One of the more common uses for flour is to thicken sauces like made-from-scratch gravy to spoon on top of fried chicken or biscuits. When it comes to those who must avoid consuming gluten, however, that all-purpose flour in the cupboard certainly isn’t going to cut it. Luckily these days, there is a slew of gluten-free flours to use in baking and cooking, but does the alternative ingredient thicken gravy in the same way? The answer is actually yes (you’re welcome, gluten-free foodie).
Gluten-free flours made from ingredients like rice or tapioca don’t contain the pesky protein, but that doesn’t mean they can’t act as a thickening agent. For example, cornstarch, which is gluten-free but not a type of flour, still thickens gravy and other dishes, often in the form of a slurry. The key is to make a roux with butter or a neutral oil and allow the gluten-free flour to create that paste before it goes into the pot of gravy to get that consistency you want to spoon on top of chicken, mashed potatoes, or biscuits (that don’t have gluten, of course). In fact, because gluten-free flours lack that protein, it might even work better and not clump like wheat flours tend to do in traditional recipes.
The best types of gluten-free flour to thicken gravy
As you might know, there are many types of gluten-free flour readily available these days. An easy option is to find a gluten-free all-purpose flour, like King Arthur’s gluten-free all-purpose flour that can be found on Amazon and major retailers. More niche options made from rice or potato contain more starch, which will make it effortless to thicken your flour for any type of dish. Arrowroot, tapioca, or cornflours should all also work for any diners who strictly avoid gluten. So no, you don’t have to give up a creamy gravy to avoid gluten in your daily diet.
Gluten-free flours can be swapped into basically any gravy recipe. When it comes to gluten-free all-purpose flour, it should be a one-to-one swap. Other options like arrowroot or rice flour might require a little more research. Try it with our creamy country gravy recipe, which only requires three tablespoons of flour to make the roux and works on a variety of dishes. And you can’t go wrong with this simple chicken gravy recipe, where you can use sweet rice flour as an alternative.
