Vegan Thyme Cabernet Gravy. The best gravy around for all you red wine lovers. Dairy-free, oil-free and has a rich, deep flavor from red cabernet wine and fresh thyme. Great with potatoes.
I’m dead serious when I tell you that the first batch I made of this vegan gravy, I slurped up the whole gravy boat. Would you believe I got just as excited about this gravy as I do desserts? It is that dang good. Even my husband agreed, it is sensational.
This gravy is the perfect topping to my Fluffy Buttermilk Vegan Mashed Potatoes I posted 2 days ago. The wow factor to this better-than-typical-boring gravy is using a Cabernet Sauvignon, which basically means red wine. There are many red wines though and a cabernet is considered to be the best of red wines and strongest in flavor because it is a full bodied red wine. It is deep in color and very rich, as well as a higher alcohol content than many other wines. It has more flavor than most red wines, so less is needed. If you want to learn more about them, you can read this source.
I seriously could drink this gravy…heck I practically did. I was eating it with a spoon as if it were soup. Oops.
VEGAN RED WINE GRAVY
The inspiration for this recipe came from a meal my husband and I had back in 2008 in New York city at a steak house. I don’t remember the meat that much, but I sure as heck remember the red wine gravy. I could not get over how rich and flavorful it was. It was absolutely incredible and I still remember that night very clearly. I finally got around to recreating it, haha. The original didn’t have any thyme in it I don’t believe, but that is my own twist and I think it really completes the gravy. It gives a wonderful depth of flavor and is very aromatic. You cook the whole sprigs in the gravy and it really infuses it with flavor.
This Cabernet Sauvignon by CalNaturale is unique, as they are the first apparently to offer eco-friendly containers instead of glass. All of their wine is also made using organic grapes and it is also a vegan wine. Believe it or not, a lot of wines are not vegan, as they are made using some animal products during the filtering process. To be sure I was posting a vegan wine for my readers, I did my research. I was thrilled to find this brand and even better, at my local HEB grocery store! I believe some Whole Foods also carries them. This is great news because instead of having to buy a whole bottle for the recipe, I could just buy one little box, which was less than $6. Totally cost-effective too. And NO, this is not a sponsored post.
MORE VEGAN SIDE DISHES
- Vegan Oil-free Zucchini Fritters
- Best Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Skillet BBQ Baked Beans
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Thyme Cabernet Gravy
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a large white/yellow onion finely chopped (you will need about a cup)
- 3 extra large cloves of garlic minced (you will need 1 packed tablespoon of minced garlic)
- 2 cups 480g LOW sodium veggie broth, separated (I use Pacific brand)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper this gives a bit of kick which I think is perfect, but if you are sensitive, use a little less
- 3 tablespoons brown rice flour OR regular all-purpose flour
- 2 long sprigs of fresh thyme use 4 if they are short sprigs
- 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast per preference
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon Cabernet Sauvignon or use another similar full-bodied red wine
Note
- Since this is a red wine gravy this of course will have a red wine flavor to it. Keep in mind that different red wines will yield different flavors and colors...some more brown, some more purple hue, but the taste should still be amazing! I recommend CalNaturale for flavor. If you cannot find it, make sure to pick a good quality one with good flavor, as this is what your gravy will taste like! It is added early in the cooking, so the alcohol burns off and the flavor is much more mild towards the end. I found it to be absolute perfection. However, if you hate red wine, you can try subbing half of the wine amount with apple juice or more broth, just keep in mind, the flavor will be more of a basic gravy. If you do that, I would increase the nutritional yeast by 1 tablespoon for flavor)
Instructions
- It’s best to have all of your ingredients measured out and ready to go, so as the sauce is cooking, it is very easy to quickly add the ingredients, as you don’t want to be stopping to measure during.
- Add your onion, garlic, ONLY 1 cup of the broth, salt and pepper to a small pot and stir it well. Bring to a boil and once boiling, turn the heat down to between medium and low and put a lid on. Let it cook for 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times during along the bottom and sides. After 10 minutes, it should have greatly reduced by about half, with some broth still remaining. I literally set my timer for 10 mins.
- Very slowly add the brown rice flour to the pot while whisking at the same time, so it blends in easily and doesn’t clump. It will start to thicken immediately.
- Add your remaining 1 cup of broth, cabernet, nutritional yeast and sprigs of fresh thyme and stir. You will be adding the sprigs whole, as the herbs will fall off on their own as it cooks. Bring the gravy back to a boil and once boiling, turn to the lowest heat setting and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes until it has thickened up nicely. Check on it a few times during, stirring the sides and bottom. I cooked mine for exactly 20 minutes. If you want it a bit thicker in the end, just cook it a little longer or very slowly whisk in another tablespoon of flour. Rice flour is much easier to work with than regular flour and blends in well when whisked in slowly.
- Now remove from heat and pull out the sticks from the thyme and discard. Using a hand immersion blender, VERY carefully blend it up to a smooth consistency. Just pulse it a few times going around the pan. Be very careful to watch for spatter. If you don’t have an immersion blender, just add it to a food processor to blend up, but do not overblend or use a blender, as it will turn into soup and be runny! Serve over my Fluffy Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes immediately!
Notes
This is my favorite gravy!
Best vegan gravy I’ve ever made and tried!
This is the best home made gravy ever. It’s quick and easy to make and the taste is wonderful. I didn’t have fresh thyme so I substituted 1/4 tsp of dried. I recently did a 10 day spuds only challenge and used this gravy to get me through the 10 days. I make it often. Thank you so much.
I’m so happy to hear this Paula, thank you so much!
This looks amazing! I’m wondering—would this work over the lentil meatloaf in place of the BBQ sauce? Trying to think of alternatives to the BBQ and I feel like the two would pair well together
I’m really not sure. The loaf is made with the idea of bbq sauce as the base and on top. Not sure how that would work texturally putting the gravy inside and on top since it cooks so long. The texture and ingredients and flavor are so different, just not sure!
Thank you, I will definitely stick to the BBQ sauce then!
Another question about the gravy however, can arrowroot flour or a white rice flour be substituted for the brown rice/all-purpose flour?
I think white rice flour would make it too thick. I’ve never tried arrowroot in gravy. I’m not a fan of it typically of how gooey it makes things. Do you have cornstarch? That would be better I think. Try half the amount since it thickens more than flour
I do have cornstarch, but I will try to stick to what the recipe calls for assuming I can find it all before thanksgiving. I was just trying to see if the ingredients from some of your other recipes I’m making could be used in place of others, but I would rather make them how you advise then! I’m hosting a completely vegan thanksgiving and your recipes are saving my life! I’ll be sure to post/tag them and let you know how they come out!!
Is there anything that can replace the nutritional yeast in this recipe?
I’m becoming a serious fan of yours. Literally, every recipe of yours that I make is a 10/10 showstopper. This gravy is also amazing. I don’t understand how this gravy could taste THIS good without anything ‘bad’ in it. It’s seriously to die for. And I even used somewhat cheap Cabernet wine, too. I highly recommend. I appreciate your specifics about instructions. I always know as long as I follow the recipe it will turn out great and it always does.
Suzanne, this is the sweetest feedback, thank you so much for making the gravy! I’m really happy to hear how much you are enjoying my recipes!!
I am new to nutritional yeast and don’t know the pros and cons. What does this do for the flavor or texture of this gravy?
This gravy sounds so amazing from the complements. I haven’t made it yet. My husband loves gravy and mashed potatoes and Cabernet Sauvignon but he doesn’t like thyme (and I’m not wild about thyme either). I saw one post that said they used rosemary by accident. Do you have any other recommendations for a substitute for the thyme if that’s not an herb you particularly care for?
Hi Sharon! If you love rosemary, I think that would be lovely here, but use less, since it is quite strong 🙂
Thank you for the vegan thyme cabernet gravy! I absolutely needed a dark gravy for the vegan “shepherd’s pie” I was making, and yours was the only one that fit, and that sounded like it would enhance rather than weaken the flavors! I’m very grateful. It turned out delicious. In my recipe, I linked to your gravy.
https://breakingallthedemograpicrules.wordpress.com/2019/01/04/my-vegan-shepherds-pie/
Haven’t done much of this, but it was fun devising it and figuring out how to make it good. Thank you for being such an important addition to the success of this dish!
Gigi
Thank you so much Gisele, so happy to hear you enjoyed the gravy so much!
Sorry….one more question. How many cups does this make approximately? Anything with wine is great in my book.
It yields around 1 cup 🙂
Can we use a different flour other than rice flour? I am not gluten intolerant. How about chickpea flour or regular flour or whole wheat flour? Love your recipes. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, yes, you can definitely use regular all-purpose flour 🙂
This gravy is awesome! I accidentally used rosemary instead of thyme and it was still fantastic!! Even my super picky roommate loved it and he eats like a 5 year old. Very easy to make, I can`t wait to try it again with the thyme. I ended up not blending it but I think I will next time. Thank you so very much for posting this!!
SO happy you and your roommate loved this gravy Charlie! Thank you so much for the awesome review!
I know I already reviewed this, but seriously, I don’t want folks to wait until TG to make this. MAKE THIS NOW!
The last 2 times I’ve done the gravy, I’ve used red wine (since they sell it in little cans here) and it still is delicious, perhaps not as “sharp” as the cabernet. And, I’ve added seitan chunks when the gravy is completed. Baked little yukon potatoes, smashed them, drizzled them with olive oil, fresh thyme (since I had some left from the gravy), garlic/salt/pepper, re-baked them for about 25 minutes…. poured the seitan thyme gravy over them and bam, the ultimate in comfort food. Seriously, it doesn’t get any better than this!
Sorry for a repeat review but this recipe is soooooooo good, I had to add another .02. 🙂
Thanks Brandi!
Brandi,
We love your gravy so much, I made a quadruple batch and canned it (minus the rice flour, easy enough to whisk in while reheating). Now it’s super easy to toss one in my bag when I go to the gym. Kidding. I don’t go to the gym. But I could drink one on the go, it’s sooooo good!!
Seriously though, even though this recipe comes together easily, I’m looking forward to just reheating when camping, at family gatherings and heck, just for an addition to weeknight dinners. Thank you for another life changing recipe ?
-Yvonne
SO awesome to hear Yvonne! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback, this is my favorite gravy recipe ever, so glad you love it too!
The search was over before it began! Well, I did try two other gravy recipes a couple of mnths ago whe I was new to a vegan, no oil, no nuts diet. I wasn’t very well and had a poor appetite at that time. Because of that I couldn’t blame the recipes even though they seemed rather mediocre.
Never having eaten a lot of gravy to begin with, I wasn’t really gung ho to find a good gravy recipe. But find it I did!!! It is SO, SO good.
I didn’t have fresh thyme at at 8 PM on Suday night I wasn’t going to go looking for any. Used some dried instead (but not as much as you suggested to another reader). I thought I had brown rice flour but only had white, but had a GF mix where brown rice flower was the first ingredient listed.
Fortunately I had all the other ingredients on hand and doubt that the two small adaptations I had to make did it any harm. It was certainly as good as or better than any gravy I’ve ever had.
Thank you for all your hard work and such reliable and wonderful recipes!
I’m trying to rate this five stars, but apparently only four are registering.
Hi Carol! Oh wow, I’m so happy to hear you loved this gravy so much! And the fact it is better than any gravy you’ve had is so exciting to hear! Thank you for telling me 5 stars, sometimes those weird rating systems don’t let you hit all stars, but I know that you meant that, so no worries, thank you so much for the feedback!
I don’ t have access to nutritional yeast. Any suggestions on a substitute?
Hi Kelsey, I would just leave it out and try adding 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard. That will give a little bit of similar flavor and depth. The nutritional yeast gives a lot of flavor, so try those subs and it will help. Please come back and let me know how it turned out and star rate it if you can. I haven’t tried those subs personally, but think it should work good. You may need another 1/2 tablespoon of brown rice flour though to help thicken it up, since the nutritional yeast helps slightly to thicken it too. Thank you!
I made this gravy over Thanksgiving and let me tell you that this gravy is absolutely crave-able!! I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I seriously think I have an addiction. I may have to make some more this week. Thanks so much for such a great recipe, Brandi!!
Wonderful Lisa! I’m so happy to hear that and I 100% agree with you, it’s my favorite gravy ever and I swear, I just want to drink it, haha! I love how it’s been such a hit with readers, thank you for the feedback!
Could this be made in advance and then heated up at dinner time? I’d love to include it in my Thanksgiving menu, but have so much last-minute cooking to do, it would be great if I could prep it ahead and just simmer it to warm it up.
Oh Stephanie, I am so sorry I missed this comment! I feel terrible! I get so many that sometimes I miss one. I truly apologize and hope you were able to make it work and yes, I make it and reheat it with no problem. You just want to whisk it really well and gently reheat it on low.
My intention was to make this recipe about a month ago, but got side tracked. Yesterday my son asked if I could make him a healthy brown gravy so i immediately went to this recipe. It’s has so many depth of flavors and my son really liked it too. He ate it over a baked potato and asked for more gravy. Thanks Brandi for this very flavorful and bold and yummy gravy. I will definately make it often.
Oh I’m so happy to hear both you and your son loved it Estee! Thank you so much for the feedback! It is by far my favorite gravy. I love the depth it has as well!
The hardest part of this recipe was picking a wine, as I have no clue about which brand is best, and could not find the one you suggested. I had no idea there were a billion different cabernet sauvignons!
The gravy…. the gravy. Best I’ve ever made. It reminded me a little of a Happy Herbivore one I made last Thanksgiving, but I think the wine pushed it into a whole other stratosphere of gravydom. It absolutely tasted like something from a very expensive restaurant.
I added the black pepper, as I love a kick, and also added an extra tablespoon of rice flour in the end to make it thicker. I’ve never used brown rice flour before, but it was easy peasy to whisk in and did the job perfectly. No flour lumps or flour taste.
The gravy was a delightful pool of yum in the middle of those fluffy mashed potatoes. 🙂 A perfect dinner for me and my husband. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe; I will definitely be doubling this for TG next fall.
Caroline, thank you so much for this awesome feedback! I agree, that the cabernet does a magical thing here for gravy taking the traditional “good” gravy to amazing. The first time I made it (while testing the recipe) I nearly fainted from how amazing it was, haha! I wasn’t kidding in my post when I said I just wanted to drink it! I love your word “gravydom”, awesome! Thanks again!