Ahhh, mashed potatoes and gravy, the ultimate comfort food for me!

Growing up, I would devour instant mashed potatoes with the heinz jarred gravy by the bottle full. Loaded with salt, dairy, more salt and artificial chicken or turkey flavoring and bits of animal protein, that’s not how I roll anymore. No, ma’am. In fact, I think I would feel pretty awful if I ate something like that these days! Let’s create a better spin with this nourishing comfort food and pull in savory mushrooms for the ultimate earthy thanksgiving side (or main if that’s how you dig it).

You can cut this recipe in half, but we eat gravy in abundance so this doesn’t last long for a family of 3. Note: you can skip adding any type of flour to this recipe if you want to by simply blending a small portion of the gravy until smooth and thickening the rest of the batch with the blended portion. Either way, it’s delicious!

Herbal Mushroom Gravy:

• (2) 8 oz packages baby portobello aka cremini mushrooms, sliced or halved

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3-4 cups vegetable broth, low sodium preferred (or water if you don’t have broth)

• 1 tsp dried sage

• 1/2 tsp thyme

• Pinch fresh or dried rosemary

• Salt if desired

• Fresh ground black pepper

Roast or air fry the mushrooms until nice and chewy (this step is optional, but we like it like this!). While you are doing that, saute the garlic in a saucepan until aromatic and then add the broth, brown rice flour, herbs and spices. Stir and cook until sauce begins to thicken (about 7 ish minutes) and then you’ll add in the mushrooms. Keep cooking at a low simmer until all ingredients are combined well and the mushrooms are coated with the gravy. Once you are happy with the consistency, you can blend a bit or just leave everything the way it is. Everyone has different gravy consistency preferences!

Enjoy on top of your favorite lentil loaf or of course, mashed potatoes!