Ham Gravy – Homemade ham gravy made with leftover ham drippings. Delicious side dish recipe with ham, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings!
Homemade ham gravy (like its counterpart turkey gravy) is a staple side dish whenever we cook a ham in the oven, which is mostly on holidays like Christmas or Easter. Dinner just wouldn’t be the same without gravy to smother over our sliced ham and mashed potatoes.
Now it's important to remember… The main flavoring for the gravy comes directly from the ham itself.
So if you glaze your ham, like with this pineapple honey glazed ham, the flavoring from that glaze will go into your homemade gravy. For example, if you’re using a sweet glaze, your gravy will be a little sweeter.
It's so easy to make homemade gravy, and it's super quick too. But it’s delicious and definitely worth the minimal effort.
Ham Gravy also makes a very tasty addition to your next baked potato bar or mashed potato bar, as well as a tasty dip for leftover ham crescent rolls. And you can use it in place of brown gravy or chicken gravy in a mashed potato bowl.
I’ve also added this recipe to my collections of favorite Christmas recipes and Easter dinner recipes, where you’ll find all the holiday inspiration you need in one place.
Need a gluten-free ham gravy alternative? Ham gravy with cornstarch is just the thing.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE HAM GRAVY RECIPE?
If you’d rather skip all of my cooking tips, important cooking info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the delicious ham gravy recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
TIPS FOR HOW TO MAKE HAM GRAVY
Making this easy gravy for ham is actually really simple, but there are a few tips and tricks that will ensure you make a really good gravy.
HOW TO AVOID LUMPY GRAVY
There are 2 steps to avoiding lumpy gravy…
- It's important to start by mixing together the flour and heavy whipping cream in a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup. Whisking this together in the beginning will help prevent lumps in your gravy.
- Use a whisk to stir your gravy while it's cooking.
Take your time to avoid any lumps in your gravy. It’s pretty much a given that you may have a few lumps, but you can minimize them by whisking the gravy.
MAKING GRAVY…
Once you've got the flour and whipping cream mixed together, gradually whisk together the flour/cream mixture with the ham drippings in a large saucepan or skillet on medium heat.
Then just add your seasoning, and continue whisking the gravy 'til it starts to thicken up.
That's when it'll be ready to serve.
Serve it with ham, mashed potatoes, and all the fixin's!
LOOKING FOR MORE SIDE DISH RECIPES TO GO WITH YOUR MEAL?
Whenever we make a ham dinner or turkey dinner, we usually serve it with sides like Instant Pot southern green beans, honey glazed carrots, or creamy bacon corn casserole. Of course, homemade cranberry sauce is a must at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
If it's more gravy recipes you're looking for, Moscato Mom has a delicious recipe for slow cooker short ribs with gravy (also a keto recipe). And 918 Plate has a very yummy recipe for jumbo drop biscuits with brown butter gravy.
KITCHEN TOOLS YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE GRAVY
Mixing Bowl – for mixing together the flour and heavy whipping cream.
Large Saucepan or Skillet – You’ll make the gravy in a saucepan on the stove. This recipe feeds a crowd, so you’ll need a larger pan.
Whisk – Helps to minimize lumps in your gravy.
Wooden Spoon – There’s nothing quite like a wooden spoon for stirring.
Heat Resistant Spatula – Works well for stirring and scraping the sides of the pan.
Gravy Boat – for serving.
HAM GRAVY RECIPE
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Homemade Ham Gravy
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 cups ham drippings
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Mix together the flour and heavy whipping cream in a small mixing bowl or glass measuring cup.
- Gradually whisk together the flour/cream mixture with the ham drippings in a large saucepan or skillet on medium heat.*
- Add in the water.
- Continue whisking and stirring the gravy until it begins to thicken and is ready to serve.
- Serve with ham, mashed potatoes, and all the fixin's!
I started making ham gravy years ago my family loves it
Difference in mine i use pineapple slices for the last 30 minutes of cooking time and use the pineapple juice to cover the ham from this comes the gravy base I prefer cornstarch always add cold water to dissolve it the sweet from the pineapple makes the gravy gravy sooo good
Honestly I didn’t know anyone actually made ham gravy obviously I don’t get out much
Thanks for Sharing
P.S. no lumps whisking solves that
Thanks for the info, Emma. That all sounds great.
This is bad gravy. Not lumpy just tasted bad. I also luckily made Pioneer Country Gravy which is what we ended up eating.
Sara, that’s so weird. It’s always been a hit with our family. What about it did you not like?
Can I use milk instead of cream? I’ve never used cream in any of my gravies.
I had found a recipe similar to this one that called for whole milk but it stated you could also use chicken broth if you didn’t have any milk. If you use milk the gravy will look more like a white country gravy.
I put milk in my ham gravy today and it was good
Yes, Shari, that’s fine. Sometimes we just prefer the cream.
I would inject Ham Gravy intravenously if I could. I’ve always went the corn starch route, but this seems like it might stretch it a bit.
How do you get 2 cups of drippings? I don’t think I ever had even 1 cup.
What kind of ham did you use? Some hams are drier than others.
I had been searching for a gravy recipe that had exact measurements of the ingredients. My mother makes amazing gravy but she doesn’t measure anything so I was having a hard time replicating it. I was searching on Pinterest and came across this recipe. At first I thought – Heavy Whipping Cream? But, then I thought what can it hurt to try it. If you can add more butter or heavy whipping cream to almost anything it makes it better! So, I made it and the only thing I did differently was that I used 3 cups of the ham drippings and I didn’t add the water (since I had it and wouldn’t want to waste that precious juice). It was amazing! I received lots of compliments. My gravy did turn out lighter in color than the pictures and video but it didn’t lack in the flavor department. I think part of that may have been due to the whipping cream and part due to the fact that my juices were lighter in color (possibly because we don’t bake our hams). I don’t know if anyone else does this, but we cook our hams on the stove top in a large covered pot. We add about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of water in the bottom. No seasonings whatsoever. A good ham doesn’t need anything else. We bring the water to a boil then turn down to low and simmer the ham on the stove for 3-4 hours. We buy a Frick’s brand butt portion ham – https://fricksqualitymeats.com/our-meats/bone-portion-ham/ If you can’t find this brand then I’m sure any pre-cooked, bone in, butt portion ham would work. Cooking the ham this way makes the most tender, juicy, fall off the bone ham you can imagine. Our family doesn’t like the spiral cut hams but I’m sure they could be cooked the same way. Thank you for posting this recipe – it takes a little stress off knowing that I have a recipe I can count on!
That’s great, Kathy! We all love this ham gravy. I’m so glad that you and your family were able to enjoy the recipe as much as we do.
Making a ham instead of turkey for the first time this Christmas. I’m going to try this method for cooking the ham. Hams can be quite dry when oven roasted, this sounds like a great idea!
Hey! Quick question I’m planning on making this for Easter and was wondering do you include the rendered fat in the drippings when measuring the 2 cups? Or do you skim the fat off? Thanks!
If really fatty I’d skim, but if you aren’t concerned about the fat then you could leave it. I think it’s a personal preference!
This is true. I never do skim it personally.