BEST Hamburger Gravy Recipe
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For a quick and easy weeknight dinner solution, it’s hard to beat this delicious, old-fashioned, BEST Hamburger Gravy recipe! This American classic is the perfect comfort food to whip up after a long day – it’s ready to serve in 25 minutes. And if you’re looking for lower calorie, low carb, or gluten-free version, I’ve got you covered.
How to Make Hamburger Gravy
This old staple of the midwest has been passed down for generations. Traditionally it was a great way to make a filling meal using an inexpensive meat that was given a flavor boost with the drippings or fat from a previous meal. Serve it over mashed potatoes, biscuits, or noodles and you’ve got an old school stick-to-your-ribs kind of mouthwatering dinner. These types of comfort dishes are among my favorites. Quick to prepare and absolutely delicious, it’s easy to see why this dish has remained an American classic.
This Hamburger gravy recipe is made with basic ingredients you likely already have in your fridge and pantry. The smell of onions and garlic sautéing will bring that warm and inviting feeling into your kitchen and have your mouth watering. Flavors of paprika, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce kick up the flavor profile. Heavy cream is used to make this recipe indulgently thick and creamy. And while they’re probably not a pantry staple, for the ultimate umami boost we highly recommend adding the dried ground porcini mushrooms. Don’t worry if you don’t like mushrooms, you won’t be able to taste the mushrooms but they will give your sauce an incredible depth of flavor!
The mix of these flavors creates a winning combination and this old fashioned hamburger gravy recipe is sure to became a favorite in your home. And it’s easy to include it in your regular rotation by simply switching up the carbs (see below). It’s regularly requested in my home!
Can I Make this Low Calorie, Low Carb and Gluten Free?
Yes, yes, and yes! Try switching out the ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken. Replace the heavy cream with low fat milk, or skip the dairy all together and substitute with more broth. For a gluten free variation, replace the flour with a slurry of water and cornstarch at the end of the cooking time. Simmer for a minute or two until thickened. You can serve this gravy or gluten free pasta or, for a low carb option, serve it over spiralized zucchini or cauliflower rice.
Hamburger Gravy Recipe
Let’s get started!
Heat a skillet with about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and garlic and cook until there is no pink remaining. Stir in the flour and butter and cook for another 3 minutes (this will also cook off the “raw” flavor of the flour).
Stir in the thyme, sage, onion powder, salt, pepper, ground porcini mushrooms (if using), bouillon base, and Worcestershire sauce.
Add the beef broth and heavy cream and bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
Cover and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over mashed potatoes, pasta, rice or biscuits, sprinkled with some parsley.
What To Serve With Hamburger Gravy?
Everything! No really, this gravy works on any kind of starchy side, coming together to make a satisfying entree. Mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, or biscuits, even the pickiest eaters will find some way to indulge themselves. And if you’d like a quick and easy Midwestern take on beef stroganoff, you can add some mushrooms to the gravy and pour everything over wide egg noodles.
It’s also perfect if you have any leftover biscuits from last night’s dinner or breakfast. And if you’re on the hunt for perfectly fluffy, flakey, buttermilk biscuits, these are simply the BEST!
For veggies, take your pick. Steamed broccoli, carrots, beans, corn, sauteed zucchini, a leafy green salad…pretty much any vegetable will go nicely with this dish.
Storage and Freezing
Hamburger gravy can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days. This gravy also does excellent in the freezer and reheats wonderfully in the microwave.
Enjoy!
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BEST Hamburger Gravy Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion , finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (gluten free: skip this and stir in a cornstarch slurry at the end: dissolve 2-3 teaspoons cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups quality beef broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons beef bouillon base (or 2 cubes) e.g., Better Than Bouillon
- 2 teaspoons ground dried porcini mushrooms (optional but recommended for the ultimate umami boost)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
- chopped fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- Heat a skillet with about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and garlic and cook until there is no pink remaining. Stir in the flour and butter and cook for another 3 minutes (this will also cook off the “raw” flavor of the flour). Stir in the thyme, sage, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper, ground porcini mushrooms (if using), bouillon base, and Worcestershire sauce. Add the beef broth and heavy cream and bring it to a simmer, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Cover and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.Serve over mashed potatoes, pasta, rice or buttermilk biscuits, sprinkled with some parsley.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet April 7, 2021
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Cooked this for last nights dinner and very impressed. Family loved it! Definitely a favourite and will be on regular rotation. Thinking about adding a little more thickener to make into pies. Thank you for a simple yet tasty meal.
Wonderful, Kerry, thank you so much!
Made this tonight to use for Poutine and we LOVED it. The dried mushrooms really made a difference. We’re definitely going to be making this again.
I’m so glad, Stacey, thank you! And great idea using it for poutine!
I am making this AGAIN, tonight for dinner! ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS THANK YOU FOR YOUR RECIPE!
Wonderful, thank you so much, Terry!
Fantastic meal, total nostalgia. Will definitely make this one again and again. cheers
Thanks so much, Jacob, I’m happy you enjoyed it! :)
Absolutely what I needed for today’s dinner! I couldn’t figure out a new recipe using hamburger. I was tired of the same old recipes. This was perfect! Brought back a lot of memories and was perfect for this cold, rainy day! It was absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad, Tamie, thank you very much! :)
I made this recipe last night and my husband raved about it. It was EXCELLENT and you are so right the porcini mushroom powder is a must!! I made it using mashed potatoes. We live in the Pacific Northwest and it was just the recipe for a very cold and windy night. The perfect comfort food.
Fantastic, Pamela, I’m so happy you both enjoyed it and appreciate the feedback, thank you! :)
💯
Thank you for bringing back the wonderful memories of “mom” when she made this for us! I will make this again, and again, and again….
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Diane, thank you!
Should the meat be drained before adding the butter and four? I always drain my beef before adding other ingredients.
Hi Dan, that’s entirely up to you. I usually don’t drain it because the fat contributes a lot of the flavor but you can absolutely drain it if you prefer.
Memories++++this was always on my moms fave list+++and mine !!!!!
Kimberly Thanks for reminding me of this–hummmmgood—
Thank you, Melissa. It’s so often the simple things that are the best :)
Hi Kimberly, I forgot to tell you that we made this for dinner the other night and it was really good. Even the picky teens loved it. Thank you for the recipe. I had forgotten about hamburger gravy until you brought it up. Thank you, again. dezi
Thank you, dezi, I’m so happy it was a family hit! :)
Excellent saucy dish full of textures, flavours and deep-thick sauce. Like Mike McCann above I too added carrots, peas, celery, zucchini and capsicum/peppers; as you replied to him it just added more bulk and nutrition, I agree it was just superb! I cannot seem to find ‘bouillon’ so I subbed Beef OXO’s and again this added depth to the beef stock and Worcestershire sauces. As with your West-African Plasas recipe, I doubled the sauce again and then slow cooked it all on the cooktop over three hours. It resulted in firm veggies swimming in a thick beff gravy and magnificent sauce… delicious and stunning to the tastebuds! Another Keeper Recipe… Cheers Kimberley!
Thank you so much, Michael, I’m happy you enjoyed it and really appreciate the feedback!
You have provided the ultimate refinement to my English childhood and still favorite dish: Mince and Mash. Now, with the addition of 1/4 inch diced carrots and celery, and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas at the end, your incredible recipe has opened up the pathway to gustatory heaven. This even beats your old fashioned beef stew! Thank you.
Childhood favorites are always among the best dishes! Also I had totally forgotten and you reminded me of a Scottish version of this I had years ago when I lived in Great Britain – there it was called Mince and Tatties. The Scottish version I had didn’t have peas but it did have carrots. I’m all for rounding this gravy out with the addition of veggies – more bulk, more nutrition. Happy cooking, Mike! :)
This is so good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Penny, thank you!
Where does the “2 teaspoons beef bouillon base” come in? Is it in addition to the 2C beef broth or did you use the base to make the 2c broth??
Thanks
Hi Mitch, sorry for the confusion. The 2 teaspoons are in addition to the beef broth and are added along with the spices and Worcestershire sauce.
Thanks, that’s what I thought..
This was absolutely a hit! Talk about bringing back home cooking. My husband has decided there are not enough stars to give you. He gives you a TEN star rating. I do believe I deserve at least 2 of those. LOL!
Lol, Corrine, I’ve no doubt you do! :) I’m thrilled this was such a hit, thanks so much for the feedback!