My first attempt at a Paleo-friendly gravy was way back on my very first Thanksgiving Dinner in 2011. I used coconut flour as a thickener for a traditional pan gravy. It really wasn’t very good. The coconut flour worked to thicken the gravy, but also made it taste very coconutty, with a terribly grainy texture. I then discovered that arrowroot powder works well as a thickener with a very neutral flavor and even used this strategy in my Swedish Meatball recipe. I used arrowroot for years afterward to make gravy…. until one day, I made a pot roast. When I found that the vegetables were just too soft for my liking, I decided to puree all the veggies to make a sauce. It was delicious! I then proceeded to experiment with different vegetables, cooked in broth and then pureed. Most veggies end up making something very much like a creamy pureed soup, overwhelming the flavor of the broth. It’s good, but it’s not gravy. And then, one day, I overcooked cauliflower in broth (I was trying to just make a simple side dish of cauliflower cooked in broth). I pureed it and something magical happened. It didn’t taste like cauliflower (I’m actually not particularly fond of cauliflower!). It tasted like gravy.
So, cauliflower gravy was born. And for a much higher nutrient content than using a starch like arrowroot. The secret to this gravy is to have really flavorful broth–the kind you’d enjoy drinking from a mug. I even suggest concentrating your broth by simmering without a lid for 20-30 minutes to reduce the volume by half or more! Make beef gravy by using beef broth, chicken gravy (like in the photo) by using chicken broth, etc.
This gravy has the added benefit of being much less fussy than thickening broth or pan juices with starch. Simply simmer the cauliflower in broth until overcooked, pour into a blender, and blend to a puree! Since the goal is overcooked cauliflower (so that the texture is super smooth once pureed), it doesn’t matter if you cook the cauliflower a little (or even a lot!) too long! If it’s too thick, add a little more broth to thin. If it’s too thin (not likely with this recipe), put it back on the stovetop and gently simmer to thicken.
This recipe is so versatile and delicious that it has found its way many places. First published in The Paleo Approach Cookbook, then featured in the Paleo Bites pilot, then included in the Best of AIP Cookbook, and now here, for all of you to enjoy!
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Ingredients:
- 1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 1/2 cups bone broth (chicken, beef, pork, etc.)
- 1 clove garlic
- Salt, to taste
- Place the cauliflower in a saucepot with the broth and garlic. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is overcooked.
- Pour the mixture into a high-speed blender. Cover the lid of your blender with a tea towel to make sure you don’t burn yourself. Blend for 1 minute, until completely smooth. Taste and season with salt if desired. If too thick, thin with additional broth or water.
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TPV Podcast, Episode 144: Jenny Castaneda
Thanks for sharing this! I’ve tried arrowroot gravy and have never gotten it to turn out the way I want. I look for every excuse possible to cook cauliflower so this already sounded good, but I made it tonight and it was amazing!! I added rosemary and sage, and because I was using it in another dish, some spicy italian sausage. I was eating gravy by the spoonful.. 🙂
Yes! Great recipe, Sarah!
I use this as a kind of hollandaise too, with your optional egg. Great as stroganoff and so many other things. Pureed vegetables are great soups and baby food, but also a perfect moisturizer for Paleo baking .
I just started experimenting with pureeing a spagetti squash ( they have organic cheaply at Wal-mart ) and look forward to finding a multitude of new uses! It must be well drained, but has a mild neutral flavor that is even more exciting than the starchier plantain.
Thanks so much for your inspiration!
This was really yummy! We had it with roasted chicken and steamed broccoli last night, and it was the perfect accompaniment 🙂
Next time, I’m going to deglaze the roasting pan with my broth to soak up all the really tasty bits. I think that will add that extra something to the gravy.
Thanks for sharing!!
This looks great, but I am afraid to try it because of my IBS and is is a high fodmap. There is so.much conflicting info on how to heal a leaky gut I am simply overwhelmed. Do I follow autoimmune and cross off the high fodmap foods? Someone give me guidance. I want to be able to eat things like cauliflower again!!
With both AIP protocol and fodmap diets, one is advised to drop anything considered ‘potentially problematic for you*, and then add them in gradually, after you have had significant reduction in inflammation, that way you can tell what is offending *you*. If you aren’t certain what to think about cauliflower, drop it for now. I’m using it, but you don’t have to if you are not convinced it is safe for you. The bigger point is that this is doable. Hang in there! Ya know….. the thing that I read that helped me most was simply this: Don’t focus on what you cannot eat, but on what you can eat. My family and I had a great meal tonight, and with this gravy, I hope to have a great chicken dinner later this week. More meals planned down the road. This *is* doable. It’s worth it too!
Can you freeze cauliflower gravy?
yum
Thank you so much for sharing. It’s a great idea. I’ve used pureed vegetables as sauces before, but hadn’t thought of them as a ‘gravy’.
Wonderful recipe. We had for dinner tonight and everyone wanted more!
Hey there! Thanks for this awesome recipe. I’m a blogger and plan to release a Thanksgiving: Eat This not That Round up tomorrow at my blog site. I plan to use this recipe and link back to this page both on the post and on the infographic I’m creating as part of the post. I hope you’ll share it! I love using cauliflower as a substitute for creamy things — I have a delicious “cauli-freddo” sauce on my site and also a cauliflower soup recipe. Can’t wait to try this!!
I made this cauliflower gravy using Central Market Organics chicken broth from a box and it came out really good! I had some Thanksgiving Turkey breast with this cauliflower gravy and I really lived the creamy taste. I want my freind to try some of this gravy, so next time he comes over, I will make him some. He will never know it is made from cauliflower and is gluten free and dairy free. I will just let him taste it first and tell him later. Thanks for the delicious recipe. I will be making more of this in the future.
I made this last night with homemade bone broth and added in the bits and the juices and fat from the chicken roasting pan – there wasn’t a lot of juice but it gave the gravy such a strong chicken flavor. I didn’t add the garlic but it was absolutely delicious anyway.
I tried this a few weeks before thanksgiving. Added onion and mushroom when sautéing the cauliflower. Awesome! Will definitely use for TG. Thanks!
We love this recipe. It is a Paleo Mom classic.
My husband who “doesn’t like cauliflower” fell in love with this, as did his Biscuits and Gravy loving mama. The kids adore it, too.
I’m listing it as one of “5 Ways to get Your Kids to Eat More Vegetables in Winter” on my blog.