Enjoy a comforting meal by pouring this creamy and hearty Dairy-Free Mushroom Sauce over your favorite bowl of mashed potatoes or cauliflower.
Did you know that gravy and cream sauces are super easy to make dairy-free!? And thankfully, today's recipe for dairy-free mushroom sauce is delicious and so easy to make. We love to serve this mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower, over some flaky vegan biscuits, or as a side-dish during the holidays!
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- This dairy-free mushroom sauce only requires 8 ingredients, many of which you probably already have on hand.
- Gravy and cream sauces always feel so fancy and time-consuming to me, but this mushroom sauce takes 25 minutes to make from start to finish. Once you realize how quick and easy it is to make, you'll be making it on repeat.
- I especially love to make this mushroom sauce during the holidays. No one knows it's vegan!
- Since this mushroom sauce is dairy-free, it's the perfect recipe for anyone with a dairy allergy.
Ingredients
- Olive Oil - I love the flavor of olive oil and always have it on hand, so it's my go-to fat source for this recipe.
- Mushrooms - You can really use whichever mushrooms you like best. My favorite mushrooms to use in this dairy-free mushroom sauce are baby portobellos, brown or white mushrooms. You can also use a mix of a few different mushrooms.
- Flour - Any kind of wheat flour should work. I usually use all-purpose flour.
- Non-Dairy Milk - The most important thing is that your non-dairy milk is unsweetened and unflavored. My favorite milk to use in this mushroom sauce is unsweetened soy milk or homemade unsweetened almond milk.
- Thyme - I love thyme in this recipe. You could probably use another Italian herb or mixed Italian herbs if you prefer.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Dairy-Free Mushroom Sauce
Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion and sauté in the olive oil until soft.
Step 2: Add in the sliced mushrooms and sauté for about another 5 minutes or so until the mushrooms soften.
Step 3: Sprinkle the flour over the onion and mushrooms and continue to cook and stir for about 3 minutes.
Step 4: Stir in one cup of soy milk until smooth. Allow the gravy to thicken and then stir in the remaining soy milk. Season with salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
Step 5: Reduce the heat to medium low and allow everything to simmer until thickened to your desire, about 10 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Whenever I'm cooking with dried herbs, I like to rub them between my palms before sprinkling them into the dish. This helps to bring out their flavors a little more.
- If the gravy seems too thick, add in some boiling or tap water to thin it out. If it's too thin, allow it to cook a little while longer until it reduces.
Recipe FAQs
Gravy pairs well with so many things! Some of my favorite foods to serve with gravy are mashed potatoes/cauliflower, steamed or roasted veggies, breaded vegan protein sources, tofu or cauliflower "steaks", vegan biscuits, vegan meatloaf, fries and rice.
Making vegan gravy is just like making regular gravy, except you'll need to use a dairy-free fat source and non-dairy milk. My favorite fats to use are vegan butter or olive oil and then for non-dairy milk I love to use unsweetened and unflavored soy milk.
Simple white button mushrooms are always a winner in gravy. Or for a more intense flavor, use Swiss brown or cremini mushrooms. However, there are no rules! Use whichever mushrooms you like best or have on hand!
As gravy cools, it thickens and develops a "skin" on the top. Don't worry, simply thin it out with some more liquid or water and whisk the skin back into the gravy as you reheat it. It'll be just as good as when you made it fresh, so definitely hang onto those leftovers!
More Dairy-Free Vegan Sauces
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
📖 Recipe
Simple Dairy Free Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ onion chopped
- 10 ounce sliced mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 ½ cups soy milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- dried thyme
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion and sauté in the olive oil until soft.
- Add in the sliced mushrooms and sauté for about another 5 minutes or so until the mushrooms soften.
- Sprinkle the flour over the onion and mushrooms and continue to cook and stir for about 3 minutes.
- Stir in one cup of soy milk until smooth. Allow the gravy to thicken and then stir in the remaining soy milk and season with salt, pepper, and dried thyme.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and allow everything to simmer until thickened to your desire, about 10 minutes.
- Serve warm over mashed potatoes or cauliflower
Marie says
Made this mushroom gravy to top haricot verts. We loved it! Plan to serve it for Thanksgiving. I added a little garlic and stirred in a teaspoon or two of ghee to add a little richness. I can see it being used in so many ways!
Has anyone tried freezing it? Wondering if the texture would change.
Faith VanderMolen says
Sounds amazing Marie! Thanks for sharing!
Nafisa says
I made this sauce with some minor changes (chickpea flour to make it gluten free and almond milk to be soy free). I had it with some gluten free pasta and it was nice and creamy, and filling! Easy, quick recipe with simple, "on hand" ingredients. Thanks for posting it.
Faith says
Hi Nafisa! I'm so glad this recipe worked out for you. And that's a great suggestion to use chickpea flour for a gluten-free version. Thanks so much for sharing!
Liv @ Healthy Liv says
This looks like the coziest healthy comfort food ever! I honestly had no idea you were serving it over mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes, either- amazing!
Faith says
Thanks Liv! Yeah, it was so good, except I put a liiiiitle too much raw garlic in the mashed cauliflower. Spicy!!
Angela says
We loved it. We do whole food plant based. I used whole wheat flour instead of white and sautéed the onion and mushrooms in veggie stock. Loved it, thanks for the idea. Super easy to make.
Faith says
So glad to hear that Angela!! And I'll definitely try it your way next time!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit says
Easy, peasy, and I just want to drink it! Or with those big chunks of mushroom I guess it would be more appropriate to use a spoon, but either way gimme all the gravy! I adore mushroom gravy <3 Mashed potatoes have always been my favorite savory food, and nothing dresses them up better than mushroom gravy!
Faith says
Haha no judgement here if drinking took place:) Glad to hear you're a fellow mashed potato lover!
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
This summer when we are out of the city on the weekends and have a grill, I want to try grilling cauliflower "steaks" and this gravy looks perfect, I love a cauliflower and mushroom combination!
Faith says
Yeah, this would be perfect with cauliflower steaks. And I'm glad you mentioned cauliflower steaks cause I want to try them!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
Haha, girl, do NOT worry about wrinkles! You are absolutely young and beautiful 😉 (Just wear sunscreen!!!)
And this gravy sounds delish! So creamy and flavorful!
Faith says
Yeah, I'm all about the sunscreen!! Thanks Rebecca:)