Better Than Bouillon gravy is beyond easy, smooth, and flavorful. It makes chicken, turkey, roasts, and mashed potatoes taste even better. Just 5 minutes with 3 simple ingredients (plus water).
We have no affiliation with this company. We just love the huge convenience and quality of this base. It is a great secret ingredient for making any kind of basic, easy gravy recipe taste better in just a few minutes.
When you cook a boneless pork roast with gravy (reverse sear) or a roast chicken breast with gravy, the natural oils that come out of the meat are used to give the gravy a rich flavor.
I like to use fresh ingredients as much as possible, but I also like easy and quick fixes as long as the quality and taste are good.
I’ve made hundreds of gravies in my long years of cooking. I’m a big fan. When I can’t make my own gravy from scratch, I like to use either Better Than Bouillon base or a concentrated, undiluted broth to make a tasty gravy.
Gravy is the perfect accompaniment to elevate roasted meats, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and other savory dishes. But making gravy from scratch can be messy and time-consuming, often requiring drippings from roasted meat along with a roux of fat and flour. A shortcut to easy, flavor-packed beef gravy is using Better Than Bouillon beef base.
Better Than Bouillon is a concentrated paste made from beef stock that is an ideal substitute for homemade broths and stocks With its rich, meaty flavor, beef base makes it simple to whip up beef gravy with a remarkably homemade taste in just minutes
Here is a step-by-step guide to making simple yet satisfying beef gravy using Better Than Bouillon as the flavor powerhouse:
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 2.5 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base
- 1⁄4 cup warm water
- 1⁄3 cup cornstarch
- 1⁄4 cup cold water
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- Optional: 1 cup sliced sautéed mushrooms
Instructions
Step 1: Make Beef Broth
In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups of warm water to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
In a small bowl, dissolve the Beef Base in 1⁄4 cup warm water, whisking until smooth.
Once the water is boiling, reduce heat to medium and pour in the dissolved Beef Base, whisking to combine. This creates a flavorful, beefy broth base for the gravy.
Step 2: Thicken the Broth
In another small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 1⁄4 cup cold water to make a slurry.
Slowly pour the cornstarch slurry into the hot broth, whisking constantly. Cook for 2 minutes, continuing to whisk, until the gravy thickens to your desired consistency.
The cornstarch slurry gently thickens the gravy without dulling the beefy flavor.
Step 3: Finish and Serve
Once thickened, season the gravy with ground white pepper. For extra flavor, add 1 cup of sliced sautéed mushrooms and heat through.
Serve the beef gravy hot, spooned over potatoes, biscuits, meatloaf, or your other favorite foods. Enjoy!
Tips for the Best Beef Gravy
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For a thinner gravy, reduce the amount of cornstarch. For thicker gravy, increase it.
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Add the cornstarch slurry slowly while whisking to prevent lumps.
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If the gravy is too thin, make another slurry and whisk in to reach the desired thickness.
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For extra beefy flavor, use 1 additional tablespoon of Better Than Bouillon.
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Sauté onions or shallots before making the broth for added aroma.
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Add a splash of wine, Worcestershire sauce, or A1 for depth of flavor.
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Mix in pan drippings from roasted beef for the ultimate homemade taste.
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For the smoothest gravy, strain through a fine mesh sieve after cooking.
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Keep warm in a double boiler or gravy boat when serving to avoid skin forming.
Uses for Beef Gravy
Beef gravy truly enhances any dish. Some delicious ways to use it include:
- Served over mashed potatoes, rice, or pasta
- Spooned on top of biscuits, bread, or rolls
- Poured over meatloaf, pot roast, or steak
- Served alongside roasted chicken or turkey
- Drizzled on top of breakfast dishes like eggs, hashbrowns, or grits
- Used in dishes like shepherd’s pie or chicken fried steak
- Thinned into an au jus dipping sauce for French dip sandwiches
- Added to stews, chilis, casseroles, and soups for extra flavor
Storing and Freezing Leftover Gravy
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Refrigerate beef gravy for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Microwave to reheat.
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Freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in fridge before reheating.
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To freeze, transfer hot gravy to freezer bags or containers in portion sizes. Let cool completely before freezing.
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To prevent a skin from forming, place plastic wrap directly on surface of gravy before sealing in an airtight container.
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For longer shelf life, pack hot gravy in canning jars and process in a water bath canner according to USDA guidelines.
Better Than Bouillon beef base lets you skip the hassle of drippings and rouxs for an almost-instant beef gravy. Just a few tablespoons of this flavor-packed paste dissolved in hot water creates broth strong enough to build a savory, satisfying gravy. Follow the easy steps in this guide for your new secret to rich, homemade beef gravy for pouring, drizzling, and dunking.
Why Better Than Bouillon base is good
As I said, we have no affiliation with the company. We are just very impressed with the quality and flavor of their bouillon base products.
The base has a paste-like consistency. To make a broth, just add water. For better than bouillon gravy, see the recipe below. Here’s what I like about the base:
- When compared to bouillon cubes and powder, it has less sodium per serving.
- Real foods like chicken, beef, and vegetables are used to make it, which adds flavor and cuts down on the need for extra salt.
- You can change how rich and deep the gravy is by adding more or less of the base.
- It comes in a lot of different flavors, like low-salt, roasted vegetable, chicken, beef, and more (see food list below).
- It also makes a tasty broth (chicken broth, beef broth, etc.). )—so you don’t have to carry heavy boxes or cans
3 reasons to make gravy without drippings
- Whatever you’re cooking produces no drippings (or not enough).
- You don’t eat meat but you love gravy on fries or mashed potatoes.
- You have a lot of other things to do, so you don’t want to make your gravy at the last minute. Instead, make it ahead of time.
If you’d rather not use oil or butter, you can use chicken drippings (or any other fat drippings) instead in this gravy recipe.
Beef Broth Brown Gravy
FAQ
How do you use better than gravy?
How much better than bouillon should I use?
How do you make better than bouillon base gravy?
In a large saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add whichever Better Than Bouillon Base you want to the water and whisk to combine. Reduce heat to medium. In a small bowl, add cornstarch and cold water, whisk to combine. Slowly add starch slurry to saucepan, cook and stir until gravy thickens, about 2 minutes.
How do you make better than bouillon base?
Add whichever Better Than Bouillon Base you want to the water and whisk to combine. Reduce heat to medium. In a small bowl, add cornstarch and cold water, whisk to combine. Slowly add starch slurry to saucepan, cook and stir until gravy thickens, about 2 minutes. Pepper to taste and serve immediately over your favorite dishes.
How do you make beef bouillon gravy?
Add the broth, garlic and onion powder, and beef bouillon to a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until it starts to boil. In a separate bowl, whisk the cold water and cornstarch together to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the boiling beef broth, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to stir the gravy until it thickens.
How do you thicken beef bouillon gravy?
Beef bouillon base – An optional ingredient but one that will give the gravy a boost of well-seasoned flavor. Water and cornstarch – When mixed together, these two will help thicken the gravy. Add the broth, garlic and onion powder, and beef bouillon to a saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until it starts to boil.