BEST Onion Gravy
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No recipe collection is complete with out a truly phenomenal onion gravy. And this one is exactly that. This homemade onion gravy recipe features caramelized onions in a luxuriously rich, brown gravy that is sure to “wow” your dinner guests as much as it has wowed thousands of our readers!
If there’s a better smell from the kitchen than the aroma of onions caramelizing in butter I don’t know what it is. (Well, okay, that would be caramelized onions AND bacon sauteing together.) And when you turn those caramelized onions into a rich brown onion gravy the show can just stop there as far as I’m concerned. Because this homemade onion gravy recipe is a showstopper.
I never need an excuse to heap on the gravy in generous quantities. There’s been a running joke in my family since I was a child: “Kimberly would like some mashed potatoes with her gravy.” It’s true. I’m a gravy fanatic. But when you have a truly amazing homemade gravy sitting in front of you, well it’s just pretty darn hard to resist. Plus I grew up in Germany with a German mother and Oma who both excelled at gravy-making. So I can’t help it. Gravy’s in my blood. Perhaps quite literally!
Today I’m sharing a recipe with you for homemade onion gravy made from scratch. Because that’s the only way really good gravy is made. You may already have a recipe for mushroom gravy, brown gravy, turkey gravy, chicken gravy and white gravy, but no gravy repertoire is complete without a great onion gravy. And I can promise you, this one is grrrreat!
What to Serve With Onion Gravy
Two of the most famous dishes featuring onion gravy are Bangers and Mash and Toad in the Hole which I highly recommend making (they’re two of my favorites). In addition, here are some other delicious ways to use your homemade onion gravy:
- Mashed potatoes
- Yorkshire Pudding
- Hamburger or cube steak (try it with my German/Danish Frikadellen)
- Roast chicken, pan-fried chicken, or chicken fried steak
- Pot Roast, pork roast or lamb roast
- Meatloaf
- Salisbury steak
- Pork chops
- Schnitzel
- Poutine
- Meatballs
Storage & Advance Preparation
This homemade onion gravy will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge in an airtight container and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop . It will also freeze for up to 3 months. Cornstarch has a tendency to break down when thawed so you may simply need to re-thicken it when you reheat it on the stovetop, the same way you did the first time.
Onion Gravy Recipe
Let’s get started!
Note: This onion gravy is excellent as is but if you’re already making a roast, frying up pork chops or chicken, if you make this gravy in same pan as those meat drippings, it will boost the flavor up to an excellent+.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and sugar and cook for about 30 minutes until caramelized (deep golden).
Add the red wine and herbs, bring to a rapid boil for 2 minutes, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the mustard, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.
Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Remove sprigs of herbs. Add the vinegar, whisk in the cornstarch and simmer another minute or two until thickened, whisking continuously. Add the cold butter and whisk until dissolved.
Add salt and pepper to taste and more mustard if desired.
Serve the gravy as desired (see our list of recommendations above).
Enjoy!
For more delicious gravy and sauce recipes be sure to try my:
- Sausage Gravy
- Hamburger Gravy
- Mushroom Gravy
- Turkey Gravy
- White Gravy
- Rahm Sauce
- Bolognese
- Beef Ragu
- Lamb Ragu
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BEST Onion Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick (56 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 large yellow onions , peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced (or diced if you prefer smaller pieces)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 large sprig fresh sage
- 2 cups strong beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dark balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the sliced onions and sugar and cook for about 30 minutes until caramelized (deep golden). Add the red wine and herbs, bring to a rapid boil for 2 minutes, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the stock, mustard, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove sprigs of herbs. Add the vinegar, whisk in the cornstarch and simmer another minute or two until thickened, whisking continuously. Add the cold butter and whisk until dissolved. Add salt and pepper to taste and more mustard if desired.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet September 28, 2019
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!
Greetings from Northern England. Made this this evening used 1 red 2 white onions, and had it with bangers and mash. Empty plates was lovely. Missed out the butter at the end and next time might only put 1 teaspoon of sugar in but it’s all about personal taste.. I used dark brown sugar too. We’re trying your Italian pork ribs with olives tomorrow but gonna have it with mash and green beans.. will review that too, literally cannot wait ’til tomorrow now. All the best. Marko
Oh thank you so much, Marko, I’m thrilled that you enjoyed it! I hope you enjoy the pork ribs as well. Warmest greetings to England! :)
I made this recipe vegan and with way less butter, and it still turned out absolutely delicious. I’m repeating it for Christmas. Thank you for posting it! 😊
I’m so glad, Inna, thank you for the feedback!
I don’t have a printer. I have an e-mail recipe file, but you, like so many others, have made it impossible to copy and paste. Your recipe looks great, but now I have to laboriously copy it by hand so I can save it in my recipe file. Websites and URLs disappear without warning. I’m not saving your URL to click on every time I want to make the gravy. One star.
Hi Lesley, you must be confusing me with another website because for going on 11 years now I have always enabled the ability to copy and paste.
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S
Say no more, was great with sausages and mash
Thankyou !
Awesome, thank you so much, Ian! :)
I searched and came across your recipe on Google because I have leftover pork tenderloin that I want to reheat for dinner and I LOVE gravy on almost everything. I’m like you – I like to have a bit of food with my gravy lol. I’ve always been asked “do want any pork with your gravy?” or whatever it is I put the gravy on, which is pretty much anything lol. I don’t have any beef broth but I have homemade turkey bone broth that I will use and add a bit of beef bovril for flavour. Also, I have never put sugar on onions when browning but I’ll do that tonight. And I’ll have to use mostly dried herbs. Hope that doesn’t make too much of a difference in the end result. All the reviews are very good so I can’t wait to try it.
I’m happy to meet someone who loves gravy as much I do, Diane! :) Even with those substitutions I think you’ll enjoy this gravy. Please let us know how it goes!
Adding sugar is not the true way to caramelize an onion. That takes time to bring out the natural sugars in the onion. This is a cheat method to add sugar into your diet. Just saying. Probably won’t be posted because of mods.
I have no problem posting this, Brandon, I welcome constructive comments of all kinds. It also allows me to explain where you’re wrong. First of all, “adding sugar is not the true way to caramelize an onion.” Agreed. The correct way to caramelize onions is to cook them over a long period of time, generally at least 30 minutes, which is what we’re doing here, followed by an additional 10 minutes of reduction time with the wine and herbs. The little bit of sugar is simply added to further enhance the flavor of the gravy beyond what the natural sugars in the onions alone can provide. Secondly, “a cheat method to add sugar into your diet”….huh?
Hi Kimberly,
I really do appreciate that someone somewhere published this and I’ve found it. It is a michelin star gravy.
May I make one or two suggestions to even further enhance the flavour.
Add muscovado sugar, in your recipe quantity, at the start along with the butter as it has a much deeper flavour than ordinary white sugar. Also I have found that about two tbsp of balsamic vinegar added a minute before the wine deepens the flavour some more and if you throw a star anise in with the wine it becomes amazing.
Thank you for your recipe *****
Thank you for the feedback and suggestions, Michael, I’ll have to give them a try!
And when did you get your Michelin star, you are talking rubbish leave the recipes to the professionals and stick to McDonalds
Love this recipe. I didn’t have English mustard so used Dijon but it turned out really well.
I’m so glad, Caroline, thank you very much!
I found this recipe on a Google search and made it this weekend.
Absolutely delicious and I have shared with our daughters!
Paul Weymouth UK
Thank you so much, Paul, I’m thrilled it was a hit!