This vegan gravy is the best ever. It’s rich and flavorful, easy to make, hearty and satisfying and just perfect over mashed potatoes.

This vegan gravy has been making us very happy!
It’s super easy to make and absolutely divine poured on top of some vegan mashed potatoes! Add some vegan sausages and you have bangers and mash. Sooo good!
It’s a super simple recipe that is also ready in 30 minutes. And it’s so tasty that you are going to want to pour it over everything once you’ve tasted it.
It’s wonderfully rich and creamy and tastes just like gravy should. It has some lovely texture (from the onions in the gravy) and it’s hearty and really satisfying.
If you’re a fan of mushrooms though, then you should also try our vegan mushroom gravy. It’s every bit as good as this gravy, just with mushrooms!
How To Make Vegan Gravy
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- You start off by frying some onions and garlic in some vegan butter.
- Then you mix some flour with coconut milk into a paste, add more coconut milk and then pour that into the pot along with vegetable stock and soy sauce.
- Keep whisking until it boils and then keep boiling and stirring until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste and you’re done!
Recipe Q & A
Do I have to use coconut milk? No, not if you hate coconut or are allergic. You could substitute it for a different non-dairy milk like soy milk. We like this gravy with coconut milk as it’s deliciously rich which is what we were going for, but a different non-dairy milk can also work fine here.
Can I make it gluten-free? Yes you can make it gluten-free. You would just need to use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to replace the regular flour and make sure your soy sauce is also gluten-free, or switch it for tamari.
Why dark soy sauce? Dark soy sauce gives the gravy the really rich color here. You can use a light soy sauce if that’s what you have on hand, but the color will be much lighter as a result.
How To Serve This Gravy
This is wonderful served on a vegan nut roast, or vegan meatloaf. Of course it’s wonderful on vegan mashed potatoes or vegan cauliflower mashed potatoes. It’s also great with baked potato fries or vegan biscuits. Or just serve it with roasted vegetables.
Storing and Freezing
Leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated on the stove or in the microwave. If it gets too thick while reheating, then thin it out with a little added water.
You can also freeze some if you like, let it cool completely before freezing and then freeze in a freezer-safe container. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge when you’re ready for it and then reheat as usual.
More Vegan Comfort Food Recipes
- Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Chili
- Vegan Shepherds Pie
- Vegan Meatloaf
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Gravy
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Vegan Butter (56g)
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, finely chopped
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- 4 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Coconut Milk (240ml) Canned, Full Fat, Unsweetened
- 2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 cups Vegetable Stock (480ml)
- ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- Sea Salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the vegan butter to a saucepan and let it melt. Then add the chopped onions and garlic and fry in the butter until very soft and translucent.
- Mix the flour and a little of the coconut milk together and mix it into a paste. Then add the rest of the coconut milk to the paste and whisk it in so that the flour and coconut milk is well combined and free of lumps.
- Then add the flour and coconut milk mix to the saucepan along with the soy sauce and vegetable stock and whisk together.
- Bring to the boil, whisking constantly and then let it boil for a few minutes until it thickens. You don’t need it to get very thick, because you want it to be a nice pourable consistency.
- Add some black pepper and then sea salt to taste.
- Serve over mashed potatoes or over anything that needs a delicious rich gravy.
Video
Notes
- The gravy doesn’t taste like coconut at all, but if you hate coconut milk or have an allergy then you can make this with a different non-dairy milk such as soy milk or almond milk. It won’t be quite as rich, but it will still be very good.
- The dark soy sauce gives this gravy it’s beautiful color. However, you can use a regular soy sauce as well, but the color will be lighter.
- To make this gravy gluten-free you can try it with a gluten-free all purpose flour and a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari. I have not tested it this way but have made other sauces with gluten-free all purpose flour and it has worked perfectly.
- This recipe was first published in October 2018.
Absolutely LOVE this gravy!! We have it just about every single Sunday. And it makes enough to have leftovers for another meal during the week. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing Ami!
Hi. I am looking to make this gravy but it’s for 2 people. Can leftovers be refrigerated? And/or can I freeze it? Thank you in advance for your response.
Hi Chereene, yes leftovers keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove. You can also freeze it. Let it cool completely before freezing and then thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as usual.
This is awesome!! I made this several times since I found this recipe!! Love it!!
This gravy is delicious and loved by our entire family – vegans and non-vegans alike!
Fantastic! Thanks so much Michelle!
We made this just didn’t have dark soy, will be buying some now and will re try
Loved it tho!
Thanks
Thanks Amanda!
Hey! I want to make this today! But for the coconut , do you mean the canned stuff or the fridge aisle where they sell cartons of coconut milk for example the Silk brand ?
There is a huge difference between calorie a and fat content between the two so want to make sure I am using the right one
I noticed canned coconut milk and cream , when called for us important to achieve the creaminess it offers etc
But if I can sub for Silk Coconut milk in the milk aisle I will do that
Hi Amanda, we used the full fat unsweetened canned coconut milk.
I made this gravy tonight, and the only difference I made was that I used coconut almond milk because that’s what I had available. I used it in a Shepherds Pie where I replaced beef with Impossible meat. It was delicious! Thank you for a wonderful meal. 🙂
Awesome! Thanks so much Sandy!
Fabulous gravy!
Thank you! 🙂
Just made this gravy, it’s super tasty but I had to add more soy sauce to make it darker as mine came out beige even though I used the same ingredients. Still lovely though & will be making again
Super tasty! Very flavorful! I made it for Christmas Dinner! It was a delight when my dad asked for more along with the vegan stuffing I made. I also put it on mash potatoes. DELICIOUS! I will definitely make it again!
Fantastic! Thanks for the awesome review Deitra! 🙂
The carnivores in the family thought it was super delicious, no one noticed there was actually coconut milk in it! I was shocked! This will be my secret gravy recipe from now on.
My favourite food of my childhood, finally can eat it again because it’s vegan. I cook it with mashed potatoes and carrots as well as with nearly all kinds of veggies. Love it so much, thank you ????????????
Awesome Tina! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Wow, my family and I LOVED this gravy! I didn’t have soy sauce, so I had to use liquid aminos, and I just realized I used the wrong coconut milk (lite instead of full fat)…even with my missteps it was still delicious! Thank you!
Wonderful! So happy to hear that Rach. Thanks for the fantastic review. 🙂
Coconut milk: canned or carton?
Canned full fat unsweetened coconut milk. 🙂
I’ve been a grocery buyer for years and I’ve never heard of dark soy sauce, what is the brand name?
Hi Jean, if you just google it or do an Amazon search you’ll see the brands that are available to you.
I found it at Whole Foods $2 and some change! If you have one near you..