Paleo Gravy Recipe (Easy, Whole30, Grain Free) | 40 Aprons (2024)

FAQs

How to thicken sauce whole30? ›

How do I thicken the sauce? You can make an arrowroot slurry by whisking ½ cup All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce with 1 to 2 teaspoons of arrowroot powder. The sauce should thicken as soon as you bring it to a simmer. If you like a thicker sauce, add more arrowroot powder.

Use 1 tbsp Arrowroot Powder per cup of liquid, broth or sauce. First, mix 1 tbsp Arrowroot Powder and 3 tbsp water until it forms a slurry. Then, add it at the very end of cooking.

Using Arrowroot

Arrowroot does not require cooking to remove a raw taste and makes an excellent choice for sauces using eggs or other ingredients that should not be boiled since the mixture thickens below the boiling point. Gravy thickened with arrowroot does not hold well, however, and you cannot reheat it.

Arrowroot powder is an effective thickener and can be especially helpful in sauces and gravies.

Arrowroot powder is a starchy powder made from a ground up tuber plant. It is often used in Paleo, Whole30 and other grain free diets in place of cornstarch. Arrowroot powder can be used in soups and sauces as a thickener, or as a coating when frying things like chicken, fish or shrimp because it forms a crispy crust.

Arrowroot starches work well with pie fillings and sauces, adding a crystal clear, shimmering sheen and a silkier mouth feel. However, arrowroot does not thicken like cornstarch, so it should not be used in a pie that needs to be thick enough to slice (e.g., coconut cream pie).

Browning adds more flavor to the gravy and gets rid of the raw flour taste. You're basically making a roux. We find that a flour-based gravy holds up better and reheats better later, which is why we tend to prefer using flour over cornstarch to make gravy unless we have a guest who is eating gluten-free.

Use one tablespoon cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon cold water (aka a cornstarch slurry) for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water together, then pour into your sauce. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

Cornstarch and potato starch are the best options for gravy. Avoid arrowroot and tapioca starches because they can get "stringy" and look artificial in gravy. Cornstarch gravy is more translucent than flour based sauces. Potato starch gravy is more opaque than cornstarch, but less opaque than flour.

Arrowroot. This powder comes from rhizomes of the Marantaceae family of tubers. It's a great natural substitute for those needing a gluten-free gravy thickener. As with using cornstarch or flour to thicken gravy, make a slurry with your arrowroot powder by mixing 2 to 3 tablespoons with an equal amount of water.

What is the best ingredient to thicken gravy? ›

If your gravy is on the skimpy side, you can thicken it quickly with flour or cornstarch. But don't add your thickener directly to the gravy, which will create lumps. Instead, try stirring in three or four tablespoons of flour or cornstarch into a small amount of cold water until you have a smooth paste.

Another way to thicken gravy without flour is to roast vegetables like carrots, onions or shallots, celery, whole garlic and red bell peppers with the meat. Strain the juices and puree the vegetables and add it to the de-fatted meat juices, wine and some stock. Reduce the liquid to a thick gravy then strain and serve.

What is the gravy at KFC made of? The restaurant uses a simple combination of gravy powder, water, and – their secret ingredient – chicken crackling. This is a collection of the browned bits and pieces leftover from frying their world famous chicken.

To keep this flavorful, we add onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Finally, we whisk a compatible starch into the liquid mixture to thicken the soup. (We recommend arrowroot or potato starch for this. Tapioca flour will thicken the mixture, but will also give it a tacky texture that isn't ideal.)

Starchy vegetables—like potatoes, winter squash or celeriac—are excellent thickening agents, especially if they've been pureed. Simply roast or boil these vegetables and pop them into the food processor until smooth. Then, stir it into the sauce, and voila: It will instantly be thicker!

Use Flour and Water

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency.

Use one tablespoon cornstarch mixed with one tablespoon cold water (aka a cornstarch slurry) for each cup of medium-thick sauce. Thoroughly mix the cornstarch and water together, then pour into your sauce. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.