How Do You Fix Lumpy Gravy?

Learn how you can fix gravy that has gone lumpy or if you don't want to fix it, could you still just eat it?

Have you been in this situation - you are just ready to serve up your Thanksgiving meal. You look down and notice that your gravy is full of lumps. Nobody wants to serve lumpy gravy. What do you do? Do you just shallow your pride and serve it anyway or is there a better way?

Jump to:

• 🙋 Why Does It Get Lumpy?
• 💡 Top Tips
• 🧈 Make a Roux

🙋 Why Does It Get Lumpy?

The reason why your gravy is lumpy to begin with is that starch used, whether that be flour or corn starch, cooked before it was intergraded into the liquid. So it forms a mass. It's kind of like dumplings, only smaller and unwanted!

Now you need to figure out how to stop this from happening.

RELATED - How to Keep Gravy Warm

💡 Top Tips

My advice is simple, strain the gravy! This will remove all the lumps from your gravy. Do this well the gravy is pipping out. Be careful and pour it through a sieve.

Now since you have lumps, that probably means your gravy wasn't thick enough to begin with because at least some of your thickener didn't work. So that means you are going to have to try to thicken again.

Most people know about mixing water with flour first, before adding it to the gravy. And this can work, but I have a couple tips for you.

First, don't just use water, use a bit of the liquid you are trying to thicken but only if that liquid is not pipping hot. You only need a small amount so you could put it in the freezer to get cold fast. You are just going to increase the time it takes to thicken by adding more water.

Second, add the mixture when the liquid is warm but not boiling. If it is too hot your gravy will turn more gluey than thick. You can always increase the temperature once you have it incorporated. Once you have it that right thickness, you want to stop it from boiling, just simmer or keep warm.

🍴 RECIPE - Instant Pot Smoked Turkey Gravy

🧈 Make a Roux

I always prefer to make a roux for gravy. That is melting butter, then adding in the flour, mixing it up until just slightly cooked, and then mixing in the liquid. Bring to a boil and you got gravy. I find that I never have lumpy gravy from this.

The only issue is if your gravy isn't thick enough when you finish this step. You need a good recipe that you can trust. When it is too thin is when you have to resort to putting mixing your starch and liquid together as we talked of above.

RELATED - How to Use Olive Oil in a Roux Instead of Butter