This is a really easy recipe for how to make gravy using just water. The secret is to use both chicken AND beef stock cubes for the best flavour and a nice deep brown colour. Takes 4 minutes flat, tastes like KFC gravy – but so much better. No pan drippings required.
Made a turkey and want a gravy? Use my Gravy for Turkey recipe!
Gravy
This gravy recipe tastes like what you get in those tubs of KFC Potato and Gravy. Those of you who abstain from all forms of fast food may not know what it tastes like. But all you need to know is that it’s everything that you’d expect from KFC – reliably tasty, well seasoned, can make anything delicious!
The secret ingredient that makes this gravy better is to use both chicken AND beef stock cubes (bouillon cubes).
What you need for gravy
Here’s all you need to make a really great gravy from scratch: chicken and beef stock cubes, butter and flour.
Chicken AND beef stock cubes (aka bouillon cubes) – for flavour and colour. Chicken is the base flavour, beef gives it oomph and gives it a nice deep brown colour rather than an unappetising pale brown. Using both also makes this gravy suitable to use for any protein – white meats (chicken, pork), red meats (beef, lamb, game), potato and vegetables. Can substitute with powder;
Hot water – to dissolve the cubes;
Flour – to thicken the gravy (gluten free cornflour/cornstarch sub in the recipe notes);
Onion or garlic powder – optional, for hint of extra flavour.
Why stock cubes instead of liquid stock/broth?
Great question! 🙂 Stock cubes and powder have a more intense flavour than liquid stock (broth), so they make a tastier gravy when you make gravy from scratch like in this recipe.
Liquid broth is more appropriate to use when you’re making gravy starting with pan drippings from roasts – because the pan drippings add extra flavour into the gravy.
How to make gravy in 4 minutes flat
Dissolve stock cubes or powder in boiling water;
Melt butter in saucepan and mix in flour;
Pour in stock water while whisking and cook 1.5 minutes until thickened. DONE!
PS The reason this is faster than most gravy recipes is because the water is already HOT and the flavour is already concentrated so there’s no need to cook down for flavour.
Now, douse everything and anything with it.
Oh, and here’s the photo that started it all – Fried Chicken. Upon spying this, there were many (many) (MANY!) requests for the potato and gravy recipe.
All the possibilities….!!!
Here’s some suggestions for dishes to serve with gravy. Some obvious ones, some not so obvious ones, all good!
Potato and gravy – KFC style! Dunk in Fried Chicken, warm bread rolls or bread (try this No Yeast Irish Soda Bread!), hot chips, wedges, serve on the side of sausages, as part of a Southern Dinner with BBQ Pulled Pork, any roast;
Roasts – any and all!
Rotisserie chicken dinner – make a meal out of a store bought roast chicken. Steam some veg, make some mash, douse everything with this gravy!
Steamed vegetables – guaranteed way to make bland, boring steamed veg completely scoff worthy;
Pan seared chops, steaks or anything – chicken, lamb, pork, beef! Sprinkle with salt and pepper, pan fry in butter or oil, douse with gravy;
Meatballs – Make these Beef meatballs or these Chicken Meatballs, skip the sauce and serve with this gravy instead;
Poured over an omelette;
Chicken Rolls – shred chicken, toss with gravy, pile generously onto hot rolls;
As a Sauce for any of these:
Use gravy as a sauce for these dishes
I need to stop. There’s too many possibilities!
But enough about my ideas. Tell me what YOU douse with gravy!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Gravy recipe (tastes like KFC – but a million times better!)
Ingredients
- 1 chicken stock cube / bouillon cube (sub 2 tsp powder) (Note 1)
- 1 beef stock cube / bouillon cube (sub 2 tsp powder) (Note 1)
- 2 1/4 cups (565ml) boiling water
- 60g/ 4 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 4 tbsp flour , plain / all purpose
- 1/2 tsp onion powder (ok to omit or sub garlic powder)
- 1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
- Salt , if needed
Instructions
- Crumble cubes into boiling water, mix to dissolve.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add flour, onion powder and pepper. Mix into butter with a wooden spoon or whisk.
- While stirring, slowly pour in half the liquid. Once incorporated into the flour butter roux (it will thicken quickly), add remaining liquid and mix.
- Stir for 1.5 – 2 minutes until it thickens to a gravy consistency (it's quick as water is already hot). Taste, add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve over chops, steak, sausages, veggies, roast chicken, pork, beef, lamb. Pictured – KFC Potato and Gravy copycat!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Even at the vet, all he can think about is FOOD. Just like his owner 😂
PS Nothing major, just getting an old-man wart removed that had grown quite large and was bothering him. He was, of course, a total sook once he realised he was there for more than just pats and treats. Quivering and pressing up against me for protection!
Such a great recipe. I have celiacs and struggle to find a good tasting quick gravy. Used the gf version here and I also used Aldi stockpots rather than cubes. Worked a treat. Thanks.
This is nothing close to kfc. I followed the recipe to a TEE….. terrible
Was quick to make. I added an extra 2 cubes to really make the gravy taste like chicken along with an 1/8tsp of garlic powder. SUPER DELICIOUS for making the homemade kfc bowl.
Hi Nagi, just wondering if it’s possible to omit or substitute the butter in this gravy recipe to make it suitable for someone with dairy allergy? Thank you. Dewey
The butter is just there for oil (but has a yummy taste). Use ghee (I cook with it all the time as my oil) – same buttery taste but is lactose free! (You wont need quite as much 1/2 – 3/4 of the butter)
Yum, yum, gravy. So easy and tastes amazing.
I made this brown gravy tonight and it’s was great just like KFCs thank you so much for this recipe.
This was INSANELY good – I’ve literally never had a gravy as good as this one!
Oh yeah!!! That IS incredible!! S9 fast and so delicious! The butter adds the perfect amount of fat needed to substitute for the drippings. Well done again Nagi!! ❤️
I did this the gluten free way as described, and it’s really nice! I couldn’t tell you if it tastes like KFC, since I haven’t eaten there in years, but it is good gravy, and really quick and easy!
5 stars
Came out exactly as the instructions described..my new go to gravy
It’s okay, but you can make it taste more like KFC’s if you use a pork seasoning packet from ramen noodles instead of a beef boullion cube. I bet the Col. originally mixed chicken and pork gravy, just saying… Boullion and seasoning packets still taste like/are composed of many unpronouncble ingredients, but this recipe is quick and easy-peasy.
OMG Nagi, you’re a genius! 😁So quick and easy using ingredients in the pantry. I used the large Massel brand stock cubes (in the box, not the plastic wrapper) and it was perfect. Tastes sooo good I could eat a bowl on its own! This is what KFC WISHES their gravy tasted like! ❤️
Thank you so much, Nagi! You don’t know how much this means to me. I’m currently in Tonga and haven’t found a pre-made or gravy powder around so when I found this, I had just got the XO bouillon the other day and couldn’t believe I had all the ingredients on hand! Made this twice already and have tripled the amount to cater to more family members. I appreciate this recipe so much! Malo!
Not quite like KFC…made to add to a chicken pot piethat was short on gravy… was worried abouy using beef boullion (used Better than Chicken and Beef)… added a splash of soy sauce. Used a little onion and grananulated garlic…will use recipe again…
You changed the recipe so unless you make as written, you wouldn’t know if it tastes like KFC or not.
It doesn’t taste like KFC’s, but you can get closer with pork seasoning from a ramen noodles packet instead of beef boullion. Use the noodles with Nagi’s excellent Charlie sauce.
I’ve always used store bought gravy powders, NEVER AGAIN!!!’ This gravy recipe was so fast and quick and delicious. My go to recipe for gravy now!!!! Thank you!!!
Very easy and great taste. I used BOTH onion and garlic powder at 1/2 teaspoon each. I will never buy gravy powder or pre-made again.
OMG!! This is by far the best gravy I’ve ever made and best I’ve ever eaten!!! It’s so good!! I will never go back to making store bought gravy again!!! Thank you!!
I would like to thank you for this recipe. This was my first attempt to make gravy and it was a hit! No more store bought gravy❤️
This gravy is super easy to make and is absolutely delicious! I’ll have Thanksgiving turkey with this gravy from now on! 😋
Just made this with a few changes due to what I have on hand: instead of bouillon cubes, I used 1 teaspoon each of Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken and roasted beef flavors. I also added 1 teaspoon of Gravy Master.
So, I boiled the water in an electric kettle and didn’t add anything to that.
Because Better Than Bouillon and Gravy Master are both “wet,” I mixed those into the melted butter before adding the flour and spices.
Once all that was mixed together in the pot, I slowly whisked in the boiled water from my electric kettle and then stirred that for a couple minutes.
Very tasty and so much easier and faster than my usual gravy recipe.
What!? Gravy intimidates me – for some reason it never works and always turns into a lumpy mess – but THIS recipe was so easy and worked perfectly just as written! Plus it was so delicious my husband was eating it by itself. I can’t believe it but I think this gravy may have been my favorite part of Thanksgiving this year! Your recipe altered my self esteem for the better and may have changed my husband’s opinion of my cooking ability LOL