When it comes to planning for hosting holidays, we believe anything you can take off your plate day of is a win. And where we’d go to battle that proper gravy should be made from the pan drippings; this one is a real-time savor and tastes just as good. And better yet, you don’t even need to wait for Thanksgiving to make this one; it’s just as good smothering potatoes and a chicken on a random Tuesday if the craving hits.
You get the deep roasted flavor from the umami that soy sauce and Worcestershire bring instead of the fond in the pan. They carry the savory backbone and the color that drippings usually help, giving you a rich gravy that’s almost as good. Make it ahead, warm it for Thanksgiving dinner, then pour it over everything – because who’s judging?
🔪 Ingredients for Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
This is a pantry gravy. Nothing here needs a trip to the butcher, and nothing gets strained out at the end. If you want the traditional version with the neck and giblets simmered in, make our giblet gravy instead. If you want the aromatic version with cider, onion, and fresh sage, that one is our turkey gravy without drippings.
- Unsalted butter: unsalted so you control the salt after the soy sauce and Worcestershire go in.
- All-purpose flour: the reason this one freezes and reheats. Cornstarch gravy weeps after a thaw.
- Turkey stock: the single biggest upgrade here. Homemade turkey stock takes 45 minutes in the Instant Pot and you can make it weeks ahead alongside the gravy.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: rounds out the turkey stock and keeps the sodium in your hands, not the carton’s.
- Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce: these do the work drippings would. Fermented, salty, dark, and full of glutamates.
- Onion powder and garlic powder: dried, not fresh, so there is nothing to strain out before it goes in the container.
- Dried thyme and rubbed sage: rubbed sage, not ground. Ground sage turns dusty and bitter over a long simmer.
- Heavy cream: optional. Leave it out if this is headed for the freezer and stir it in on reheat day instead.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: last, always.
📝 How to Make Turkey Gravy Ahead of Time
Twenty minutes, one saucepan, one whisk. Do it any time in the two weeks before the holiday, cross it off your Thanksgiving menu plan early, and the hardest part of Thursday is already handled.
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, about 1 minute, until it stops foaming.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, whisking constantly, until the roux smells nutty and turns the color of raw peanut butter. This is the step people rush. Raw flour tastes like raw flour no matter how long the gravy simmers after.
- Pour in the turkey stock in a thin stream while whisking, then whisk in the chicken broth the same way. Go slow and get it completely smooth before you add more. Dumping cold liquid into hot roux is how you end up straining lumps at 4pm.
- Whisk in the Worcestershire, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, and sage until the gravy turns an even golden brown.
- Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, whisking every minute or so, until it coats the back of a spoon and holds the line when you drag a finger through it.
- Off the heat, whisk in the heavy cream if you are using it. Skip this if the gravy is going in the freezer.
- Taste, then season with salt and pepper. Season at the end, not the start, because the soy sauce and Worcestershire bring their own salt, so it’s easy to overdo it.
🔄 Substitutions
- All chicken stock for the turkey stock: works cleanly, just lighter. Add another half teaspoon of soy sauce to bring the color back.
- Tamari for the soy sauce: a straight one-to-one swap with the same savory depth.
- Poultry seasoning for the thyme and sage: use half as much. It is a blend, and it goes soapy fast.
- Whole milk or half and half for the heavy cream: stir it in off the heat so it does not break.
- Bacon fat or turkey fat for part of the butter: swap up to half. It reads smokier and pairs well with a smoked turkey.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- Make it looser than you want it. Flour-thickened gravy sets up firm in the fridge and loosens again when it warms. If it coats a spoon on the stove, it is exactly right because it will be thicker tomorrow when you reheat it.
- Reheat low and slow. Warm it over low heat, whisking, and add broth a splash at a time until it pours the way you want. A hard boil after a freeze is what breaks gravy.
- Hold the cream if you are freezing. Dairy separates through a freeze and thaw. Stir the cream in during the reheat and nobody can tell the difference.
- Freeze it flat. A zip-top bag laid flat in the freezer thaws in a fraction of the time a quart container does, and it stacks against the wall instead of eating a shelf.
🍽️ What to Serve with Make Ahead Turkey Gravy
🧊 Leftovers and Storage
- Fridge: airtight container for up to 4 days. Make it no more than 2 days ahead if you want it at its best on the table.
- Freezer: up to 3 months in a zip-top bag laid flat, cream left out.
- Thaw: overnight in the fridge. A frozen brick warmed straight from solid scorches on the bottom before the top melts.
- Reheat: low heat, whisking, with a splash of broth to bring it back to a pour. It will look broken for a second and then come together.
- Leftover leftovers: thin what is left with stock and use it as the base for turkey carcass soup.
You are done making gravy with one hand while the kitchen fills up behind you. Finish it weeks early, freeze it flat, and warm it Thursday while everyone assumes you were at the stove all morning.
Prevent your screen from going to sleep
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2 to 3 quart saucepan
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Balloon whisk
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Glass liquid measuring cup
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Measuring spoons
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Airtight storage container
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Quart zip-top freezer bags
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Fine mesh strainer (optional, if you want it perfectly smooth)
Cook the Roux
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Whisk in the flour and cook 2 to 3 minutes, whisking constantly, until it smells nutty and turns the color of raw peanut butter. It goes from wet-sand crumbly to a loose paste that slides around the pan.
Add the Liquid
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Pour in the turkey stock in a thin stream while whisking, then whisk in the chicken broth the same way. Get it completely smooth before adding more. It will seize up and look wrong the second the liquid is added. That is supposed to happen. Keep whisking and it will smooth out.
Season the Base
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Whisk in the Worcestershire, soy sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, thyme, and sage until the gravy is an even golden brown.
Simmer
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Bring it to a gentle simmer, a few lazy bubbles breaking the surface and nothing more. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, whisking every minute or so, until it coats the back of a spoon and holds the line when you drag a finger through it.
- Make ahead: up to 2 days for best texture; 4 days total in the fridge.
- Freezer: 3 months in a zip-top bag laid flat, cream left out.
- Reheat: low heat, whisking, adding broth a splash at a time. A hard boil after a freeze will cause the liquid to split.
- This gravy will firm up and thicken so make it a little thinner than you think if planning to reheat it in a day or two for Thanksgiving.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 148kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 335mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 324IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
Quick Summary
Make ahead turkey gravy is a butter and flour roux loosened with turkey stock and chicken broth, with soy sauce and Worcestershire standing in for the savory depth of pan drippings. It keeps 4 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer. The one thing to get right is the roux: cook it a full 2 to 3 minutes before any liquid goes in, and add that liquid slowly enough to keep it smooth.
❓ Make Ahead Turkey Gravy FAQs
Two days ahead is the sweet spot for texture, and it holds in the fridge for up to 4 days total. For anything further out, freeze it flat for up to 3 months and thaw it overnight in the fridge before Thursday.
Yes, and this is the recipe for it. Soy sauce and Worcestershire supply the salt, color, and savory depth that pan drippings normally bring, so you do not have to wait on the bird to start.
Flour-thickened gravy sets up as it chills. That is normal and it is not a mistake. Warm it over low heat and whisk in broth a splash at a time until it pours the way you want.
Yes, for up to 3 months. Leave the heavy cream out of any batch headed for the freezer, since dairy separates through a freeze and thaw, and whisk it in when you reheat instead.
It does. Swap the turkey stock for chicken stock and keep everything else the same. The gravy comes out slightly lighter in color and works on roast chicken, biscuits, or mashed potatoes any night of the year.