No. I’m not vegan (although I did try it for six months right after college). And I don’t plan to go 100% vegan anytime in the near future. But, eating vegan is awesome, and I highly recommend we all try to do more of it, even if we aren’t going to do it all the time. It’s good for you, more sustainable for the environment, and truly very delicious. I really love Mark Bittman’s thought on being vegan part-time. Into it!
For the gravy I did some research (a.k.a. clicking around the Internet and consulting a few cookbooks) to see what flavors are often substituted to give things a “meaty” or “sausage” taste. You can simply use a vegan-friendly faux sausage or bacon if you like, but I wanted to keep these vegetable-based. I landed on playing around with shiitake mushrooms, onions, garlic, and little bit of soy sauce. If you aren’t vegan, you could also add a little Worcestershire sauce, as it has a great peppery taste too.
I am not a master vegan baker. Not at all. And I’ve been dying to try out a recipe from the Minimalist Baker, because I love their site even though I don’t often eat vegan myself. Perfect opportunity. So I tried out their biscuit recipe (adding a bit of rosemary for flavor), and I loved it. If you enjoy vegan or gluten-free (awesome) recipes, I highly recommend you check out their site if you haven’t already.
For the gravy:
1/2 ounce shiitake mushrooms (I used dried ones, but I imagine fresh would work too)
2-3 tablespoons chopped onion (red is preferred)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5 tablespoons vegan butter (I like Earth Balance)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup vegetable stock
1 3/4 cups almond milk (unsweetened)
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
Since I used dried shiitake mushrooms, I had to first soak them in water for about 20 minutes.
Recipe adapted from Minimalist Baker
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
4 tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance again)
3/4 cup almond milk
In a bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients and give it a good stir. Blend in the cold butter. I like to use my (clean) hands for this, but a pastry blender works well too. Then stir in the almond milk. A thick dough should form. If your dough feels a bit too dry, add a little more almond milk. I ended up needing less milk than the original recipe called for, so I’ve included that in the recipe above. But currently it’s quite humid where I live, so if you live in different conditions, this could slightly alter your results. Baking can be tricky like that.
Press the dough together, but you don’t need to knead or overmix the dough. Cut into 8 biscuits (I left mine squares, but you could easily do traditional circles instead). Place on a prepared baking sheet. If you like, brush with a little melted (vegan) butter.
Bake at 450°F for 12-16 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the vegetable stock and milk until a smooth (with chunks of onion and mushrooms) gravy forms. Taste and add salt, pepper, and cayenne to your liking. If you want your gravy to be smooth (as pictured in my photo below), strain through a fine mesh strainer. Or you can leave the remaining mushrooms and onions, either way.
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
51 Comments
¡Thank yoooou! 😀
As a vegetarian, I get so excited to see delicious recipes that I don’t have to modify. Thanks for this!
This looks absolutely amazing! OhDearDrea posted a vegan biscuits and gravy a number of years ago I’ve been dying to try, but after seeing this and refreshing my memory I might give them both a whirl! Love the vegan recipes. I eat 90% vegan, and it’s awesome to see one of my daily reads (BM!) post more vegan foods! xo
These look delicious! Mushrooms make such a great substitute for meat gravy.
Mmmm, I need to try this!
http://iolablog.com/
I too, am not vegan, but I admire the vegan diet and those who follow it. I’m just not ready to commit to it! These awesome! Biscuits and gravy are one of my favourites!
This looks great! As a vegan, I appreciate the effort. 🙂 I live just outside of Portland and some of our brunch places make a b&g that is so spot-on! I will definitely be giving this a try.
Biscuits and gravy is one of my favorite treats, but it’s so unhealthy! This sounds much more guilt-free. My kind of recipe 🙂
Cat
http://oddlylovely.com
Nothing like a good biscuit. Blessings, Catherine
I’m excited for more vegan recipes, Emma! These look so yummy!
– Christina http://www.cityloveee.blogspot.com
I’m so glad you posted this! I always thought vegan b&g was an oxymoron until I had some, and they were honestly better than any non-vegan recipe. I can’t wait to try this version!
And next time you guys are in Nashville, you should try The Stone Fox for brunch. They have great vegan b&g!
Yummy! I’m a vegan and I love this! Thank you so much for posting these great vegan recipes. There are so many misconceptions about it being such a limited diet but it’s simply not true. You just have to get a little creative:-)
Sincerely,
Laurali Star
Oh yummy! Also, I love Mark Bittman’s words on being a part time vegan. Have you read his book, “Vegan Before Six?” I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but it seems very interesting and the best of both worlds!
xoxo
Taylor
Can’t wait to share this recipe with my vegan best fried! I so admire people who can stick to a vegan lifestyle – maybe someday. P.S – gorgeous food photography
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
i want to eat these right now.
Cafe Flora is one of my absolute favorite Seattle brunch spots! (I’m not vegan either but the food is just so good.) Please tell me you also tried the cinnamon roll while you were there! It’s heavenly.
Really! I love OhDearDrea. I’ll have to go hunt down her recipe and try it. Awesome!
-Emma
Thanks for the recommendation! I will for sure be trying out The Stone Fox if I get the chance next time we are in Nashville.
-Emma
I haven’t read his book yet, just a few articles and heard folks talking about it. It’s on my list though. Very cool concept, plus I love just about everything Mark Bittman does. 🙂
-Emma
Oh my gosh, this looks so delicious! Big YUM! 😀 x
http://www.sweetcandydreamer.com
Vegan gravy? Sounds like my kind of thing 😉 I’v never tried gravy and biscuits together though!
http://everydayingrace.blogspot.ca/
Oh man! I almost got a cinnamon roll but then I decided to try the beignets instead. They were good but I wish I had gone for a cinnamon roll instead.
I didn’t end up finishing any of my food though anyway, so good but so filling. 🙂
-Emma
wow these look awesome! I’m glad you posted a vegan dish and noted that you don’t have to be 100% vegan, to still appreciate vegan dishes and what it does for our food system and our bodies 🙂
I love the minimalist baker too!!
I’ve been a vegetarian for 6+ years and never found a gravy substitute… perhaps next Thanksgiving/Christmas I’ll have some again?! 😀
Mmmm….I bet that gravy would also be good with some nutritional yeast sprinkled in. Yum. On a side note, have you tried nutritional yeast powder on popcorn, Emma? I bet you would love it.
I am also a mere vegetarian but try to have a vegan dinner at least once a week, so I’d love it to see some more vegan recipes here! (Or maybe vegan options?)
Aside from that I cannot even imagine what this tastes like. Neither gravy nor (savory) biscuits are a thing here in Germany so I kind of imagine a creamy mushroom sauce with salty cookies. 😀
The Appleberry
That looks delicious! I love trying new recipes and Vegan can be really good 🙂
These look delicious, and I’m not vegan either.
Oh my gosh! It’s seriously like you read my mind. I love your site and I was browsing it the other day hoping to find a vegan biscuits and gravy recipe. You had a buscuits and gravy recipe, but it wasn’t vegan. I was wondering if I was just going to have to modify and experiment with the non-vegan version myself. I visited your site again today and Voila! There it was. A vegan recipe already tried and true! Thank you so much!
I’m not vegan either, but I do love incorporating vegan meals into my weekly meals. Angela Liddon from Oh She Glows came out with a cookbook a few months ago and there is an amazing vegan recipe for mushroom gravy in there! If you have the cookbook, I highly suggest you try that recipe! I like it more than other tracy with animal products!
Love vegan gravy – it’s one of our Thanksgiving staples! This one sounds amazing.
Wow! So yummy! I can’t wait to try it (I am a vegan)!
XOXO, Izzy
Looks so yummy!
It’s really funny the variance in foods between the UK & US. In the UK I guess biscuits would be classed as ‘scones’ and we would eat them with butter/jam! These look very tasty, will definitely be trying them! x
I love biscuits and gravy!! Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Courtney
sugardameblog.com
Yay for this! My husband and I are both long time vegans and we love b&g!! We’ll try this recipe fo sho! Also, I basically drool over every recipe you post and veganize it in my mind as I’m reading it. 🙂
If you’re inerested in a richer, more authentic gravy, you should try Mimicreme. It is made from almonds and makes foods such as vegan alfredo and vegan ice cream a delicious possibility! They make a sweetened one as well for whipped toppings, baked goods, and the like.
Hmmm, that looks absolutely delish!
lots of love, Dana Carmella ♡
Try adding sage! It’s usually in sausage and it’s what gives it that sausage-y flavor.
True! When I went to the states, I was expecting a plate of Hobnobs with some Bisto?
But so tasty though – they are like a cross between scone and a dumpling.
These look SO delicious! I know I’m going to have to try them! I’m vegan and really appreciate that you post so many vegan (or easily veganized) recipes 🙂
This look great. Thanks for this really wonderful post. I love this.
Love the photography style 😉 would love it if you could check out my Summer Look Book xo
Aliona | fromalionawithlove.com
Omg, I’m from the UK, and ‘biscuits and gravy’ has a very different meaning! Biscuits are what we’d consider cookies and gravy is a dark brown meaty thick sauce that we put on roast meat and veg. Definitely not something you’d eat together. It’s not often that the translation gets lost over the Atlantic with your blog (after all you were drinking Newcastle Brown Ale in one post) but ths time it did! Looks nice tho x
Once you soaked the mushrooms you should reserve the water and try to use it as it adds tons of flavour to the dish. We use dried Chinese mushrooms that way!
Thank you for posting something vegan, however it was a little disappointing that you explain right away that “you aren’t going vegan on your viewers” like it’s a stigma. Hope to see more vegan posts in the future as you have a really large following and can do a lot of good promoting such healthy and compassionate lifestyle!
This sounds absolutely amazing! I miss so many random recipes after becoming vegetarian almost 9 years ago. A lot of things I’ve found alternatives to but others are still a challenge! I always love your recipes because they’re usually pretty basic and don’t require crazy ingredients! Thanks so much!
This sounds wonderful! Now I just need to research a gluten free biscuit recipe!
Yum! I highly recommend trying Julie Hasson’s biscuits and gravy recipe from Vegan Diner. I’ve been vegan for five years and it is my absolute favorite recipe for biscuits and gravy- and one of the few recipes I’ve made so many times I have it memorized. My non-veg boyfriend raves about it!
Keep the vegan recipes coming! I’m a big fan – your blog is absolutely lovely. I always LOVE the recipes, and try to veganize them as best I can. So happy to see a vegan one every once in a while! xx Bianca
Hi Emma! If you were to use fresh shitake mushrooms instead of dry would you still need to soak them at the beginning of the recipe? Thanks!