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Home / Recipes / Side Dishes / Mushroom Sauce from Scratch

Mushroom Sauce from Scratch

45 mins
| 9 Comments |
4.91 from 11 votes
Jump to Recipe 11/05/19 | Updated: 11/24/20 | by Nora

Making Mushroom Sauce from Scratch isn’t hard at all! You only need a few ingredients, and you’ll have made your own mushroom gravy in no time at all. Goes great with anything from meatloaf to meatballs, pork chops or chicken – or plain over mashed potatoes or noodles!

cast iron skillet with mushroom gravy on a wooden board

I cannot even begin to describe my love for mushrooms – and especially when they’re smothered in a delicious gravy like here in my Mushroom Sauce.

While I do have one kid who refuses to eat mushrooms… The rest of the family LOVES them, and we frequently make this because it’s so tasty and so easy. It’s especially great for a holiday dinner (think Thanksgiving or Christmas), but it works just as well on a busy weeknight. It’s so easy you can have it any day of the week.

Try it and see for yourself – so much better than any of the packaged stuff!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

collage of ingredients to make mushroom sauce with text labels
Ingredients for Homemade Mushroom Sauce: Butter, onion, garlic, mushrooms, dried thyme, flour, salt, pepper, tomato paste, white wine, beef broth and heavy cream.

Ingredient notes

  • For the mushrooms, I like brown button mushrooms best. You can also use a mix of different ones for more interesting flavors. I always slice them myself, but feel free to buy pre-sliced ones to cut down on prep time.
  • If you don’t want to cook with wine, you can replace it with an equal amount of extra beef stock.
  • If you’re wondering what kind of white wine to use, a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc works great. Make sure it’s a dry variety, and stay away from wines labelled as “cooking wine” that have additives in them.
  • You can use a dry Marsala in place of the wine for a nice flavor twist.
  • It’s perfectly fine to use vegetable stock in place of the beef stock for a vegetarian sauce, but the color and flavor will be slightly different. If you’re not vegetarian but don’t have beef stock on hand, chicken stock works well, too.
  • The couple of tablespoons of heavy cream are optional, they don’t make a creamy sauce but a slightly richer one. If you don’t have any on hand, the gravy is delicious without, too.
  • Try using bacon fat in place of the butter… And then you can thank me later.

How to make mushroom sauce

Once you know how to make a basic gravy-style sauce, a mushroom sauce is the easiest thing to make from scratch:

  • sauté onions and mushrooms in butter
  • sprinkle with flour and season with herbs, spices and tomato sauce
  • deglaze the pan with white wine
  • add beef stock and simmer until thickened
  • stir in cream, if desired, and serve

Step by step photos

Just FYI, if you’re freaking out about the amount of butter, please don’t. Traditional gravy is made with drippings from meat. Unfortunately, mushrooms don’t have any fat, so it needs to come from the butter for a rich and flavorful gravy!

Sauté and season the mushrooms

Once the butter has melted (1), sauté the onions and mushrooms over MEDIUM HEAT for 5-10 minutes. You don’t want them to get crispy-browned, but they should get some nice color on them, or your gravy will be pretty flavorless (2).

collage to show sautéing mushrooms

Once the mushrooms are sautéed, you’ll want to stir in thyme, salt and pepper. Then, stir in some flour to help thicken the gravy later. Here you have to be fairly quick with your stirring, or you’ll have lumpy gravy later on (3).

For added flavor and color, stir in the tomato paste before adding any liquid to the pan. Make sure to stir it in well and to cook it for 30 seconds or so, or it won’t lose its raw taste (4).

Deglaze the pan

collage to show cooking mushroom sauce

Next, you’ll want to deglaze the pan. I always use white wine as outlined in the ingredient list above, but you can also use a dry Marsala or extra broth if you don’t want to use alcohol (5).

Deglazing means to pour liquid into the hot pan, scraping any browned bits off the bottom. Try to catch all of the browned bits, because that’s all flavor right there. It will seize up and thicken, don’t worry, that’s normal. Just keep stirring until most of the wine has evaporated (6).

Cook the sauce

Finally, you’ll want to add the stock (7). Stir it in very well, then simmer the gravy until the liquid has reduced by about half and the sauce has your preferred consistency.

If you like a very thick gravy, you may want to stir in a slurry of cornstarch and cold water to thicken it further. Reducing the sauce can take up to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your pan, so be patient.

Finish the sauce

Depending on your taste, you can finish the sauce with various flavorful add-ins.

For a rich and robust gravy, stir in a few tablespoons of heavy cream (8). This goes well with most things, especially with comfort foods like meatloaf or meatballs.

You can also add a bit of lemon juice and chopped parsley in the end for a more refreshing taste, this is especially delicious served over chicken.

close up photo of mushroom gravy in skillet

How do you serve mushroom gravy?

We like this gravy in many different ways. It’s delicious with meat dishes, but it’s also great by itself over mashed potatoes or buttered noodles.

Or even as a brunch dish with eggs and a crusty bread!

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PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Printable Recipe Card
overhead view of cast iron skillet with mushroom gravy
Save Recipe Saved!

Mushroom Sauce

This mushroom sauce is a great all-round sauce you can use for pretty much anything: It tastes great with chicken, steak, pasta, mashed potatoes or rice.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
4.91 from 11 votes
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Recipe details

Prep 15 mins
Cook 30 mins
Total 45 mins
Servings 6 servings
Difficulty Easy

Equipment

  • Knife
  • Chopping Board
  • Large Skillet
  • Measuring Cups

Ingredients
 

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound brown button mushrooms sliced
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • salt + pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • ½ tablespoon tomato paste
  • ¼ cup white wine OR extra stock
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream optional

Instructions
 

  • Sauté: Heat the butter in a deep and wide skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms and cook until they're soft and lightly browned, about 5-10 minutes.
  • Season: Stir thyme, salt and pepper into mushrooms. Sprinkle pan with flour and stir in well. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
  • Deglaze the pan: Increase the heat to medium-high. Wait until pan sizzles, then pour the wine or extra stock over the mushrooms, scratching the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until almost all of the wine has evaporated.
  • Cook the sauce: Stir in the stock. Simmer the sauce until it has reduced by half. If sauce doesn't thicken/you want a thicker gravy, stir in a slurry of cornstarch and water.
  • Finish: Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the cream, if using.
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Notes

Serves 2 as the main part of a vegetarian meal (such as the sauce for pasta) or 4-6 as an actual sauce on a protein.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 134.1kcalCarbohydrates: 7.13gProtein: 4.56gFat: 9.8gSaturated Fat: 6.03gCholesterol: 26.92mgSodium: 242.73mgPotassium: 435.79mgFiber: 1.12gSugar: 2.99gVitamin A: 327.07IUVitamin C: 3.55mgCalcium: 20.18mgIron: 0.83mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Traditional

More easy mushroom recipes

  • Crockpot Beef Tips and Mushroom Gravy
  • Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto
  • Authentic German Spaetzle with Mushroom Gravy (Jägerspätzle)
  • One Pot Garlic Butter Parmesan Mushroom Pasta

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Comments

  1. Carol Baumgartner says

    January 25, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    5 stars
    Very good, best I’ve ever made! Thank you for this recipe.

    Reply
    • Nora says

      February 05, 2022 at 2:27 pm

      I’m so glad, Carol!

      Reply
  2. Theresa says

    December 17, 2021 at 5:33 am

    5 stars
    Very good sauce for chicken and steak

    Reply
    • Nora says

      December 17, 2021 at 12:45 pm

      Theresa, I’m so glad!

      Reply
  3. Julianne says

    October 17, 2021 at 7:04 am

    5 stars
    Wonderful! Served with sous vide cooked pork loin and sous vide chuck roast and it was perfect! We did not alter the recipe but will try fresh thyme when cooking onion/mushroom mixture. Kudos!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      November 01, 2021 at 5:21 pm

      I’m so glad, Julianne! Sounds like a wonderful pairing.

      Reply
  4. Char says

    February 05, 2021 at 7:32 pm

    5 stars
    Excellent gravy. Added more thyme, salt, pepper, and tomato paste to taste. Left out the cream. Served it on pork schnitzel and mashed potatoes.

    Reply
  5. Barbara Karr says

    January 21, 2018 at 8:15 pm

    5 stars
    I am 72 and have battled food and weight issues all my life. The only advice I can give you after looking through some of our recipes is just live your life to the fullest. If you are cooking from scratch and cutting out all harmful ingredients you are participating in the BEST diet ever. We began to fight massive obesity in this country when women stopped canning their foods and buying commercially made over-processed foods.Paleo, vegan, and such diets are restricting and, to my mindset a poor way to eat. They encourage poor eating. Just like junk food diets do. Your goal should be balance and knowledge. Armed with both you are in control. The food processing industry needs a thorough cleaning. Until that time you are doing the right things. Buying locally, gardening, and watching food content are all great steps. You are inventing your own Healthy diet. So have an occasional cotton candy or doughnut for fun. You are eating wisely 99% of the time and still enjoying the wonders of food. Good luck on your journey! You already have the tools and skills. Let others live on grass and seeds. Your diet is designed for You. It will serve you well. You are smart and talented. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Be safe and enjoy life. Barb.

    Reply
    • Nora says

      January 24, 2018 at 11:26 am

      Thank you so much for that sweet comment, Barb. It means so much to me that you read my posts and took the time to craft such a long, heartfelt response. And you are right with everything you’re saying – we’re in the second year of gardening, growing our own fruit and vegetables. It’s an experience for sure, but it makes such a difference! Thank you again.

      Reply

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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

More about me →

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