Healthy Substitutes for Gravy / Nutrition / Healthy Eating (2024)

FAQs

What is a healthy substitute for gravy? ›

When looking for a healthier gravy alternative, seasoned yogurt is one of the best substitutes. Yogurt is a great source of calcium, a micronutrient essential for bone health and many other body functions. Plain yogurt also has a mild taste that lends itself well to a variety of dishes.

Depending on the base of your gravy, it may have some zinc, B-vitamins, iron, potassium, and phosphorus. 2 Store-bought gravy tends to be high in sodium, so if you're concerned about your blood pressure, limit the amount of gravy you use or seek out a low-sodium brand or recipe.

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.

White sauce or gravy contains 336 calories per 240 g serving. This serving contains 24 g of fat, 9.1 g of protein and 22 g of carbohydrate. The latter is 11 g sugar and 0.5 g of dietary fiber, the rest is complex carbohydrate.

In flour-thickened sauces such as gravy and bechamel, oil also makes a fine substitute. Swap the butter for oil using a 1:1 ratio.

Take Biscuits and Sausage Gravy Off Your Menu

Randall singles out this traditional Southern meal as an example of a combination that people who have diabetes should avoid. The biscuits usually are made with white flour, and the sausage gravy is high in fat, calories, and sodium.

It will help you stay full for longer as it is slowly digested. These factors make chicken a suitable option for maintaining your blood glucose levels. By adjusting the gravy and the overall meal, you can consume chicken gravy as part of a balanced diet.

It is rich in minerals that are critical to your health such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, silicon, sulphur and glucosamine. In addition, the bone broth makes it easy for your body to absorb these minerals.

How to make gravy without flour or cornstarch? ›

Another way to thicken gravy without flour is to roast vegetables like carrots, onions or shallots, celery, whole garlic and red bell peppers with the meat. Strain the juices and puree the vegetables and add it to the de-fatted meat juices, wine and some stock. Reduce the liquid to a thick gravy then strain and serve.

With cornstarch, making a slurry is also an option, but with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked into cold water. Again, you'll want to add the slurry in increments so you don't over-thicken the gravy. You can also use this method with alternatives like potato starch and rice starch.

Most gravy is not healthy. Because of the roasted meat juice it is high in saturated fat and sodium, and with ingredients such as flour and butter it can have more calories than you expect. Gravy has little nutritional value, though by adding water that vegetables have been boiled in you can add some nutrients.

It does add fat and starch, which are now considered unhealthy. Therefore, gravy is considered unhealthy. But, if eaten in moderation, it is really no more unhealthy than any other sauce.

Follow these tips for heart-healthy eating: Eat less saturated fat. Cut back on fatty meats and high-fat dairy products. Limit foods like pizza, burgers, and creamy sauces or gravy.

If you crave a hearty sauce on your meat, gravy is not a weight-loss friendly condiment to your main course. Generally speaking, meat gravies are high in saturated fat, cholesterol and refined carbs; all things you should avoid when you're trying to shed pounds.

Greek yogurt in particular can create an even richer mouthfeel than sour cream. It's no wonder then that tzatziki sauce makes a flavorful and refreshing sauce to pour over mashed potatoes, as an alternative to your standard gravy.

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.

As Mark Bittman has pointed out, gravy is but one of many sauces that can bring flavor and moisture to a plate of turkey and stuffing, like parsley purée, eggless béarnaise or bourbon barbecue sauce. There's homemade cranberry ketchup, or cherry ketchup, tangy and sweet.