HOW TO MAKE GRAVY WITH CORNSTARCH

Published: Mar 12, 2019 · Modified: Apr 2, 2020 by Wendi Spraker · This post may contain affiliate links · 38 Comments

Thick, rich, flavorful and ready to puddle onto your mashed potatoes, meat and everything else on your plate, cornstarch gravy is the answer, no matter the question. Today, we will delve into how to make gravy with cornstarch.

This extremely addicting forever favorite loves to drip all over potatoes, french fries, meats and everything else. I personally hope that I never get to old, uppity or fashion conscious to refuse good ol’ cornstarch gravy!

A gravy boat pouring gravy into a small white bowl sitting on a white napkin with wood table — How to Make Gravy with Cornstarch

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Contents show

It’s easy!
You have everything you need as long as you have cornstarch, water and some meat drippings.
Perfect for making Turkey Gravy with cornstarch.
I give you simple instructions for how to make your cornstarch slurry that thickens right up into gravy!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

WHAT IS CORNSTARCH ANYWAY?

Cornstarch is a powder made from a special part of the corn kernel. You can read all about it HERE at Wikipedia, in fact, that is probably more than you ever wanted to know about corn starch! It's an easy way to make cornstarch gravy!

A blue cup of red eye gravy pouring over three pieces of country ham on a white plate — How to Make Gravy with Cornstarch

WHY DO YOU MAKE CORNSTARCH GRAVY?

There are two main ways to make any gravy. Either...

Make a roux with a fat (like oil or butter) mixed with flour, cooked for a few minutes and then broth is added.
Use broth and mix in a cornstarch slurry to thicken the broth into a cornstarch gravy.

WHAT IS A CORNSTARCH SLURRY?

A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of water and cornstarch used to thicken gravies and sauces.

Lots of time people make a gravy out of their ham juices or make turkey gravy from turkey juices. You'll love how easy cornstarch gravy is to make!

WHAT IS THE CORNSTARCH SLURRY RATIO?

When making a cornstarch slurry, you will typically want to use a 1:1 ratio. For example, you will use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 tablespoon of cool water.

WHAT IS THE CORNSTARCH SLURRY RECIPE?

The cornstarch slurry recipe is a 1:1 mixture of cornstarch to water. The amount of cornstarch you need depends on how much liquid you are trying to turn into a thickened sauce or gravy.

A general rule of thumb is that you need 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon of cool water to add to 2 cups of liquid (stock).

Wooden spoon stirring a frying pan of turkey gravy — Turkey Gravy cornstarch gravy

DO I HAVE TO HAVE MEAT DRIPPINGS OR CAN I USE BOUILLON INSTEAD?

You absolutely can make gravy with bouillon instead of meat drippings. A cornstarch slurry can be used to thicken any hot liquid, even a tomato sauce! Cornstarch gravy can be made with any juices from cooking that you have.

HOW CAN I MAKE TURKEY GRAVY WITH CORNSTARCH?

Absolutely! To make a turkey gravy with cornstarch, you will need 2 cups of turkey broth, heat it to a light simmer, add the cornstarch slurry as noted in the recipe card below and you’ll have a beautiful shiny turkey gravy!

To get the turkey broth for turkey gravy with cornstarch, you can do one of the following:

Before your dinner, boil a couple of turkey wings in a gallon of water.
Use store bought turkey broth (you'll find it near the soups).

Then follow along with the directions noted in the recipe below for shiny beautiful turkey gravy with cornstarch.

HOW CAN I USE CORNSTARCH TO THICKEN GRAVY?

If you have made gravy already and it just isn’t thick enough, use cornstarch to thicken it! Estimate how much gravy you have (2 Cups is a usual amount).

Add 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch to a cup

Add 1 Tablespoon of cool water to the cornstarch and mix well

Pour the cornstarch slurry, little bit by little bit, into the simmering gravy and whisk well.

a china gravy boat filled with turkey gravy sitting on a white napkin and wood table — Turkey Gravy with Corn Starch

DOES CORNSTARCH GRAVY TASTE DIFFERENT THAN FLOUR GRAVY?

Perhaps if you have a very refined pallet, you will notice a difference between cornstarch and gravy made from flour. Personally, I don’t notice any difference at all.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT CORNSTARCH GRAVY THAN GRAVY WITH FLOUR?

You'll probably notice that cornstarch gravy make a lovely shiny gravy. Flour gravy usually does not.

DOES A CORNSTARCH SLURRY THICKEN ANYTHING BESIDES GRAVY?

You can use a cornstarch slurry to thicken literally any simmering liquid. You can even thicken water!

Common uses of cornstarch for thickening include:

Sauces,
Pasta Sauces
Pie fillings
Gravies

TIPS AND TRICKS.

Make sure that your pan of drippings and liquid is HOT and make sure that your water is cold.
Keep the heat setting on medium so that your liquid maintains a slight simmer.
Add the cornstarch slurry only a little bit at the time (¼ cup or so).
Whisk as you add the cornstarch slurry and whisk quickly.
Taste after the cornstarch gravy is the thickness you like, often you will need to add more salt or pepper.

LET’S SEE HOW TO MAKE THIS GRAVY.

First heat the juices to a simmer (Add water or broth if you will need more gravy, thickening will not increase the volume). In this example, I am using the broth made from a pot roast in a crock pot.

a photo of hand with tongs removing bits of meat from a crockpot leaving the juices behind. Plate of meat in back ground — Use turkey juices to make turkey gravy

Put the proper amount of cornstarch in a small bowl and add cold water.

hand pouring water from small glass into glass fluid measure with cornstarch in bottom. Crockpot and plate of meat in background — Making the cornstarch slurry using cold water

Mix the cornstarch slurry well until it has just loosened.

hand using fork to mix cornstarch slurry in a glass fluid measure over the top of a crockpot. Plate of meat in the background — A great way to make turkey gravy using cornstarch

Pour the cornstarch into the awaiting hot liquids by small amounts while whisking briskly.

Hand pouring the glass fluid measure of cornstarch slurry into the crockpot of meat broth — Thicken the meat juices by adding the cornstarch slurry. This works great for turkey gravy

Whisk well and the cornstarch gravy will thicken right up.

a spoon with blue handle holding the cornstarch gravy over the crockpot of gravy with plate of meat in the background — The thickened gravy made from cornstarch slurry

Be Sure To Check Out Loaves and Dishes OTHER Gravy Recipes....

Sausage Gravy

Southern Tomato Gravy

How To Make Gravy Without Drippings

Red Eye Gravy

Sawmill Gravy

Hamburger Gravy

YA'LL, HELP ME OUT, OK?

Please leave me a 5 star 🌟🌟🌟 🌟 🌟 in the comment section, all right? I would LOVE to know if you made this or even if you are planning to! Of course, tool on over to Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram and tag me with some photos of your creation!

I can't wait!

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