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Rich, flavorful velouté sauce is a five-minute French “mother sauce” recipe made from roux (butter cooked with flour) and chicken stock. It’s basically gravy without drippings, and it’s a great recipe to have up your sleeve for serving with things like roast chicken, roast turkey, or even pot roast!
I’ve been making chicken gravy without pan drippings for years.
This is for two reasons.
Firstly, I never liked having to wait for a chicken or turkey to be done roasting just so I could make the gravy.
And secondly, adding the pan drippings from a roast just always seemed like way too much grease.
Now, I know the burning question in your head. How on earth could a pan gravy made without drippings be as flavorful as regular gravy?
The real answer to that is if you use an amazing chicken stock, the result will be an incredible gravy. Greasy drippings or not.
And then the other day I was reading an article on the five French “mother sauces” (essentially, sauces that are used to make other sauces). (Yes, nerd alert, lol! This is what I do for fun.) It dawned on me that velouté sauce is nothing more than pan gravy without drippings!
Cue the cartoon with the lightbulb popping on over the person’s head.
Velouté sauce is a rich, velvety sauce made from blond roux and a light colored stock, such as chicken stock, fish stock, or veal stock.
A roux is simply butter cooked with flour that acts as a thickener for stock. This is why it’s important to use a very flavorful stock!
Try this recipe next time you need a quick gravy. It’s been my go-to Thanksgiving gravy for years!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Efficient – There’s no need to wait for the chicken or the turkey to finish roasting so you can make the gravy!
- Minimal ingredients – You only need five minutes to whip up this gravy. It’s probably the quickest and easiest recipe you’ll make on Thanksgiving.
- Delicious – No one who tastes it will guess this gravy was made with no drippings! Especially if you use a really good, flavorful chicken stock.
- Versatile – You aren’t limited to using this sauce on chicken or turkey. You can use veal stock (or beef stock) instead of chicken stock and serve this on pot roast, roast beef, beef sandwiches, etc.
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter – For richness. In this recipe, we cooked the butter and flour to make a roux, which thickens the savory sauce.
- All-purpose flour – Acts as a thickener.
- Chicken stock – Use a really flavorful stock for the best gravy.
- Onion powder and garlic powder – Adds savory depth of flavor. If you have a well-stocked pantry and an adventurous spirit, feel free to add a splash of Worcestershire sauce as well.
- Salt and black pepper – To season the gravy so it isn’t bland.
- Poultry seasoning – This blend typically contains sage and thyme as the strongest flavors, but also frequently has marjoram, rosemary, onion, celery seed, nutmeg, and/or black pepper. Just a little bit of poultry seasoning goes a long way!
Step-by-Step Instructions
How to Make Roux
- Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Once melted, add the flour.
- Whisk to combine.
- Cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.
How to Make Velouté Sauce
- Add the chicken stock.
- Whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning.
- Bring up to a boil, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat.
Storage Tips
Store this sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Velouté with Beef Stock
Traditionally, this French mother sauce is made with a lighter colored stock, such as chicken, fish, or veal. However, if you want to make a quick and easy gravy for beef, you can use beef stock instead of chicken stock. If you do, omit the poultry seasoning and add 1 sprig of fresh rosemary instead (remove it before serving).
My Best Tips For This 5-Minute Velouté Sauce Recipe
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes just over 1 cup of gravy. It serves 4 people generously, with a little over 1/4 cup per serving. If you’re feeding a bigger crew, adjust the recipe accordingly (it’s easy to double or even triple!).
- Serving and Reheating Tip: Keep the gravy in the saucepan so you can easily reheat it right before serving if necessary. To reheat the gravy, warm it over low heat, whisking occasionally. Add a splash of chicken stock to thin it out if necessary.
- Gluten Free Gravy Option: For gluten free gravy, omit the all-purpose flour and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons of cold water along with the chicken stock.
What to Serve with Velouté Sauce (Gravy Without Drippings)
- Roast chicken – The classic main course that pairs perfectly with velouté sauce.
- Pot roast – You can use veal or beef stock instead of chicken stock to make an easy gravy for pot roast.
- Roast turkey – Like this Thanksgiving sheet pan dinner.
- Mashed potatoes – Because some people like butter, but other people like gravy on their mashed potatoes!
- Cornbread stuffing (aka dressing) – If you enjoy gravy on your stuffing.
- Fluffy drop biscuits – For the biscuits and gravy fans.
Frequently Asked Questions
At its core, this savory sauce is essentially a three-ingredient gravy with butter, flour, and stock. We briefly cook equal parts butter and flour to make a blonde roux, which thickens the stock. You can swap out the kind of stock you use based on what you’re serving this sauce with (e.g., use chicken stock if you’re serving roast chicken). And of course, feel free to add seasonings, spices, and herbs if you like.
Chicken stock is richer and more flavorful than broth, so it typically makes a better gravy (or velouté).
Yes! Adding a splash of cream to velouté makes it taste richer and lends a creamier mouthfeel. It also transforms this sauce into sauce suprême.
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5-Minute Velouté Sauce Recipe: How to Make Pan Gravy without Drippings
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups chicken stock at room temperature or warmed
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon poultry seasoning
Instructions
- Make the roux. Heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook for 30 seconds, whisking constantly.
- Add the liquid and seasonings. Whisk in the chicken stock, and then whisk in the onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and poultry seasoning. Bring up to a boil, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat. Serve.
Notes
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes just over 1 cup of gravy. It serves 4 people generously, with a little over 1/4 cup per serving.
- Serving and Reheating Tip: Keep the gravy in the saucepan so you can easily reheat it right before serving if necessary. To reheat the gravy, warm it over low heat, whisking occasionally. Add a splash of chicken stock to thin it out if necessary.
- Storage: Store this sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Velouté with Beef Stock: Traditionally, this French msauce is made with a lighter colored stock, such as chicken, fish, or veal. However, if you want to make a quick and easy gravy for beef, you can use beef stock instead of chicken stock. Also, omit the poultry seasoning and add 1 sprig of fresh rosemary instead (remove it before serving).
- Gluten Free Gravy Option: For gluten free gravy, omit the all-purpose flour and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons of cold water along with the chicken stock.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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