Vegan Mushroom Sausage Gravy WFPB Gluten-Free Oil-Free

This hearty whole food plant-based mushroom sausage gravy has all the flavor you need for special occasions without any of the unhealthy trappings. TVP gives it a meaty texture while red miso provides a dark color and satisfying umami. Perfect over mashed potatoes or biscuits.

WHY I LOVE IT

The flavor of this gravy encapsulates everything I love about wholesome North American vegan cuisine. It has hippie vibes while taking a deferential bow in the direction of tradition. I can’t think of a better pairing for mashed or roasted potatoes. It’s also amazing on my WFPB spelt biscuits. Using a blender to combine the thickener with other ingredients is a useful shortcut. Combined with fragrant herbs, TVP is a nourishing and convenient sausage substitute.

OAT FLOUR FOR THICKENING GRAVY

There’s a lot to love about thickening gravy with oat flour. The taste is amazing, it’s gluten free, wholegrain and bestows a smooth creamy texture. I prefer to use store-bought oat flour for this gravy rather than grinding my own because commercial oat flour is very finely ground. If you make it yourself, be patient and try to get it as fine as possible. The only downside to using oat flour is that if you’re planning to make this gravy ahead of time and keep it in the fridge, it will lose its thickness in the cooling process. To get the thickness back you need to reheat it slowly, whisking constantly over a stove. Microwaving is a bad idea because that’ll make it thinner still. Even after reheating it slowly and carefully over a stove, you may need to add an additional thickener like an arrowroot or cornstarch slurry to get the thickness back. If you’re not gluten-free Wondra flour, a wheat flour created specifically for thickening gravies without clumping, works well too.

OAT FLOUR ALTERNATIVES

Both arrowroot and cornstarch are excellent gluten-free substitutes for oat flour in this recipe. These starches have greater thickening power so the amount you need is less than when using oat flour. For this recipe, 3 tablespoons of arrowroot or cornstarch can be used as a substitute for ⅓ cup of oat flour.

USE TRADITIONAL RED MISO

Red miso is arguably the most impactful ingredient in this gravy, delivering a powerful rich umami flavor boost. Many brands of miso contain dashi, a fish-based soup stock which is NOT what you want for a vegan gravy, or for any gravy, really. When shopping for red miso look for traditional or organic red miso that doesn’t have the words ‘dashi iri’ (出汁入り) on the label. To keep things gluten-free be careful that the miso you purchase doesn’t have barley (麦、mugi) or wheat (小麦、komugu). Some brands are clearly labeled gluten-free which is helpful.

SHIITAKE MUSHROOM POWDER OPTION

Shiitake mushroom powder is an optional ingredient in this recipe, but one I can’t recommend enough, not just for gravy but for all sorts of savory vegan cooking. I wrote an entire post about the wonders of shiitake mushroom powder for subtly intensifying umami flavor in vegan recipes. So yeah, use it if you have it for sure. Other mushroom powders like porcini would also be nice in this recipe and can be used instead. But if you want to skip the mushroom powder thing, all those fresh sliced mushrooms will be mushroomy and delicious enough.

BROTH AND BOUILLON OPTIONS

If you’re in the habit of making your own vegetable broth, go ahead and use it in this recipe. Any plant-based broth is fine so long as it’s not fish flavored. I’m a big fan of bouillon cubes for the convenience and usually make this recipe with two cubes of the Edward’s and Sons gluten-free vegan NOT-CHICK’N because I like the poultry leaning flavor for gravy.

WHAT IS TVP?

Texturized vegetable protein, or TVP, has been around since the 1960s and in my opinion, when you consider nutritional profile and cost as well as convenience, there’s no better plant-based meat alternative for recipes where the ground meat substitute doesn’t have to form a ball or a patty. Sausages usually have to hold together but when a dish requires crumbled up sausage TVP is great. This gravy is one of those dishes as is my recipe for southwest savory baked oats. TVP is a good source of protein and fiber while being sustainable and easily accessible. And because it’s a fully dehydrated soy product, TVP has a very long shelf life. Although whole food plant-based is mostly about avoiding processed foods, this is one of a handful of processed foods recommended for people who are WFPB adherent.

PRE-SOAKING TVP

Most recipes, this one included, will have you soak your TVP in some sort of liquid for a few minutes before incorporating it into a recipe. In this recipe, I soak the TVP in one cup of vegan broth for about ten minutes, then strain it using a fine mesh strainer, discarding all excess liquid. While the TVP in in the strainer, pressing it with a silicone spatula or the back of a large spoon helps squeeze out the excess liquid. Getting as much excess liquid out as possible is important because I want the TVP to toast up a little when I add it to the shallots and mushrooms.

MAKING THE THICKENING FLAVOR SLURRY

This part of the recipe requires a blender or bullet in order to create a flavorful slurry that makes thickening the gravy easy and relatively foolproof. To create the thickening flavor slurry place white wine, oat flour (arrowroot or cornstarch if that’s what you’re using), garlic, nutritional yeast, red miso and shiitake mushroom powder (optional) in the bowl of a blender and blitz until smooth.

EASY OIL-FREE SAUTÉING

If you want to use oil to sauté the shallots and mushrooms, go right ahead. The recipe will work just as well. But because my blog focuses on whole food plant-based adherent recipes, I avoid highly processed calorie-dense ingredients like oil as much as possible. Oil-free sautéing is a great way to cut back on the amount of oil in your life and it’s surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it.

For this recipe, I sauté the shallots separately first in order to develop a layer of caramelized flavor before adding the mushrooms. Begin by heating about 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth in a deep skillet or medium pot over high heat. Keep more vegetable broth close at hand to use as needed. A total of one cup of broth reserved for sautéing is more than enough. When the broth in the pot comes to a rolling boil, reduce the heat to medium-high and add the chopped shallots. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the shallots start to become translucent, adding little bits of broth as needed to prevent sticking. Then add the sliced mushrooms and sauté an additional 7 minutes until the mushrooms release most of their water. Continue to add small amounts of broth whenever necessary to prevent sticking and burning. When the mushrooms have shrunken down and look just about fully cooked, add the strained TVP, sage, thyme and ground fennel. Toss everything together for another minute or two and remove from heat.

CREATE THE GRAVY

Pour the plant milk and 2 cups of vegetable broth into a medium-large pot over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. Slowly pour the flavor slurry into the simmering liquid whisking constantly for 2 to 3 to prevent clumping. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes until thick. Finally, add the shallot, mushroom and TVP mixture. The gravy is now ready to serve.

SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS

• Use Vegan Sausage instead of TVP: You can replace the TVP and herbs with 1½ of crumpled vegan sausage, adding the sausage after cooking the mushrooms just like you’d add the soaked TVP.

• Make it a Mushroom Gravy, No Sausage: If you prefer a simpler mushroom gravy, just leave out the TVP and herbs. Or you could also just leave out the TVP and include the herbs for sausage-like flavor without sausage.

• Use Onions Instead of Shallots: Finely chopped yellow or white onions are fine to use instead of shallots. You need about ⅔ cup.

• Use an Italian Seasoning Blend: You can substitute dried sage, thyme and ground fennel with 1½ to 2 teaspoons of an Italian seasoning blend.

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