Easy Keto Gravy Recipe with No Drippings Needed • Low Carb with Jennifer (2024)

FAQs

What is a good substitute for flour in gravy? ›

Cornstarch and potato starch are the best options for gravy. Avoid arrowroot and tapioca starches because they can get "stringy" and look artificial in gravy. Cornstarch gravy is more translucent than flour based sauces. Potato starch gravy is more opaque than cornstarch, but less opaque than flour.

It is possible to thicken gravy without flour or cornstarch, and it's as simple as keeping it on the heat. When gravy is left to simmer or reduce, it naturally thickens, so be patient with your gravy. One downside to reducing gravy, though, is that it can become too salty.

Flour And Water Gravy (1 cup) contains 40.1g total carbs, 38.7g net carbs, 0.5g fat, 5.4g protein, and 192 calories.

If you love cooking, you're probably used to recipes that call for cornstarch as a thickening agent. But cornstarch is typically forbidden on Keto, with a whopping 116g of net carbs per cup. That's enough to knock you and your 5 best friends out of ketosis.

Dairy-based thickeners

Many dairy products commonly used in keto recipes can also help to thicken. Cheese, heavy cream, cream cheese, or sour cream all add fat, protein, and create a thicker, richer, creamier taste.

Browning adds more flavor to the gravy and gets rid of the raw flour taste. You're basically making a roux. We find that a flour-based gravy holds up better and reheats better later, which is why we tend to prefer using flour over cornstarch to make gravy unless we have a guest who is eating gluten-free.

(The classic ratio for gravy is three:two:one, so 3 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons fat, and 1 cup of hot stock.) You can add other flavors to the mixture, swap out the stock for another liquid, or use cornstarch rather than flour to thicken your gravy.

Can I use almond or coconut flour as a thickener for keto gravy? I don't recommend using either of those flours as a thickener. Both almond and coconut flours will result in gravy with a gritty texture.

Most gravy recipes use flour which is full of carbs. I'm sure you could find some that substituted keto-friendly ingredients but for the most part gravy is one more thing to avoid while keto.

How many carbs are on keto? ›

The ketogenic diet typically reduces total carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams a day—less than the amount found in a medium plain bagel—and can be as low as 20 grams a day. Generally, popular ketogenic resources suggest an average of 70-80% fat from total daily calories, 5-10% carbohydrate, and 10-20% protein.

Thickeners, such as flour, cornstarch, arrowroot, and rice flour, add about 6 to 8 grams of carbohydrate per tablespoon to a gravy recipe. If you are looking to lower the carbohydrate content of your gravy, you can use alternative thickeners with less carbohydrate.

Corn, while a vegetable, is a starchy vegetable, which means it's high in carbohydrates—not keto-friendly fat. An ear of corn contains roughly 41 grams of carbohydrates. A cup of corn has about 30 grams of carbs.

It's Skinny rice is also known as shirataki rice. Like It's Skinny pasta, It's Skinny rice has ZERO carbs in a 1 cup serving and only 9 calories in the entire two-serving bag! That's right!

Cornstarch should thicken gravy in less than a minute when at a simmer. If it doesn't thicken enough, it's a sign that you need more cornstarch. Whisk in more cornstarch slurry a little at a time, and let each addition come to a simmer before adding more.

If your gravy is on the skimpy side, you can thicken it quickly with flour or cornstarch. But don't add your thickener directly to the gravy, which will create lumps. Instead, try stirring in three or four tablespoons of flour or cornstarch into a small amount of cold water until you have a smooth paste.