This tasty Hamburger Gravy Recipe brings ground beef together with garlic and onions in a creamy brown gravy seasoned with thyme, parsley, and nutmeg. Serve over homemade mashed potatoes or egg noodles for the ultimate comfort food meal.
What’s In This Post
Delicious Hamburger Gravy
This hearty dish comes together in less than 30 minutes and can easily be doubled to feed large families and unexpected dinner guests. Enjoy this hamburger gravy served over homemade biscuits, pasta, rice, baked potatoes, or fried potatoes.
Ingredients Needed
- Ground beef: with a little fat in it. Fat is what gives it flavor.
- Vegetables: onion and garlic
- Butter: salted or unsalted
- Flour: all-purpose
- Beef broth: preferably low-sodium
- Heavy cream: or half and half
- Worcestershire sauce
- Seasonings: dried thyme, dried parsley, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. You can use fresh thyme or fresh parsley for garnish.
How to make Hamburger Gravy
This is just the nutshell version, see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and instructions
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it is about halfway through the browning process, add the onions and continue cooking until the ground beef is cooked through and browned and the onions are soft. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic. Cook the garlic for 1 minute while stirring.
Melt the butter in the skillet with the browned beef. Sprinkle flour over the cooked ground beef mixture. Stir and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the beef broth and heavy cream until smooth. Add the Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, dried parsley, and nutmeg, stirring to combine.
Recipe Tips
- If the gravy becomes too thick, add more beef broth, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.
- For those who like a lot of flavor, add 1-2 teaspoons of creole seasoning. It does not make the gravy overly spicy; it just gives it a lot of flavor. Trust me on this one.
- Experiment with different herbs, such as chopped rosemary, fresh or ground thyme, fresh or dried parsley, dried oregano, dried marjoram, or ground sage.
What to serve with hamburger gravy
There are so many great options to serve with this gravy. Serve it over mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, rice, or pasta. Or with butter swim biscuits or Dutch oven bread to sop up all that delicious gravy. Include a vegetable side dish to balance things out, like Southern green beans or roasted parsnips.
Storage and Reheat
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To freeze, first cool completely. Then add the gravy to a heavy-duty freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop on low or in the microwave at reduced power.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can substitute ground pork, chicken, or turkey for the ground beef in this recipe. After browning, drain any excess grease before proceeding.
Yes, you can add cooked carrots, peas, corn, or green beans, or sauteed mushrooms.
Hamburger Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. ground beef
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- ½ cup heavy cream or half and half
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 2 pinches nutmeg
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Fresh thyme leaves or chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. When it is about halfway through the browning process add the onions and continue cooking until the ground beef is cooked through and browned and the onions are soft.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and add the garlic. Cook the garlic for 1 minute stirring continuously.
- Melt the butter in the skillet with the browned beef. Sprinkle in the flour and continue cooking for 2 minutes while stirring constantly. Slowly stir in the beef broth and heavy cream until smooth.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, dried parsley, and nutmeg, stirring to combine. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves or chopped fresh Italian parsley.
Notes
- If the gravy becomes too thick, add more beef broth, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until it reaches the desired consistency.
- For those who like a lot of flavor, add 1-2 teaspoons of creole seasoning. It does not make the gravy overly spicy; it just gives it a lot of flavor. Trust me on this one.
- Experiment with different herbs, such as chopped rosemary, fresh or ground thyme, fresh or dried parsley, dried oregano, dried marjoram, or ground sage.
Nutrition
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Marysa
Well this is such an easy and delicious meal! And it is hearty. I love serving it on those nights the kids need to fuel up but we don’t have a lot of time.
Phoebe
I’ve never eaten gravy like this, it sounds delicious and I want to try it
Beth Pierce
Thanks Phoebe! Enjoy!
Rosey
This is a yummy gravy. Gravy is such a total comfort food. My husband and I really enjoyed it!
Yeah Lifestyle
You had me with the word gravy! This sounds like such an interesting recipe, one that I will be having a go at myself.
Risa
Thank you for the great recipe. It was delicious. I served it over white rice and my family devoured it.
Talya Stone
I’m always looking for new things to do with ground beef and this looks seriously tasty so definitely going to try making this!
Melanie E
I had never tried or even heard of hamburger gravy before. My family loved this and they want me to make it again. Thanks for the recipe.
Jenjen Balatico
Now this is something I would really like to do while binge watching my fave series!
Dan Rey
I love the gravy with the hamburger. Yum, this makes me hungry!
Stephanie
What a delicious dinner! I would eat over mashed potatoes but the rest of my family prefers noodles so we make it with that. It’s like a grown-up version of hamburger helper!
Dannii
This is totally different from the gravy we here in the UK, but it looks amazing. I bet my husband would love it!
Andrea
Thanks for this recipe. My kids love gravy so now we can make it more often! It reminds me a lot of sausage gravy. So darn yummy!
Tayler Ross
We made this for dinner last night and it was incredible! A total comfort food win and I can’t wait to make it again!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Tayler! So glad that you liked it!
Gwynn
This recipe was a big hit with my family. I served it over creamy mashed potatoes and they just devoured it!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Gwynn! So glad that you liked it!
Cara
This gravy was so flavorful and delicious – it totally reminds me of my childhood! Comfort food at its finest!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Cara! So glad that you liked it.
Erin
Was amazingly delicious! I made this for the whole family and they love it. I served it over creamy mashed potatoes with southern green beans.