Ranking 9 Store-Bought Gravy Brands from Worst to Best

Arguably, the best part of Thanksgiving isn’t the turkey, but rather the gravy. Those toasty, crispy bits of meat, along with the turkey juices, can be used to make a mouthwatering, thickened gravy that elevates roasted meat or veggies to a whole new level. And gravy doesn’t have to be limited to Thanksgiving or holiday meals; there are many different types of gravy to make year-round — from elevated sausage gravy to those made from chicken, beef, and even mushrooms. In its simplest form, gravy just requires three components: fat, flour, and stock. The fat can be drippings from roasted meat or a staple ingredient like butter. Some people choose to amplify the taste of the gravy by adding herbs, spices, or even soy sauce for a boost of umami. 

However, there isn’t always time to roast meat and make gravy from scratch — luckily, though, store-bought gravies work as an alternative. Grocery stores are typically stocked with both powdered and liquid gravies, but the latter takes less work to prepare, as they can be quickly microwaved or heated in a saucepan. Although nothing beats homemade gravy, store-bought gravy still provides that savory, glossy sauce to elevate your dinner. I tested out nine liquid store-bought gravies to discern the best option by looking at texture, consistency, depth of flavor, color, salt level, and price point — something I’ll go into in more detail on at the end of the article. Each brand of gravy was heated using the brand’s listed microwave instructions to ensure consistency, and mashed potatoes were used as a vessel to test each one. Find out how they rank — as well as which two came in at a tie — so you’re prepared ahead of your next grocery store run.

Amazon has been dabbling in the grocery market for a while now. With same-day delivery services like Amazon Fresh for perishable and non-perishable products, physical stores, and even their own line of food products, they are a dominant force in the grocery delivery industry. Unfortunately, their canned turkey gravy came up flat. For $1.75, it’s on the cheaper side. It is low fat, with only 1 gram of total fat per serving. The ingredients are mostly turkey stock, modified food starch, wheat flour, as well as less than 2% chicken fat and spices, like onion powder. 

The gravy had a smooth, glossy appearance, and was the perfect consistency: thin enough to drizzle, but thick enough to coat the mashed potatoes. In terms of color, it was a dull, uniform pale brown. The flavor started off decent. The salt level was solid — too salty, but enough to taste it. The immediate flavor was of turkey, but after a few seconds, it all went wrong. A strong, lingering tinny aftertaste stuck with me. I took a few bites of the mashed potatoes and also tried the gravy on its own, but the metallic flavor remained and was genuinely unpleasant. For that reason alone, I ranked the Amazon Grocery Turkey Gravy last.

If you’ve spent time in the spice aisle of your local grocery store, scanning the rows and stacks of small spice containers, you’ve likely come across McCormick’s products. McCormick is known for selling dried spices, packaged neatly with bright red caps, but the company isn’t limited to spices alone. They also sell marinades, sauces, and extracts. Given their spice background, I was hopeful that their chicken gravy would be well seasoned. 

Ultimately, I was disappointed in the end. Some of the ingredients of their chicken gravy include chicken stock, cooked vegetable stock, and spices like thyme, black pepper, and celery seed. McCormick’s gravy is the only gravy on this list that is boxed, and the consistency was on the thinner side — a bit runny, but not necessarily brothy. It had a light yellow-brown color and was smooth and glossy in appearance. In terms of the flavor, there was a slight salty chicken flavor at the forefront, followed by celery notes from the vegetable stock and celery seeds. The celery flavor lingered longer than that of the chicken. Overall, the flavors themselves all felt a bit too muted, and the sauce a bit too thin.

A prominent image in American Pop Art, and a staple to soup aisles across the U.S., Campbell’s canned soups and other products are ingrained into the fabric of Americana. The brand’s classic can design, with a red top half, white bottom half, and gold seal in the center, is instantly recognizable. Apart from soups, Campbell’s sells sauces and gravies. Their canned turkey gravy is comprised of chicken stock and turkey stock, along with ingredients like chicken and turkey fat, dried chicken, and dried onions. 

At first glance, the gravy appeared quite similar to Amazon Grocery’s Turkey Gravy. The color — a dull, pale brown — was nearly identical. It was the perfect thickness for pouring over a mountain of mashed potatoes, clinging onto the craggy edges, and slowly dripping down. The flavor was exactly what you’d expect of a Campbell’s product. It tasted relatively average — satisfying enough, but not groundbreakingly-delicious by any means. This gravy was saltier than others, and both chicken and turkey notes came through. Though salty and savory, it lacked any real depth. If you’ve had Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup, this will likely taste familiar to you. The chicken flavor came through a bit more than the turkey notes. This gravy had that classic Campbell’s taste, albeit lacking complexity. Overall, it’s an adequate and affordable option, commonly sold for less than $3.00.

In recent years, Heinz has been promoting their jarred gravies, even running an ad in 2024 stating, “Gravy is the new ketchup,” a campaign they carried over to social media platforms like TikTok and Meta. For Heinz, ketchup is still king, but gravy makes up the second-largest subcategory for the brand. Heinz’s advertising push for gravy had me intrigued. 

Visually, the gravy had a brown color with a slight yellow tint, which could be from the turmeric in the ingredients. It had a good consistency, a smooth texture, and speckles of black pepper throughout, which gave it a more homemade feel than some of the others. The flavor was decent, in that it will definitely do the job in a pinch. It wasn’t too salty and had a mild chicken flavor. There was a slightly sour tinge on the backend, but it was very subtle and almost unnoticeable. Overall, this gravy, which can be found at many national grocery chains, is a reasonable gravy option, though nothing to write home about. Its mildness lends itself to adaptability, and you can make it your own by adding spices until it’s to your liking.

The most expensive on this list, and also the most unique in flavor, is the Better Than Gravy Roasted Chicken Gravy. Summit Hill Foods owns both Better Than Gravy and Better Than Bouillon, the latter of which has several creative ways you can use it in your cooking. Better Than Gravy sells roasted turkey, chicken, and beef gravies. Its Roasted Chicken Gravy uses bouillon chicken base, chicken stock, nonfat dry milk, butter, sugar, and spices. 

The gravy was very thin, with an opaque dark brown color and an orange tint. There were chunks and specks of chicken and herbs laced throughout the sauce. The opaqueness, along with the chunks, made it look slightly unappealing. The product is described as specifically “roasted chicken gravy,” and the roasted flavor came through immediately. There was a toasted, slightly smoky flavor in the beginning, with hints of Better Than Bouillon chicken bouillon. The spices, some of which include garlic and onion, were present throughout. Overall, this gravy had strong flavors that may be tasty for some, but could lean towards being distracting and overbearing for others. Its intensity of flavor, which may not appeal to all, as well as its thin consistency, is why this gravy isn’t placed higher on the list despite all its shining attributes.

I chose both Best Yet and Bell’s gravies with the assumption that they would be different, but the ingredient lists are exactly the same, along with having identical tastes and appearances. Therefore, they will be ranked together. These gravies contain turkey stock and turkey meat, along with its natural juices. The inclusion of turkey meat and juices is similar to that of homemade gravies, and unlike other turkey gravies on this list, there is no chicken stock included. 

The gravies had a solid consistency — not too thick or thin — with a pale brown coloration. There were specks of pepper and large turkey chunks, but a creamier appearance than the Better Than Gravy brand, which gave them a homemade look. They had a mild flavor, without any taste of extra seasonings — the gravies simply tasted of turkey, with a slight saltiness and subtle sweetness. They are slightly above average in terms of flavor and quality, and are both solid and reliable choices for store-bought gravies.

Food Club sells a variety of grocery products, both perishable and non-perishable, and themajority of gravies they produce are powdered, though they also have some canned and jarred options. Their homestyle chicken gravy includes ingredients like chicken stock, natural juices, dried onion, spices, and chicken fat. 

The sauce had a light brown, caramel-like coloration, was slightly on the thicker side in terms of consistency, and poured smooth, with visible flecks of pepper and herbs. The flavor was well balanced, with base notes of chicken, and undertones of pepper. There was a subtle sweetness at the backend that lingered. This is a well-balanced, layered gravy that is subtle, but has an enjoyable depth of flavor. It definitely works well on its own, but for those who like gravy that packs a bit more of a punch, it would serve as a great base for additional herbs, spices, or fat.

As one of the cheapest gravies on this list, this one really surprised me. It comes courtesy of Bowl & Basket, a collection of food items from ShopRite, an East Coast-based grocery chain. ShopRite’s Bowl & Basket chicken gravy has a shorter ingredient list compared to others, with prominent ingredients like chicken broth, rendered chicken fat, and mechanically separated chicken. Due to its affordable price, currently sold online for only $1.19, along with its minimal ingredient list, I didn’t have high expectations for this one. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The gravy comes canned, with a light yellow coloration. When cold, it came out of the can in a semi-gelatinous, almost pudding-like consistency. Once heated, it was creamy and pourable, but a bit thicker than typical gravies. The texture was smooth, with tiny chunks of chicken bits throughout. There was an instant savoriness to this sauce, with a strong chicken flavor reminiscent of a homemade gravy. If the chicken flavor was any stronger, it could have veered towards tasting overbearing and artificial, but this gravy struck the perfect level of savoriness that truly elevated the mashed potatoes it was coating. Taking into account the affordable price, enjoyable taste, and texture, ShopRite’s Bowl & Basket chicken gravy takes the number one spot.

Gravy is at its best when used as a condiment. Poured over roasted meats, veggies, or a mash, it adds a savory boost of umami that elevates the dish it accompanies. I opted to sample each gravy over a helping of plain mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes themselves were relatively bland, allowing for the flavors of the gravy to shine through. Tasting the sauce over mashed potatoes also allowed me to see how well, or not well, the gravy clung to the mash. 

When reviewing these gravies, the goal was to find a sauce that tastes as similar as possible to a homemade gravy. A good-quality gravy should be able to cling to the foods its coating, without being too thick or too drippy, and a natural-looking color and texture is a must. As for taste, the gravy should have a solid depth of flavor with meaty, savory notes. The salt level needs to be balanced, with no hints of artificial flavor or appearance. We eat with our eyes too, so any intense colors could be off-putting. The sauces that stood out the most were well-balanced and had a strong, but not overbearing, flavor profile. They looked like a traditional gravy, were glossy, and coated the mashed potatoes well.