The encyclopaedia of gravy
How to make gravy without wheat flour — using cornflour, arrowroot or gluten-free blends — and which everyday gravy ingredients hide gluten.
Gravy is one of the easiest things to make gluten-free, and one of the easiest to get wrong by accident — because the gluten is rarely in the obvious place.
The hidden gluten¶
| Ingredient | Risk | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Plain flour | Obvious | Cornflour, arrowroot, GF blend |
| Stock cubes | Many contain wheat | Check the label; several major brands are GF |
| Gravy granules | Usually contain wheat | GF granules are widely sold |
| Worcestershire sauce | Contains barley malt vinegar | GF versions exist |
| Soy sauce | Contains wheat | Tamari is usually gluten-free |
| Beer or stout | Contains barley | GF beer, or use wine |
| Pan residue | If floured meat was browned in it | Use a clean pan |
Cornflour method (the reliable one)¶
Serves 4 · 8 minutes
- 500 ml stock, plus any pan juices
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 3 tbsp cold water
- Seasoning
- Bring the stock and juices to a simmer in a pan.
- In a cup, mix the cornflour with the cold water until completely smooth. This is a slurry. Never add dry cornflour to hot liquid — it seizes into lumps instantly.
- Pour the slurry into the simmering stock while whisking. It thickens within about 30 seconds.
- Simmer for no more than 2 minutes. Cornflour gravy thins again if boiled hard for long.
- Season and serve.
📌 Note
Cornflour gravy looks different: glossier, slightly translucent and a cleaner brown than flour gravy, which is opaque and matte. Neither is better — but if you want the traditional look, a gluten-free flour blend gets closer.
Gluten-free flour blend method¶
Use a plain GF blend exactly as you would wheat flour, in a roux — 30 g fat, 30 g blend, 500 ml stock. Two differences: cook it a minute longer, as GF blends taste raw for longer, and expect a slightly grainier finish, which straining fixes.
Arrowroot¶
Arrowroot thickens at a lower temperature, gives the glossiest finish of all, and does not go cloudy. It is more expensive and less forgiving of long simmering. Use it for a jus-style sauce rather than a big jug of Sunday gravy.
Cooking for a mixed table¶
Make the whole jug gluten-free. Nobody will notice, and it removes the possibility of the wrong jug reaching the wrong plate. If you must make two, use different coloured jugs and make the gluten-free one first, in a clean pan.