggie puré, freeze it to easily whip up a sauce another time.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Tips

• for a thinner sauce, add water or chicken broth.
• start slowly with the wine and add as much as you like.
• if your sauce turns out too thin, add more veggie puree. 
• you may or may not tolerate a bit of wine for cooking on the AIP. Not all alcohol cooks down, so use your judgment.