How To Make Ham Gravy (With or Without Drippings)

By Editor On Mar 23, 2025

Ham gravy, made with or without ham drippings, takes just 4 simple ingredients and 10 minutes to make. It’s the perfect way to finish off delicious slices of ham.

This quick and easy Ham Gravy recipe is perfect to use on your main dishes or side dishes for Easter Dinner or Christmas Dinner! We always serve this with Baked Ham and Smoked Ham.

Skip the ham gravy mix at the store and make your own.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This classic gravy for ham can be made with drippings or without making it extremely flexible.
Once size fits all! This recipe for ham gravy pairs well with all side dishes that typically get a nice coating of the good stuff. Think mashed potatoes and dinner rolls.
You probably already have all the ingredients on-hand, therefore making it inexpensive and easy to make.

Ham Gravy in a white bowl next to a whisk.

How To Make Ham Gravy

You can make this gravy recipe with or without drippings.

Ham Gravy With Drippings – To make gravy with drippings, you just need butter, flour and half and half.

Ham Gravy Without Drippings – To make gravy without drippings, you’ll need butter, flour, half and half, and ham stock. You can make homemade ham stock or use store bought. Better than Bouillon makes a great one.

Ham Gravy With Cornstarch – If you prefer to use cornstarch over flour, use half the amount called for in the recipe card. No other edits are required.

Labeled photo showing ingredients to make ham gravy.

Recipe Tips From Darcey’s Kitchen

Watch The Sodium- Do not add salt without testing the final results first. Ham is extremely salty therefore I didn’t need to add any. If I had, the resulting gravy would have been way too salty.
Final Flavor- If using ham drippings, the final flavor of the gravy will be determined by the herbs and spices you use on the ham.
Boost The Flavor- If you want to boost the flavor of your gravy, throw in some finely fresh herbs, diced shallots, or onions in the melted butter and sauté before adding the flour.
Adjust the Thickness- Adjust the thickness of your gravy by adding chicken broth or water, a tablespoon at a time, if it’s too thick or cooking it longer if it’s too thin.

Ham Gravy in a black skillet with a whisk.

Instructions

Pre-heat a medium sized saucepan or skillet over medium heat and add the butter. Once melted, vigorously whisk in the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown in color.
Slowly add the ham drippings or stock to the roux while vigorously whisking. Keep whisking until there are no lumps.
Slowly whisk in the half and half and bring to a gentle boil, before lowering the heat to a simmer.
Simmer and whisk constantly, until it begins to thicken, approx. 3-4 minutes.
Transfer to a gravy boat and serve.

Notes

Note 1 – Make sure to use unsalted butter. Ham is extremely salty so the gravy doesn’t need anymore added to it.
Note 2 – If you don’t have 2 cups of drippings, you can make up the difference with ham broth or water. Or, you can halve the recipe.
Note 3 – You can use store bought ham stock or make homemade ham stock.

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