Complete your Christmas dinner with this easy ham gravy from drippings. There’s nothing better than serving your Easter ham with this quick homemade gravy. It really is the best gravy for ham!
Ham Drippings Gravy
Oh my goodness, if you’ve never had ham gravy before you seriously don’t know what you’re missing!
This old fashioned ham gravy is so easy to make, it uses only 4 ingredients, and it only takes about 5 minutes to make it. There’s really no reason not to have a gravy boat full of it with every ham dinner.
It’s creamy and it has a perfect consistency. I love that it’s thick enough to feel like it’s coating the ham, but thin enough that it runs into all the grooves.
This gravy for ham and mashed potatoes is definitely a must for every ham dinner, and it’s the best way to use your leftover ham juice.
If you use the drippings from a glazed ham, pineapple ham, or a brown sugar ham, you’ll naturally get a sweet gravy. So just keep that in mind when you’re planning out what you plan to serve this gravy with.
Ingredients
Butter: I like using butter as the base of my roux in gravies because it adds so much more depth of flavor than oil does. If you happen to have any bacon grease on hand, that would also work well here.
Flour: Flour is a great thickener for gravies. I especially love the flavor it takes on when you cook the roux for a couple of minutes and let it turn golden. If you’d rather make a ham gravy with cornstarch, you’ll only need to use half as much cornstarch as you would flour.
Ham Drippings: This is where all the flavor comes from. If you don’t have ham drippings, I recommend using ham broth instead.
Half and Half: Ham gravy typically has whole milk or cream added in. I personally like using half-and-half. If you like it be creamier, feel free to add more in.
How To Make Ham Gravy
Start by melting the butter in a saucepan, then sprinkle the flour over the melted butter. Whisk the roux together until it’s smooth. Let that cook, while whisking constantly, until the roux is golden. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)
Continue whisking constantly while you slowly pour in the ham drippings. Be sure to pour it in slowly and fully whisk the liquid in before you add more, otherwise you’ll end up with lumpy gravy. Once there are no lumps, stir in the half-and-half.
Let the gravy simmer until it has thickened, then transfer it to a gravy boat and serve. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
Ham Gravy In The Pan
If you want to make the gravy in the pan you cooked the ham in, you can definitely save yourself a dirty dish and do that. Just shake the half and half and flour in a jar until it’s well combined, then mix it into the drippings. Bring that to a simmer, and let it simmer until it has thickened.
How To Make Ham Gravy Without Drippings
If you don’t have any ham drippings, I’d recommend using ham broth made from Better Than Bouillon Ham Base. Ham broth can be tricky to find in grocery stores, so making your own from bouillon is usually the easiest.
Just make two cups of ham broth (I’d probably add a little extra ham base so the flavor is more concentrated), and proceed with the rest of the recipe instructions from there. It’s really that simple to make ham gravy without a ham!
How To Serve Ham Gravy
I normally serve ham gravy with our Instant Pot Ham recipe or with a holiday spiral ham. It’s also delicious served over mashed potatoes with country ham steak, or served for breakfast over biscuits or toast.
What To Serve With Ham
The best side dishes for ham are all of the popular holiday side dishes.
Ham tastes great with creamy casseroles, like Canned Sweet Potato Casserole, this popular Baked Mac and Cheese with Velveeta, or this recipe for Paula Deen’s Green Bean Casserole.
It’s also delicious with vegetable side dishes that aren’t as heavy, like Honey Glazed Carrots or this recipe for Colcannon.
Since gravy tastes delicious with quick breads, I also love serving it with Sweet Potato Cornbread or our super popular recipe for Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn.
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
Ham Recipes
Looking for more ham inspiration? Be sure to check out our pork recipes! My favorites are:
Gravy Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of our sauces! Some reader favorite gravy recipes are:
BEST Ham Gravy Recipe
Complete your Christmas dinner with this easy ham gravy from drippings. It really is the best gravy for ham that’s perfect for Easter dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour*
- 2 cups ham drippings**
- 1/4 cup half and half
Instructions
- Heat a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt. Once it has melted, sprinkle in the flour, and whisk together until smooth to create a roux. While whisking constantly, cook the roux for 2 minutes (or until it’s golden).
- Slowly pour in the ham drippings while continuing to whisk constantly. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and free of any clumps, then whisk in the half and half. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer until the gravy has thickened (about 4 minutes).
- Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy.
Notes
*If you’d rather use cornstarch instead of flour, you’ll only need to use 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch.
**If you don’t have 2 cups of ham drippings, you can top the drippings off with ham broth or water.
This recipe doubles perfectly! The amounts are based on cooking a small ham, but if you cook a large ham, you can definitely make a double or triple batch.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 62Total Fat: 5.2gCarbohydrates: 2.8gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.8gProtein: 1.2g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate. Nutrition content for this recipe will vary widely based on the way you prepared your ham.
Whether you’re serving a spiral ham or a baked ham, it’s not complete unless you use the juices to make this ham gravy!
14 thoughts on “Ham Gravy Recipe”
I render leftover chopped up ham in a skillet with unsalted butter for about 20 minutes on low to medium heat making sure to stir it occasionally so the ham doesn’t stick and burn. Once rendered remove ham pieces with a slotted spoon place on paper towels. Then use what is left in the pan to make the gravy following your recipe.
Hi the amount of stuff needed to see such a simple recipe was unbelievable.
Less words please just recipe
Hi Kevin, I try to provide a helpful article so that people can make the recipe successfully. You’re always welcome to use the “jump to recipe” button that’s at the top of every article if you don’t need to read the tips, etc. Hope that helps! -Alexa
I can’t wait to make this , Thank You So Much .and Merry Christmas.
Learn to make your own recipes inside of someone elses the
I can’t wait to make this , Thank You so Much , and Merry Christmas. love Jean .
I don’t usually make gravies, but decided to make this one. My 10 pound spiral cut ham (cooked in a baking bag) rendered almost EXACTLY two cups of juices. The gravy was SO flavorful and was perfect over the mashed potatoes. Definitely a keeper!
It looks wonderful! Ill try it for Xmas dinner
Thanks!
I can’t find Better than Bouillon in the stores. Can I use Goya’s Ham Concentrate instead? I’ve never used it before but purchased some just in case.
I haven’t tested this recipe with it, but based on the company’s description online it sounds like it would work out great. Hope that helps! If you try it, please let me know how it goes. -Alexa
Thank you, Alexa! Happy holidays!
I made this for our family Christmas Eve Dinner. I had 2-1/2 cups of ham drippings so I increased the ratio of all ingredients to 3 cups and added 1/2 envelope of the Goya ham concentrate to the drippings. This simple dish was the most praised of all dishes served!
Made today, I make all types of gravy’s but never ham, soooo good. I did not add the milk but we loved it. Thanks for the recipe. Joan 2023
Snowbird in Quartzsite Az.
Merry Christmas.
I finally found the perfect gravy recipe for my Easter ham dinner! Thank you! This was so simple and delicious. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work with the turkey drippings and a little seasoning for Thanksgiving.