Easy Hamburger Gravy Recipe

This easy hamburger gravy recipe is a quick and affordable meal when you’re craving a bowl of total comfort! Crumbled ground beef in a savory mushroom gravy over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes, noodles, or mashed cauliflower? SIGN ME UP.

I first learned about this dish when I was in college and went home with a friend for the weekend. Her dad had been in the army and made us this for dinner one night over fresh biscuits. He called it “creamed hamburger gravy” or “SOS” (which he told us stood for $*&! on a shingle!)

Oh how we laughed. It definitely didn’t LOOK appetizing, but it was delicious! His version included canned cream soup, and over the years, I’ve seen recipes for hamburger gravy that include tons of flour and milk and butter in place of the canned cream soup.

My ground beef gravy recipe is a lightened up version, and instead of a creamy gravy, includes a delicious, savory beef and mushroom gravy. There’s no flour, milk, or butter in this recipe, but there IS a ton of flavor.

If you like the taste of Salisbury steak – this is the lightened-up, easier version.

Hamburger Gravy Ingredients

My hamburger gravy recipe contains just a few ingredients:

Lean Ground Beef

I used a 90% lean, grass-fed and finished ground beef. I get all of my beef from Butcher Box and I am obsessed! They have great deals and specials, and I always stock up my freezer with grass fed beef that costs a lot less than buying it in a grocery store. If you’d like to sign up to try it for yourself, you can use my affiliate link to get a discount AND free meat! To check the latest Butcher Box deals – click here.

Finely Chopped Onion and Mushroom

No fancy ingredients here, folks. Just a plain old white onion and basic white mushrooms are all you need to build the flavor in this hamburger gravy.

Worcestershire Sauce, Garlic Powder, Better-than-Bouillon

We season this ground beef gravy with a bit of salt, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and a teaspoon of Better-than-Bouillon. You can substitute a cube of beef bouillon if you’d like, but I really love the added flavor from the Better-than-Bouillon.

Beef Stock, Cornstarch, Fresh Parsley

And we’ll finish out the ground beef gravy by pouring in some beef stock, thickening it with a bit of cornstarch, and adding a little parsley for brightness and color. That’s it! Easy peasy.

How To Make Hamburger Gravy

My favorite thing about this hamburger gravy recipe is how easy it is to make. In fact, I think chopping the onions and mushrooms may be the hardest part of the entire recipe.

To make this ground beef gravy dish, we’ll place a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add in a little olive oil.

Once hot, add in the mushrooms and spread out in a single layer.

Cook for a couple minutes and flip mushrooms with a spatula. Continue cooking the mushrooms for about 5 minutes and flipping a few more times until they are caramelized and golden brown. This is an extra step, but it brings out SO MUCH FLAVOR in the mushrooms that I think it’s 100% worth it.

Set mushrooms aside, and in the same pan (no need to wash) add your ground beef and crumble and cook for about a minute. Add in salt, onion, and garlic powder and continue cooking until beef is browned and onions are soft.

I used a lean ground beef so I didn’t have any fat to drain. If you used a fattier cut of beef, you can drain off the fat now.

In a bowl, stir together the beef stock, cornstarch, Better than Bouillon, and Worcestershire sauce. Add to your skillet and simmer for about 2 minutes and then add in the caramelized mushrooms. Continue to simmer for another minute, or until the hamburger gravy is thickened to your liking.

Serve over creamy mashed potatoes, noodles, or mashed cauliflower, and serve with peas or your favorite green vegetable.

Love ground beef recipes? Check out this easy ground beef and spinach soup or my Philly cheesesteak casserole!