This is a really easy recipe for how to make gravy using just water. The secret is to use both chicken AND beef stock cubes for the best flavour and a nice deep brown colour. Takes 4 minutes flat, tastes like KFC gravy – but so much better. No pan drippings required.
Made a turkey and want a gravy? Use my Gravy for Turkey recipe!
Gravy
This gravy recipe tastes like what you get in those tubs of KFC Potato and Gravy. Those of you who abstain from all forms of fast food may not know what it tastes like. But all you need to know is that it’s everything that you’d expect from KFC – reliably tasty, well seasoned, can make anything delicious!
The secret ingredient that makes this gravy better is to use both chicken AND beef stock cubes (bouillon cubes).
What you need for gravy
Here’s all you need to make a really great gravy from scratch: chicken and beef stock cubes, butter and flour.
Chicken AND beef stock cubes (aka bouillon cubes) – for flavour and colour. Chicken is the base flavour, beef gives it oomph and gives it a nice deep brown colour rather than an unappetising pale brown. Using both also makes this gravy suitable to use for any protein – white meats (chicken, pork), red meats (beef, lamb, game), potato and vegetables. Can substitute with powder;
Hot water – to dissolve the cubes;
Flour – to thicken the gravy (gluten free cornflour/cornstarch sub in the recipe notes);
Onion or garlic powder – optional, for hint of extra flavour.
Why stock cubes instead of liquid stock/broth?
Great question! 🙂 Stock cubes and powder have a more intense flavour than liquid stock (broth), so they make a tastier gravy when you make gravy from scratch like in this recipe.
Liquid broth is more appropriate to use when you’re making gravy starting with pan drippings from roasts – because the pan drippings add extra flavour into the gravy.
How to make gravy in 4 minutes flat
Dissolve stock cubes or powder in boiling water;
Melt butter in saucepan and mix in flour;
Pour in stock water while whisking and cook 1.5 minutes until thickened. DONE!
PS The reason this is faster than most gravy recipes is because the water is already HOT and the flavour is already concentrated so there’s no need to cook down for flavour.
Now, douse everything and anything with it.
Oh, and here’s the photo that started it all – Fried Chicken. Upon spying this, there were many (many) (MANY!) requests for the potato and gravy recipe.
All the possibilities….!!!
Here’s some suggestions for dishes to serve with gravy. Some obvious ones, some not so obvious ones, all good!
Potato and gravy – KFC style! Dunk in Fried Chicken, warm bread rolls or bread (try this No Yeast Irish Soda Bread!), hot chips, wedges, serve on the side of sausages, as part of a Southern Dinner with BBQ Pulled Pork, any roast;
Roasts – any and all!
Rotisserie chicken dinner – make a meal out of a store bought roast chicken. Steam some veg, make some mash, douse everything with this gravy!
Steamed vegetables – guaranteed way to make bland, boring steamed veg completely scoff worthy;
Pan seared chops, steaks or anything – chicken, lamb, pork, beef! Sprinkle with salt and pepper, pan fry in butter or oil, douse with gravy;
Meatballs – Make these Beef meatballs or these Chicken Meatballs, skip the sauce and serve with this gravy instead;
Poured over an omelette;
Chicken Rolls – shred chicken, toss with gravy, pile generously onto hot rolls;
As a Sauce for any of these:
Use gravy as a sauce for these dishes
I need to stop. There’s too many possibilities!
But enough about my ideas. Tell me what YOU douse with gravy!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Gravy recipe (tastes like KFC – but a million times better!)
Ingredients
- 1 chicken stock cube / bouillon cube (sub 2 tsp powder) (Note 1)
- 1 beef stock cube / bouillon cube (sub 2 tsp powder) (Note 1)
- 2 1/4 cups (565ml) boiling water
- 60g/ 4 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 4 tbsp flour , plain / all purpose
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (ok to omit or sub garlic powder)
- 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
- Salt , if needed
Instructions
- Crumble cubes into boiling water, mix to dissolve.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add flour, onion powder and pepper. Mix into butter with a wooden spoon or whisk.
- While stirring, slowly pour in half the liquid. Once incorporated into the flour butter roux (it will thicken quickly), add remaining liquid and mix.
- Stir for 1.5 – 2 minutes until it thickens to a gravy consistency (it's quick as water is already hot). Taste, add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve over chops, steak, sausages, veggies, roast chicken, pork, beef, lamb. Pictured – KFC Potato and Gravy copycat!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Even at the vet, all he can think about is FOOD. Just like his owner 😂
PS Nothing major, just getting an old-man wart removed that had grown quite large and was bothering him. He was, of course, a total sook once he realised he was there for more than just pats and treats. Quivering and pressing up against me for protection!
Great gravy, thanks for the recipe Nagi! I used 1 Massel Beef Stock cube and 1tbsp soy and heaps of pepper. Hooray for my new go to recipe for gravy!
Perfect!!
This is the best gravy I made so far! I added some diced onions and mushrooms and it was so good!
Made the chicken version last night to have with leftover turkey and stuffing that’s been hanging out in the freezer.
It was surprisingly delicious. My husband and son were licking their plates.
Only modification is I bumped up the onion powder to 1 tsp and pepper to 1/2 tsp. Added 1/4 tsp dried Thyme as well.
This is the best gravy I have ever had! I follow the recipe exactly as written, and it is my go-to gravy.
Delicious! Mine was a bit paler but tasted great. I used it for Poutine sauce on my fresh french fries and cheese curds. Amazing! Yes, I live in Canada 🙂
Hi Nagi! I love your website, your recipes, and Dozer!! I’m assuming I can use Better Than Bouillon in this instead of bouillon cubes. Right? I so look forward to your posts!!!
This was super good! I did the soy sauce trick since I only had chicken cubes and it was super good!!
Made this, so flippin’ simple and bloody marvellous for a quick gravy. I always tell you when your stuff is good. Trying to find something that isn’t so I can give an honest opinion on that ha ha. This would be ace with pork belly and the cracklin’. ( John M in the UK)
I’m not one that typically comments online but I really want to give Nagi her props. I thought I was finished preparing everything for family dinner today when I realized I forgot about the gravy. I jumped online for a recipe that I could pull together real fast. I glanced this over and saw that I had all of the ingredients on hand. Not only was this quick, it was delicious! Everyone loved it.
A few people mentioned in the comments here that theirs turned out pale. Mine did too so I just added a little browning sauce. Turned out great.
Thank you Nagi for another great go-to recipe.
Nagi
Where can I buy the bullion OXO ?
Love it! Turned out a bit pale but would be gorgeous on a roast chook.
Mine too is very pale. I didn’t want to add too much soy sauce and have no other darkening agent; I had no time for mixing a darker roux. It still tastes great though!
It was perfectly delicious, came out perfect. I totally missed the add water step but quickly corrected myself. Such an easy and very comforting dinner. Just a note perhaps all the people commenting on the rice being undercooked is missing adding the right amount of water and chicken stock. The liquid is the key to this hold dish and making sure it’s tightly covered as well. Thank you for a delicious meal, my husband and very picky son loved it.
*whole dish
I never comment on anything online, but oh my god this gravy. Literally tastes just like KFC – but WAY better. Amazing, thank you!
Can you use only beef cubes instead of both chicken and beef. Please I need a answer today. Thank you very much
Hi Becky – the flavour will be different. It’s the mix of chicken (for flavour) and beef (for colour) that makes this taste so good. It will be darker with a different flavour using all beef cubes. N x
Thank you for getting back to me. My daughter is gluten free so we don’t have any gluten free chicken cubes So that’s why we wanted to know if we could use just beef.
Can you make this gravy with just the beef? I don’t have chicken and was wondering if it would still work.
My grandmother taught me to make gravy this way. It’s delicious! If you brown the flour and butter (not too dark) you’ll come out with a better color at the end. Thanks, Nagi!
The best, better than the original
Oh wow – I had a pound of ground beef sitting around, and all I really wanted to do was make salisbury steak. I’ve thought of it for months, but I just never had gravy mix in the house, and figured, “Eh, I guess I just have to buy it at some point.”
Searched and this recipe came up – amazing. Thank you so much for putting this up!
Wow I followed this every single step oh my word ! This is soooo good tasted just like the actually gravy ! Thanks so much for sharing this one is stored in my bookmarks !
I am so glad you both enjoyed it! N x