Alternatives to Bisto Best Onion Gravy??

[cauliflowershoes]

I've been trying to reduce the amount of ultra processed food we eat at home and am doing pretty well.

The only thing I don't have a replacement for is Bisto Best Onion Gravy! If I was doing a roast or weekend dinner the. I'm happy to make gravy from scratch, but it's when I'm doing sausages on a work night I definitely need a gravy and need something quick!

Also, having reduced the processed foods in other parts of my diet, Bisto is starting to seem really chemical tasting too and I'm not enjoying it as much as i used to...

Has anyone got any good quick, less processed onion gravy alternatives?

Can’t you just fry some onion in with the sausages then make a gravy in the pan after while you’re plating up?

I buy sainsbury gravy in a pouch. It's very good but I've never looked at the salt content etc

Could you batch cook some gravy & then freeze it portions?

I was going to suggest batch cooking - if not the entire gravy, at least the onions.

I actually find gravy easy to make from scratch when I'm not under pressure - the only time I ever buy it is for Christmas Day! Give making your own a go, and agree that once you've got it down, it freezes well.

Anyway, onion gravy which is what you actually asked!

Put some sliced onions in when you roast the sausages. Take sausages out of pan, sprinkle flour into pan on the heat, give a mix. Add stock, small splashes at a time. Once it's as thick as you want it, simmer for a few mins. Taste then adjust seasoning - you may want to add some mustard, or cranberry jelly, or Worcestershire sauce.

Either sieve out the onions or serve as is.

I've realised reading your answers that what I'm really trying to do is to reduce the need for extra saucepans / dishes / washing up.... I think that's the other reason why Bisto is so easy, you just whack boiling water and some powder into a mug! I guess part of me was hoping there was an exact swap with no nasties, but I reckon that was probably quite naive 😁

Now I think about it I've never actually made onion gravy, only make gravy from scratch when doing chicken / beef... sounds like onion gravy is simpler than I thought.

I usually whack the sausages in the airfryer and the potatoes + veg in the steamer /saucepan / airfryer together for a quick tea!

Perhaps batch making and freezing would be the most obvious solution, although annoyingly we don't have a microwave for a quick reheat!

Aren't sausages an upf?

Yeah they are

Depends which sausages you buy...

It really doesn't lol

I saw a video on how to make your own 'stock cubes' by cooking up celery, carrots, garlic, herbs in as little water as possible nail cooked to mush, then blitz , season, add in some flour and freeze in an ice cube tray. You could do something similar with a little more flour to make a gravy base that you make up around your fried sausages and onions.

And no, not all sausages are upf!!

There’s a lot of whacking going in in your cooking!

If you make gravy for a Sunday, just make a chunk extra, freeze the leftovers, and have that with your sausages.

Make it yourself, gravy is so easy to make. Pour the meat juices (fat and all) into a saucepan with a spoon of flour and cook on a low heat until the flour is cooked in. Then add water.

If you roast the meat on onions and vegetables add those into the pan too then blitz it up. It really is that easy.

If you're needing gravy for sausages: flour and butter in a pan and cook off with some onions, add an Oxo cube and water cook on a low heat until thickened.

Aren't stock cubes UPF too?

Use a Knorr stock pot then. Either is better than gravy granules.

Delia Smith has a great onion gravy recipe. You could freeze in portions and microwave. I think it's this one.

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/succulent-sausages/toad-in-the-hole-with-roasted-onion-gravy

I use the kallo organic one. Not sure if its any less processed than bisto, I use it as its gluten free, but the ingredients list is mush shorter and it's low salt so probably a little better