How Much Flour For Gravy

Everybody like hard gravy , but no one likes hard gravy recipes. This great blog post is here to solve that problem with a hard hitting guide on how much flour for gravy. The answer? All of it, we’re sorry to say. We got asked how much flour to put in gravy a lot and we didn’t think one answer would be right for everyone so we came up with a formula that should work. 

Thicker gravy = more flour; thinner gravy = less flour.

This is a pretty basic recipe, we’re not going to talk about every little nuance that you want to know about, but it does work. After years of making gravy this formula has become pretty standard for me. I find that thicker gravy needs more flour and thinner gravy needs less. The more flour in the gravy, the thicker it gets, and vice versa.

The following table shows you how much flour to add to your gravy if you want to make a certain consistency. The first column is what I consider the “thickness level” of the gravy. I think of this pretty loosely, but it’s just how thick or thin the soup feels in your mouth. From there you can decide how thick or thin your gravy is. Then we use the “strength of flour” column to tell you how much flour to add per quart of gravy.

Remember: thinner gravy = less flour, thicker gravy = more flour.

I personally find this table a little hard to read, so here’s another way of looking at it: the thickness level is a scale from 0 to 7, with 5 being right in the middle. The strength of flour is how much flour is equal to one teaspoon per quart (1:8). So if you want to make gravy that is “stout” you would use about a tablespoon and a half of flour per bottle of gravy.

One last thing, this assumes that you are making gravy with whole wheat flour. If you’re not so lucky you can adjust the amounts a bit by reducing the amount of flour in the table.

Cornstarch Versus Flour for Gravy

Cornstarch and flour are often used interchangeably, but they are very different. Flour is made from wheat and is a flour. Cornstarch is made from corn and is a starch. They both thicken food, but in different ways.

If you are new to making gravy then no doubt you have heard that one should use cornstarch in place of flour, because it will thicken the gravy without the lumps that using flour can cause.

How Much Flour For Gravy

Unfortunately, this is true and it’s wrong at the same time.

What do I mean by that? It’s just that cornstarch is different than flour and so it’s used for different things. If you pour cornstarch into water it will never get as thick as flour because the starch from corn is designed to be in solution with water, not to sit on top of the water like flour does. Cornstarch will get thicker than flour if you use too much but it won’t get as thick as flour.

The problem with this is that many people have fallen into the trap of using cornstarch in place of flour and they have been disappointed because the gravy never thickened up right. The reason was that they didn’t use enough cornstarch, not because it was less “efficient” at thickening than flour.

Can You Freeze Gravy?

Yes, you can freeze gravy (and I often do). To help reduce the risk of freezer burn and keep it looking fresher longer all you have to do is put it in a freezer safe container and then when you are ready to use it, let it thaw overnight in the fridge and warm it up on the stove or in the microwave. No need to thin it out with water though.

How Long Can Gravy Be Refrigerated?

You can store gravy in the refrigerator for about a week. You should make sure that you put it in an airtight container or it can turn a little bit.

Ingredients To make Gravy with

1. To make gravy with flour, start with a quart of soup.
2. Add your flour until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. (For a more “stout” gravy use less flour.)
3. Simmer the gravy, stirring constantly until thickened, about 8-10 minutes (more for thicker gravies). Be sure to stir around the edges of your pot to ensure that there are no flour clumps burning on the bottom of your pot.

5 from 5 votes Print How Much To Use Butter For Gravy Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 10 mins Total Time 30 mins How much butter to use in gravy. Course: main Cuisine: American Keyword: how much butter to use for gravy Servings : 6 Calories : 240 kcal Author : J. Kenji Lopez-Alt Ingredients 2 cups flour

Method

1. Start with a quart of soup.
2. Add your butter until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. (For a more “stout” gravy use less butter.)
3. Simmer the gravy, stirring constantly until thickened, about 8-10 minutes (more for thicker gravies). Be sure to stir around the edges of your pot to ensure that there are no butter clumps burning on the bottom of your pot.

To make gravy with flour, start with a quart of soup.

Add your flour until the gravy reaches your desired consistency. (For a more “stout” gravy use less flour.)

Simmer the gravy, stirring constantly until thickened, about 8-10 minutes (more for thicker gravies). Be sure to stir around the edges of your pot to ensure that there are no flour clumps burning on the bottom of your pot.

Recipe Notes Some people have told me that they add a tablespoon of flour and then they feel it is too thick. In this case, if you want to thicken the gravy more, just add more butter or flour. The amount to use changes based on how thick you like your gravy. And if you are not so lucky like me and don’t have access to real butter, then put in the oil instead 1 tablespoon butter will make a thicker gravy than one tablespoon of oil will, but again it all depends on the thickness you want.

Tips to Make Good Gravy

1. Don’t forget to stir!
2. If you are making gravy over rice, make sure that the rice is cooked enough before adding it to the gravy so that it doesn’t turn into a mushy mess when the gravy is done cooking.
3. Make sure that your onions are fine chopped, no peeling needed! This will help to prevent any splatter of hot oil and it’ll help keep your kitchen clean too! 🙂
4. If you have a gas stove, I find that using the back of my spoon works really well for getting all of the gravy from around the edges into the middle. If you don’t have a gas stove then use a wooden spoon or spatula to help push it around.
5. The more milk/cream you add to your gravy, the thinner it gets, which makes it harder to make it as thick as you’d like. So unless you need to thin out your gravy, try to keep the amount of milk/cream to a minimum.
6. Don’t forget to taste test and make sure that you season it well! I add salt, pepper and a touch of garlic powder to mine.

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