Copycat McCormick Turkey Gravy Mix (No Drippings)

This copycat McCormick turkey gravy mix takes five minutes, uses spices already in your cabinet, and makes rich, savory turkey gravy with nothing but water. One batch is about 3 tablespoons, which equals one 0.87 oz packet exactly, so you can measure it just like the real thing.

I built it off the back of the packet, and that is where it gets interesting. McCormick Turkey Gravy Mix contains chicken fat. Not turkey fat. Chicken.

The turkey flavor does exist, it comes from turkey powder further down the list, but the richness, the thing that makes packet gravy taste the way packet gravy tastes, is rendered chicken fat. Once you know that, the packet stops being mysterious and becomes something you can build in five minutes from things already in your cabinet.

This copycat McCormick turkey gravy mix gives you a jar of dry mix that keeps for six months. Three tablespoons plus a cup of cold water equals one packet. And here is the part that matters more than anything else on this page: it does not need drippings.

That is the entire reason the packet exists, and nearly every turkey gravy recipe on the internet quietly assumes you are standing over a roasting pan full of fond. Sometimes you are not. Sometimes it is a Tuesday in March and you want gravy on mashed potatoes. If you want the beef version of this same idea, that is the copycat McCormick brown gravy mix, which is built on beef bouillon instead and goes on roast beef and Salisbury steak.

What Is Actually In McCormick Turkey Gravy Mix

Straight off the label, heaviest first: enriched wheat flour, wheat starch, whey (milk), salt, chicken fat, turkey powder, onion, torula yeast, caramel color, disodium inosinate and guanylate, spices including celery seed, and extractives of rosemary, paprika, and sage.

Three things worth pulling out of that.

1. Flour is first, not cornstarch. That is why packet gravy has an opaque, old fashioned body instead of a cornstarch sheen.
2. Whey is fourth, so the packet contains dairy. It gives the gravy a faint creaminess that flour and broth alone never reach. Nonfat dry milk powder replicates it exactly.
3. Celery seed is the sleeper. It is the only spice McCormick names outright, which usually means it is the one doing the work. Celery seed is what makes gravy taste like Thanksgiving instead of just tasting brown, and most homemade versions leave it out entirely. That is the main reason they land close but not right. It turns up in more McCormick packets than you would guess, including the meatloaf seasoning mix.

The torula yeast and flavor enhancers are savory boosters, and chicken bouillon powder covers all of them in one ingredient while also bringing the chicken note. Caramel color is cosmetic, so your version comes out a shade lighter. There is a fix for that below.

One caution: McCormick’s gluten free version is a different formula built on corn starch and buttermilk powder. If that is the box you buy, read the variations first.

The Ingredients

• All purpose flour. The thickener and the body. Two tablespoons per cup of gravy is the packet’s ratio.
• Cornstarch. One teaspoon, standing in for the wheat starch. It smooths the texture and keeps the flour from tasting pasty.
• Nonfat dry milk powder. This is the whey. Do not skip it if you want packet flavor.
• Chicken bouillon powder. Covers the chicken fat, the torula yeast, and the flavor enhancers in one move. Better Than Bouillon works but it is a paste, so use granulated if you want a shelf stable dry mix.
• Onion powder. Onion is the seventh ingredient on the label and it belongs here.
• Celery seed, ground. The one that matters. Grind it in a mortar or pulse it in a spice grinder, because whole celery seed does not dissolve and you will get crunchy bits in your gravy.
• Rubbed sage, dried rosemary, paprika, black pepper. Exactly the four extractives McCormick lists. Crush the rosemary between your fingers so it disperses.
• Salt. A quarter teaspoon per batch, dramatically less than the packet carries. Taste before adding more, especially if you brined the bird.

How To Make It

Whisk everything together in a small bowl until the color is uniform and you cannot see streaks of paprika. Thirty seconds, and that is the whole recipe.

For a single batch, use it now or funnel it into a jar. For a big batch, multiply by eight, shake it in a pint jar, and measure three tablespoons whenever you want a cup of gravy. Shake before each use, because the flour settles and the spices ride on top.

This is the same one batch equals one packet logic behind the beef stew seasoning mix, so if you already keep that jar in the pantry, this one measures out the same way.

Turning It Into Turkey Gravy

Whisk 3 tablespoons of mix into 1 cup of cold water in a small saucepan. Cold, not hot, or the flour seizes into lumps before it has a chance to disperse.

Bring it to a boil over medium heat, whisking often. Reduce the heat and simmer 1 minute. It looks thin and then thickens all at once, and it keeps thickening as it stands, so pull it a touch looser than you want it.

Then the step that makes it taste like the packet: whisk in a tablespoon of butter off the heat. The packet has fat built in. Your dry mix cannot, because fat is exactly what makes a homemade mix go rancid in the cupboard. Adding it at the end gets the same result from a jar that actually keeps.

If you do have drippings, use a quarter cup of them plus three quarters cup of water instead of the full cup, and skip the butter. That is the same swap McCormick prints on their own package, and it is genuinely better than either one alone.

What To Pour It Over

The obvious answer is the bird, whether that is a whole air fryer turkey or a turkey tenderloin for a smaller table. The tenderloin is where a jarred mix earns its keep, because a tenderloin produces almost no drippings and you would otherwise have nothing to build gravy from.

For potatoes, it goes on air fryer mashed potatoes, Instant Pot mashed potatoes, or the Cracker Barrel copycat mashed potatoes if you want the buttery restaurant version.

And it is not a November-only mix. Ladle it over an air fryer turkey meatloaf on a weeknight and the whole thing tastes like a holiday dinner you did not have to plan.

Make It Ahead

This is the real argument for keeping a jar, and it is a stronger argument at Thanksgiving than on any other day of the year.

Gravy is the last thing that gets made and the one thing everyone stands around waiting for. With this in the pantry you can make a full quart three days early, refrigerate it, and reheat it in the microwave while the turkey rests. Reheated gravy thickens, so loosen it with a splash of water or broth and whisk hard.

It freezes for three months as well. Freeze it flat in a zip top bag and it thaws in a bowl of warm water in about fifteen minutes.

And if the gravy situation goes sideways on the day, which it does, you have backup on the shelf that does not involve driving to a grocery store that closed at two.

Getting the Color Right

Homemade comes out lighter than the packet because you are not using caramel color. Three ways to handle it, in the order I would try them:

Let it be lighter. It tastes the same, and the color of packet gravy was never the selling point.

Whisk in a quarter teaspoon of browning sauce like Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master at the end. This is precisely what it is for.

Toast the flour first. Spread it in a dry skillet over medium heat for three or four minutes until it smells nutty and turns pale tan, then cool it completely before mixing. It deepens color and flavor both. Only worth doing for a big batch.

Variations

Gluten free. Replace the 2 tablespoons of flour with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and skip the extra teaspoon. Cornstarch has roughly double the thickening power, so it is not a one to one swap. The texture comes out glossier and slightly less like the original.

Dairy free. Leave out the milk powder and add an extra half teaspoon of cornstarch to make up the lost body. Check that your bouillon is dairy free too.

Lower sodium. Cut the salt entirely and use low sodium bouillon. This is already well under the packet, and going further is easy.

Chicken gravy. Drop the paprika to a pinch and leave out the sage. That is most of the difference between the two packets. It is a natural match for anything seasoned with the copycat rotisserie chicken seasoning.

Giblet gravy. Simmer the neck and giblets in the water for thirty minutes first, strain, chop the meat fine, and stir it back in at the end.

Using the Leftover Gravy

Leftover gravy is the point of making extra. It is the binder in an air fryer leftover turkey pie, and you can whisk the dry mix straight into the filling instead of making gravy first, which thickens and seasons in a single step.

It also turns turkey croquettes into an actual dinner rather than an appetizer, and a spoonful inside a hot turkey sandwich makes the open faced version people actually want on the Friday after.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does one batch really equal one packet of McCormick turkey gravy mix? Yes. Three tablespoons of mix is close to the 0.87 oz packet by weight, and both make one cup of gravy at the same consistency.

Can I make turkey gravy without any drippings? That is what this recipe is for. Water plus the mix is the standard preparation, exactly as printed on the packet.

Is McCormick turkey gravy mix gluten free? The standard packet is not. Enriched wheat flour is the first ingredient. McCormick sells a separate gluten free version built on corn starch, and this homemade version converts easily using the swap in the variations above.

Why is my gravy lumpy? The water was warm when the mix went in, or the mix went into the pan before it was whisked into the water. If it happens, pour the gravy through a fine mesh strainer. Nobody will ever know.

How long does the dry mix keep? Six months in an airtight jar in a cool dark cupboard. The milk powder is the limiting ingredient, so if yours is already old, use the mix sooner.

How much gravy do I need for Thanksgiving? Plan on a third of a cup per person, then make more, because leftovers are the best part. For twelve people, an eight batch jar covers you comfortably.

Can I use the dry mix in casseroles? Yes, and it is one of the better uses. Whisk it straight into the liquid in a green bean casserole or a pot pie filling and it thickens and seasons at the same time.