Roasted Garlic Gravy

This roasted garlic gravy is full of flavor and easy to make! It’s absolutely perfect for holiday dinners and special occasions. One taste and you’ll want to pour it on everything. This delicious gravy is also totally vegan, so everyone can enjoy it!

White wooden surface set with fresh garlic and rosemary sprigs, and bowl of mashed potatoes and Roasted Garlic Gravy.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish? I feel like most folks go with good old mashed potatoes and gravy. I know i certainly do!

And while I love a basic gravy, like my super simple vegan gravy, sometimes I like to jazz things up a bit. I did this before with my whiskey-spiked mushroom gravy. This year I decided to give roasted garlic gravy a try, and oh my…it was heavenly!

This gravy is pretty similar to my standard vegan gravy recipe, with a little variation in seasonings. For this one we’ll be adding a couple bulbs of roasted garlic and a sprig of rosemary. Yes, that’s right: we’re using two whole bulbs of garlic! That might sound like a lot, but roasting garlic drastically mellows the flavor and even adds a bit of sweetness. Trust me, this gravy can take it!

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Ingredients You’ll Need

Garlic. You’ll need two whole bulbs of garlic, unless they’re very large (with big cloves!), in which case you might be able to get away with one. I suggest roasting two, just in case. If you end up with too much, you can always put the extra roasted garlic towards another dish, like my roasted garlic hummus. You can even snack on your extra roasted garlic. It’s great on crackers!
Olive oil.
Vegan butter. This is sold in most supermarkets right next to the regular butter. Earth Balance, Miyoko’s and Melt are some popular brands to look for.
Flour. We’re using all-purpose wheat flour. You could probably get away with other varieties like gluten-free blends, but I haven’t tested any, so I can’t say for sure!
Vegetable broth. I like Better Than Bouillon in seasoned vegetable flavor for this recipe, but feel free to use your favorite. Make sure to go with something very flavorful!
Fresh rosemary.
Soy sauce.
Salt and pepper.

How It’s Made

The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe!

You’ll need to roast your garlic first. Cut the tops off of your bulbs, then drizzle them with olive oil and wrap them loosely in foil.

Pop them in the oven until the cloves are soft and caramelized. When they’re done, open the foil, let them cool a bit, then squeeze the bulbs to extract the roasted garlic.

Tip: For more guidance on this step, see my guide on how to roast garlic.

Diced shallots cooking in vegan butter in a saucepan.

Melt the vegan butter in a small saucepan, then add diced shallot. Cook the shallot for about 10 minutes, until it becomes very soft and just begins to brown.

Shallots cooking in a mixture of flour and olive oil in a saucepan.

Add the flour and stir it up to combine it with the melted vegan butter. Let the mixture simmer for about a minute. This is our roux, which will serve as a thickener for the gravy.

Broth being poured into a saucepan containing diced shallots in a roux.

Slowly begin pouring the broth into the pot. Stop and give it stir here and there to make sure everything mixes evenly.

Rosemary and roasted garlic in a wooden spoon inside a pot of broth.

Now add the roasted garlic and rosemary. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a simmer.

Tip: Use a wire whisk to break up any clumps of flour in the gravy, should they form.

Saucepan of gravy simmering with a wooden spoon.

Let the gravy simmer until it thickens up a bit. This should only take about 10 minutes, but you can let it go longer if you’d like it to be extra thick.

Immersion blender blending gravy in a saucepan.

Remove the rosemary from the pot and stir in the soy sauce. Use an immersion blender to blend in the roasted garlic, or if you don’t have one, transfer it to a regular blender.

Tip: You can thin your gravy with some extra broth if you’d like. Or, if you prefer a thicker gravy, whisk in some flour. I recommend using a quick mixing flour, like Wondra, to avoid having clumps form.

Hand pouring gravy over a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Season your roasted garlic gravy with salt and pepper to taste, and it’s ready to serve! Pour in on vegan mashed potatoes, stuffing, or even biscuits. Enjoy!

Leftovers & Storage

Leftover roasted garlic gravy will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months. It’ll thicken quite a bit during storage, so make sure to whisk it well during reheating and add a splash of water if needed. It can be reheated in a saucepan on the stove, or in the microwave in one minute increments, whisking well between each zap.

More Vegan Holiday Side Dishes

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Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2
garlic bulbs
1
tablespoon
olive oil,
plus up to an additional tablespoon, as needed
3
tablespoons
vegan butter
1
medium shallot,
diced
¼
cup
all-purpose flour
2 ½
cups
vegetable broth
1
(3-inch) sprig
fresh rosemary
1
tablespoon
soy sauce
Salt and pepper,
to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cut the tops off of your garlic bulbs, placing the cuts so as to expose the tops of as many garlic cloves as possible.
Place each garlic bulb on a sheet of foil (Note 1), then drizzle the garlic with olive oil, evenly coating the garlic bulbs with oil.
Loosely wrap the garlic bulbs in foil and place them into the oven. Roast the garlic for 30 to 45 minutes, until the cloves are soft, golden brown and caramelized.
Open the foil and allow the garlic to cool slightly. Once it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the bulbs to extract the roasted garlic onto a small plate.
Melt the vegan butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, then add the shallot.
Sweat the shallot for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes very soft and just begins to brown.
Add the flour and stir well to fully mix it with the vegan butter. Cook the mixture for about a minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in the broth and rosemary, along with the roasted garlic (Note 2). Stir the mixture well to work out any lumps, using a whisk if needed.
Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat so that it is at a low simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes, until thickened slightly.
Remove the rosemary from the pot and stir in the soy sauce. Blend the gravy until smooth ether using an immersion blender, or by transferring it to a standard blender.
Season the gravy with salt and pepper to taste. (Note 3)

Recipe Notes

Feel free to use a clay garlic roaster instead of foil, if you have one.
You should have about ¼ cup of roasted garlic. If you have much more than that, feel free to add it all for more intense flavor, or save any extra for another use. Roasted garlic is freezer friendly and great for adding flavor to sauces, dressings, soups and stews. It’s also great on crackers.
If you’d like your gravy to be a bit thinner, whisk in some extra vegetable broth. If you’d like it to be thicker, remove a bit of gravy and whisk in some flour, then add the mixture to the pot and bring it back up to a simmer. Another option would be to directly add a quick mixing flour like Wondra to the gravy.

Nutrition Facts

Roasted Garlic Gravy

Amount Per Serving

Calories 162
Calories from Fat 106

% Daily Value*

Fat 11.8g18%

Saturated Fat 3.1g16%

Sodium 686mg29%

Potassium 50mg1%

Carbohydrates 8.7g3%

Fiber 0.2g1%

Sugar 2.5g3%